Tai Dam November 5

under the control of a Chao Muong, or prince.5 GUIZHOU

•Kunming Religion: The Tai Dam are GUANGXI one of the few members of •Kaiyuan Funing • •Wenshan the great Tai race never to •Pingbian Jinping • have embraced Buddhism. Scale They are animists. They 0 KM 160 Population in : believe that “non-human 30,500 (1995) objects have spirits, and 34,700 (2000) that people have multiple 44.200 (2010) souls.… These spirits must Location: Yunnan Religion: Animism be appeased so that they Christians: 50 might avoid curses and receive blessings.”6 The Tai Overview of the Dam in Vietnam believe in Tai Dam the King of Heaven who Countries: Vietnam, , founded the city of Dien , China, USA, France, Australia Bien Phu, formerly called Pronunciation: “Tai-Dahm” “Heavenly City” by the Tai Other Names: Jinping Dai, Dam. They believe there Black Tai, Black Dai, Tai Noir, used to be a vine which Thai Den, Do, Tai Do, Ty Dam Population Source: Nevin Bowman reached from the earth to 30,500 (1995 GEM); Location: More than 34,000 are also known as the heaven. One mother was Out of a total Dai population of upset because her son kept 1,025,128 (1990 census); Tai Dam live in Jinping Jinping Tai after the county 500,000 in Vietnam (1993); County in southern China’s they inhabit. climbing the vine to 50,000 in Laos (1995 L. Chazee); Yunnan Province. The fellowship with God. She cut 20,000 in Thailand; the vine and ever since then 4,000 in USA; majority of Tai Dam are Language: The Tai Dam use 1,500 in France; found in northern Vietnam an ancient Indic script, the Tai Dam have been Also in Australia where approximately half a which seems to have been unable to communicate with Location: million live around the city of the forerunner of the current God.7 S Yunnan: Jinping County Status: Dien Bien Phu. They also script used by the Thai Officially included under Dai extend into nearby areas of people in Thailand. Tai Dam Christianity: Several years Language: Daic, Tai, Laos and “to the south-west has some intelligibility with ago a young Tai Dam man Southwestern Tai, East Central into central Thailand due to Tai Kao.4 was imprisoned in southern Dialects: 0 Vietnam. He found Christ Religion: conquest and deportation by Animism, Polytheism, Christianity the (Bangkok) Thai in the History: The Tai Dam people through the witness of a Christians: 50 early nineteenth century.”1 are believed to have Vietnamese pastor, who was Scripture: Portions 1982; Most of the 50,000 Tai Dam originated in southern China incarcerated at the same Available in the Tai Dam, Vietnamese, and Lao scripts; now living in Laos fled there but gradually migrated into time for his faith. After his Work in progress in the 1950s after the Southeast Asia due to release, the young man Jesus film: In progress Communist terror in north oppression by the Chinese. returned to his village and Gospel Recordings: Vietnam.2 Refugee The Tai Dam even had their shared his new faith. Tai: Black #00794 Impressed by the dramatic Christian Broadcasting: communities of Tai Dam are own government in north Available (FEBC) also located in such diverse Vietnam for a short time in change in the ex-criminal’s ROPAL code: BLT00 places as Iowa, USA;3 the 1950s. The spread of life, 753 Tai Dam turned to Sydney, Australia; and Paris, smallpox, cholera, Christ and were baptized.8 In Status of Evangelization France. tuberculosis, and malaria contrast to the Tai Dam 91% was rampant among the Tai church in Vietnam, which Identity: The Tai Dam (Black Dam in the past, decimating now numbers several Tai) are so named because entire communities. thousand,9 few of their of the predominant color of counterparts in China have 8% their traditional clothing, and Customs: It is common for ever heard the gospel. 1% also because they live along all the elders of a Tai Dam Translation work is currently the banks of the Black River. family to be equally under way to bring more of A B C In China, where they have responsible for raising God’s Word to the Tai Dam A = Have never heard the gospel 10 B = Were evangelized but did not been included in the official children. Each village is people. become Christians C = Are adherents to any form of Dai nationality, the Tai Dam Christianity

492 TAI DAM