The Lautu (Lutuv)' are an indigenous people inhabiting Southern Chin State in Myanmar. The Lautu were initially known by other tribes as the 'Lautu' of the Southern Independent Villages derived from the Hakha derivation of their name. The Lautu are concentrated in 16 villages; it is believed that the first Lautu founded Tisen village in approximately AD 1450. [1] The Lautu speak the Lautu language. [2]
As of January 2017, the Lautu population was approximately 50,000 and predominantly Christian. [3] They have emigrated to Australia and the United States. [4] [5] There are 16 Lautu settlements in Chin State: [6]
Adoniram Judson was an American Congregationalist and later Particular Baptist missionary, who worked in Burma for almost forty years. At the age of 25, Judson was sent from North America to preach in Burma. His mission and work with Luther Rice led to the formation of the first Baptist association in America to support missionaries.
The Karen, also known as the Kayin, Kariang or Kawthoolese, are an ethnolinguistic group of Tibeto-Burman language-speaking people. The group as a whole is heterogeneous and disparate as many Karen ethnic groups do not associate or identify with each other culturally or linguistically. These Karen groups reside primarily in Kayin State, southern and southeastern Myanmar. The Karen account for around 6.69% of the Burmese population. Many Karen have migrated to Thailand, having settled mostly on the Myanmar–Thailand border. A few Karen have settled in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India, and other Southeast Asian and East Asian countries.
The Chin people are an ethnic group native to the Chin State of Myanmar. Strictly speaking, the term "Chin" only refers to the 53 sub-tribes of the Chin ethnic group, divided and recognized by the Burmese government. They speak the Kuki-Chin-Mizo languages, which are often mutually unintelligible but are closely related.
Protestants in Myanmar make up 5% of that nation's population in 2023. Most Christians are from the minority ethnic groups such as Karen, Lisu, Kachin, Chin, and Lahu. An estimated 0.1% of the Bamar population is Christian.
Burmese Americans are Americans of full or partial Burmese ancestry, encompassing individuals of all ethnic backgrounds with ancestry in present-day Myanmar, regardless of specific ethnicity. As a subgroup of Asian Americans, Burmese Americans have largely integrated into the broader Southeast Asian and South Asian American communities.
The Zou people are an ethnic group, that is an indigenous community living along the frontier of India and Burma, they are a sub-group of the Kuki people/Zo people. In India, they live with and are similar in language and habits to the Thadou people and Paite and the Simte peoples. In Burma, the Zou are counted among the Chin people. They are a hill people, "Zou" may plainly means "Hills" denoting the Zous are "people of the hills" or "of the hills", and "Zou" has also a different meaning in Zou language that is "complete" or another word for it is "finish". But, the Zou people believed that they incepted the name 'Zou' from their forefather 'Zou' or 'Zo', believed to be the progenitor of the broad Chin-Kuki-Mizo people.
Matupi Township is a township of Matupi District in the Chin State of Burma (Myanmar). Matupi is the administrative center for the township.
Thantlang Township is one of the nine townships in Chin State. Thantlang is the administrative town of inclusive nine circles attributed to the geographical and dialectical arrangements of the area. They are Khualhring Tlang, Vanzang Tlang, Zahnak Tlang, Bual Tlang, Vailam Tlang Lautu Tlang, Mara Tlang, Vailam Tlang, Zophei Tlang and Bawipa Tlang. Only four circles speak Lai dialect. Zophei(Zophei and Bawipa circles), Lautu, HawThai speak their tribal language. The other fives circles and in Thantlang town speak Lai dialect. In Thantlang township, Lai dialect is the common use dialect. Lai dialect is also spoken at Hakha township and Falam township.
Myanmar (Burma) is a Buddhist majority country with a significant minority of Christians and other groups residing in the country.
Myanmar has been under the rule of repressive authoritarian military regimes since 1962. After the 1974 Socialist constitution was suspended in 1988, constitutional protection of religious freedom has not existed, after the bloody suppression of the 8888 Uprising. The authorities generally permitted most adherents of registered religious groups to worship as they choose; however, the government imposed restrictions on certain religious activities and is accused of abusing the right to freedom of religion.
The Lai people mainly inhabit the southern parts of Chin Hills in Myanmar's Chin State, in the townships of Falam, Thantlang and Hakha. They are also found in the Lawngtlai district of Mizoram, India, where they have been granted the Lai Autonomous District Council. Outside this area they are scattered in Mizoram and in Manipur. Their languages "Lai holh" and "Hakha holh" are classified as Central Kuki-Chin languages.
Lai, Laiholh, or Pawi is a Kuki-Chin language spoken in central Chin State in Myanmar, and Lawngtlai district of Mizoram, India. Hakha Chin-speaking minorities are also found in the Sagaing and Magway Regions of Myanmar, and in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of southeastern Bangladesh by the Bawm minority.
The Kuki-Chin languages are a branch of the Sino-Tibetan language family spoken in northeastern India, western Myanmar and southeastern Bangladesh. Most notable Kuki-Chin-speaking ethnic groups are referred to collectively as the Zo people which includes: the Mizo of Mizoram, the Kuki of Manipur, Assam, Nagaland, Tripura and Bangladesh and the Chin of Chin State, Myanmar.
Christianity is the third largest religion in Assam, a state in the north-eastern region of India. The total population of Christians in the state is 1,165,867, which according to the 2011 census comprises about 3.75% of the state's total population. After Islam, Christianity is also the second-fastest growing religion of Assam. The largest concentration of Christians in Assam can be found in the Dima Hasao District, where Christians number approximately 30% of the population. The second largest concentration is in the Karbi Anglong district where they form approximately 16.5% of the population.
Falam Chin is a Kuki-Chin language in Falam Township, Chin State, Myanmar,
The Chin Association for Christian Communication (CACC) is non-profit, faith-based organization dedicated to the preservation of Chin culture and language. CACC is located in Hakha, Burma. The most well-known projects and activities undertaken by CACC are revising and updating Laiholh. At the moment, CACC is in-charge of standardizing Laiholh, the most widely spoken Chin dialects in Burma. Though there is no common language or official language in Chin State, Laiholh is used as a medium of communication among different Chin groups in Hakha, Thantlang, Matupi, Falam, Burma, and diasporas all over the world.
Lautu, widely known as Lautu Chin, is a Kuki-Chin language spoken in 16 villages in Matupi townships, Thantlang townships and Hakha townships, Chin State, Myanmar. The Lautu Chin dialects share 90%–97% lexical similarity. Lautu Chin has 87%–94% lexical similarity with Mara Chin, 82%–85% with Zophe Chin, 80%–86% with Senthang Chin.
Chin Baptist Convention is a Baptist Christian denomination Myanmar. The headquarters is in Falam, Chin State, Myanmar. It is a member of the Myanmar Baptist Convention.
Karen Americans are Americans of full or partial Karen ancestry. They are a recent but rapidly growing immigrant population in the United States. Many Karen who emigrate are refugees as a result of violence in their homeland. Many come either from their traditional homeland of Kawthoolei in Myanmar or from refugee camps in Thailand. Minnesota was reported to have had more than 12,000 Karen residents in 2017, making it the state with the largest Karen community. Other states with significant populations are California, Texas, New York, and Indiana.
David Van Bik was the Lai Bible translator, a Chin biblical scholar, the author of Chin-English and English-Chin dictionaries, an ordained Baptist minister, and a recipient of the honorary Doctor of Divinity from his alma mater Berkeley School of Theology, USA.