 | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| About 1,000,000[1] | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| China,Myanmar,Thailand | |
| Significant Lahu diaspora populations in: | |
 China | 499,167 (2020 census)[2][3] |
 Myanmar | 150,000[4] |
 Thailand | 100,000[5] |
 Laos | 19,187[6] |
 United States | 10,000[1] |
 Vietnam | 12,113 (2019) |
| Languages | |
| Lahu,Kucong | |
| Religion | |
| Animism,Buddhism,[7]Christianity | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Akha people,Karen people,Hani people | |
TheLahu people (Lahu:Ladhulsi / Kawzhawd;Burmese:လားဟူလူမျိုး;Chinese:拉祜族 Lāhùzú;Vietnamese:La Hủ) are anethnic group native to China, Myanmar, and the rest ofMainland Southeast Asia.
The Chinese name "Lahu" is aphono-semantic matching of the Lahu endonym, and literally means "to drag favour from heaven" (拉, lā, "to drag"; 祜, hù, "blessing, favour"). It replaced the older and more-offensive[clarification needed] "Luohei" (猓黑) as the official Chinese name for the Lahu people.
The Lahu are one of the56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China, where about 720,000 live inYunnan province, mostly inLancang Lahu Autonomous County. InThailand, the Lahu are one of the six main groups categorized ashill tribes.[5] TheTai often refer to them by theexonymMusoe (also spelledMuser;Thai:มูเซอ), meaning 'hunter'. They are one of54 ethnic groups inVietnam, and mostly live in three communes ofMường Tè,Lai Châu Province.[1]
A few Lahu, along with manyHmong andMien and someLao, were recruited by the United StatesCentral Intelligence Agency to help fight against the communistPathet Lao, known as the secret war, during theLaotian Civil War.[citation needed] In fear of retribution when the Pathet Lao took over the Laotian government in 1975, those who had helped the United States fled to neighboring Thailand seeking political asylum.
A couple thousand Lahu have resettled in the United States as refugees, in the states ofCalifornia,Minnesota,North Carolina,Texas, andUtah.[8]
The Lahu divide themselves into a number of subgroups, such as the Lahu Na (Black Lahu), Lahu Nyi (Red Lahu), Lahu Hpu (White Lahu), Lahu Shi (Yellow Lahu) and the Lahu Shehleh. Where a subgroup name refers to a color, it refers to the traditional color of their dress. These groups do not function astribes orclans - there are no kin groups above that of the family. Lahu tracedescentbilaterally, and typically practicematrilocal residence.
Bradley (1979) lists the following Lahu ethnic subgroups.
The Lahu language is part of theLoloish branch of theLolo–Burmese subgroup of theTibeto-Burman family (itself a member of theSino-Tibetan language family). Like most of its relatives, it is a stronglyisolating language withsubject–object–verb word order, and a set ofnumeral classifiers. There are seventones, and consonants cannot close syllables. The language spoken by the Lahu Shi is notably divergent from that spoken by the other groups. In Thailand, Lahu Na often serves as alingua franca among the various hill tribes. Written Lahu uses theLatin alphabet. Among Christian villages, the language has been enriched by loanwords from English, Latin and Greek via Bible translation, plusneologisms in the areas of hygiene, music and education.[1]
The traditional Lahu religion ispolytheistic. Buddhism was introduced in the late 17th century and became widespread. Many Lahu people in China are Buddhists.[7] Christianity became established in Burma in the 19th century and has been spreading since.[citation needed][clarification needed]
The Lahu of Northeastern Thailand had encounters withTheravada Buddhistforest monks (tudong monks) around the years 1930–1940. The leader of such a group of monks,Mun Bhuridatta, spent some time in Lahu territory. These Lahu asked him for a "gatha that would protect them from ghosts and demons."[9]
Lahu people used to have just a given name, until theChinese Government gave them surnames. About 90% of the Lahu people are either named Lee or Zhang, two of the most common Chinese surnames. Lahu given names are made of two syllables: one that shows the gender and one that gives information on the day of birth, based on thezodiac. For example, a person born on theOx day will be named “Zanu” if he is a boy and “Nanu” if she is a girl.[10]
| Sino-Tibetan |
| ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Austroasiatic | |||||||||||
| Austronesian | |||||||||||
| Hmong-Mien | |||||||||||
| Mongolic | |||||||||||
| Kra–Dai | |||||||||||
| Tungusic | |||||||||||
| Turkic | |||||||||||
| Indo-European | |||||||||||
| Others | |||||||||||
| Related | |||||||||||
Underlined: the 56 officially recognised ethnic groups ranked by population in their language families according to2020 census | |||||||||||
| Austroasiatic (Vietic) | |
|---|---|
| Austroasiatic (non-Vietic) | |
| Hmong–Dao | |
| Tai–Kadai | |
| Sino-Tibetan (Chinese) | |
| Sino-Tibetan (Tibeto-Burman) | |
| Malayo-Polynesian | |
| Immigrants and expatriate | |
The 54 officially recognised ethnic groups are ranked by population in their language families according to2019 census
| |
| Lao-Tai | |
|---|---|
| Vietic | |
| Khmeric | |
| Katuic | |
| Bahnaric | |
| Khmu-Palaungic | |
| Hmong–Mien | |
| Tibeto-Burman | |
| Austronesian | |
| Other | |
| General grouping |
|
