Lahu people
Total population | |
---|---|
About 1,000,000[1] | |
Regions with significant populations | |
China, Myanmar, Thailand | |
Significant Lahu diaspora populations in: | |
China | 720,000[2] |
Myanmar | 150,000[2] |
Thailand | 100,000[3] |
Laos | 19,187[4] |
United States | 10,000[1] |
Vietnam | 12,113 (2019) |
Languages | |
Lahu, Kucong | |
Religion | |
Animism, Buddhism,[5] Christianity | |
Related ethnic groups | |
Akha people, Karen people, Hani people | |
President- Jaha Seechang |
The Lahu people (
.Etymology
The Chinese name "Lahu" 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.
Distribution
The Lahu are one of the
A couple thousand Lahu have resettled in the United States as refugees, in the states of California, Minnesota, North Carolina, Texas, and Utah.[6]
Subgroups
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 as
Bradley (1979) lists the following Lahu ethnic subgroups.
- Black Lahu
- Lahu Na
- Meuneu (Shan, 'north country')
- Meun Pulon
- Shehvi (Hsenwi)
- Bawfa (Shanised)
- Hkahka: (known only to Bradley's Akha informants)
- Panai (known only to Bradley's Akha informants)
- Divergent Lahu Na dialects
- Kaishin: (Chinese 'exchange hearts')
- Hpu: ('white')
- Hu:paw
- Kulao
- Namhpehn (hpeh)
- Lalaw (na)
- Laba
- Huli
- Lahu Nyi ('red')
- Nyi
- Venya ('go to town')
- Kulao: (not the same as Hpu: type Lahu Kulao)
- Shehleh (Red Lahu name)
- Laho Na ('black') / Shehleh
- Laho Namoe
- Laho A:leh
- Yellow Lahu
- 'Like Black Lahu'
- A:ga / A:do'aga (Black Lahu name)
- A:hpube:le: (Yellow Lahu 'bent gourd'; own name)
- Shi: Bankeo:
- Laho Shi
- Banlan (black name)
- Menhke (yellow name)
- Divergent
- Lahu Meh
- Lahu Lawmeh
- Lahu Velon ('big town')
- Unclassified[note 1]
- Kawsung (Kucong?)
- Pawla
- Khapaw
- Cili
- Senling
- Nambawpe
- Si Pyeng ('yellow-Pyeng')
- Si Pü ('yellow - white')
- Hai (Chinese 'black' ?)
- Non-Lahu (some have "become" Lahu)
- Micha (Lisoid group)
- Bana (Akoid group)
Language
The Lahu language is part of the
Religion
The traditional Lahu religion is
The Lahu of Northeastern Thailand had encounters with
Names
Lahu people used to have just a given name, until the Chinese 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 the zodiac. For example, a person born on the Ox day will be named “Zanu” if he is a boy and “Nanu” if she is a girl.[8]
Notes
- ^ Not known to Bradley's informants
References
Citations
- ^ ISBN 9780520916111.
- ^ a b "Lahu". www.ethnic-china.com. Archived from the original on 1 July 2019. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
- ^ a b 'Chiang Mai's Hill Peoples' in: Forbes, Andrew, and Henley, David, Ancient Chiang Mai Volume 3. Chiang Mai, Cognoscenti Books, 2012.
- ^ "Results of Population and Housing Census 2015" (PDF). Lao Statistics Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on 8 March 2021. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
- ^ a b "The Lahu Ethnic Group". China.org.cn. Archived from the original on 23 September 2018. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
- ^ [1] [dead link]
- ^ Forest Recollections, K. Tyavanich, Honolulu 1997, p. 163.
- ^ "namepedia blog - All about names, without the gloves". Blog-en.namepedia.org. 13 March 2015. Archived from the original on 21 May 2016. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
Sources
- OCLC 6303582.
- Lewis, Paul; Lewis, Elaine (1984). Peoples of the Golden Triangle. London, England: Thames and Hudson Ltd. ISBN 0-500-97472-1.
- Matisoff, James (1982). The Grammar of Lahu. Berkeley, California: University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-09467-0.
- Phạm Huy. 1997. Một phần chân dung: dân tộc La Hủ (nhật ký điền dã). Lai Châu: Sở Văn Hóa Thông Tin Lai Châu.