Population and Location

According to 1997 population figures published by the Tribal Research Institute of Chiang Mai, there are 30,940 Lisu living in 151 villages in North Thailand. They live to the north and west of Chiang Mai. The Lisu originated from China, at the headwaters of the Salween River, and started to settle in Thailand around 1920.

Language

Linguistically, the Lisu belong to the Lolo branch of the Tibeto-Burman family.

There are two scripts in use and the Chinese Department of Minorities publishes literature in both. The oldest and most widely used one is the Fraser script developed about 1920 by J.O. Fraser of the China Inland Mission and by the Karen evangelist Ba Taw. Fraser`s published grammar of 1922 details the script which was finalized in the American Baptist compound in Bhamo, Burma. It could be described as an extended Roman alphabet of 50 symbols. The second script was developed by the Chinese government and is based on pinyin.

Livelihood

The Lisu grow rice and vegetables for subsistence and opium for sale. Rice is grown at lower altitudes and the opium poppy at over 5,000 feet. Villages are located so that the inhabitants can maintain some independence from the Thai authorities. At the same time, these villages are relatively close to the market so that the Lisu can trade. Most Lisu live close to water because they believe water has a special power.

Religion

Within each Lisu house is an ancestral altar. And in each village, there is a "village guardian spirit shrine" which is located above the village, in a roofed pavilion which women are forbidden to enter. The Lisu also worship Wu Sa (the creator spirit), and a multitude of spirits of the forest, ancestors, trees, the sun, moon and everyday objects. Coupled with this, the Lisu fear possession by weretigers (phi pheu) and vampires (phu seu).

Christianity

The first Lisu converts recorded were in Burma around 1908 through the work among the Kachin by the American Baptist Mission. Christianity was introduced to the Lisu living in southwest China by CIM/OMF missionaries such as J.O. Fraser and John and Isobel Kuhn in the early 20th century. In 1950, when missionaries were forced to leave China and the vibrant, growing Lisu churches, they went to Thailand eager to reach the Lisu people there. But they found a very different response. Dialect differences were great, but spiritual differences were greater. Thailand’s Lisu showed little interest in God’s Word. Pioneering work among the Lisu continued for many years before the Lisu in Elephant Village showed interest. Then, three families decided to believe and they moved to Huay Khrai (Rice Fields). At Easter 1970 they became the first Thailand Lisu to be baptized.

At present, OMF is no longer directly involved in church planting or church work among the Lisu in Thailand. It is however, a major supplier of Lisu Christian literature including Bibles, Sunday School material, commentaries and hymn books to the Lisu of Thailand and Myanmar. Translation of the entire Bible into Lisu was completed in 1968.