Thailand Report January 2014
Lawa people summary: The Lawa people are the indigenous people of Thailand. Over the centuries they have been
colonised by other Asian conquests that eventually disposed them to now exist in the far northern regions of
Thailand, eastern and western provinces. The western Lawa have largely been evangelised as a consequence have
lost their language, culture and a sense of identity.
We went among the eastern Lawa, approximate population 8,900 who are predominantly animistic and Buddhist
respectively. We stayed with a family of four all relatively new Christians and met one other believer from the same
village...so out of the whole population of eastern Lawa there are only five followers of Jesus.
They were really interested in Māori tikanga as we acknowledged them and their kawa. They told us of their loss of
authenticity to their original language, customs and values through imposition of the dominant Thai society. So they
speak a mix of Lawa and northern Thai language which is taught in their village schools plus Buddhism as religious
education and practice. At adolescent age or older they’re sent into the cities to pursue further education or
employment but become more immersed in Thai culture. So in general they’re losing the memory of who they are
because the loss of their ancestral stories.
Because the village follow an animistic belief they still have buffalo sacrifices to appease the god’s or spirits and yet
will say they are Buddhist at the same time. There are so many Buddhist temples around, also traditional sacrificial
altars scattered through the villages, bit of an oxymoron. This village has been introduced to a relatively new brand
of Buddhism. A sect from Bangkok whose monks sort of preach a philosophy of a materialistic form of Buddhism,
another oxymoron, which although, is attractive to the Lawa. But unfortunately they become indebted to the monks
and end up having to sell or gift their land to the monks, still having to work the land for the monks.
As farmers the Lawa raise buffalo, primarily for personal use or to sell for these ceremonial sacrifices only, and use
modern machinery to cultivate their rice paddies and other crops. They are industrious hard working people, during
the day you find the old folks at home looking after the babies...if you’re not at school...you‘re out in the fields.
They are very hospitable giving of their very best to make you more comfortable at considerable expense to
themselves. We were blessed by their aroha and generosity and felt to give them a considerable koha aroha before
we left.
Team members: Peter Mihaere, Ray Totorewa, Mark Halt, Denise and I.
What we learnt:
• The Lawa are a dignified people.
• They are family oriented.
• They value relationships.
• Their village society has a chieftain structure.
• Elders are highly respected.
• They love to communicate metaphorically.
• They have a similar whakaro with traditional ta moko to Māori; although rarely seen on men or women
today we did meet a ninety year old kaumatua with traditional Lawa ta moko...so Ray was our real life poster
model, they just wanted a photo with him.
• They are a deeply spiritual people.
• They want an authentic relationship with God as Lawa, in how God sees them.
• They desperately want to critique themselves ie. Culture, tradition, customs and values in light of scripture.
• They want the God of the Bible to restore their memory and heal their hearts.
• They want the scriptures in their own language.
• They want a renaissance of their language and stories.
• With good translators communication can be easy.
• The environment and conditions are good for short term teams.
Team debrief before leaving Chiang Mai:
• We felt the purpose for the trip was achieved
o To respond to the invitation by the eastern Lawa.
o To establish a relationship with the eastern Lawa.
o To leave a tangible taonga to mark our whakawhanaungatanga – Ray crafted two pouwhenua (he
made at home) which he presented to the Lawa at our poroporoaki. The first to symbolically
represent the connection between heaven and earth, the second to represent Io matua kore and His
relationship with Lawa.
• We felt privileged as Māori to share our journey, as a result felt accepted by the Lawa.
• We were thankful for the kiwi’s, Greg and Rosemary Block (from Franklin Bpt) who live among the Lawa
and work for Wycliffe Bible translators and Mark Halt for translating for us.
• We felt God wants us to continue the relationship as BMM with the Lawa
• We felt the next step over one to two years between BMM and NZBMS is to sponsor three or four Lawa to
come out to Aotearoa and have them among whanau Māori particularly – kohanga reo, kura-kaupapa and
wananga which might encourage their aspiration to revitalise their reo and culture etc.
• We felt an important point is God’s intention to move through the Lawa from a restorative process not an
assimilation process.
• Draft a MOU between BMM and NZBMS with an intention to continue a sustainable relationship towards
the Lawa people.
From left: Ray with father & son, whanau we stayed with (after presenting the pouwhenua); Denise with the son’s
wife & his mum (one whanau only eastern Lawa followers of Jesus); at western Lawa bible college with students
and lecturer.
Mā te Atua e manāki, e atawhai
David
23/01/2014