Hung in Laos


Population
Main Language
Largest Religion
Christian
Evangelical
Progress
Progress Gauge

Introduction / History

According to the 1981 Language Atlas of the Pacific Area, the Hung language is spoken by 500 people living along the Vietnam border in Khamkeut District of Borikhamxai Province, Laos.

The name Pong is the self-name of this group, but they are not the same group or language as the 21,000-strong Pong of Xiangkhoang, so we have used their alternate name Hung to avoid confusion. The Hung language may be the same as, or a closely related dialect to the Tum language in Laos. It is possible the Hung were officially counted as part of the Tum ethnic group (2,510 people) in the 1995 census.

Both Hung and Tum are part of the Viet-Muong branch of Mon-Khmer. The Mon-Khmer language family is a broad classification of languages that range from China to the Nicobar Islands and India. Great numbers of Mon-Khmer speakers are found in China, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, with some in Malaysia.

In Laos, more than half of the ethnic groups in the nation speak Mon-Khmer languages. In the southern arm of the country communication between the various Mon-Khmer speaking tribes is possible, but in the north mutually intelligibility appears more difficult.

Teeth-breaking was practiced by many of the tribes in southern Laos until recently. A missionary reported, "When the children have their second teeth at the age of twelve or fourteen, they put the child down on the ground. Four people hold the child there forcefully. They place stones behind the front teeth, top and bottom, take the hatchet and hack out his teeth to the gums! The child screams with the awful pain; the blood flows and the mouth swells up.... When the barbarous deed is finished, the trembling child rushes off into the forest like a little wounded animal.... From then on the child has little black stumps for front teeth...."

The area of Laos inhabited by the Hung is remote and unevangelized. There are no Christians among this small group, who are animists. They also worship their ancestors on several special occasions throughout the year.


Prayer Points

The whole region inhabited by the Hung is Christ-less. Pray for the Gospel to spread to this part of Laos.
Pray for more information to become available about the Hung people.
There will be Hung people around the throne of God in heaven. Pray they would soon be reached.


Scripture Prayers for the Hung in Laos.


Profile Source:   Peoples of Laos, Asia Harvest  Copyrighted ©   Used with permission  

People Name General Hung
People Name in Country Hung
Alternate Names Cuoi; Hung Tum; Thổ
Population this Country 4,000
Population all Countries 4,900
Total Countries 2
Indigenous Yes
Progress Scale 4
Unreached No
Frontier People Group No
GSEC 0  (per PeopleGroups.org)
Pioneer Workers Needed
PeopleID3 12153
ROP3 Code 103916
Country Laos
Region Asia, Southeast
Continent Asia
10/40 Window Yes
Persecution Rank 21  (Open Doors top 50 rank, 1 = highest persecution ranking)
Location in Country Borikhamxai province, Khamkeut district   Source:  Faces of the Unreached in Laos, 1999
Country Laos
Region Asia, Southeast
Continent Asia
10/40 Window Yes
Persecution Rank 21  (Open Doors top 50 rank, 1 = highest persecution ranking)
Location in Country Borikhamxai province, Khamkeut district.   Source:  Faces of the Unreached in Laos, 1999
Primary Religion: Ethnic Religions
Major Religion Percent
Buddhism
0.00 %
Christianity  (Evangelical 2.50 %)
3.00 %
Ethnic Religions
97.00 %
Hinduism
0.00 %
Islam
0.00 %
Non-Religious
0.00 %
Other / Small
0.00 %
Unknown
0.00 %
Primary Language Hung (4,000 speakers)
Language Code hnu   Ethnologue Listing
Language Written Unknown
Total Languages 1
Primary Language Hung (4,000 speakers)
Language Code hnu   Ethnologue Listing
Total Languages 1
People Groups Speaking Hung

Primary Language:  Hung

Bible Translation Status:  Unspecified

Resource Type Resource Name Source
None reported  
Photo Source Copyrighted © 2024  Peoples of Laos, Asia Harvest  All rights reserved.  Used with permission
Map Source Joshua Project / Global Mapping International  
Profile Source Peoples of Laos, Asia Harvest  Copyrighted ©  Used with permission 
Data Sources Data is compiled from various sources. Learn more.


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