Tamla

The Tamla belong to the world of the Katuic peoples, Austroasiatic-speaking communities that have long lived in the mountains of southern Laos and neighboring regions. These highland peoples have tended to keep their language and village ties even while surrounded by larger populations, and this is how Ta'oih has come down to the present day.

Little has been recorded about the specific history of the Tamla, and much of what they remember lives in the memory of the elders and in oral tradition. Lao, the national language, has become the bridge to the rest of the country, which has opened doors of communication and, at the same time, places the mother tongue before new challenges among the younger generation.

The Tamla live in small villages in the highlands of Salavan, and life revolves around the land. Like other mountain peoples of the region, they support themselves mainly through agriculture, growing rice and other staple foods in open fields on the slopes, following the seasons.

Life is communal and family-centered. The village is where the language is learned, where ancestors are honored and where each person knows which family they belong to. Among the Tamla, Ta’oih is the language of the home and of the closest bonds, while Lao is used for contact with outsiders. Many face poverty and have little access to schools, health care and clean water, yet they keep the dignity of a people who know who they are.

The people’s traditional faith is that of the ethnic religions, tied to the world of spirits. Among Ta’oih-speaking peoples and their neighbors, it is common to believe that spirits are present in the forest, the waters, the home and the village, and that a good relationship with them must be kept through offerings and rituals, especially in times of illness, planting and important decisions.

This spirituality is interwoven with community life: taking part in the rites is also a way of belonging to the family and the village. There may be some Buddhist influence from neighbors, but practically the whole people follow the ethnic religions, and there are almost no Christians among them. Behind the rituals lies a sincere longing for protection and for peace with the unseen, and it is in this longing that the good news of Jesus can find a home.

There are portions of Scripture in the Ta’oih language, published in 2010, but the New Testament and the complete Bible are not yet available. There is also Bible teaching material in audio, a valuable resource for communities where reading is not part of everyone’s life. May the Word of God reach the ears of the Tamla in the language the heart understands, and not only in Lao, and may this work of translation and recording move forward with patience and faithfulness.

For the Tamla, following the spirit rites is part of belonging to the family and the village, and so a new faith can look like a turning away from the ancestors and the community. The isolation of the mountains and the small number of people mean that many have still not heard a clear message of the gospel in their own language.

The lack of complete Scriptures in Ta’oih and the near absence of followers of Jesus among them mean that there is almost no close witness, from neighbor to neighbor, who can explain the faith in a natural and trustworthy way.

Living far from urban centers, the villages face real hardships, such as access to clean water, health care and schools, as well as ways to improve their livelihood. These needs call for respectful attention that values the knowledge and dignity of the people.

There is also a greater need: to hear the good news of Jesus in a language the heart understands. What is lacking are people who will walk alongside them, learn their language and live out the gospel in a way that allows a community of faith to be born from within the people themselves.