Triew

The history of the Triew is that of the highland peoples of southern Laos, a mountainous region where the Katuic peoples have lived for a long time. Scholars group them among the Katuic peoples, whose languages share common roots and who extend across areas of Laos and central Vietnam.

Because they live in rugged terrain, they are little known to outsiders. Detailed records of their journey are scarce, and much of what is known probably lives in the oral memory of the villages themselves, passed down from generation to generation. Listening to and honoring that memory is part of understanding who the Triew are today.

Triew life revolves around farming and gathering forest products. The families’ calendar follows the rhythm of the rains, planting and harvest, and the work in the fields is usually shared among relatives and neighbors.

They live in mountain villages in Dak Cheung District, where the land and the forest provide food and everyday materials. It is a simple life, shaped by the seasons and by a knowledge of nature passed from parents to children.

Family life is communal, and kinship ties sustain everyday decisions. In small communities like this one, everyone is known and has a place, and the mother tongue is the thread that holds the generations together.

The traditional faith of the Triew belongs to what is called ethnic religion, animist in nature. Among the Katuic peoples, it is generally believed that the world is inhabited by spirits tied to the forest, the earth, the waters and the home, and that ancestors remain close and influence the lives of the living. For this reason, illness, harvests and important events are usually interpreted in light of one’s relationship with this spiritual world.

Ceremonies and offerings seek to maintain harmony with the spirits and to protect the family and the community. For the people, these practices are not merely religion: they are part of what it means to be Triew and of the bond with the ancestors, and leaving them behind can be seen as turning away from one’s own people.

The Triew speak Western Katu, a language that already has the New Testament, although the complete Bible has not yet been translated. This means there is a foundation for the Word to reach the heart of the people in the language they speak at home. Even so, there is almost no contact with the teachings of Christ, and the road between the printed text and the mountain villages is still long. Hearing Scripture in the language of the heart makes all the difference.

The main obstacle is that the faith of the people is intertwined with community life and with the memory of the ancestors, so that following another spiritual path can be understood as breaking with the family. Added to this are the isolation of the mountain villages, the small size of the people, which makes them little visible, the distance from any Christian community and the near absence of witness in the Triew language.

The Triew need, above all, an opportunity to hear the gospel clearly and in the language they speak at home. There is almost no contact with the teachings of Christ, and few Christians know the people or their language.

The Scriptures that already exist in Western Katu need to be brought within reach of the villages, in formats that can be read or heard. As in many mountain communities, access to health care, clean water and education also matters, expressing God’s care for families. May this people be seen, heard and loved with respect for their culture.