110 Cities

Pray that God would tear down all strongholds that hold people captive and blinded to the truth, and these strongholds be replaced with Kingdom opposites.

https://joshuaproject.net/people_groups/18205/BM

Tai Man in Myanmar (Burma) 

Introduction / History

The Burmese Shan are a large group of civilized people who migrated south from China in the twelfth century and established three small states in Myanmar. The Shan language belongs to the southwestern group of tonal languages. The people refer to themselves as the Great Tai.

Myanmar has a long history of coups, wars, and rebellions. Ethnic divisions and political unrest have been common since the first Burman kingdom in the eleventh century. Today, the Shan have their own army who fight against the current Burmese military regime. The Burmese military forcibly maintains control over the country’s various ethnic groups, especially the Shan, who wish to have equal importance in government and commerce. As civil war divides families, many sons have died fighting against the Burmese government or have joined the secessionist Shan State Army.

What Are Their Lives Like?

Agriculture is the driving force in the Shan economy. Rice is the major cash and family crop. Other crops include tea, soybeans, peanuts, coffee, and cotton. People living near larger villages or towns grow vegetables to sell in the market. Shan farmers grow one other crop – it is estimated that as much as fifty percent of the world’s illegal opium is produced in Shan State.

Traditionally, rice is grown in irrigated fields, especially along the Salween River. However, farmers sometimes resort to slash and burn cultivation to grow hill rice. Farmers raise cattle and buffalo, not for meat, but to draw heavy wooden plows since farming is not mechanized. Because many of their sons have lost their lives in the ongoing civil war, farmers are finding it necessary to hire outside labor.

Shan farmers live in villages of ten to five hundred or more households clustered or lined among trees along roads or riverbanks. The Shan have neither clans nor family lines. Marriages are monogamous, based on the couple’s mutual consent. Newlyweds usually live with the bride’s parents for the first two or three years or until they can set up their own home. Gossip and reputation are important social restraints.

Prayer Points

Ask God to strengthen, encourage, and protect Shan Christians.
Ask the Holy Spirit to complete the work of adequate discipleship begun in the hearts of the Burmese Shan.
Pray for the effectiveness of the Jesus film among the Burmese Shan.
Pray that God will raise up prayer teams to break up the soil through worship and intercession.
Ask God to grant wisdom and favor to missions agencies focusing on the Burmese Shan.
Pray for opportunities to train Shan leaders within their country.
Ask God to anoint the Gospel as it goes forth via radio to the Burmese Shan.
Ask the Lord to raise up strong local Christian fellowships among the Burmese Shan.