Sedang in Laos


Population
Main Language
Largest Religion
Christian
Evangelical
Progress
Progress Gauge

Introduction / History

The 1995 national census of Laos listed 786 Sedang people, living in two communities in the Sanxai and Phouvong districts of Attapu Province. The Sedang live in the extreme southeast corner of Laos, near the juncture of Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia.

The great majority of Sedang (more than 100,000) live in Vietnam, primarily in Kon Tum Province. In Laos, the Sedang language is related to Halang and Halang Doan, but each of these three groups has a separate ethnic name and lives in a different area.

A communal house is located in the middle of each Sedang village. All social activities revolve around it. On its roof are two sharp objects that resemble large sails or axe-heads. Animal horns are also placed on the corners of the roofs. The communal houses are built entirely with the wood of trees that grow in the area.

In the past, the Sedang fruquently made human sacrifices to demons. A visitor in the 1890s recorded, "When they build a communal house they place a living slave, usually a prisoner of war, into the hole into which the main column will be driven."

Some of the Sedang claim to have a legend of a great flood long ago that destroyed the earth's inhabitants. Only one brother and sister survived. They say that the Creator God caused the flood because He was upset at the increase of wickedness and debauchery among humans.

Catholic mission work among the Sedang in Vietnam dates back to the 1850s. The godly witness of the Catholic workers won many Sedang to Christ. In 1891, it was written of Father Guerlach, "His face, full of refinement and energy, expresses openness and captivates one at first sight. His manners are those of a true soldier of Christ, tempered by a great gentleness.... One may encounter him, on hills and roads, with a rifle in one hand, the Bible in the other, going to any place where there is a soul to be saved.... When he arrives in a village, the faces of the savages light up, children come running and all happily greet him."

Today the Sedang in Laos do not know this Supreme Being. There are some 5,000 Sedang believers in Vietnam, but none among the Sedang in Laos.


Prayer Points

Pray the small number of Sedang Christians in Vietnam would find a way to reach their cousins in Laos.
Ask God to raise up laborers to plant churches among the Sedang.
Pray many Sedang would listen to the Sedang-language Gospel broadcasts aired by FEBC.


Scripture Prayers for the Sedang in Laos.


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

People Name General Sedang
People Name in Country Sedang
Alternate Names Cadong; Hadang; Hotea; Rotea; Tang; Xo Dang; Xơ-đăng
Population this Country 1,000
Population all Countries 128,000
Total Countries 2
Indigenous No
Progress Scale 5
Unreached No
Frontier People Group No
GSEC 1  (per PeopleGroups.org)
Pioneer Workers Needed
People ID 14810
ROP3 Code 108785
ROP25 Code 307328
ROP25 Name Sedang
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 Attapu province, Sanxai and phouvong districts.   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 Attapu province, Sanxai and phouvong districts..   Source:  Faces of the Unreached in Laos, 1999

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Ethnolinguistic map or other map

Primary Religion: Ethnic Religions
Major Religion Percent
Buddhism
0.00 %
Christianity  (Evangelical 15.00 %)
20.00 %
Ethnic Religions
80.00 %
Hinduism
0.00 %
Islam
0.00 %
Non-Religious
0.00 %
Other / Small
0.00 %
Unknown
0.00 %
Primary Language Sedang (1,000 speakers)
Language Code sed   Ethnologue Listing
Language Written Yes   ScriptSource Listing
Total Languages 1
Primary Language Sedang (1,000 speakers)
Language Code sed   Ethnologue Listing
Total Languages 1
People Groups Speaking Sedang

Primary Language:  Sedang

Bible Translation Status  (Years)
Bible-Portions Yes  (1967-1978)
Bible-New Testament No
Bible-Complete No
Possible Print Bibles
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Virtual Storehouse
Resource Type Resource Name Source
Audio Recordings Audio Bible teaching Global Recordings Network
Photo Source Anonymous 
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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