Lahu

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Scope note
The Lahu are a Tibeto-Burman speaking people numbering approximately 650,000-750,000 individuals distributed across southern China (Yunnan), Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam, with over 70 percent residing in China. Historically active in opium poppy cultivation since the mid-19th century, the Lahu traditionally organized themselves as a lineage-based society with minimal political structure beyond the village level. While the majority practice traditional animist beliefs centered on the supreme being Geusha, spirits, and ancestor worship, Buddhist and Christian minorities exist in some regions.
Lahu
Accepted term: 09-Mar-2026