Lisu
Encyclopedia
The Lisu people are a Tibeto-Burman
ethnic group
who inhabit the mountainous regions of Burma (Myanmar), Southwest China
, Thailand
, and the India
n state of Arunachal Pradesh
.
About 730,000 live in Lijiang, Baoshan, Nujiang
, Diqing and Dehong
prefectures in Yunnan Province, China. The Lisu form one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China
. In Burma, the Lisu are known as one of the seven Kachin
minority groups and an estimated population of 350,000 Lisu live in Kachin and Shan State
in Burma. Approximately 55,000 live in Thailand
, where they are one of the six main hill tribes. They mainly inhabit the remote country areas. Their culture has traits shared with the Ayi
culture.
. Research done by Lisu scholars indicates that they moved to northwestern Yunnan
. They inhabited a region across Baoshan
and the Tengchong plain for thousands of years. The Lisu, Lahu
, Akha and Kachin languages are Tibetan–Burman languages, distantly related to Burmese and Tibetan. After the Han Chinese
Ming Dynasty
, around 1140-1644 A.D. the eastern and Southern Lisu language and culture were greatly influenced by Han culture of China. Taiping village in Yinjiang, Yunnan, China, was first established by Lu Shi Lisu people about 1000 years ago. In the mid-19th century, Lisu peoples in Yinjiang began moving into Momeik
, Burma, a population of Southern Lisu moved into Mogok, north-eastern Burma, and then in the late 19th century, moved into northern Thailand.
The Lisu of India:
Lisu is one of the minority tribes of Arunachal Pradesh of India. They live mainly in vijoynagar Circle. Lisus are found in Miao, Kharsang etc. of Changlang District.
The Lisu people have never really migrated into India. The Lisus traditionally lived in the Yunan Province of China and Northern Myanmar. Those who live in China side of the mountain called themselves as NOMIPHA (Men of NOMI). And those who live in Myanmar are called CHOMIPHA (MEN OR People of CHOMI)
And according to Lisu traditional understanding, this CHOMI extends from China-Myanmar border to MOLOSHIDILO (Gandigram)
INDIAN GOVT DISCOVERS THE LISUS:
It was on 7th-May-1961 (Sunday), the 7th Assam Rifles expedition team led by Late Major Sumer Singh entered the Moloshidi valley and reached the largest village in the valley, Shidi (now called Gandhigram). They were accorded warm reception by the villagers and further told by the villagers that they were the first ever to have visited in the Lisu land, Moloshidi valley. The Assam Rifles team assured the villagers that from now on this virgin land will be under India and the people will be protected from any enemy aggression. Till then there was no International Boundary line in the Moloshidi valley. In 1972 only Demarcation of International Boundary with Burma was done and for which the guides were the local Lisus who had full knowledge about nook and corner of the valley as they had been living in the valley since time immemorial. During Demarcation, cement pillars were erected at strategic high rise locations guided by the local Lisus and in the process the Moloshidi valley fell in Indian side.
The LISUS WHO CAME TO INDIA FROM MYANMAR-LEDO ROAD.
Some groups of Lisus took the then "Ledo" road. Some of them worked as coal miners under Britishers. (One certificate originally belonged to one Aphu Lisu is a British Coal Miner's certificate as old as 1918 preserved by the Lisus)This certificate bears the sign of the then governor who administrated from Lakhimpur, Assam. Most of the Lisus who thus lived in Assam have gone back to Myanmar. However, Some are still found in Kharangkhu area of Assam, Kharsang Circle of Arunachal Pradesh. While most have lost their mother tongue, some have preserved the language and the culture almost intact.
(to be continued....)
After the Ming Dynasty, most Lisu tribe people had become a people that lived in villages high in the mountains or in mountain valleys. However, those who still lived in the Paoshan plains, standing on the side of the Qing Dynasty
, fought against the kingdom of Ming. The Lisu knife ladder climbing festival was first held as a memorial event of victory over Ming in 1644 A.D. The Lisu people invented their own traditional dance so called "che-ngoh-che" along with the Lisu guitar
which has no bars on the fretboard. They invented another musical instrument called fulu jewlew as well. It is a kind of flute
that has about six or seven small bamboo
tubes tied up together to a dried-hollow-gourd
.
Songs and dances are different from each other according to the occasions. They have different songs and dances for weddings, homecoming hunters, harvest time and so on, separately.
Lisu villages are usually built close to water to provide easy access for washing and drinking. Their homes are usually built on the ground and have dirt floors and bamboo walls, although an increasing number of the more affluent Lisu are now building houses from wood or even concrete.
Lisu subsistence was based on paddy fields, mountain rice, fruit and vegetables. However, they have typically lived in ecologically fragile regions that do not easily support subsistence. They also faced constant upheaval from both physical and social disasters (earthquakes and landslides; wars and governments). Therefore, they have typically been dependent on trade for survival. This included work as porters and caravan guards. With the introduction of the opium
poppy as a cash crop in the early 19th century, many Lisu populations were able to achieve economic stability. This lasted for over 100 years, but opium production has all but disappeared in Thailand and China due to interdiction of production. Very few Lisu ever used opium, or its more common derivative heroin, except for medicinal use by the elders to alleviate the pain of arthritis
.
The Lisu practiced swidden (slash and burn) horticulture. In conditions of low population density where land can be fallowed for many years, swiddening is an environmentally sustainable form of horticulture
. Despite decades of swiddening by hill tribes such as the Lisu, northern Thailand had a higher proportion of intact forest than any other part of Thailand. However, with road building by the state, logging (some legal but mostly illegal) by Thai companies, enclosure of land in national parks, and influx of immigrants from the lowlands, swidden fields can not be fallowed, can not re-grow, and swiddening results in large swathes of deforested mountainsides. Under these conditions, Lisu and other swiddeners have been forced to turn to new methods of agriculture to sustain themselves.
Perhaps the best-known subgroup of the Lisu is the Flowery Lisu in Thailand, due to hill tribe tourism. Lisu women are remarked for their brightly colored dress. They wear a multi-colored knee-length tunics of red, blue or green with a wide black belt and blue or black pants. Sleeve shoulders and cuffs are decorated with a dense applique of narrow horizontal bands of blue, red and yellow. Men wear baggy pants, usually in bright colors but normally wear a more western type of shirt or top.
and is celebrated with music, feasting and drinking, as are weddings; people wear large amounts of silver jewelry and wear their best clothes at these times as a means of displaying their success in the previous agricultural year. In each traditional village there is a sacred grove
at the top of the village, where the sky spirit or, in Thailand, the Old Grandfather Spirit, are propitiated with offerings; each house has an ancestor altar
at the back of the house. See later sections of this article for Christianity among the Lisu.
. Missionaries such as James O. Fraser
, Allyn Cooke and Isobel Kuhn and her husband, John, of the China Inland Mission
(now OMF International
), were active with the Lisu of Yunnan. The Chinese government's Religious Affairs Bureau has proposed considering Christianity as the official religion of the Lisu. According to OMF International estimates, as of 2008, there are now at least 300,000 Christian Lisu in Yunnan, and 150,000 in Burma (between 40-50% of the Lisu population of each country). The Lisu of Thailand have remained largely unchanged by Christian influences.
or Ngwi branch of the Sino-Tibetan family.
There are two scripts in use and the Chinese Department of Minorities publishes literature in both. The oldest and most widely used one is the Fraser alphabet
developed about 1920 by James O. Fraser
and the ethnic Karen
evangelist Ba Taw. The second script was developed by the Chinese government and is based on pinyin
.
Fraser's script for the Lisu language was used to prepare the first published works in Lisu which were a catechism
, portions of Scripture
, and eventually, with much help from his colleagues, a complete New Testament
in 1936. In 1992, the Chinese government officially recognized the Fraser alphabet as the official script of the Lisu language.
Only a small portion of Lisu are actually able to read or write the script, with most learning to read and write the local language (Chinese, Thai, Burmese) through primary education.
Tibeto-Burman languages
The Tibeto-Burman languages are the non-Chinese members of the Sino-Tibetan language family, over 400 of which are spoken thoughout the highlands of southeast Asia, as well as lowland areas in Burma ....
ethnic group
Ethnic group
An ethnic group is a group of people whose members identify with each other, through a common heritage, often consisting of a common language, a common culture and/or an ideology that stresses common ancestry or endogamy...
who inhabit the mountainous regions of Burma (Myanmar), Southwest China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, and the India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n state of Arunachal Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh is a state of India, located in the far northeast. It borders the states of Assam and Nagaland to the south, and shares international borders with Burma in the east, Bhutan in the west, and the People's Republic of China in the north. The majority of the territory is claimed by...
.
About 730,000 live in Lijiang, Baoshan, Nujiang
Nujiang Lisu Autonomous Prefecture
Nujiang Lisu Autonomous Prefecture is an autonomous prefecture of Yunnan Province, southwestern China.-Name:It is named after the Nujiang river and the Lisu ethnic group.-Administration:...
, Diqing and Dehong
Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture
The Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture is located in Yunnan province, China.- Geography :...
prefectures in Yunnan Province, China. The Lisu form one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
. In Burma, the Lisu are known as one of the seven Kachin
Kachin State
Kachin State , is the northernmost state of Burma. It is bordered by China to the north and east; Shan State to the south; and Sagaing Division and India to the west. It lies between north latitude 23° 27' and 28° 25' longitude 96° 0' and 98° 44'. The area of Kachin State is . The capital of the...
minority groups and an estimated population of 350,000 Lisu live in Kachin and Shan State
Shan State
Shan State is a state of Burma . Shan State borders China to the north, Laos to the east, and Thailand to the south, and five administrative divisions of Burma in the west. Largest of the 14 administrative divisions by land area, Shan State covers 155,800 km², almost a quarter of the total...
in Burma. Approximately 55,000 live in Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, where they are one of the six main hill tribes. They mainly inhabit the remote country areas. Their culture has traits shared with the Ayi
Ayi people
The Ayi people are an ethnic group in the People's Republic of China. Their culture has traits shared with the Lisu culture. The Ayi have a population of more than 2,000 persons. They speak the Tibeto-Burman language Ayi. Many of them are Christian....
culture.
History
Lisu history is passed from one generation to the next in the form of songs. Today, this song is so long that it can take a whole night to sing.Origins
The Lisu are believed to originate from eastern TibetTibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
. Research done by Lisu scholars indicates that they moved to northwestern Yunnan
Yunnan
Yunnan is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the far southwest of the country spanning approximately and with a population of 45.7 million . The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders Burma, Laos, and Vietnam.Yunnan is situated in a mountainous area, with...
. They inhabited a region across Baoshan
Baoshan
Baoshan is a prefecture-level city in western Yunnan province, China.-Administrative divisions:The city-prefecture of Baoshan has jurisdiction over five subdivisions - a district and four counties:-Geography:...
and the Tengchong plain for thousands of years. The Lisu, Lahu
Lahu people
The Lahu are an ethnic group of Southeast Asia and China.They are one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China, where about 450,000 live in Yunnan province. An estimated 150,000 live in Burma. In Thailand, Lahu are one of the six main hill tribes; their...
, Akha and Kachin languages are Tibetan–Burman languages, distantly related to Burmese and Tibetan. After the Han Chinese
Han Chinese
Han Chinese are an ethnic group native to China and are the largest single ethnic group in the world.Han Chinese constitute about 92% of the population of the People's Republic of China , 98% of the population of the Republic of China , 78% of the population of Singapore, and about 20% of the...
Ming Dynasty
Ming Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...
, around 1140-1644 A.D. the eastern and Southern Lisu language and culture were greatly influenced by Han culture of China. Taiping village in Yinjiang, Yunnan, China, was first established by Lu Shi Lisu people about 1000 years ago. In the mid-19th century, Lisu peoples in Yinjiang began moving into Momeik
Momeik
Momeik, known as Know as Mong Mit in Shan, is a town situated on the Shweli River in northern Shan State of Myanmar .-Transport:...
, Burma, a population of Southern Lisu moved into Mogok, north-eastern Burma, and then in the late 19th century, moved into northern Thailand.
The Lisu of India:
Lisu is one of the minority tribes of Arunachal Pradesh of India. They live mainly in vijoynagar Circle. Lisus are found in Miao, Kharsang etc. of Changlang District.
The Lisu people have never really migrated into India. The Lisus traditionally lived in the Yunan Province of China and Northern Myanmar. Those who live in China side of the mountain called themselves as NOMIPHA (Men of NOMI). And those who live in Myanmar are called CHOMIPHA (MEN OR People of CHOMI)
And according to Lisu traditional understanding, this CHOMI extends from China-Myanmar border to MOLOSHIDILO (Gandigram)
INDIAN GOVT DISCOVERS THE LISUS:
It was on 7th-May-1961 (Sunday), the 7th Assam Rifles expedition team led by Late Major Sumer Singh entered the Moloshidi valley and reached the largest village in the valley, Shidi (now called Gandhigram). They were accorded warm reception by the villagers and further told by the villagers that they were the first ever to have visited in the Lisu land, Moloshidi valley. The Assam Rifles team assured the villagers that from now on this virgin land will be under India and the people will be protected from any enemy aggression. Till then there was no International Boundary line in the Moloshidi valley. In 1972 only Demarcation of International Boundary with Burma was done and for which the guides were the local Lisus who had full knowledge about nook and corner of the valley as they had been living in the valley since time immemorial. During Demarcation, cement pillars were erected at strategic high rise locations guided by the local Lisus and in the process the Moloshidi valley fell in Indian side.
The LISUS WHO CAME TO INDIA FROM MYANMAR-LEDO ROAD.
Some groups of Lisus took the then "Ledo" road. Some of them worked as coal miners under Britishers. (One certificate originally belonged to one Aphu Lisu is a British Coal Miner's certificate as old as 1918 preserved by the Lisus)This certificate bears the sign of the then governor who administrated from Lakhimpur, Assam. Most of the Lisus who thus lived in Assam have gone back to Myanmar. However, Some are still found in Kharangkhu area of Assam, Kharsang Circle of Arunachal Pradesh. While most have lost their mother tongue, some have preserved the language and the culture almost intact.
(to be continued....)
Culture
The Lisu tribe consists of more than 58 different clans. Each family clan has its own name or surname. The biggest family clans well known among the tribe clans are Laemae pha (Shue or The Grass), Bya pha (The Bee), Thorne pha, Ngwa Pha (Fish), Naw pha (Thou or Bean), Seu pha ( the Woods), Khaw pha. Most of the family names came from their own work as hunters in the primitive time. However, later, they adopted many Chinese family names.After the Ming Dynasty, most Lisu tribe people had become a people that lived in villages high in the mountains or in mountain valleys. However, those who still lived in the Paoshan plains, standing on the side of the Qing Dynasty
Qing Dynasty
The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....
, fought against the kingdom of Ming. The Lisu knife ladder climbing festival was first held as a memorial event of victory over Ming in 1644 A.D. The Lisu people invented their own traditional dance so called "che-ngoh-che" along with the Lisu guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
which has no bars on the fretboard. They invented another musical instrument called fulu jewlew as well. It is a kind of flute
Flute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
that has about six or seven small bamboo
Bamboo
Bamboo is a group of perennial evergreens in the true grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe Bambuseae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family....
tubes tied up together to a dried-hollow-gourd
Gourd
A gourd is a plant of the family Cucurbitaceae. Gourd is occasionally used to describe crops like cucumbers, squash, luffas, and melons. The term 'gourd' however, can more specifically, refer to the plants of the two Cucurbitaceae genera Lagenaria and Cucurbita or also to their hollow dried out shell...
.
Songs and dances are different from each other according to the occasions. They have different songs and dances for weddings, homecoming hunters, harvest time and so on, separately.
Lisu villages are usually built close to water to provide easy access for washing and drinking. Their homes are usually built on the ground and have dirt floors and bamboo walls, although an increasing number of the more affluent Lisu are now building houses from wood or even concrete.
Lisu subsistence was based on paddy fields, mountain rice, fruit and vegetables. However, they have typically lived in ecologically fragile regions that do not easily support subsistence. They also faced constant upheaval from both physical and social disasters (earthquakes and landslides; wars and governments). Therefore, they have typically been dependent on trade for survival. This included work as porters and caravan guards. With the introduction of the opium
Opium
Opium is the dried latex obtained from the opium poppy . Opium contains up to 12% morphine, an alkaloid, which is frequently processed chemically to produce heroin for the illegal drug trade. The latex also includes codeine and non-narcotic alkaloids such as papaverine, thebaine and noscapine...
poppy as a cash crop in the early 19th century, many Lisu populations were able to achieve economic stability. This lasted for over 100 years, but opium production has all but disappeared in Thailand and China due to interdiction of production. Very few Lisu ever used opium, or its more common derivative heroin, except for medicinal use by the elders to alleviate the pain of arthritis
Arthritis
Arthritis is a form of joint disorder that involves inflammation of one or more joints....
.
The Lisu practiced swidden (slash and burn) horticulture. In conditions of low population density where land can be fallowed for many years, swiddening is an environmentally sustainable form of horticulture
Horticulture
Horticulture is the industry and science of plant cultivation including the process of preparing soil for the planting of seeds, tubers, or cuttings. Horticulturists work and conduct research in the disciplines of plant propagation and cultivation, crop production, plant breeding and genetic...
. Despite decades of swiddening by hill tribes such as the Lisu, northern Thailand had a higher proportion of intact forest than any other part of Thailand. However, with road building by the state, logging (some legal but mostly illegal) by Thai companies, enclosure of land in national parks, and influx of immigrants from the lowlands, swidden fields can not be fallowed, can not re-grow, and swiddening results in large swathes of deforested mountainsides. Under these conditions, Lisu and other swiddeners have been forced to turn to new methods of agriculture to sustain themselves.
Animism, shamanism, ancestor worship
Lisu practice a religion that is part animistic, part ancestor worship, but is mixed within complex local systems of place-based religion. Most important rituals are performed by shamans. The main Lisu Festival corresponds to the Chinese New YearChinese New Year
Chinese New Year – often called Chinese Lunar New Year although it actually is lunisolar – is the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays. It is an all East and South-East-Asia celebration...
and is celebrated with music, feasting and drinking, as are weddings; people wear large amounts of silver jewelry and wear their best clothes at these times as a means of displaying their success in the previous agricultural year. In each traditional village there is a sacred grove
Sacred grove
A sacred grove is a grove of trees of special religious importance to a particular culture. Sacred groves were most prominent in the Ancient Near East and prehistoric Europe, but feature in various cultures throughout the world...
at the top of the village, where the sky spirit or, in Thailand, the Old Grandfather Spirit, are propitiated with offerings; each house has an ancestor altar
Altar
An altar is any structure upon which offerings such as sacrifices are made for religious purposes. Altars are usually found at shrines, and they can be located in temples, churches and other places of worship...
at the back of the house. See later sections of this article for Christianity among the Lisu.
Christianity
Beginning in the 20th century, some Lisu people in China and Burma converted to ChristianityChristianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
. Missionaries such as James O. Fraser
James O. Fraser
James Outram Fraser was a British Protestant Christian missionary to China with the China Inland Mission. He pioneered work among the Lisu people of Southwestern China in the early part of the 20th century.- First years in Yunnan:...
, Allyn Cooke and Isobel Kuhn and her husband, John, of the China Inland Mission
China Inland Mission
OMF International is an interdenominational Protestant Christian missionary society, founded in Britain by Hudson Taylor on 25 June 1865.-Overview:...
(now OMF International
OMF International
OMF International is an interdenominational Protestant Christian missionary society, founded in Britain by Hudson Taylor on 25 June 1865.-Overview:...
), were active with the Lisu of Yunnan. The Chinese government's Religious Affairs Bureau has proposed considering Christianity as the official religion of the Lisu. According to OMF International estimates, as of 2008, there are now at least 300,000 Christian Lisu in Yunnan, and 150,000 in Burma (between 40-50% of the Lisu population of each country). The Lisu of Thailand have remained largely unchanged by Christian influences.
Language
Linguistically, the Lisu belong to the YiYi language
Nuosu , also known as Northern Yi, Liangshan Yi, and Sichuan Yi, is the prestige language of the Yi people; it has been chosen by the Chinese government as the standard Yi language and, as such, is the only one taught in school, both in its oral and written form...
or Ngwi branch of the Sino-Tibetan family.
There are two scripts in use and the Chinese Department of Minorities publishes literature in both. The oldest and most widely used one is the Fraser alphabet
Fraser alphabet
The Fraser alphabet or Old Lisu Alphabet is an artificial script invented around 1915 by Sara Ba Thaw, a Karen preacher from Myanmar, and improved by the missionary James O. Fraser, to write the Lisu language. It is a single-case alphabet....
developed about 1920 by James O. Fraser
James O. Fraser
James Outram Fraser was a British Protestant Christian missionary to China with the China Inland Mission. He pioneered work among the Lisu people of Southwestern China in the early part of the 20th century.- First years in Yunnan:...
and the ethnic Karen
Karen people
The Karen or Kayin people , are a Sino-Tibetan language speaking ethnic group which resides primarily in southern and southeastern Burma . The Karen make up approximately 7 percent of the total Burmese population of approximately 50 million people...
evangelist Ba Taw. The second script was developed by the Chinese government and is based on pinyin
Pinyin
Pinyin is the official system to transcribe Chinese characters into the Roman alphabet in China, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. It is also often used to teach Mandarin Chinese and spell Chinese names in foreign publications and used as an input method to enter Chinese characters into...
.
Fraser's script for the Lisu language was used to prepare the first published works in Lisu which were a catechism
Catechism
A catechism , i.e. to indoctrinate) is a summary or exposition of doctrine, traditionally used in Christian religious teaching from New Testament times to the present...
, portions of Scripture
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
, and eventually, with much help from his colleagues, a complete New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
in 1936. In 1992, the Chinese government officially recognized the Fraser alphabet as the official script of the Lisu language.
Only a small portion of Lisu are actually able to read or write the script, with most learning to read and write the local language (Chinese, Thai, Burmese) through primary education.
Further reading
- Tribes of the northern Thailand frontier, Yale Southeast Studies Monographs, Volume 51, New Haven, Hanks, Jane R. and Lucien M. Hanks, 2001.
- Emerging Sexual Inequality Among the Lisu of Northern Thailand: The Waning of Elephant and Dog Repute, Hutheesing, Otome Klein, E.J. Brill, 1990
- The economy of a Lisu village, E. Paul Durrenberger, American Ethnologist 32: 633-644, 1976
- Lisu Religion, E. Paul Durrenberger, Northern Illinois University Southeast Asia Publications No. 12, 1989.
- Behind The Ranges: Fraser of Lisuland S.W. China by Mrs. Howard Taylor (Mary Geraldine GuinnessMary Geraldine GuinnessMary Geraldine Guinness a.k.a. Mrs. Howard Taylor 金樂婷, was a British Protestant Christian missionary to China, and author of many missionary biographies regarding the history of the China Inland Mission Mary Geraldine Guinness a.k.a. Mrs. Howard Taylor 金樂婷(25 December 1865 – 6 June 1949), was...
) - Mountain Rain by Eileen Fraser Crossman
- A Memoir of J. O. Fraser by Mrs. J. O. Fraser
- James Fraser and the King of the Lisu by Phyllis Thompson
- The Prayer of Faith by James O. FraserJames O. FraserJames Outram Fraser was a British Protestant Christian missionary to China with the China Inland Mission. He pioneered work among the Lisu people of Southwestern China in the early part of the 20th century.- First years in Yunnan:...
& Mary Eleanor Allbutt - In the Arena, Kuhn, Isobel OMF Books (1995)
- Stones of Fire, Kuhn, Isobel Shaw Books (June 1994)
- Ascent to the Tribes: Pioneering in North Thailand, Kuhn, Isobel OMF Books (2000)
- Precious Things of the Lasting Hills, Kuhn, Isobel OMF Books (1977)
- Second Mile People, Kuhn, Isobel Shaw Books (December 1999)
- Nests Above the Abyss, Kuhn, Isobel Moody Press (1964)
- The Dogs May Bark, but the Caravan Moves On, Morse, Gertrude College Press, (1998)
- Transformations of Lisu social structure under opium control and watershed conservation in northern Thailand, Gillogly, Kathleen A. PhD thesis, Anthropology, University of Michigan. 2006.
- Fish Four and the Lisu New Testament, Leila R. Cooke (China Inland Mission, 1948)
- Honey Two of Lisu-land, Leila R. Cooke (China Inland Mission, 1933)
- Handbook of the Lisu Language, James O. Fraser (1922)
- Political Systems of Highland Burma: A Study of Kachin Social Structure, E. R. Leach, (London School of Economics and Political Science, 1954)
- Peoples of the Golden Triangle, Paul Lewis and Elaine Lewis, (Thames and Hudson, 1984)
- J. O. Fraser and Church Growth Among the Lisu of Southwest China, Walter Leslie McConnell (M.C.S. Thesis, Regent College, 1987)