Tha Byu (c.1778 – 9 September 1840) was the first Karen Christian and a notable evangelist to the Karen.
Biography
He was born in U Twa village. In his early life, he reportedly engaged in robbery and was involved in many murders. After being sold as a slave to a Christian Burmese, he was converted to Baptist Christianity by Adoniram Judson in 1828. He was called Tha Byu ("younger brother") by Judson when they first met. Judson recalled that Tha Byu was a vicious and angry person when they first met, and Tha Byu confirmed this. After his conversion, though, Tha Byu became an energetic missionary to the Karen people. After twelve years, 1,270 Karen had been baptized, with many other believers.
References
- Kyaw De, Clifford; Say Pa, Anna May (2001). "Tha Byu, Ko". In Sunquist, Scott W. (ed.). A Dictionary of Asian Christianity. Michigan: Wm B Eerdmans Publishing Co. Archived from the original on 5 October 2008.
Further reading
- Mason, Francis (1843). The Karen apostle: or, memoir of Ko Thah-byu, the first Karen convert, with notices concerning his nation. Boston: Gould, Kendall and Lincoln.
- (in Karen languages) Ya Ba Toh Loh. Life of Saw Ko Tha Byu (1950)