On a rain-soaked monsoon afternoon, I was in Siang Sawn to learn about Laipianism, a local religion practised in Chin State. It is one of the last surviving, well-organised Indigenous faiths that emerged in the early 20th century as a response to the spread of Christianity in colonial Southeast Asia. Siang Sawn is considered the 'spiritual homeland' of Laipianism, a religion that has only about 5,000 followers. In the overwhelmingly Christian Chin State, this remote village is an exclusive home to its followers. With a population of a little under half a million, the Chin people (also called Zo) are considered a taingyinthar ?" 'Indigenous' race ?" in Myanmar. At least 90 per cent of the Chin adhere to one or another denomination of Christianity. The rest follow Theravada Buddhism, Burmese nat cults, and Laipianism. Home to 300 people, Siang Sawn is a self-sufficient pastoral community of farmers who cultivate paddy, keep kitchen gardens and rear animals.