Limi June 30

Location: Approximately 30,000 Limi live preserved and is in active use. Judging within southern Yunnan Province in from other unique aspects of Limi culture, •Dali • southwest . The majority inhabit areas their language is likely to be found widely 3 •Yunxian within . They are the majority different from other Western Yi varieties.” •Wanding •Zhenyuan • group within the Wumulong District and •Mojiang make up a sizable portion of the population History: The Limi claim that their ancestors MYANMAR •Ximeng Scale in Yalian District. Four thousand Limi live in came from a place called Dayuandi in 0 KM 160 Fengqing County where they are principally Jingdong County long ago. They reportedly found in the southern part of Guodazhai were slaves of a tyrannical master. One day Population in China: 29,000 (1999) District and in the southeastern part of the Limi escaped en masse and won their 29,700 (2000) Yingpan District. An additional 1,000 Limi freedom. They moved to their present 37,300 (2010) live in Yunxian County.1 locations where they settled down and Location: Yunnan started new communities. Religion: Polytheism Christians: None Known Customs: Compared to other Yi groups in the area, such Overview of the Limi as the Western Gaisu and Countries: China some of the Laluo, the Limi Pronunciation: “Lee-mee” culture has been well Other Names: preserved. Until recently the Population Source: Limi strictly refused to 29,000 (1999 J. Pelkey); intermarry with the Han Out of a total Yi population of 6,572,173 (1990 census) Chinese or even with other Yi Location: S Yunnan: Yongde groups. Because of this, (24,000), Fengqing (4,000), they have gained a and Yunxian (1,000) counties reputation for being Status: something of an isolated, Officially included under Yi inward-looking group who Language: Sino-Tibetan, Tibeto-Burman, Burmese-Lolo, have little contact with other Lolo, Northern Lolo, Yi, people. The Limi joyously Western Yi celebrate several festivals Dialects: 0 throughout the course of the Religion: Polytheism, year. Animism, Ancestor Worship Christians: None known Religion: Polytheism, Scripture: None animism, and ancestor Jesus film: None worship prevail among the Gospel Recordings: None Limi. Regular ceremonies are Christian Broadcasting: None held to worship the spirits ROPAL code: None and honor their ancestors.4 Jamin Pelkey

Status of Evangelization Identity: The Limi are one of more than Christianity: The independent mind-set of 100 groups in Yunnan who have been the Limi has contributed to them being 93% combined into the official Yi nationality by unreached and largely unevangelized today. the Chinese authorities. The Limi were first Few missionaries worked in the area prior documented by China Inland Mission’s John to the expulsion of foreigners from China in Kuhn in the 1940s. In his benchmark book, the 1950s. If the Limi had been so We Found a Hundred Tribes, Kuhn listed the fortunate to have workers like Gladys 7% 0% Limi as a Lolo-speaking group located at Aylward targeting them, they would have 2 A B C “Qingku.” Qingku is the pre-1949 spelling been greatly blessed. Aylward described the A = Have never heard the gospel of today’s Jinggu County in Simao hardship she faced daily in China: “Life is B = Were evangelized but did not Prefecture. pitiful, death so familiar, suffering and pain become Christians C = Are adherents to any form of so common, yet I would not be anywhere Christianity Language: Limi is a part of the Western Yi else. Do not wish me out of this, or in any linguistic branch of the Tibeto-Burman way seek to get me out, for I will not be got language family. Jamin Pelkey points out, out while this trial is on. These are my “Most Limi villages are not mixed with Han people, God has given them to me, and I Chinese or other minorities. The Limi will live or die with them for Him and His language, as a result, has been very well glory.”5

296 LIMI