Pumi September 30

celebrate with wild feasting,

horse racing, shooting •Muli 6 contests and wrestling.” At •Yanyuan •Zhongdian •Gongshan the age of 13, Pumi youth •Weixi •Ninglang •Fugong are considered adults. When • MYANMAR a Pumi dies, a conch is blown three times to beckon Scale •Eryuan villagers. A shaman then 0KM80 holds a Gei Yangzi Yishi Population in : (Sheep Guide) rite. The Pumi 29,657 (1990) 37,900 (2000) believe a sheep will lead the 48,500 (2010) spirit of the deceased into Location: Yunnan the land of their ancestors.7 Religion: Polytheism Christians: 30 Religion: The Pumi live in fear of the spirit world. If Overview of the Pumi offended, the deities can Countries: China release a deluge of fierce, Pronunciation: “Poo-mee” predatory beasts against Other Names: Primi, Primmi, Baju, their livestock. All Pumi P’um, Pimi, Prummi, P’rome worship Suoguonaba, the Population Source: 29,657 (1990 census); god of the Mountains. 24,237 (1982 census); Worship of this powerful 14,298 (1964 census) spirit is observed on the Location: N Yunnan: Lanping, Weixi, Yongsheng, Ninglang, and Luke Kuepfer 5th, 15th, and 25th day of Lijiang counties; As far north as Location: More than 37,000 have been counted in the each lunar month. Ancestor members of the Pumi Tibetan nationality. worship is also practiced. Status: minority inhabit the Food is not eaten until it An official minority of China mountains of northern Language: Pumi — which has been placed on the Language: Sino-Tibetan, Tibeto-Burman, Qiangic, Pumi, Yunnan Province. They live in has five dialects — is a guozhuang, or tripod, to Southern Pumi approximately 500 villages, member of the Tibeto- signify an invitation to the Literacy: 39% some of which are located Burman language family. ancestors to eat first. Spirits Dialects: 5 3,200 meters (10,500 ft.) Some scholars believe it are also believed to dwell in Religion: Polytheism, Animism, 1 above sea level. In many was originally a Qiangic the wooden center post of Shamanism, Ancestor Worship, locations the Pumi live language.4 Today after their homes. Christianity beside members of the Naxi centuries of interaction, 15% Christians: 30 nationality. Despite 2,000 of Pumi vocabulary consists Christianity: Because of Scripture: None years of history, the Pumi of Chinese loanwords. their linguistic variety and Jesus film: None population has remained isolated communities, the Gospel Recordings: None relatively small because of History: According to Pumi Pumi have been largely Christian Broadcasting: None disease, plague, famine, legends and historical neglected with the gospel. ROPAL code: PUS00 and assimilation to other records, the ancestors of Prior to 1949, German tribes.2 the Pumi were a nomadic missionaries reportedly Status of Evangelization tribe who roamed areas witnessed to the Pumi, but 88% Identity: The Pumi are one hundreds of miles farther little fruit remains. Although of China’s officially north of their present there is no organized church recognized minority groups. location. They were forcibly among the Pumi today, 11% In 1960 the government moved to Yunnan by the visitors report that they are 1% combined various tribes and Mongolians in the 1300s.5 a people “ripe unto labeled them Pumi. Prior to harvest.” In the early 1990s A B C that, each tribe called Customs: On the 15th day several Pumi were baptized A = Have never heard the gospel themselves by a different of the first month of the by a believer near B = Were evangelized but did not 3 8 become Christians name, including Boukhai. Pumi calendar, all Pumi, Lugu Lake. A potential C = Are adherents to any form of The Pumi today call “clad in their holiday best, breakthrough occurred in Christianity themselves a name which go camping on mountain 1997 when 30 Pumi people means “white men.” The slopes and celebrate around prayed to receive Christ 30,000 Chrame people in bonfires. The holidays are after viewing the Jesus film Sichuan speak a language devoted to sacrifices to the in Mandarin.9 related to Pumi, but they ‘god of the kitchen’. They

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