Nosu, Shengzha September 11

•Ya’an History: Nosu history is SICHUAN one of violence and Yuexi interclan warfare. For Muli • centuries the Nosu • GUIZHOU raided villages and took •Panzhihua slaves, forcing them to

Scale •Wuding do manual labor. One 0 KM 160 missionary noted, “In Population in : retaliation for the taking 800,000 (1989) of slaves, it was not 1,024,400 (2000) uncommon in the 1,285,600 (2010) Location: 1940s to see Chinese Sichuan, Yunnan, Tibet soldiers walking through Religion: Polytheism city streets carrying on Christians: 12,000 their backs large baskets filled with Nosu Overview of the heads, still dripping Shengzha Nosu with blood.”8 The Nosu Countries: China, USA region, in 1956, was Pronunciation: the last part of China to “Shung-jah-Nor-soo” Other Names: Northern Yi, come under Communist Sichuan Yi, Lolo, North Lolo, rule. In the violent Black Yi, Manchia, Mantzu, clashes ten Chinese Naso, Nuosu, Daliangshan Paul Hattaway Nosu, Shengcha Yi, Shengzha Yi troops were killed for Population Source: Location: More than one million speakers every Nosu, earning the Nosu the 800,000 (1989 Shi Songshan); of Shengzha Nosu live in southern Sichuan nickname, “Iron Peas.”9 Since the collapse Out of a total Yi population of 2 6,572,173 (1990 census); Province. Their primary locations are in of the slave system, the class structure 45 in USA1 Xide, Yuexi, Zhaojue, Ganluo, and Jinyang among the Nosu has weakened. Today even Location: S Sichuan: Daliangshan counties. Other significant communities are the former Bai Yi slaves “tease and mock Yi ; in Puge, Leibo, Xichang, Dechang, NE Yunnan: Lushui and Zhaotong [the Nosu]… who are mockingly called 10 counties; SE Tibet Mianning, Yanyuan, and Yanbian counties; princes and princesses.” Status: while small numbers can be found in Muli, Officially included under Yi Shimian, Jiulong, and Luding counties.3 A Customs: Early literature on the Nosu Language: Sino-Tibetan, Tibeto-Burman, Burmese-Lolo, few Shengzha Nosu spill over into called them Lolo, in reference to the small Lolo, Northern Lolo, Yi, northeast Yunnan and into southeastern basket they carried around with them which Northern Yi areas of Tibet. supposedly contained the souls of their Dialects (1): Xide dead ancestors.11 Religion: Polytheism, Shamanism, Animism, Ancestor Worship, Identity: The name Nosu means “black Daoism, Christianity people.” Many early travelers who came Religion: The Shengzha Nosu believe in Christians: 12,000 into contact with the Nosu remarked on the Mo’m Apu, a supreme creator spirit who Scripture: Portions 1913; beauty and Caucasian features of the Nosu controls the universe. His son, Gee Nyo, Gospel tracts 1996 12 Jesus film: Available women. One described them as “a black gives rain, prosperity, and happiness. 4 Gospel Recordings: branch of the Caucasian race.” The Yi: Sichuan #04671 Daliangshan area has a great level of Christianity: Mission work among the Christian Broadcasting: None ethnic complexity. A 1983 official Shengzha Nosu began in the late 1800s, ROPAL code: III00 government report seems to lament “44 but resulted in few conversions.13 In the Nosu subgroups with different self- mid-1940s China Inland Mission worker Status of Evangelization designations and obscure dialects.”5 James Broomhall tried to mobilize Yi 87% Another publication written by Chinese Christians from Yunnan to evangelize the scholars mentions “more than 100 Nosu, but they could not adjust to the patriarchal clans in the Daliangshan differences in language and culture.14 After alone,… independent of each other and more than a century of labor and prayer, a 11% 6 2% with their own area of jurisdiction.” breakthrough occurred in 1996 when 18 Nosu leaders of the Mentu Hui cult heard A B C Language: The Nosu possess an ancient and believed the gospel. They publicly A = Have never heard the gospel pictographic syllabic script. It was mainly renounced the cult and by mid-1997 had B = Were evangelized but did not used by religious leaders prior to 1950,7 led 12,000 Shengzha Nosu to faith in become Christians 15 C = Are adherents to any form of but in recent years it has been taught to Christ. Christianity whole villages of Nosu.

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