Naru August 27 ➤

parents who then arrange for a meeting. Both sets of families come together and • “engage in a whiskey Yongsheng • drinking ceremony after •Panzhihua •Dali •Dayao which they playfully argue •Wuding • about the amount of gifts to Scale be given and received until a 0 KM 160 compromise is reached. Population in : Rice whiskey also plays an 11,500 (1999) important role in the actual 11,790 (2000) 14,800 (2010) wedding. If all the guests Location: Yunnan don’t drink in agreement, Religion: Polytheism then the couple cannot be Christians: None Known considered married. Naru weddings are usually very Overview of the Naru festive and expensive Countries: China occasions participated in by Pronunciation: “Nah-roo” some 200 guests.”4 Other Names: Shuitian Population Source: Religion: The center of a 11,500 (1999 J. Pelkey); Naru home is the kitchen Out of a total Yi population of fire-pit. “A day of grazing 6,572,173 (1990 census) Location: N Yunnan: Yongsheng goats, cows and mules and (7,000) and Huaping (4,500) working the corn, rice or counties tobacco fields climaxes Status: around the lapping flames of Officially included under Yi the family fire-pit as the Language: Sino-Tibetan, Tibeto-Burman, Burmese-Lolo, Paul Hattaway smoke wends its way Lolo, Northern Lolo, Yi, Location: More than 11,500 the . In through the open rafters. Northern Yi Naru people live in northern the Naru While gazing into the Dialects: 0 Yunnan Province in language is on the edge of flames, all smoke their Religion: southwest China. Seven extinction, but may enjoy tobacco bongs or long-pipes Polytheism, Ancestor Worship thousand inhabit areas in more frequent use in and engage in story-telling Christians: None known the southern and central .”2 and laughter.”5 The Naru Scripture: None parts of Yongsheng County, worship a spirit that they Jesus film: None while 4,500 live in southern History: The Naru claim they believe actually resides in Gospel Recordings: None Huaping County.1 originated in Hunan and the fire-pit. They also Christian Broadcasting: None Jiangxi provinces in eastern worship their ancestors and ROPAL code: None Identity: The Naru have China in ancient times. They experience more Daoist and been officially included were probably Chinese Buddhist influence than Status of Evangelization under the Yi nationality in soldiers who were sent to most other Yi groups. This 95% China, even though they patrol northern Yunnan is possibly due to their retain a separate ethnicity Province. Over the centuries origins as Chinese soldiers. and history from other Yi the descendants of the groups. The Naru are called original soldiers intermarried Christianity: The remote Shuitian (Watery Fields with local Yi tribeswomen mountains of Yongsheng 5% 0% People) by the Chinese. This and gradually developed into and Huaping counties have name, used by the Chinese a distinct ethnic group. One been formidable barriers to A B C for several small Yi groups, source claims, “The Naru the introduction of the A = Have never heard the gospel is not used by any of the are certain to have once gospel into the area. Before B = Were evangelized but did not groups to describe been the same people as become Christians the 1960s there were few C = Are adherents to any form of themselves. the Naruo with whom they roads in the region. As a Christianity now have only mild cultural result, no long-term Language: Naru is part of and linguistic differences.”3 missionary work was ever the Northern Yi branch of undertaken in this part of Tibeto-Burman. Jamin Pelkey Customs: When a Naru China. Today the Naru are has written, “The Naru couple decides to get an unreached people group language is very similar to married, they tell their with no church or believers.

NARU 387