Nu September 15

frequently place a corpse on SICHUAN Nu land and claim the Nu • Deqen had committed murder. “The •Gongshan •Zhongdian demand for compensation, •Weixi Fugong called oupuguya (‘the •Lijiang ransom for a corpse’) was •Bijiang•Jianchuan Scale imposed. This tyrannous 0KM80 annual exaction would be Population in : paid continuously for several 21,600 (1990) generations. Each Nu village 26,200 (2000) 31,700 (2010) usually would have to pay six Location: Yunnan, to eight such iniquitous Religion: Polytheism taxes each year.”5 Christians: 4,000 Customs: Nu men are Overview of the Nu dangerous in the use of the Countries: China, Myanmar crossbow and are skillful Pronunciation: “Noo” hunters. “Every little boy Other Names: Nusu, Nutzu, Nung, Anoong, Anu, Noutzu, carries his bow and arrow Lutzu, Lu, Lutze, Kwinpang, and every living creature, Khupang, Kwingsang, Fuchye, Anong, A-nung, Nuzu, Nu-tsu, from the smallest bird to the Luzi, Nuzi bear or traveler, serves as

Population Source: Midge Conner target. Their arrows are very 1 27,123 (1990 census); strong and the points are 23,166 (1982 census); 6 15,047 (1964 census); Location: The majority of the 26,000 Nu poisoned with the root of aconite.” In the Also in Myanmar live primarily in Gongshan, Fugong, and past the Nu made all their clothing from Location: NW Yunnan: Fugong, Lushui counties in northwest Yunnan. Small hemp; Nu in more remote areas continue Gongshan, Lanping, Lushui, and Weixi counties; numbers are also found in Weixi and this practice. “Almost all women adorn 2 SE Tibet: Changdu District in Zayu Lanping counties. The Nu live high in themselves with strings of coral, agate, County (349) mountainous jungle-like areas. In addition, shells, glass beads, and silver coins on Status: Nu communities are also found in the their heads and chests.… In some areas, An official minority of China southeastern corner of Tibet, although the women adorn themselves in a unique way Language: Sino-Tibetan, Tibeto-Burman, Burmese-Lolo, Nu people there speak only Derung, and by winding a type of local vine around their Lolo many are an ethnic mixture of Nu and heads, waists and ankles.”7 Literacy: 35% Tibetan. Nu speakers are also located in Dialects (3): Northern Nu northern Myanmar where they are called Religion: Most Nu are polytheists. There (2,000), Southern Nu (3,000), Central Nu (4,000) Kwinpang. are also significant numbers of Christians Religion: Polytheism, , among the Nu, although they have never Identity: Those Nu living in the upper embraced the gospel en masse as the Christians: 4,000 reaches of the Nujiang River call neighboring Derung and Lisu minorities Scripture: New Testament 1991 themselves either Nu or Anu. Those living in have. A small number of Nu, mostly those Jesus film: None the lower reaches call themselves Nusu. living in mixed marriages with Tibetans, Gospel Recordings: Kwinpang #00972 Together, they have been combined with follow Tibetan Buddhism. Christian Broadcasting: None several smaller tribes to form the official ROPAL code: NUF00 and NUN00 Nu nationality. Christianity: Estimates of the current number of Nu believers range from 1,0008 Language: Approximately 8,000 people, to 4,000.9 J. Russell Morse and his family Status of Evangelization (35%) of the Nu nationality, can speak the worked in the Upper Salween area for 25 70% Nu language.3 More than 5,500 ethnic Nu years prior to 1949. Their mission base speak Derung as their first language.4 was described as “one of the most isolated Others speak Chinese, Lisu, or Tibetan. The stations in the world.”10 The family’s zealous evangelism converted 6,900 Lisu 14% 16% Nu language has no traditional written form, although in recent years a Roman script and Nu and established 74 churches.11 has been introduced. In the past the Nu Today the Morse family continues to reach A B C kept records by carving notches on wood. out from their base in Thailand.12 Father A = Have never heard the gospel André escaped the 1905 massacre of B = Were evangelized but did not 13 become Christians History: Before their conversion to French Catholic missionaries in Deqen to C = Are adherents to any form of Christianity, the Lisu often bullied the Nu in work single-handedly among the Nu for Christianity the Salween Valley. The Lisu would many years.

416 NU