Minglang August 7 ➤ some of the Minglang many as 400 of the 1,500 Christians are able to read Minglang people in Wuding the Pollard script — devised confess Christ. by missionary Samuel Pollard in the early 1900s to help illiterate tribal people SICHUAN GUIZHOU read the Bible. •Panzhihua Dayao • •Wuding Customs: The Minglang YUNNAN •Kunming observe all the traditional Chinese festivals, in MYANMAR •Yuanjiang Scale LAOS VIETNAM addition to several regional 0 KM 160 Yi celebrations. Population in China: 1,500 (1999) Religion: In the past the 1,530 (2000) 1,930 (2010) Minglang were animists and Location: Yunnan polytheists, living in fear and Religion: Christianity bondage to a wide variety of Christians: 400 spirits. Overview of the Christianity: The Minglang Minglang (and many other groups in Countries: China the Wuding area) owe their Pronunciation: “Ming-lung” salvation to the efforts of Other Names: Sani, Sanipo the Eastern Lipo Christians. Population Source: Jamin Pelkey “On the banks of the ‘River 1,500 (1999 J. Pelkey); Out of a total Yi population of Location: More than 1,500 distinctive dress and is of Golden Sand’ in the 6,572,173 (1990 census) upper Yangtze watershed members of the Minglang recognized as a separate Location: N Yunnan: Wuding and tribe live in northern Yunnan entity by the local between Sichuan and Luquan counties; Possibly also in Province. Their two main inhabitants. Although the Yunnan provinces live the Yi Fumin County villages are Lower Lemei Minglang speak a language people.… The Lipos, a Yi Status: Village of Chadian District related to Sani, they firmly sub-group formerly called Officially included under Yi Language: Sino-Tibetan, and Tianxin Village of consider themselves a the Eastern Lisus, have had Tibeto-Burman, Burmese-Lolo, Gaoqiao District within unique tribe. In recent the Gospel for almost half a Lolo, Northern Lolo, Yi, Wuding County. Others live decades, under increasing century.… These Southeastern Yi in Maoshan District of pressure from large remarkable mountain Dialects: 0 Luquan County. The numbers of Han Chinese people… have used their Religion: Christianity, Animism Minglang may also live in who have migrated into musical talent to share the Christians: 400 Fumin County. Accurate Wuding, the Minglang have Good News of salvation and Scripture: None figures on the Minglang commenced a gradual slide freedom from all demonic Jesus film: None population are difficult to toward assimilation. Some control. Old hymns, packed Gospel Recordings: None obtain because the Minglang children now with sound doctrine, were Christian Broadcasting: None government no longer exclusively speak Mandarin. translated and memorized ROPAL code: None considers them a specific by the early Lipo Christians. people group. They have Language: The Minglang Early on they became a Status of Evangelization been combined with many language is related to Sani, singing church which not other groups to form the and many official only preserved but also 61% huge Yi nationality. The publications list the propagated its faith cross- most recent figure available Minglang as part of the culturally by singing hymns. 26% which specifically mentions Sani. Although they may Today, because of their 13% the Minglang tribe was a have the same origins, witness, there are believers 1952 government study: it today when a Minglang and among many neighboring A B C listed 103 Minglang Sani meet, they must speak tribes in spite of the A = Have never heard the gospel households located in Chinese in order to language barriers and lack B = Were evangelized but did not Wuding County.1 understand each other. of Christian literature. The become Christians C = Are adherents to any form of Lipo have reached the Christianity Identity: Wuding is home to History: The Minglang have Minglang, the Ming Cha, and numerous small people never possessed a written the Samei peoples living groups. Each group wears script of their own, although among them.”2 Today as 356 MINGLANG.