ZhuangENGAGING THE A Strategic Prayer and Information Guide for the Language Groups of the Zhuang Table of Contents Introduction . 3 Zhuang Language Map . 4 Northern Zhuang Language Groups Guibian Zhuang . 6 Guibei Zhuang . 7 Liujiang Zhuang . 8 Central Hongshuihe Zhuang . 9 Eastern Hongshuihe Zhuang . .10 Liuqian Zhuang . 11 Yongbei Zhuang . 12 Youjiang Zhuang . 13 Lianshan Zhuang . 14 Qiubei Zhuang . 15 Southern Zhuang Language Groups Yang Zhuang . 17 Minz Zhuang . 18 Zuojiang Zhuang . 19 Yongnan Zhuang . 20 Dai Zhuang . 21 Nong Zhuang . 22 Zhuang Cities and Special Topics Nanning City . 24 Liuzhou City . 25 Baise City . 26 Wenshan City . 27 Zhuang Factory Workers . 28 The Bouyei of Guizhou . 29 Vietnam Groups . 30 Agricultural Outreach . 31 Bible Storying . 32 Introduction Thank you for reading and praying through For more information on the Zhuang and this prayer guide for the Zhuang . Each page how you can be involved, use the following is devoted to a major language group of the email addresses and web sites . Zhuang, written by workers living among or near them . Some language groups have no one Zhuang Strategic Alliance: focused specifically on reaching them, and it zhuang@ywamsf org. is our hope that God would call more workers https://www ywamsf. org/nations/china. to plant churches among these unengaged groups . Joshua Project: The Zhuang as a whole have many cultural http://joshuaproject .net/clusters/322 similarities across their language groups and International Missions Board (IMB): dialects, but are cut off from communicating eastasia@imb org. with each other because the languages can be so dissimilar . Church planters are needed to target specific groups that are isolated by Explanation of Info Boxes language and geography . So far, fewer than Population - Ethnologue, 17th Edition 0 .25% of the Zhuang have become believers . ISO Code - Ethnologue, 17th Edition Please join with us in prayer to see that all JF - Jesus Film tribes of the Zhuang are represented before CIF - Create International Films the throne of God! FEBC - Far East Broadcasting Programs CBS - Chronological Bible Storying GRN - Global Recordings Network MV - Megavoice Recordings ೟ࢅ ੊ൂ Quanzhou ྜྷτ ಍ᇣ Major Zhuang Language Groups and Related Peoples Sanjiang ޼ହ LongshengਹԲ Xing’an ݀ဤ ಼ඪ Lingchua ݓᇣ ਩ݐ Hunan Yunnan Guanyang Rongshui ಼τ Guizhou Lingui ݐਦ n ઌ௣ ӳ܇ ହ֌ ߓࢅ Guilin رๆ Բڽ Gongchen ڥn Ⴌ ᄐହ Tian’e Nandan Huanjiang ઌӳ ဤඳ Fuchua ৈ၃ Rong’a Yongfu Luoping Yangshuo ൄሾ Leye Luocheng g n ੏ਦ ੈӳ Ԅ ၙᇣ ੧ᅗ ௣ৈޑ ೽ړ Shizong Longlin Liucheng ৥௼ ᇙ೽ ম Hechi nױ Fengshan Pingle ޖᇣ ้ਦ Yizhou 柳州 Luzhai Lipu Tianlin ਸᄐ Donglan Zhongsha །ਦ LIUZHOU Hezhou Lingyun ੈࢅ Mengsh τ؂ ϟછ ౴С Xilin ࣈྵ ૕೽ ᅹ௣ Bama սߋ ྕӳ Liujiang Qiubei Du’an ཧᇣ Zhaoping ݃ହ Jinxiu a Dahua Xincheng Xiangzhou n 百色 ೽ Ң໶ލ ୨ڽ ाᄀ Guangnan ဒ೽ BAISE Heshan ௣ହ Kaiyuan ้ဤ છ೽ Cangwu ໺࿍ Pingna ױ้ Funing Yanshan ഏਦ দѦ ำཌ Tianyang ௣ݛ Mashan Shangli n ૕ሸ Tiandong Laibin Wuxua ໶ᇣ Г ݐ௣ n֪ །ԗ ગ১௨ ଱௨ Pingguo n Wuzhou 文山 ໺ଅ Tnengxia С Guiping۝ Mengzi WENSHAN Xichou Napo Debao Ѧဤ ๆְ Wuming ࣮། ੏τ Gangbei છܸ Malipo Tiandeng Binyang ݃། Guangxi ହ۝ Jingxi Long’an 南宁 ಿཌ ᖺ༞ Maguan Rongxia ױ݃ ཌ Gangnan ྜྷ၃ޟ սྔ NANNING ԓ቗ Сੇ Cenxi Hengxian Daxin ᠞୨ Xeingy B eiliu n ੊ᇣ Yongning ოਦ Guangdong ෣ ௼С Yulin ੫Բښ Longzhou Chongzuo ਹ೽ Northern Zhuang Southern Zhuang Fusui n ౙС Lingshan i be ua ѷϩ h Guibian (1,091,449) Yang (+674,000*) ௤ཝ ഏම Qinbei Pu ୨ଃ uc Pingxiang ౙହ Bobai L Guibei (1,450,651) Minz (+162,000*) Shangsi Liujiang (1,654,356) Ningming Qinnan ௼ލ ٤ӳ Zuojiang (1,643,455) ᄇହ Central Hongshuihe (1,080,000) Yongnan (1,967,390) Fangcheng Hepu Сݡ ྜྷױ Vietnam Eastern Hongshuihe (1,200,000) Dai (152,950) Beihai Dongxing Liuqian (370,000) Nong (580,183) Youjiang (856,519) Yongbei (2,310,580) Related Groups Note: Thousands of Zhuang men Qiubei (212,069) Bouyi (?*) and young adults especially from Lianshan (33,200) Vietnam (?*) Сҍຝ rural areas are currently working short-term in factories in the Counties with 85% or more Zhuang are underlined. Population figures represent Guangzhou and Shenzhen areas. 2000 Census, except where noted (*) which represent recent unconfirmed figures. Gulf of Tonkin Northern Zhuang Language Groups Guibian Zhuang Located in the northwest corner of Population: 1,000,000 ISO Code: zgn Guangxi Province, the Guibian Zhuang live Alternate Names: Yei, Kang Yei, Buyoi, in small villages spread far apart in hilly and Northern Zhuang, Buyei mountainous areas . In the six counties that Scripture/Media: No scripture, no JF, no CIF, make up this area, the Zhuang are only 70% no FEBC, no CBS, no GRN, no MV of the population, and live side by side with many other minorities . Longlin County has villagers are so unaccustomed to seeing people the largest number of different minorities in they don’t know that they become hostile Guangxi, with Yi, Buyi, Dong, Miao and Yao to foreigners and throw stones at them so minorities living among the Guibian Zhuang . they will leave . But a small group of Chinese This is possible because the Zhuang place such believers have helped to establish about 15 a high value on harmonious relationships, and house churches scattered out in the villages are able to develop good relationships with in the area . All of these groups worship in the them all . local Zhuang language, and even a Zhuang However, with a land so mountainous, it from outside the Guibian language must have is hard to grow crops and there are no large a local translator . When some training for prosperous cities here . Le Ye, one of the six house church leaders was provided a few years ago, the local leaders were thrilled to realize that someone knew about them . q Prayer Points Pray for more people who understand the difficulty of traveling to this area will be bur- dened to be committed to spread the gospel among the Guibei Zhuang . Pray for Christians, from the outside, that they would have an opportunity to move into this area to live and minister to the people counties in this area, is the poorest in all of as tourism and industry related to the new Guangxi, and only 30% of the people in this hydroelectric station develops . area can read . Most villagers feel it is a waste Pray for those who lead the small village of money to send their children to school house churches that despite little training and beyond the sixth grade, and in the county seat support, they would be taught by the Holy towns, it is common for one to see a number Spirit and would remain faithful in leader- of youths standing about with nothing to do . ship . Since this area is considered remote and CHINA one must do a good deal of hard traveling Guizhou Hunan in order to visit the villages, it has had little Yunnan GUILIN LONGLIN LEYE HECHI Christian witness . Most people in the area LIUZHOU are animists, and worship large trees or the BAISE DU’AN FUNING WUZHOU Guangxi dragon god . They feel that dragons are asleep, WENSHAN NAPO JINGXI GUIGANG thus making the humps in the hills that are all DAXIN NANNING YULIN Guangdong around . Hence, in an effort to keep things in PINGXIANG VIETNAM their area peaceful, they worship them . Some HANOI BEIHAI 6 Guibei Zhuang Students also desire better English in the hope Population: 1,500,000 ISO Code: zgb Alternate Name: Puyui that it will lead them to better colleges or Scripture/Media: No scripture, no JF, no CIF, career opportunities . However, the more edu- no FEBC, no CBS, 7 GRN , 6 MV cated the person, the more likely they would have been indoctrinated by an educational For generations, the Zhuang speakers of system that is godless . As a result, they do not the Guibei language have been living in their hear the gospel clearly without preconceived mountain homes and isolated from others . ideas from their teachers . They largely consist of poor, rural farmers . A There are very, very few believers among curious people but extremely cautious, the the Guibei . The majority have never even most common question asked when newcom- heard the name “Jesus ”. Just as misty fog ers arrive is, “Why would anyone want to shrouds their mountain homes, their hearts come here?” have long been shrouded by spiritual darkness . The Guibei Zhuang follow animism and In sharing the Christmas story, everyone’s ancestor worship . The younger generation reaction was, “I’ve never heard this before!” will claim that they just believe in themselves, but these traditional ties still run deep in their hearts because of their families . The two largest festivals are the Singing Festival and the Bronze Drum Festival . Every town and village has an altar where the people regularly worship their chosen local god . Village altars are normally one of the first buildings one sees when entering a village . These altars are usu- ally located at the tops of mountains as well as within the town itself . Consequently, there is a spirit of oppression in this area . Premarital sex, entertainment, materialism, and fears While sharing the Easter story, one person of going against family are also strongholds responded with, “I’ve only heard that Jesus which must be broken . Cults, especially East- died on the cross . No one has ever told me ern Lightning, have also infiltrated the area . what happened next ”. This illustrates the great need for the gospel to spread among the The younger Guibei Zhuang desire better Guibei Zhuang . paying jobs and will travel to other provinces q searching for work . They hope that this wealth will provide them with happiness .