Dungan

Dungan history is born of a nineteenth century tragedy: between 1862 and 1877, Hui revolts against the Qing Empire in China were crushed with extreme violence, and entire communities were wiped out or scattered. To escape persecution, groups of Hui refugees crossed the Tian Shan mountains during the harsh winter of 1877 and 1878, a crossing still remembered today as the founding moment of the people.

Settled then in territories that are now Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan, these refugees came to be called Dungans by the Russians and neighboring peoples, though they themselves preferred to keep the name Hui. Over more than a century, they cut direct ties with China but preserved the language, the faith, and much of the customs brought with them in flight.

Dungan life combines working the land with tending the home and garden: they are known as skilled farmers, dedicated to growing vegetables, and they also cultivate flowers with real care, a trait that sets their properties apart in the Central Asian landscape. Hospitality is a central value, and welcoming visitors into the home is part of the family’s honor.

Dungan identity is also sustained through the deliberate passing on of culture to new generations: embroidery, traditional dress, and silver jewelry are taught and preserved as a living heritage, often within the community’s own schools.

The Dungans are Muslims, a heritage they brought with them from China that has helped keep them united as a distinct people amid the different religious majorities of Central Asia. Islamic faith is interwoven with ethnic identity: to be Dungan is, for the vast majority, to be Muslim. They follow the Hanafi school of law, one of the more conservative branches of Sunni Islam, which reinforces strict religious practices and strong resistance to changes of faith.

This fusion of religion and group belonging makes faith as powerful a force for social cohesion as the language itself or the memory of the mountain crossing, reinforcing their sense of being a distinct people within the countries where they live.

The Dungan language is a variety of Mandarin Chinese, but written in the Cyrillic alphabet, something unique among the languages of that family in the world. Passages of the Bible have already been translated into Dungan, including the four Gospels and the book of Acts, along with Bible narratives in story form about prophets such as Moses, Abraham, Joseph, and David. Even so, the reach of these translations among the people remains very limited, and most Dungans have never had contact with this content.

As far as is known, there is not a single follower of Jesus among the Dungans, which means the first contact with the gospel must necessarily come from outside the people. The identification between being Dungan and being Muslim functions as a deep barrier: abandoning Islam is seen as abandoning one’s own origin and community. Add to this the relative geographic isolation of the regions where they live, which makes any encounter with Christians rare.

The Dungans need, above all, people willing to cross the cultural distance and build genuine, lasting friendship with them, without rushing and with sensitivity to their pride and their history. Since there is no Christian community of their own, there is also no support, discipleship, or living example of Christian faith within the group.

There is also a concrete need for the Scriptures already translated into Dungan to actually reach families, rather than remaining limited to a few copies far removed from the people’s daily life.