Zhuang qiubei

The Zhuang belong to the large family of Tai-Kadai-speaking peoples of southern China. The Qiubei Zhuang live in the highlands of southern Yunnan, far from the Zhuang heartland in Guangxi, and they keep their own speech and name, known as Sha.

Until recently, the group lived in considerable isolation from wider Chinese society. Today the picture is changing: a high-speed train links Kunming to Nanning, with a stop in Qiubei, and the Puzhehei national park has brought more visibility to the region. Many young people work in distant cities, and a new generation is growing up between village tradition and the pace of the rest of China.

Most work the land almost all year, with a short break in winter, and raise pigs, chickens, ducks and geese. Homes vary widely: there are concrete houses with running water as well as old mud-brick houses. Many young adults leave to work in factories and on construction sites on the east coast, especially in Guangdong, leaving the villages quieter.

They are hospitable and community-minded, but they guard the circle of the family. Conversation tends to be indirect, and direct personal questions can sound rude. Middle-aged and older women still wear traditional dress, with a red or wine-colored scarf on the head and blue seven-button shirts that fasten under the arm. Among the festivals they celebrate is SanYueSan, shared by several Zhuang peoples.

The spiritual life of the people blends traditional beliefs with Buddhist elements. They honor their ancestors with household shelves where they place food and incense, and there is a deep fear of ghosts and spirits. For protection, they hang mirrors over doorways, put dog-tooth bracelets on children, and spread chicken blood and feathers on homes and vehicles.

At festivals, sacrifices of chickens or pigs are part of the tradition, although this custom is declining. Part of the people declare themselves to have no religion, and there are only a handful of Christians. Faith here is less doctrine and more daily care for the family, the dead and the unseen world.

Qiubei Zhuang still has little of God’s Word in its own language. Portions of Scripture exist, but the New Testament and the complete Bible are not yet available. There is also a film on the life of Jesus in Qiubei Zhuang. The elders speak little Mandarin, while the younger ones understand it better, so materials in the mother tongue are especially important for reaching every generation of the family.

Few gospel materials exist in the people’s language, and no active church is known to have been planted among them. Life revolves around the family and the ancestors, and abandoning ancestral rituals can be seen as breaking with the dead and with relatives. Among men, trust usually grows at the table, over drink, which makes friendship and witness difficult for those who do not drink. Added to this are a natural reserve toward strangers and the small presence of Christians in the region.

Many families live with few resources, and levels of schooling are low. Alcoholism, the heavy drinking of white liquor, is linked to quarrels that wound community life. There is a need for dignified opportunities, for care for the families left behind when young people migrate, and for freedom from the fear of spirits.

Spiritually, the people need Scriptures in their own language and a community of faith that arises among them, with disciples from their own culture, able to speak of the gospel naturally in homes and villages.

Although still few, there are already believers among the Qiubei Zhuang, and they are the beginning of a living testimony within their own families. Portions of Scripture have been prepared in the people’s language, and there is a film on the life of Jesus in Qiubei Zhuang. In addition, improved access to the region and the presence of young people who move between the village and the big cities open new paths for the message to arrive.