Identity Although they have been officially included under the Yi nationality by the Chinese authorities, the Mangbu Nosu possess their own ethnicity, history, and language. This group calls itself Nosu (Black People). Mangbu is the name of a town in Zhenxiong County which is the geographic center of the Mangbu Nosu. one source states that "Mangbu is an ancient tribal name."
History In the past, the Mangbu Nosu were one of six powerful tribes who ruled over the region. This alliance rejected Chinese rule of the area, which resulted in centuries of conflict and war between the Nosu and the various Chinese armies that were sent to subdue them. Today, the Mangbu Nosu long for their former glory, but they realize they have no chance of overpowering the Chinese. They view themselves as a defeated people.
Customs Hatred between the Nosu and the Chinese fighters reached such a fever pitch that both sides resorted to cannibalism. Missionary Samuel Pollard, writing in the early 1900s, stated, "A sort of cannibalism is practiced in this area by both Chinese and Nosu. After a fight the warriors who are killed on either side are opened and their hearts removed, perhaps also their tongues, and these are cooked and eaten. It is supposed to be a way of inheriting the courage and valor of the deceased."
Religion Polytheism is the stronghold of the Mangbu Nosu. As a result, fewer Mangbu Nosu have believed in Christ than among other Yi groups in the area. Pollard recorded a sample of the resistance he experienced in 1905: "We crossed the sides of a big mountain ... and finally arrived at the fort of a Nosu landlord called Lohchig. He received us kindly and we stayed there the night, but he is a very unusual local baron. He told us straight he would rather lose his head than become a Christian. He refused all gifts of books, disputed all we said and denied all our attempts to win him over. He stuck up strongly for his religion and defended the worship of idols with great zest."
Christianity Although most Mangbu Nosu have refused to consider the gospel, there are about 1,000 believers among them, especially in Hezhang County of Guizhou. Villages there are often divided along religious lines, with Christians forced to live in separate communities.
More than 65,000 Mangbu Nosu live in the northeastern part of Yunnan Province and in the adjoining areas of Hezhang County in Guizhou Province. The majority of Mangbu Nosu (48,800) live in the southern and central areas of Zhenxiong County in the Zhaotong Prefecture of Yunnan Province. More than 2,000 also live in the mountains of Weixin County.
Register your ministry activity among this people group. Contact the Adopt-A-People Clearinghouse to learn about others that might be focused on this people group.
Significant effort is made to match photos with people groups. In most cases the photo source has identified the people group. However, in some instances when the exact people group is not identified Joshua Project has made educated attempts at matching. As a result some photos may be representative of the people cluster rather than the specific people group. If you believe a photo is not matched with the correct people group, please contact us.
Certain percentages display as '0.00%' because of space limitations, but some may be slightly greater than zero. The exactness of numbers presented here can be misleading. Numbers can vary by several percentage points or more.
Discrepancies may exist between "Progress Indicators" because of the varying sources of information. Joshua Project does not have specific ministry activity data supporting each of the "Progress Indicators."
The Joshua Project Progress Scale is an approximation of church planting progress based on all progress indicators available. For a fuller explanation, click here. If you have additional information, please contact us.
These are links to external sites not managed or controlled by Joshua Project. A link to an external page does not necessarily imply that Joshua Project a) endorses the organization(s) or person(s) providing them, b) agrees with the ideas expressed or c) attests to the correctness, factuality, appropriateness, or legality of the contents. Joshua Project does not know the exact content of web audio recordings. In general they are Bible reading and teaching.
As on-site realities are understood, barriers of acceptance may be found in many of the larger people groups that will require multiple distinct church-planting efforts.
This data may contain errors and needs continual correcting and updating. To send feedback, please contact us.
[1]
| Home | Terms of Use | Donate | Contact Us