| MISSIONS FIELDS There are many places in the world where people have never heard of the name Jesus, let alone the Gospel. How can they know unless someone goes there? We'd like to share with you some of such places, in the hope that you will join us in praying that these people and places may be reached for Jesus in due time. |
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THE HIDDEN BUYI PEOPLE Under the Flower Pole "Shao May (little sister)! Luo Deren called
out through his younger cousin's threshold. Slowly peeking around the doorway, he
saw her in the front room of the two-story stone house. Luo Xianqiong was arranging
pairs of small plates with food offerings of pumpkin and sunflower seeds on the ancestor
shelf. Startled, she turned quickly when she heard his voice. Seeing Luo Deren
in his festival garb, she exclaimed, "What do you want?" |
On their way to the
festival, Luo Deren continued to extol the virtues of Wu Li. The noise swelled as
they strolled along through the crowded market. Thousands of Buyi people greeted
friends and bargained for new brooms and other household goods. Small children
darted underfoot playing tag and leap frog. The feeling of festival was in the air. |
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Luo Deren and Luo
Xiangqiong lined up with the other young people to "toss the flower bags".
These small pillow are embroidered by each girl with fanciful designs and filled
with bran. At first, bags were thrown at random, flying through the air like a flock of brightly-colored birds. As the boys' and girls' lines drew further apart, the boys began tossing bags to their "special" girls. Suddenly, Luo Zianqiong dashed out of line and grabbed Luo Deren by the ear, causing him to miss a toss from Wu Li. "A penalty! A penalty!" the crowd jeered. As the three young people stepped aside, Luo Ziangqiong handed Wu Li the gift from Luo Deren, a block of dye. "He is eager to see what beautiful cloth you will make with this dye." Wu Li accepted the dye with a timid smile, completing the formal introduction. Luo Deren and Wu Li wandered into a nearby grove of trees and found two large rocks. As they sat back to back, Wu Li asked, "Do you remember the story of Kang Mei and Wei Niu?" Slowly they began to sing to each other the well-known ballad of the young lovers. |
As the story goes, Kang Mei, a beautiful Buyi maiden, was desired by many young men. To choose the one she would marry, she invited them to her village on the 15th day of the new year. She made "flower bags" of rainbow colors and filled them with rice, sticky rice, corn, millet, wheat or sorghum. The last bag, plain and gray, she stuffed with chaff. Six handsome young men arrived early and vied eagerly for the first choice. One by one they picked the rainbow-colored bags. Finally, at the end of the day, Wei Niu arrived breathless direct from his neighbor's field after working hard since sunrise. Only the gray bag of bran remained. To everyone's surprise, Kang Mei declared, "I choose Wei Niu. He is a diligent worker and will make the best husband." |
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History of Buyi Outreach Nineteenth century Catholic missionaries lived in southern Guizhou province and worked among the Buyi, then known as the "Chung Chia" or "the people in the middle." A few of the more wealthy and educated Buyis responded to the message and Catholic churches were built. Some of these remain, though the people living around them have largely forgotten what the church represented. |
| Protestant missionaries in
the early 20th century reported a handful of believers among the Buyi. These
missionaries transferred to work among the more responsive Miao peoples, leaving behind no
Buyi church and no Bible translation in the Buyi language. Few Buyi today have
heard the name of Jesus. They do not know of the God who loves them and sent His Son
to be the sacrifice, to exorcise evil from their hearts and lives. |
FAST FACTS ABOUT THE BUYI How many Buyis are there? Where do they live? In 1990 the People's Republic of China reported 2,545,059 Buyi (also spelled "Bouyei"), most of whom live in Guizhou Province in Southwest China. More than 90% are farmers. What language do they speak? The Buyi have their own language which is closely related to the Thai language spoken in Thailand. Many Buyi can also speak the southwestern dialect of Mandarin (Chinese). How many Buyi are Christians? Very few Buyi have had an opportunity to hear about Jesus Christ. A handful attend Christian churches in the provincial capital of Guiyang and other cities, but most would need to travel hours to find a group of Christians. How can I pray for the Buyi? 1. Pray that God will open up doors of opportunity for the Buyi to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ and that He will prepare their hearts to receive the good news. 2. Pray that the Bible will be translated into the Buyi language and that ways will be found to get the Bible, in written or oral form, to the Buyi. 3. Pray for physical and spiritual protection for new Buyi believers, that they might be discipled, and that an indigenous church will be established. |
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Contact: The Singing Ambassadors
© 1997-1999 The Singing Ambassadors
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