Aoka in China

The Aoka have only been reported in China
Population
Main Language
Largest Religion
Christian
Evangelical
Progress
Progress Gauge

Introduction / History

Although they are officially part of the Miao nationality, the Aoka speak a unique Chinese language, a fact they apparently refuse to accept. When linguists visited them and told them that they spoke a form of Chinese, "they claimed that they spoke Miao, because their speech was very different from that of the surrounding Chinese population, and because they wore Miao clothes instead of Chinese clothes."

In the aftermath of Chinese wars against them, the ancestors of the Aoka were launched into an era of migration. Tired of being harassed, they fled across mountain ranges in hope of finding an isolated place where they could be left alone. Many of the ethnic groups now known as the Hmu also traveled into Hunan and Guangxi. They may be the ancestors of the Aoka. After centuries of living beside the all-powerful Han Chinese, the Aoka have lost their language and are being speedily assimilated to the Han Chinese language and culture.


What Are Their Lives Like?

Aoka communities work together as one to design and build homes for each other. During a crisis, all the people come together to find a solution. In many villages, the Aoka believe the stove is the center of their home and they are afraid to offend the "spirit of the stove." They are forbidden to place their feet or shoes on the stove, and at night they must remove all pots and pans from it: not to do so is believed to bring a curse to the family.


What Are Their Beliefs?

Some Aoka believe there was once a ladder connecting heaven to the earth. A long time ago the ladder was broken, and no people have been able to visit heaven since. Today the majority of Aoka are animists, living under the influence of demons and evil spirits. Many have also adopted the ancestor worship belief systems of their Han Chinese neighbors.

More than three-quarters of Aoka people have yet to hear the gospel for the first time. No widespread mission effort was undertaken in their area before missionaries were expelled from China in the early 1950s. There are few Miao or Han Chinese Christian communities in that part of China today. Hunan remains one of the most unreached provinces in China. Although they have their own spoken language, the Aoka use the Chinese script for writing. Few Aoka, however, are literate enough to read the Chinese Bible or other evangelistic literature.


What Are Their Needs?

The Aoka people need to submit to Jesus Christ so they can experience the abundant life he offers them in John 10:10.


Prayer Points

Pray for the authority of Christ to bind hindering spiritual forces to lead them from darkness to light.

Pray for signs and wonders to happen among them and for great breakthroughs with a rapid multiplication of disciples and house churches.

Pray for bold workers who are driven by the love of the Holy Spirit to go to them.

Pray for an unstoppable movement to Christ among them.


Scripture Prayers for the Aoka in China.


References

Operation China, Asia Harvest, Copyrighted © Used with permission


Profile Source:   Joshua Project  

People Name General Aoka
People Name in Country Aoka
Pronunciation Aow-kha
Alternate Names Ao Biao; Mao; Maojia; Qingyi Miao
Population this Country 299,000
Population all Countries 299,000
Total Countries 1
Indigenous Yes
Progress Scale 1
Unreached Yes
Frontier People Group No
GSEC 1  (per PeopleGroups.org)
Pioneer Workers Needed 6
People ID 18398
ROP3 Code 113992
ROP25 Code 300378
ROP25 Name Aoka
Country China
Region Asia, Northeast
Continent Asia
10/40 Window Yes
National Bible Society Website
Persecution Rank 19  (Open Doors top 50 rank, 1 = highest persecution ranking)
Location in Country The 1991 Encyclopedic Dictionary of Chinese Linguistics lists 200,000 Aoka people who speak the Maojia language, also known as Qingyi Miao. They are located in the mountains of Chengbu County in southwestern Hunan Province; and also in the Ziyun District of Longsheng County in the northeastern part of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.   Source:  Operation China, 2000
Country China
Region Asia, Northeast
Continent Asia
10/40 Window Yes
National Bible Society Website
Persecution Rank 19  (Open Doors top 50 rank, 1 = highest persecution ranking)
Location in Country The 1991 Encyclopedic Dictionary of Chinese Linguistics lists 200,000 Aoka people who speak the Maojia language, also known as Qingyi Miao. They are located in the mountains of Chengbu County in southwestern Hunan Province; and also in the Ziyun District of Longsheng County in the northeastern part of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region..   Source:  Operation China, 2000
Map of Aoka in China Ethnolinguistic map or other map

Primary Religion: Ethnic Religions
Major Religion Percent
Buddhism
0.00 %
Christianity  (Evangelical 0.70 %)
1.00 %
Ethnic Religions
92.00 %
Hinduism
0.00 %
Islam
0.00 %
Non-Religious
7.00 %
Other / Small
0.00 %
Unknown
0.00 %
Primary Language Chinese, Xiang (299,000 speakers)
Language Code hsn   Ethnologue Listing
Language Written Yes   ScriptSource Listing
Total Languages 1
Primary Language Chinese, Xiang (299,000 speakers)
Language Code hsn   Ethnologue Listing
Total Languages 1
People Groups Speaking Chinese, Xiang

Primary Language:  Chinese, Xiang

Bible Translation Status  (Years)
Bible-Portions Yes  (1999-2001)
Bible-New Testament No
Bible-Complete No
Possible Print Bibles
Amazon
World Bibles
Forum Bible Agencies
National Bible Societies
World Bible Finder
Virtual Storehouse
Resource Type Resource Name Source
Audio Recordings Audio Bible teaching Global Recordings Network
Audio Recordings Story of Jesus audio Jesus Film Project
Film / Video Jesus Film: view in Chinese, Xiang Jesus Film Project
Film / Video World Christian Videos World Christian Videos
General Gospel resources links Scripture Earth
Photo Source Anonymous 
Map Source People Group location: IMB. Map geography: ESRI / GMI. Map design: Joshua Project.  
Profile Source Joshua Project 
Data Sources Data is compiled from various sources. Learn more.



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