Northern Khampa in China

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

Introduction / History

Heinrich Harrier, famous for his book Seven Years in Tibet, walked through Khampa areas in the 1940s. Harrier described the Khampa: "They live in groups in three or four tents which serve as headquarters for their campaigns. Heavily armed with rifles and swords they force their way into a nomad's tent and insist on hospitable entertainment on the most lavish scale available. The nomad in terror brings out everything he has. The Khampas fill their bellies and their pockets and, taking a few cattle with them for good measure, disappear into the wide open spaces. They repeat the performance at another tent every day till the whole region has been skinned. Stories were told of the cruelty with which they sometimes put their victims to death. They go so far as to slaughter pilgrims and wandering monks and nuns."

The Northern Khampa are part of the Tibetan nationality in China. Anthropologist Michael Peissel described them in 1964: "The Khampas stood a good six feet in height wore great heavy boots and flowing khaki robes that flapped like whips as they walked, advancing with their feet slightly apart as if to trample the grass to extinction. Unlike Tibetans of Lhasa, their features were not Mongoloid."

Northern Khampa is one of three Khampa groups, "each speaking its own language and living in different areas. Due to the migration of peoples and the many political developments, Tibet has become very ethnically complex."


What Are Their Lives Like?

Khampa men are easily identifiable by the red and black tassels braided into their hair. They say that they wear this to protect their scalps during knife fights. Khampa superstition says a man without an earring will be reincarnated as a donkey. Turquoise, red coral, bone, and silver ornaments decorate nomad Khampa women's hair.


What Are Their Beliefs?

Although they profess to be Buddhists, the Khampa nomads' religion is little more than a crude imitation of the ideals of the pure form of Buddhism.

The Northern Khampa are separated by geographic, linguistic, cultural, and religious barriers. There has never been any kind of church or Christian witness in the extremely isolated and practically impenetrable Yushu Prefecture.


What Are Their Needs?

Without the guidance of Christ, these people will be lost in this life and the life to come. They need someone to go to them as Christ-bearers.


Prayer Points

Pray for the spiritual blindness and bondage to the evil one to be removed so they can understand and respond to Christ.

Pray for the Lord to provide for their physical and spiritual needs as a testimony of his power and love.

Pray that the Khampa people will have a spiritual hunger that will open their hearts to the King of kings.

Pray for an unstoppable movement to Christ among them.


Scripture Prayers for the Khampa, Northern in China.


References

Operation China, Asia Harvest, Copyrighted © Used with permission


Profile Source:   Joshua Project  

The Khampa Nomads

Source:  Asia Harvest      Download

People Name General Khampa, Northern
People Name in Country Khampa, Northern
Natural Name Northern Khampa
Pronunciation Kum-ba
Alternate Names Atuentse; Deqen Tibetan; Kangba; Kham; Khamba; Mekong Tibetan; Nyarong
Population this Country 151,000
Population all Countries 151,000
Total Countries 1
Indigenous Yes
Progress Scale 1
Unreached Yes
Frontier People Group Yes
Pioneer Workers Needed 3
People ID 18523
ROP3 Code 114137
ROP25 Code 303929
ROP25 Name Khampa
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 A 1987 linguistic study listed 91,000 speakers of the Northern Khampa Tibetan language. They occupy the large, sparsely populated Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in southern Qinghai Province. Northern Khampa is spoken as far north as the 5,214-meter-high (17,100 ft.) Mount Yagradagze. In addition, a small number of Northern Khampa spill over the border into northeast Tibet. The nomadic Northern Khampa live on a high plateau where they herd sheep, goats, and yaks.   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 A 1987 linguistic study listed 91,000 speakers of the Northern Khampa Tibetan language. They occupy the large, sparsely populated Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in southern Qinghai Province. Northern Khampa is spoken as far north as the 5,214-meter-high (17,100 ft.) Mount Yagradagze. In addition, a small number of Northern Khampa spill over the border into northeast Tibet. The nomadic Northern Khampa live on a high plateau where they herd sheep, goats, and yaks..   Source:  Operation China, 2000
Map of Khampa, Northern in China Ethnolinguistic map or other map

Primary Religion: Buddhism
Religion Subdivision: Tibetan
Major Religion Percent
Buddhism
99.00 %
Christianity  (Evangelical 0.01 %)
0.02 %
Ethnic Religions
0.00 %
Hinduism
0.00 %
Islam
0.00 %
Non-Religious
0.98 %
Other / Small
0.00 %
Unknown
0.00 %
Primary Language Tibetan, Khams (151,000 speakers)
Language Code khg   Ethnologue Listing
Primary Dialect Northern Khams
Dialect Code 11926   Global Recordings Listing
Language Written Yes   ScriptSource Listing
Total Languages 1
Primary Language Tibetan, Khams (151,000 speakers)
Language Code khg   Ethnologue Listing
Primary Dialect Northern Khams
Dialect Code 11926   Global Recordings Listing
Total Languages 1
People Groups Speaking Tibetan, Khams
Photo Source Jared Kachurak 
Map Source People Group location: Asia Harvest. Map geography: ESRI / GMI. Map design: Joshua Project  
Video Source Asia Harvest
Profile Source Joshua Project 
Data Sources Data is compiled from various sources. Learn more.



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