Ha Li in China

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

Introduction / History

The Ha are the largest of the groups under the official Li nationality.
The Ha language is the lingua franca used by most of the Li on Hainan Island. It has three main dialects. A Roman orthography for the Li was created in 1957. Ha Li shares 30% lexical similarity with Northern Zhuang, 27% with Gelao, and 26% with Dong.
For centuries the Li rebelled against Chinese rule of Hainan. During World War II, the Li joined the communists to fight the Japanese who had invaded the island in 1939. Hainan was considered a part of Guangdong until 1988, when it was granted status as a separate province.


What Are Their Lives Like?

Ha Li women in the past wore 56 huge earrings during festivals. One visitor described their appearance: "The ears of the Ha women were weighted down with silver and brass, and their ankles were circled with silver and gold bands. The women I saw did not cover their breasts. They were very coy and shy. The men were tall, many six feet, and wore their black or brown hair in big knots extending out about four inches from their foreheads. Many wore turbans of red, white and blue through which they extended a big knot. They dressed in G-strings and carried great knives in baskets at their backs."


What Are Their Beliefs?

Their god, Pa-Thung, lives in an unknown place. But his agents, evil spirits, keep an eye on their villages from nearby places like caves and rivers. The Ha Li god, Pa-Thung, "is a good god, and lives in some unknown place. But his agents, devils sent to watch the (Ha Li) villages, are ever present and always live in a nearby cave, in a river, in the jungle, or on a nearby mountain. The villages have paid priests, or witchdoctors, who complain to Pa-Thung when local devils spitefully send thunder, lightning and rain or when they bring famine or sickness to the people."


What Are Their Needs?

Of the approximately 1,000 Li believers on Hainan Island, the majority are among the Ha Li. Many Li churches are filled with rampant heresies and cultic activities. One Christian visitor described a bizarre Li church service. "The leader drinks a cup of tea which has been blessed by the Holy Spirit and sprays it over the believers. Then they close their eyes and dance until they become exhausted and fall to the ground. The Li Christians lack familiarity with the Bible."


Prayer Points

Pray for Ha Li Christians to find their way to true holiness, and to forsake spiritual error.
Pray for them to put Jesus Christ far above traditions and rituals.
Pray for the Lord to penetrate every Ha Li family with the gospel.


Scripture Prayers for the Li, Ha in China.


References

Operation China, Asia Harvest, Copyrighted © Used with permission


Profile Source:   Joshua Project  

People Name General Li, Ha
People Name in Country Li, Ha
Natural Name Ha Li
Pronunciation ha lee
Alternate Names Bli; Dli; La; Lai; Le; Li; Loi; Paoting
Population this Country 702,000
Population all Countries 702,000
Total Countries 1
Indigenous Yes
Progress Scale 1
Unreached Yes
Frontier People Group No
GSEC 1  (per PeopleGroups.org)
Pioneer Workers Needed 14
PeopleID3 18550
ROP3 Code 114167
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 Approximately 540,000 speakers of Ha Li are located in the western part of Hainan Island. The Ha Li live primarily in Ledong, Yaxian, and Dongfang counties, although they can also be found on the fringes of four other neighboring counties. Hainan was a hunter's paradise until recently, and even now a large number of wild animals can still be found in the more mountainous regions. In 1938 one visitor reported, "Hainan's wild-life includes two species of deer… porcupines, foxes, flying squirrels, monkeys, and pythons… there are also boars… leopards, black gibbons, and numerous birds such as parrots, pheasants, mynas, pigeons and doves."   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 Approximately 540,000 speakers of Ha Li are located in the western part of Hainan Island. The Ha Li live primarily in Ledong, Yaxian, and Dongfang counties, although they can also be found on the fringes of four other neighboring counties. Hainan was a hunter's paradise until recently, and even now a large number of wild animals can still be found in the more mountainous regions. In 1938 one visitor reported, "Hainan's wild-life includes two species of deer… porcupines, foxes, flying squirrels, monkeys, and pythons… there are also boars… leopards, black gibbons, and numerous birds such as parrots, pheasants, mynas, pigeons and doves.".   Source:  Operation China, 2000
Map of Li, Ha in China Ethnolinguistic map or other map

Primary Religion: Ethnic Religions
Major Religion Percent
Buddhism
0.00 %
Christianity  (Evangelical 0.11 %)
0.20 %
Ethnic Religions
95.00 %
Hinduism
0.00 %
Islam
0.00 %
Non-Religious
4.80 %
Other / Small
0.00 %
Unknown
0.00 %
Primary Language Hlai (702,000 speakers)
Language Code lic   Ethnologue Listing
Primary Dialect Ha
Dialect Code 10651   Global Recordings Listing
Language Written Yes   ScriptSource Listing
Total Languages 1
Primary Language Hlai (702,000 speakers)
Language Code lic   Ethnologue Listing
Primary Dialect Ha
Dialect Code 10651   Global Recordings Listing
Total Languages 1
People Groups Speaking Hlai

Primary Language:  Hlai

Bible Translation Status  (Years)
Bible-Portions Yes  (2015)
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
Film / Video Jesus Film: view in Hlai Jesus Film Project
General Bible for Children Bible for Children
General Scripture Earth Gospel resources links Scripture Earth
Photo Source Copyrighted © 2024  Operation China, Asia Harvest  All rights reserved.  Used with permission
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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