Mozhihei in China

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

Introduction / History

Han Chinese peasants migrated into western Hunan in the early twelfth century, bringing with them modern tools and farming expertise. Some Mozhihei youth joined the communist Long March after it passed through their area in 1935. Some traveled all the way to northern China and fought against the Japanese.

Although they are considered part of the Tujia nationality, the Mozhihei speak a very different language from other Tujia people. Tujia is the historical Chinese name for this group. The Southern Tujia call themselves Mozhihei, while the Northern Tujia speakers use the autonym Bizika. The two Tujia groups have separate customs, names and languages.


What Are Their Lives Like?

The Mozhihei have a rich repertoire of traditional songs and dances. "The Hand Waving Dance, with its seventy ritual gestures that represent war, hunting, farming and other aspects of life, is popular at the New Year's festival." The Mozhihei grow a variety of crops including wet rice, wheat, maize, and sweet potatoes. Cash crops include beets, cotton, and tea. Mozhihei men are proficient hunters, trappers, and fishermen. From the time a Mozhihei girl is 10 or 11 years old, she begins practicing how to cry sufficiently for her future wedding, to show the wedding guests how much she will miss her parents. "How well she cries is considered a test of her abilities as well as her integrity. So, a girl who does not perform well enough in crying will probably be looked down upon."


What Are Their Beliefs?

The beliefs of the Mozhihei are a mixture of shamanism, Daoism, ancestral worship, and ancient beliefs involving ghosts and evil spirits. Many of the Mozhihei who have moved to urban areas for work or education now consider themselves atheists.

For centuries they have lived and died without any knowledge of the Savior of the world. Few missionaries have ever braved the remote mountains of western Hunan, leaving it one of the most unevangelized areas in China today. The nearest Christian community is probably the 2,000 believers, mainly Han, in Danjiang County in neighboring eastern Sichuan Province.


What Are Their Needs?

Without the guidance of Christ, these people are like sheep without a shepherd. They need the good shepherd in their families and communities.


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 Mozhihei in China.


References

Operation China, Asia Harvest, Copyrighted © Used with permission


Profile Source:   Joshua Project  

People Name General Mozhihei
People Name in Country Mozhihei
Pronunciation MOH-jerr-hay
Alternate Names Southern Tuchia; Tujia, Southern
Population this Country 6,700
Population all Countries 6,700
Total Countries 1
Indigenous Yes
Progress Scale 1
Unreached Yes
Frontier People Group Yes
GSEC 1  (per PeopleGroups.org)
Pioneer Workers Needed 1
PeopleID3 18611
ROP3 Code 114231
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 More than 5,000 speakers of the Mozhihei language live in the Tanxi District of Luxi County, in the western part of Hunan Province. The mountainous region - close to the juncture of Hunan, Sichuan, and Guizhou provinces - is largely inhabited by Miao people. Tanxi lies on the northern bank of the Wushui River, which serves as a tributary of the Yuanjiang River.   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 More than 5,000 speakers of the Mozhihei language live in the Tanxi District of Luxi County, in the western part of Hunan Province. The mountainous region - close to the juncture of Hunan, Sichuan, and Guizhou provinces - is largely inhabited by Miao people. Tanxi lies on the northern bank of the Wushui River, which serves as a tributary of the Yuanjiang River..   Source:  Operation China, 2000
Map of Mozhihei in China Ethnolinguistic map or other map

Primary Religion: Ethnic Religions
Major Religion Percent
Buddhism
0.00 %
Christianity  (Evangelical 0.00 %)
0.00 %
Ethnic Religions
80.00 %
Hinduism
0.00 %
Islam
0.00 %
Non-Religious
20.00 %
Other / Small
0.00 %
Unknown
0.00 %
Primary Language Tujia, Southern (6,700 speakers)
Language Code tjs   Ethnologue Listing
Language Written Unknown
Total Languages 1
Primary Language Tujia, Southern (6,700 speakers)
Language Code tjs   Ethnologue Listing
Total Languages 1
People Groups Speaking Tujia, Southern

Primary Language:  Tujia, Southern

Bible Translation Status:  Unspecified

Resource Type Resource Name Source
None reported  
Photo Source Copyrighted © 2024  Create International  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.


Joshua Project logo    Terms of Use   Privacy Policy   Contact Us   Copyright © 2024