Dungan in Kyrgyzstan


Population
Main Language
Largest Religion
Christian
Evangelical
Progress
Progress Gauge

Introduction / History

The Dungan originated in the Kansu and Shensi provinces of northwestern China, but today there are people from Kansu living in the mountains and valleys of Kyrgyzstan. Culturally, the Dungan are like the Han Chinese, but their language is greatly influenced by Arabic, Persian and Turkish.


What Are Their Lives Like?

They are a proud, hospitable, nationalistic and conservative people who refer to themselves as “Chinese Muslims” despite having cut ties with China. The Dungan are famous for their hospitality.

They love to keep flower gardens and greenhouses and take great pride in doing so. Their settlements are concentrated in river valleys. A Dungan farm village may have a population of thousands. Each village has a council that manages the farm. Farms, which are basically small cities, have electricity, running water and gas for cooking. In each farm village, there are one or two schools. Each village has day nurseries, general stores, a hospital, and a post office. Some also have tobacco factories, evening schools, dairies, bathhouses, and machine repair shops.

The Dungan tend to be endogamous, meaning they marry within a certain specified group. The Dungan in Kazakhstan are more conservative than those in Kyrgyzstan and do not permit their girls to marry Dungan from any other place.


What Are Their Beliefs?

At present, they remain nominally Muslim, both in China and in Kyrgyzstan. We know of no Dungans who have put their faith in Christ except in Mongolia.


What Are Their Needs?

There are very few if any efforts to take the only savior to the Dungan people. Who will go to them?


Prayer Points

Pray for an abundant blessing of Dungan families and communities as they embrace Jesus Christ, the Lord of Lords.
Pray for a movement to Christ that will enrich the Dungan community.
Pray for spiritual openness to Jesus Christ that will not be hindered by the false belief in religious institutions rather than the person, Jesus Christ.


Scripture Prayers for the Dungan in Kyrgyzstan.


Profile Source:   Joshua Project  

People Name General Dungan
People Name in Country Dungan
Pronunciation DUNG-un
Alternate Names Hui; Huizu; Huizui; Khoton
Population this Country 76,000
Population all Countries 158,000
Total Countries 5
Indigenous Yes
Progress Scale 1
Unreached Yes
Frontier People Group Yes
GSEC 1  (per PeopleGroups.org)
Pioneer Workers Needed 2
PeopleID3 12145
ROP3 Code 103902
Country Kyrgyzstan
Region Asia, Central
Continent Asia
10/40 Window Yes
Persecution Rank Not ranked
Location in Country Largest enclave in Ysyk-Kol Region near Karakol; others in Chuy Region, in Bishkek and 2 small nearby border areas.   Source:  Ethnologue 2016
Country Kyrgyzstan
Region Asia, Central
Continent Asia
10/40 Window Yes
Persecution Rank Not ranked
Location in Country Largest enclave in Ysyk-Kol Region near Karakol; others in Chuy Region, in Bishkek and 2 small nearby border areas..   Source:  Ethnologue 2016
Map of Dungan in Kyrgyzstan Ethnolinguistic map or other map

Primary Religion: Islam
Major Religion Percent
Buddhism
0.00 %
Christianity  (Evangelical 0.00 %)
0.00 %
Ethnic Religions
0.00 %
Hinduism
0.00 %
Islam
100.00 %
Non-Religious
0.00 %
Other / Small
0.00 %
Unknown
0.00 %
Primary Language Dungan
Language Code dng   Ethnologue Listing
Language Written Yes   ScriptSource Listing
Total Languages 4
Secondary Languages
Kyrgyz Russian Uzbek, Northern
Primary Language Dungan
Language Code dng   Ethnologue Listing
Total Languages 4
Secondary Languages
  Kyrgyz
  Russian
  Uzbek, Northern
People Groups Speaking Dungan
Photo Source Bruno Rijsman - Flickr  Creative Commons 
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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