Horned Miao in China

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

Introduction / History

The Horned Miao have been officially counted as part of the large Miao nationality in China, but they have a distinct ethnolinguistic identity. The Chinese call them Jiaojiao Miao in Mandarin, or Koko Miao in the local Chinese dialect. We have called them Horned Miao because of their women's practice of wearing large wooden horns on their head. The Miao in Bijie call them Hmong Soud which means "lively" or "bustling." This name reflects the energetic way the Horned Miao celebrate festivals. The Horned Miao are not the same as the Hmong Vron (Long Horn Miao), who live in northwest Guizhou.

The Horned Miao call themselves Hmong Khuat Shuad Ndrang which means "guest of the Chinese plain Hmong." Johnson notes, "This autonym is somewhat ironic in that the local Hmong claim they lived in the small plain just north of Bijie before the Chinese did and were then driven out to the surrounding hilly regions by Chinese settlers."


What Are Their Lives Like?

The Horned Miao women have a striking appearance. "Their hair, along with false hair, is wrapped around a large horn-shaped wooden comb. In the past, this comb was smaller, and the tips only just protruded out from the hair. In more recent times, and especially amongst older people, the comb is extremely wide, almost the size of buffalo horns. During festival times, the young women wear as many as thirty skirts and several long jackets."


What Are Their Beliefs?

The majority of Horned Miao share the animistic and polytheistic practices of their Hmong neighbors. They are a superstitious people, believing a finely balanced harmony must be kept between them and the spirit world.

Despite living near the heavily Christianized A-Hmao and Gha-Mu groups, linguistic and cultural barriers have prevented the Horned Miao from fully embracing the gospel. In the past there was no Christian work among them, resulting in few today having heard of Christ.


What Are Their Needs?

The Horned Miao need a complete harvest. As it stands, there is a small Christian minority, but there is much gospel work needed.


Prayer Points

Pray for evangelists and disciplers to go to the Horned Miao communities.
Pray for the Holy Spirit to abundantly bless Horned Miao families and villages.
Pray that soon Horned Miao workers will evangelize and disciple less reached peoples in Yunnan Province.
Pray for the authority of Christ to bind hindering spiritual forces to lead them from darkness to light.


Scripture Prayers for the Miao, Horned in China.


References

Operation China, Asia Harvest, Copyrighted Used with permission.


Profile Source:   Joshua Project  

People Name General Miao, Horned
People Name in Country Miao, Horned
Natural Name Horned Miao
Pronunciation Meow
Alternate Names Bai Miao; Hmong Soud; Hmong Vron; Horn Miao; Horned Miao; Jiaojiao Miao; Koko Miao; White Miao
Population this Country 84,000
Population all Countries 84,000
Total Countries 1
Indigenous Yes
Progress Scale 4
Unreached No
Frontier People Group No
GSEC 1  (per PeopleGroups.org)
Pioneer Workers Needed
PeopleID3 13704
ROP3 Code 106595
Country China
Region Asia, Northeast
Continent Asia
10/40 Window Yes
National Bible Society Website
Persecution Rank 15  (Open Doors top 50 rank, 1 = highest persecution ranking)
Location in Country Linguist Michael Johnson, an expert on the Miao languages, listed a 1998 population of 50,000 Horned Miao living in southern China. They are located on a thin strip of land that stretches from Zhenxiong County in northeastern Yunnan Province all the way southeast to Guiyang Municipality, the capital of Guizhou Province. The main concentration of Horned Miao inhabit the Shuangshau, Xiangshui, and Pojiao districts of Dafang County in Guizhou.   Source:  Operation China, 2000
Country China
Region Asia, Northeast
Continent Asia
10/40 Window Yes
National Bible Society Website
Persecution Rank 15  (Open Doors top 50 rank, 1 = highest persecution ranking)
Location in Country Linguist Michael Johnson, an expert on the Miao languages, listed a 1998 population of 50,000 Horned Miao living in southern China. They are located on a thin strip of land that stretches from Zhenxiong County in northeastern Yunnan Province all the way southeast to Guiyang Municipality, the capital of Guizhou Province. The main concentration of Horned Miao inhabit the Shuangshau, Xiangshui, and Pojiao districts of Dafang County in Guizhou..   Source:  Operation China, 2000

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Ethnolinguistic map or other map

Primary Religion: Ethnic Religions
Major Religion Percent
Buddhism
0.00 %
Christianity  (Evangelical 5.00 %)
5.20 %
Ethnic Religions
89.80 %
Hinduism
0.00 %
Islam
0.00 %
Non-Religious
5.00 %
Other / Small
0.00 %
Unknown
0.00 %
Primary Language Miao, Horned (84,000 speakers)
Language Code hrm   Ethnologue Listing
Language Written Yes   ScriptSource Listing
Total Languages 1
Primary Language Miao, Horned (84,000 speakers)
Language Code hrm   Ethnologue Listing
Total Languages 1
People Groups Speaking Miao, Horned

Primary Language:  Miao, Horned

Bible Translation Status  (Years)
Bible-Portions Yes  (2024)
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 Miao, Horned Jesus Film Project
Photo Source Copyrighted © 2025  Operation China, Asia Harvest  All rights reserved.  Used with permission
Profile Source Joshua Project 
Data Sources Data is compiled from various sources. Learn more.