The Zaiwa are the largest subgroup of the official Jingpo nationality in China. The Zaiwa, who are called Xiaoshan, meaning "small mountain" by the Chinese, have a fearsome reputation. In 1911 James Fraser described the Zaiwa as "the wildest people around here by a long way. Inveterate robbers, their hand is against every man and every man's hand is against them. Dirty, unkempt, ignorant, everybody despises them. They are savages only and not cannibals."
The Zaiwa have forged a reputation for themselves as a local version of the Mafia. Their gumsa system encourages a "belligerent, competitive, authoritarian society whose chiefs are chosen by public consent." The large Zaiwa village of Banwa forced 44 neighboring villages, amounting to 1,020 households, to pay them "protection" money.
The Zaiwa are enslaved by almost every kind of vice imaginable. Zaiwa young men "do not sleep at home. They usually spend the night flirting with young women at the youth club. Sexual relations are so disorderly as to have rendered them unfit for physical labor. A girl who gets pregnant without a proposal will not easily find another boy to marry her and will be considered a widow because of the heavy bride-price." In Banwa Village alone, there were 55 such "widows" from a total of 134 households.
The Zaiwa are enslaved by evil spirits. In the past they even bullied Lisu households into paying a tax of three squirrels per year, to be used as an offering to the spirits. One tragic example of the Zaiwa's bondage is retold here: "Elder Dai's daughter-in-law died of fever after having a difficult labor. Before her death, several head of cattle were sacrificed to the demons. During the cremation, the firewood did not burn steadily due to its dampness. The sorcerer thereby proclaimed that the deceased's personal effects be thrown into the fire to annul her parsimony. As the fire still did not burst into a blaze, the sorcerer then attributed the cause to the deceased's reluctance to leave her newborn baby behind, thus resulting in the baby being thrown into the fire."
Despite living alongside strong Jingpo Christian communities, "the demon-worshiping Zaiwa never showed the slightest inclination to turn to Christianity." Moreover, Zaiwa who became Christians in some of the mixed villages were ostracized by their own tribe, "who would expel them from the village and confiscate their land and livestock, compelling them eventually to abandon their alien belief." There are a reported 4,000 Zaiwa Christians, mostly in Myanmar, with few in China. Gospel radio broadcasts in Zaiwa started in 1996, and the New Testament is available in Zaiwa.
Scripture Prayers for the Zaiwa in Myanmar (Burma).
Profile Source: Operation China, Asia Harvest Copyrighted © Used with permission |
People Name General | Zaiwa |
People Name in Country | Zaiwa |
Pronunciation | Zay-wah |
Alternate Names | Aci; Aji; Atshi; Atsi; Atsi-Maru; Atzi; Azi; Szi; Tsaiwa; Xiaoshan; Xiaoshanhua |
Population this Country | 36,000 |
Population all Countries | 156,000 |
Total Countries | 2 |
Indigenous | Yes |
Progress Scale | 4 ● |
Unreached | No |
Frontier People Group | No |
GSEC | 4 (per PeopleGroups.org) |
Pioneer Workers Needed | |
People ID | 15586 |
ROP3 Code | 110204 |
ROP25 Code | 309077 |
ROP25 Name | Zaiwa |
Country | Myanmar (Burma) | ||
Region | Asia, Southeast | ||
Continent | Asia | ||
10/40 Window | Yes | ||
National Bible Society | Website | ||
Persecution Rank | 14 (Open Doors top 50 rank, 1 = highest persecution ranking) | ||
Location in Country | Kachin State, Waimaw township, Sedan area; Shan State, Kentung district. Source: Ethnologue 2016 |
Country | Myanmar (Burma) |
Region | Asia, Southeast |
Continent | Asia |
10/40 Window | Yes |
National Bible Society | Website |
Persecution Rank | 14 (Open Doors top 50 rank, 1 = highest persecution ranking) |
Location in Country | Kachin State, Waimaw township, Sedan area; Shan State, Kentung district.. Source: Ethnologue 2016 |
No people group map currently available. Use the above button to submit a map.
Primary Religion: | Ethnic Religions |
Major Religion ▲ | Percent |
---|---|
Buddhism |
20.00 %
|
Christianity (Evangelical 5.00 %) |
7.00 %
|
Ethnic Religions |
70.00 %
|
Hinduism |
0.00 %
|
Islam |
0.00 %
|
Non-Religious |
3.00 %
|
Other / Small |
0.00 %
|
Unknown |
0.00 %
|
Primary Language | Zaiwa (36,000 speakers) |
Language Code | atb Ethnologue Listing |
Language Written | Yes ScriptSource Listing |
Total Languages | 1 |
Primary Language | Zaiwa (36,000 speakers) |
Language Code | atb Ethnologue Listing |
Total Languages | 1 |
People Groups | Speaking Zaiwa |
Primary Language: Zaiwa
Bible Translation ▲ | Status (Years) |
---|---|
Bible-Portions | Yes (1939-1951) |
Bible-New Testament | Yes (2009-2019) |
Bible-Complete | No |
FCBH NT (www.bible.is) | Online |
YouVersion NT (www.bible.com) | Online |
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 | God's Story video | God's Story |
Film / Video | Jesus Film: view in Zaiwa | Jesus Film Project |
Film / Video | LUMO film of Gospels | Bible Media Group/LUMO |
Film / Video | World Christian Videos | World Christian Videos |
General | Faith Comes By Hearing - Bible in text or audio or video | Faith Comes by Hearing |
General | Faith Comes By Hearing - Bible in text or audio or video | Faith Comes by Hearing |
General | Gospel resources links | Scripture Earth |
General | YouVersion Bible versions in text and/or audio | YouVersion Bibles |
Mobile App | Android Bible app: Zaiwa | YouVersion Bibles |
Mobile App | iOS Bible app: Zaiwa | YouVersion Bibles |
Text / Printed Matter | Download scripture in this language | eBible.org |
Photo Source | Copyrighted © 2023 Operation China, Asia Harvest All rights reserved. Used with permission |
Profile Source | Operation China, Asia Harvest Copyrighted © Used with permission |
Data Sources | Data is compiled from various sources. Learn more. |