Cai in China

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

Introduction / History

The Cai, who are also known as the Caijia, have never been included as part of any official nationality by the Chinese authorities. In the 1982 census they were placed in a list of Undetermined Minorities. The Cai were just one of 80 groups in Guizhou on this list which totaled more than 900,000 people. In 1985 many of these groups were assigned into existing nationalities, but scholars remained baffled by the complexity of the Cai. They remain an unclassified group, although the authorities believe them to be related to the Miao. The Cai consider themselves distinct from all other ethnic groups in the region and strongly insist on being granted their own minority status.

During the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), when the Cai were a stronger and much larger group than today, they appeared in historical accounts as the Song Ren. They are believed to have fragmented into smaller groups over the past 300 years. Today, the Lu ethnic group is ethnoculturally close to the Cai. The Cai intermarry with the Lu and consider them to have once been related.


What Are Their Lives Like?

The Cai used to wear clothes made of fur. This can still be seen in some of the more remote Cai villages today. Many Cai are employed as shepherds and goatherds. A sizable number also work in the carpet-making industry.


What Are Their Beliefs?

Most Cai worship many gods and spirits, although in recent decades an increasing Christian presence has also emerged among them. The polytheistic Cai blow leaves to worship spirits. When a Cai person dies, the people attending the funeral are not permitted to cry or show any remorse. Instead, they walk around the corpse and sing.

Most Cai Christians heard the gospel from Yi and Miao evangelists who were sent to reach out to them. The northwest Guizhou region was first focused on by missionaries in the late 1800s. A mass people movement to Christ occurred in the early 1900s, especially among the AHmao (Big Flowery Miao).


What Are Their Needs?

Today, there are numerous Christian communities in Dafang County, but believers live in dire poverty and have few Bibles.


Prayer Points

Pray for a community-changing revival to move in Cai churches, giving them to desire to be Christ-bearers to their unreached neighbors.
Pray for God s protection and goodness to permeate Cai families.
Pray for the Holy Spirit to move in Cai churches, leading them to discipleship.


Scripture Prayers for the Cai in China.


References

Operation China, Asia Harvest, Copyrighted Used with permission.


Profile Source:   Joshua Project  

People Name General Cai
People Name in Country Cai
Pronunciation Tsai
Alternate Names Ah-oh-ma; Awuzi; Cai Jia Miao; Caijia; Man Ni; Se-Ni; Song Ren
Population this Country 34,000
Population all Countries 34,000
Total Countries 1
Indigenous Yes
Progress Scale 4
Unreached No
Frontier People Group No
GSEC 1  (per PeopleGroups.org)
Pioneer Workers Needed
PeopleID3 18426
ROP3 Code 114021
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 In 1982 a total of 17,000 Cai people inhabited communities in western Guizhou province. They are concentrated in Dafang, Zhijin, Nayong, Weining, Bijie, and Qianxi counties. The Cai live in the vicinity of numerous ethnic groups, including several distinct Yi and Miao groups. The Cai may call themselves Man Ni. The Miao call the Cai Seni; the Yi call them Ah-ohma, and the Han know them as Cai Jia Miao.   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 In 1982 a total of 17,000 Cai people inhabited communities in western Guizhou province. They are concentrated in Dafang, Zhijin, Nayong, Weining, Bijie, and Qianxi counties. The Cai live in the vicinity of numerous ethnic groups, including several distinct Yi and Miao groups. The Cai may call themselves Man Ni. The Miao call the Cai Seni; the Yi call them Ah-ohma, and the Han know them as Cai Jia Miao..   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 2.50 %)
3.00 %
Ethnic Religions
93.00 %
Hinduism
0.00 %
Islam
0.00 %
Non-Religious
4.00 %
Other / Small
0.00 %
Unknown
0.00 %
Primary Language Gelao, Green (34,000 speakers)
Language Code giq   Ethnologue Listing
Language Written Unknown
Total Languages 1
Primary Language Gelao, Green (34,000 speakers)
Language Code giq   Ethnologue Listing
Total Languages 1
People Groups Speaking Gelao, Green

Primary Language:  Gelao, Green

Bible Translation Status:  Unspecified

Resource Type Resource Name Source
None reported  
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.