Dongxiang in China

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

Introduction / History

In the thirteenth century China was subdued by the Mongols. In a bid to control the land he had taken over, Genghis Khan moved some of his garrisons into China. These soldiers intermarried with local women and gradually developed into their own distinct ethnic group called the Dongxiang. Some placenames seem to support this theory. For example, Zhayingtan (Encampment Beach), is said to be the site of an old Dongxiang garrison.

The Dongxiang are one of China's official minority groups. They were called Mongolian Huihui prior to 1949, when their name was changed to the Dongxiang (East District) people. They call themselves by the Islamic term Santa. Other Muslims in China do not consider the Dongxiang to be a part of the Islamic faith because of their involvement in drug and prostitution rackets.

The Dongxiang speak a Mongolian language. "Quite a few words in the Dongxiang lexicon resemble words of the same meaning in Modern Mongolian, and some are even identical to words presently used in Inner Mongolia. Many other words are close to the Middle Mongolian spoken in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries." Only 12% of the Dongxiang are literate in Chinese.


What Are Their Lives Like?

The Dongxiang are primarily employed as farmers. Their main crops are potatoes, barley, millet, wheat, and corn. They are also renowned across China for producing traditional rugs.


What Are Their Beliefs?

Not long after the Dongxiang first arrived in China, they were converted to Islam. By 1949, when the communists took over China, there was one mosque for every 30 Dongxiang homes and one paid Muslim worker for every nine families. The majority of Dongxiang belong to the Old Sect, which emphasizes worshiping at the tombs of Muslim saints. "The remainder belong to the New Sect, a fundamentalist and reformist group." There were numerous brutal wars between the two Dongxiang sects in the last century.

In the 1940s some missionaries briefly visited the Dongxiang area but were unsuccessful in converting anyone to Christ. In 1993 a Hong Kong based organization conducted mass literature evangelism in the main Dongxiang town. The nearest church to the Dongxiang is a Han Chinese fellowship in Linxia.


What Are Their Needs?

Without the guidance of Christ, these people will be spiritually lost in this life and the life to come. They need someone to go to them as Christ-bearers.


Prayer Points

Pray for the Lord to intervene in their families, calling people to his side.

Pray for loving, anointed workers.

Pray for their hearts to be drawn to the Lord of lords.

Pray for a church planting movement to thrive in their communities.


Scripture Prayers for the Dongxiang in China.


References

Operation China, Asia Harvest, Copyrighted © Used with permission


Profile Source:   Joshua Project  

People Name General Dongxiang
People Name in Country Dongxiang
Pronunciation dong-shee-UNG
Alternate Names Mongolian Huihui; Santa; Tung; Tunghsiang
Population this Country 636,000
Population all Countries 636,000
Total Countries 1
Indigenous Yes
Progress Scale 1
Unreached Yes
Frontier People Group Yes
GSEC 1  (per PeopleGroups.org)
Pioneer Workers Needed 13
PeopleID3 18444
ROP3 Code 114044
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 The majority of the more than 480,000 Dongxiang live in one long, spread-out valley in the southwestern part of Gansu Province. The Dongxiang region is a desolate, arid place with a moon-like landscape, even though it is bordered by the Tao River to the east, the Daxia River to the west, and the Yellow River to the north. Approximately 55,000 Dongxiang also live in the Ili Prefecture in Xinjiang and in parts of Qinghai and Ningxia.   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 The majority of the more than 480,000 Dongxiang live in one long, spread-out valley in the southwestern part of Gansu Province. The Dongxiang region is a desolate, arid place with a moon-like landscape, even though it is bordered by the Tao River to the east, the Daxia River to the west, and the Yellow River to the north. Approximately 55,000 Dongxiang also live in the Ili Prefecture in Xinjiang and in parts of Qinghai and Ningxia..   Source:  Operation China, 2000
Map of Dongxiang in China 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
99.95 %
Non-Religious
0.05 %
Other / Small
0.00 %
Unknown
0.00 %
Primary Language Dongxiang (636,000 speakers)
Language Code sce   Ethnologue Listing
Primary Dialect Wangjiaji
Dialect Code 9401   Global Recordings Listing
Language Written Yes   ScriptSource Listing
Total Languages 1
Primary Language Dongxiang (636,000 speakers)
Language Code sce   Ethnologue Listing
Primary Dialect Wangjiaji
Dialect Code 9401   Global Recordings Listing
Total Languages 1
People Groups Speaking Dongxiang

Primary Language:  Dongxiang

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 Jesus Film Project
Film / Video LUMO film of Gospels Bible Media Group/LUMO
Photo Source Peter Morgan - Wikimedia  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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