The Lingao, despite speaking their own Tai language, have been officially included as members of the Han Chinese nationality. "Although they regard themselves as Han people, they are regarded as Li people in historical records and by the Han people on Hainan Island." The Lingao call their language the "village language" - the same name as the Cun people on the west coast of Hainan. To avoid confusion, the Chinese have labeled this group Lingao.
Although the use of the Lingao language is widespread, "it has no orthography and is not taught in schools." Scholars disagree regarding the linguistic affiliation of Lingao. Some consider it "closely related to Bouyei, Giay, and Northern Zhuang." Many city-dwelling Lingao are bilingual in the local dialect of Chinese, and some speak Mandarin as a third language. Most rural Lingao, especially women and children, are unable to speak any language except their own.
The Lingao language suggests they may have originally been Zhuang who migrated from the Mainland. Hainan has belonged to China for about 2,000 years. "Yet the Chinese have occupied little more than its fringe, and among them the legend still persists that the wild men of the interior have tails!"
Many Lingao fish in the Beibu Gulf between Hainan and the Chinese Mainland. Every year, between May and October, severe storms lash the area.
The majority of Lingao are animists. In some locations they worship a multiplicity of spirit beings and ghosts. Ancestor worship is also common.
In 1630 Jesuit priests from Macau came and set up a chapel in Fucheng - then the capital of Qiongzhou. More than 250 years later, in the 1880s, Danish missionary Carl Jeremiassen also "settled down in Fucheng, Qiongshan County, where he bought the Ancestral Hall and turned it into a church." Today, most of the Christians on Hainan are in the northern part of the island. Many Han and Lingao youth have found Christ in recent years, as both official and underground churches report overflowing crowds at their meetings.
Without the guidance of Christ, these people are like sheep without a shepherd. They need the good shepherd in their families and communities.
Pray for the Lord to thrust out workers.
Pray for the Lord to intervene in their families, calling people to his side.
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 Lingao in China.
Operation China, Asia Harvest, Copyrighted © Used with permission
Profile Source: Joshua Project |
Global Prayer Digest: 2012-06-25 |
People Name General | Lingao |
People Name in Country | Lingao |
Pronunciation | Lin-gaw |
Population this Country | 686,000 |
Population all Countries | 686,000 |
Total Countries | 1 |
Indigenous | Yes |
Progress Scale | 4 ● |
Unreached | No |
Frontier People Group | No |
GSEC | 1 (per PeopleGroups.org) |
Pioneer Workers Needed | |
Alternate Names | Be; Limkou; Limkow; Ongbe |
People ID | 18556 |
ROP3 Code | 114173 |
Country | China | ||
Region | Asia, Northeast | ||
Continent | Asia | ||
10/40 Window | Yes | ||
National Bible Society | Website | ||
Persecution Rank | 16 (Open Doors top 50 rank, 1 = highest persecution ranking) | ||
Location in Country | More than 640,000 speakers of Lingao inhabit four counties in the northern part of Hainan Island, including the provincial capital Haikou, and as far west as Bolian Township. Source: Operation China, 2000 |
Country | China |
Region | Asia, Northeast |
Continent | Asia |
10/40 Window | Yes |
National Bible Society | Website |
Persecution Rank | 16 (Open Doors top 50 rank, 1 = highest persecution ranking) |
Location in Country | More than 640,000 speakers of Lingao inhabit four counties in the northern part of Hainan Island, including the provincial capital Haikou, and as far west as Bolian Township.. Source: Operation China, 2000 |
Primary Religion: | Ethnic Religions |
Major Religion ▲ | Percent |
---|---|
Buddhism |
0.00 %
|
Christianity (Evangelical 4.00 %) |
4.20 %
|
Ethnic Religions |
83.80 %
|
Hinduism |
0.00 %
|
Islam |
0.00 %
|
Non-Religious |
12.00 %
|
Other / Small |
0.00 %
|
Unknown |
0.00 %
|
Primary Language | Lingao |
Language Code | onb Ethnologue Listing |
Language Written | Yes ScriptSource Listing |
Total Languages | 1 |
Primary Language | Lingao |
Language Code | onb Ethnologue Listing |
Total Languages | 1 |
People Groups | Speaking Lingao |
Primary Language: Lingao
Bible Translation ▲ | Status (Years) |
---|---|
Bible-Portions | Yes (2015) |
Bible-New Testament | Yes (2019) |
Bible-Complete | No |
Bible-NT Audio | 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 | Online New Testament | Faith Comes by Hearing |
Audio Recordings | Story of Jesus audio | Jesus Film Project |
Film / Video | Jesus Film: view in Lingao | Jesus Film Project |
Film / Video | LUMO film of Gospels | Bible Media Group/LUMO |
Film / Video | My Last Day video, anime | Jesus Film Project |
Film / Video | Story of Jesus for Children | Jesus Film Project |
General | Gospel resources links | Scripture Earth |
Mobile App | Download audio Bible app from Google Play Store | Faith Comes by Hearing |
Photo Source | Copyrighted © 2023 Operation China, Asia Harvest All rights reserved. Used with permission |
Map Source | Joshua Project / Global Mapping International |
Profile Source | Joshua Project |
Data Sources | Data is compiled from various sources. Read more |