Qiang history dates back as far as the Western Zhou Dynasty (1100-771 BC), when considerable numbers of Han people migrated west and formed mixed communities with the Di and Qiang.

The Cimulin Qiang language is very different from other varieties of Qiang. "The Chinese character for Qiang is a combination of yang (sheep) and ren (people), with the composite meaning of 'people tending sheep'."

Cimulin Qiang, which is a Northern Qiang language, is not tonal, whereas Southern Qiang varieties consist of between two to six tones. Many of the Cimulin Qiang are bilingual in Tibetan, while others living near the towns are able to speak Chinese. In addition, more than 50,000 speakers of Northern Qiang dialects have been placed under the Tibetan nationality.

One of the Qiang festivals is called Jishanhui, which women are not allowed to attend. They sacrifice a cow or sheep on an altar to the god of the mountains. They ask for a good harvest and peace for the village.

The Northern Qiang language groups have embraced Tibetan Buddhism more zealously than the Southern Qiang, because of centuries of influence from neighboring Tibetans. The Northern Qiang also worship a multitude of Chinese and Tibetan deities, of which the sky god is considered the greatest. There are shamans, witches, and mediums throughout the countryside. In 1994 one Christian interviewed a Qiang sorceress at a temple reputed to be 1,000 years old. The woman told the visitor, "'I have the power to put people into a trance, and make their spirits leave their bodies and travel to hell. Usually, we can then call their spirits back, but sometimes it doesn't work, and the person dies and is trapped in hell forever. The visitors told her about a God who has the power to take her spirit to heaven. She was delighted and wanted to know more. Most Qiang people, like this sorceress, have absolutely no awareness of the gospel.

One Christian ministry has incorrectly reported there to be "no Qiang Christians remaining," but a small Qiang church does exist in China. There are a very small number of Northern Qiang Christians, including some families living in Songpan. There are no church buildings, but some believers. We don't know if there are any Christians specifically among the Cimulin Qiang. Several short-term mission teams in the early 1990s were arrested and expelled from China for distributing literature in the Qiang region.

The Cimulin Qiang people need to submit to Jesus Christ so they can experience the abundant life he offers in John 10:10.

Pray for the spiritual blindness and bondage to the evil one to be removed so they can understand and respond to Christ.

Pray for the Lord to provide for their physical and spiritual needs as a testimony of his power and love.

Pray that the Cimulin Qiang people will have a spiritual hunger that will open their hearts to the King of kings.

Pray for an unstoppable movement to Christ among them.

Scripture Prayers for the Qiang, Cimulin in China.

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