"Laisiangthou" is a Paite word that means "Holy Book", a word that is used to refer to the Holy Bible. These people already had an old concept of a sacred book that was lost. A book made of gold.
The Chinkukizos (Chin Paites) that married Chinese women gave up circumcision & eventually called the Chinkukizos (Hualngos) that preserved circumcision "foreskinless penises".
In an old Thado poem appear the words "ana" & "thoth", however their meaning is unknown. The combination of the two is Anatoth, prophet in Jeremiah's hailed village.
Galgnam is the name of an ancient Chinkukizo man. The prefix "gal" is usually regarded as short for "galut" or "gola", diaspora in Hebrew.
The last name Sailo is a very Bnei Menashe's last name. Curiously is similar to the Hebrew Shiloh, another name for the Messiah.
Muriah is the Chinkukizo Mount Moriah.
In Hmong the name Jacob is "Yakhauj", something that it's quite close to the original Hebrew name "Yaakov". In Hebrew the same character that it's used for "k" sound is for the "kh" sound. And sometimes a word with a "k" sound has derived word with a "kh" sound. So it's noteworthy to see that in Hmong they use "kh" sound instead the "k" sound. It's also interesting that they both start in "y" sound instead of the western languages' "J". It's noteworthy because from western missionaries is that they got the biblical name Jacob. What's puzzling is the last "j" because it has nothing to do with "v".
The sadawt was chief & priest for all people, whereas the bawlpu was priest for individuals.
If Saion was the Chinkukizo word for Sion or Zion, then the Chinkukizo last name Sailo should correspond to the Israelite Siloh.
The Chin word used for the priestly chants, heyyyyyyyya, might have been heard in the past as "O Ya" or "O Za", a local way of saying "Oh Yah", the God of Israel's name, with a previous "Oh" for exclamation. The Chin priestly clothes were made according to the Book of Exodus.
A Chin old man inherited from his father a "pathian bom", something translatable as "god box" & he believed (not with plain surety) that it was a kind of "holy ark".
According to Alexander Hamilton 20'000 Manasites traveled to Emperor Nebuchadnezzar's easternmost province, departing from Babylon, went further ending up in Cape Cormerin, taking a three years journey, since starting in Babylon till finishing in Cape Cormerin. Cape Cormerin is nowadays known as Kanyakumari or Kanniyakumari, and is a town in Kanyakumari District in the state of Tamil Nadu in India. The name comes from the Devi Kanya Kumari Temple in the region. It is the southernmost tip of peninsular India. Kanyakumari town is the southern tip of the Cardamom Hills, an extension of the Western Ghats range. The nearest town is Nagercoil, the administrative headquarters of Kanyakumari District, 22 km (14 mi) away. Kanyakumari has been a town since Sangam period and is a popular tourist destination.
In Mizoram some Chinkukizos refer to themselves as "mi blim" meaning "happy people". This is remarkable because "Isaac" means laughter, and what better way happy people have but through laughter? Moreover Genesis 21:12 says: "...for in Isaac shall thy seed be called." This gives us a clue that the Lost Ten Tribes of Israel would often be found among the happiest peoples.
The Meiteis are Hindu practitioners, however they practice the Vaisnava sect of Hinduism, a branch that is often categorized with Druzism & even with Judaism. The Druzes are a religious & ethnic minority in Israel & Syria. In theory they are part of Shia Islam, but in practice this Middle Eastern religion is a religion in its own right. It's a syncretic religion influenced by Islam, Judaism, Christianity... But it happens to have many points in common with Vaisnavism. The. Druzes traditionally believe that descend from Jethro, Moses' father in law. Some people consider them as a Middle Eastern crypto Jewish sect. In fact the Druzes lately are becoming open in regards to their Jewish origin. The point is that if Druzism is a somewhat roughly a way of Judaism &, yet is so similar to Hindu Vaisnavism. Then how proper for the Meiteis it is Vaisnavism.
As some neighboring Chinkukizos did, the Lakhers, as a substitute of circumcision, pierced their sons' ears the fourth day after birth.
In a about the Chinkukizos it's pointed out that they have circumstances overlapping those of the Israelite tribe of Benjamin, though they are descendants of Manasites. But of course the Benjamites had commonalities with the Manasites. Not the only one, but probably the most remarkable was that Benjamin was Joseph's only full brother (through both Israel & Rachel) & Manassah, together with Ephraim, were Joseph's sons.
Different scholars, like Hutton, have pointed out at a former deep relationship between the Manmasites and the Khasis and the Hos, both being a local Munda people of the Malayan family. Hence they probably had genetic interchange through cross marriages or unions.
The Chin language (not to confuse with Chinese) is also known as Hakha (not to confuse with Hakka Chinese) & as Lai.
The Chinkukizos, similarly to the Jewish Passover, had a holiday in which unleavened rice bread was eaten. It's more interesting, if possible, because Chinkukizos, like other southeast Asians, are not bread eaters. They used yeast, but for other purposes like making zu, their popular alcoholic drink. Yeast was also used for making rice cakes, something only consumed in special occasions. Perhaps the consumption of rice cakes had an Israelite origin that eventually extended all over eastern Asia. Despite rice daily consumption, one day a year was set apart to consume bread everybody as a village. It was unleavened bread & it was celebrated right before spring sowing. It was the night of the next full moon. It's noteworthy that the Chinkukizo yeast free bread, "changha", consumed on special dates is somewhat similarly spelled like Jewish "challah" consumed on the Sabbath. There were three purification days during which all work was forbidden. Although in modern Judaism Passover is done in fall, in ancient biblical Israel it was celebrated in the spring month of Nisan, on the full moon of which Passover fell. Perhaps the Chinkukizo Red Sea Song, was part of Unleavened Bread Celebration. In the Manmasite (Chinkukizo) lore their ancestors (identified as Manasites) did come from Akuptan (Egypt, a helenized word probably taken in Greek Bactria), through Sen Tuipui (Red Sea), Sin-ai Tlang (Mount Sinai), Leiduppi-Leithaopi (Land of Good Earth- Land of Oil, a mythical land of fertility, the Promised Land), Kabul, the Great Mountains (the Pamirs?), Khotan (modern Hotien, in the Takla Makan, East Turkestan, China), Thimphut (Thimbu). Khotan, in the Silk Road, was a multicultural city, full of trade that held in its walls all kind of nationalities & religions like Mongols, Chinese, Buddhists, Nestorians (Lost Israelite Christians from the East) & it was a great place in translation of religious texts. The Dutch colonial governor of Cochin (in the Malabar coast) Hendrick Adrian van Reedhe (1670-1677) reported meeting Manasite Israelites, despite Cochin Jews not claiming that. Nevertheless the Children of Manmasi had long been in southeast Asia. Perhaps another group of Manasites were present in Cochin & now they're somewhere inside India.
The Chinkukizo word "kut" for holiday or festival could derive from the Hebrew word "Sukkot". Sukkot is "huts" in Hebrew, but one important Israelite festival was Sukkot. Eventually the Chinkukizos could have called all festivals Sukkot after this festival. However the Chinkukizo winter/autumn festival corresponding to Sukkot agricultural harvest which occurred in the beginning of the autumn would be Sikpui.
Depending on the Chinkukizo dialect Manasa, Manasia or Manmasi is their ancestor's name, corresponding to the Israelite Manassah.
Among Lord Mountbatten's celebrated Chindits there were many Chinkukizos. Like the ancient Israelites, the Chinkukizos are remarkable warriors. The deepest Japanese advance into India was stopped by British alongside Chindit troops near Imphal in 1943.
In the Bible there’s a prohibition against taking eggs out of a nest, just as among the Chinkukis. Equally among the Chinkukis there’s a name for foreskinless penis at birth indicating that in the past circumcision must have been performed. Also mourners were called up by a priest to his priestly house, a tradition paralleling Old Testament ones. As Semitic peoples Chinkukis constantly mourn following their traditions.
As in the Israelite religion, in the Chinkuki religion a deceased made things or people uncleanSela is a Bnei Menashe surname & it's very Hebrew as well.
Pu Chere, a Mizo old man called their ancestor "Manasa". He said that when he was a 9 year old child his village chief was named Lianola. Depending on the dialect their God was called Za or Ya. And God in their language was Pathien.
Apparently there were two kinds of priests in the old religion: one which avoided eating pork & another who didn't care.
As the Israeli government accepted the Sigd Falasha festival as a national holiday, so should do with the Sikpui (winter festival) Mizo festival.
Wah is an Egyptian word meaning "to grow" or "to increase". Which people on earth would have a great Egyptian influence? Because the Israelites sojourned in Egypt for 400 long years they acquired many traditions (usually wicked ones) from that people. The Hebrew language obviously had an Egyptian influence likewise. In modern English & other modern languages there's often a native Anglo-Saxon word like freedom, friendship...& a corresponding foreign Latin derived word like liberty, friendship...with the same or similar meanings.
Like the ancient Israelites the Hmars engaged before marriage. They also confined women after child birth like the Israelites. Homosexual be aviones r was also punished by both peoples. They both also left a corner of their lands unharvested so that the poor could have food. The elders interpreted the laws in both.
Several of the Loloish peoples are part of the Lost Israelites of the Lost Book of Gold, so we could simplify their name as the Loloish Israelites or the Lolo Israelites. The Lolo are believed to be descended from the ancient Qiang people of western China, who are also said to be the ancestors of the Tibetan, Naxi, and Qiang peoples.
Several of the Loloish peoples are part of the Lost Israelites of the Lost Book of Gold, so we could simplify their name as the Loloish Israelites or the Lolo Israelites. The Lolo are believed to be descended from the ancient Qiang people of western China, who are also said to be the ancestors of the Tibetan, Naxi, and Qiang peoples.
Dothanga is a Mizo name similar to the Hebrew name Dathan & the Germanic Doten, but as if the suffix "ga" was added to it.
In Thailand one of the two common destinations for Israeli backpackers is the area of the hill tribes in the north. Is this for a sense of fraternity toward these Lost Israelites?
As the American Oriental Society declared in 1866/67: The gospel is advancing among the Karen people, and revealing new tribes and new varieties of speech. "But this people are interesting not solely by reason of the variety of dialect exhibited by them. Like the Jews of heathen Greece and Asia Minor in the times of the Apostles, the Karens are the lodging-place for the beginning of the gospel."
Lahu are also known as Muhso, Musso, or Mussuh. Is this corrupted for Moses or Moshe, in remembrance for the Israelite Lawgiver?
The Shans are often called Tai or Tay. They shouldn't be confused with Thai, the leading people in Thailand. The word Thai (ไทย) means "free man" in the Thai language, so Thailand would mean Land of the Free, just as the USA is denominated. The USA is regarded as an Israelite nation. France, the UK...too. Freedom is an obsesion among Israelite nations. The Britons sing "...shall never be slaves." The French slogan is "Liberty...". Frank meant free man. Freeman, Freimann...are common last names in Anglosaxon countries. French, Francés, Franco, Franche, Liberman, Liberal, Frei... would be other last names related & found in other western European countries (Israelites for Two-Housers). The Tay Shans are considered Israelites of the Lost Golden Book, so their name Tay might indicate the same Israelite concept of free men. maybe even the Thais from Thailand are Israelite free men after all. The UK & USA are the leading Israelite nations. The UK has never been conquered since the beginning of the Middle Ages. The US has never been conquered. Ethiopia was the only African nation never conquered (only really briefly by the Italians). Later we saw in the Ethiopian Hebrew aliyah that this country held many Hebrews. Afghanistan was tried to be owned by the Greeks, the British, the Russians... & it's never been submitted. Why? Again it holds Hebrews, the Pashtuns... Finally Thailand is another famous country for resisting against empires.
Karens
Apart from that biblical refference, KEREN in Hebrew has a dual meaning. both: "Horn" (same as English, both the antler of a horned creature and the material objects are made of, as in "horn and ivory"), and: "Ray", again with all corresponding English meanings: "keren-or"=light ray, "keren-shemesh"=sun ray/sunshine, "keren laser"= a laser ray/beam, etc... ("koren", by the way is "radiant", and a reason why many depictions of moses in medieval paintings have him antlered (with light sometimes shining in twin rays from his head) when in the text he 'merely' shone brightly. as said before Keren means "ray [of sunlight]". Sometimes turns into the word Karen.
Like the Jews, the Karens were a British colony. Both also fought for their national independence in 1948, although the Jews succeded, while the Karens didn't. The Karens haven't stopped fighting since then, but the Jews are still fighting to preserve their independence. The Bamars are very diverse genetically unlike the Karenees. Both groups diverge genetically despite being in each other's vicinity. The Karens are considered to be a very isolated genetic group in the area. Does this point at their Israelite origin? Obviously their partly Israelite genes would make 'em different from the surrounding peoples. The Karens had many Middle Eastern fruits.
Was the Kuki Legendary Mulaopi Bird An Ostrich?
Mulaopi is a bird of prey in Kuki folklore, & it's so large that it carries men in its claws. Nevertheless there's not such a bird anywhere in Zomia. However it's possible that the legend is based upon the Arabian legendary bird known as roc.
The roc was a mythical giant bird
So colossal that its wings could eclipse the sun, so strong that it could carry off elephants, so large that drinking cups could be made of its nails, the Roc was the mythical Arabian bird on whose foot Sinbad, in the Eastern collection of tales 'The Thousand and One Nights', was carried off to a mountain.
Sinbad and the Giant Roc
Venetian traveler Marco Polo referred to the Roc in describing Madagascar and other islands off eastern Africa's coast. According to him, Kublai Khan made inquires in those parts about the roc and was brought what was professed to be a roc's feather, which may really have been a Raphia palm branch.
Although this fabulous creature was described as eagle-like, the actual bird on which it was probably based on the flightless ostrich-like of prey giant Elephant Bird Aepyornis maximus, which is believed to have inhabited Madagascar until about 1700. Like the Roc, whose egg Sinbad mistook for the cupola of a great building, the giant elephant bird laid enormous eggs (with an internal volume of over two gallons).
Ostriches live in sub-Saharan Africa in an area that stretches from Senegal to Ethiopia and down into Tanzania. There's also a population of ostriches in South Africa. Ostriches used to live in the Middle East and southwestern Asia until they were extirpated from those areas.
Map of Southwest Asia. Southwest Asia's roughly overlaps the Middle East area. It's pretty much synonymous to the Middle East & ostrich running through a grassland floor.
Ostriches live in the drier parts of their habitat and in areas where there is water for drinking and bathing. This includes grassland, areas of thorny scrub vegetation, desert and semi-desert. Ostriches are also farmed worldwide for their meat and the plumes of their tails and wings. Some ostriches have escaped their farms and are now feral in parts of Australia.
The ostrich bird in the Bible
The ostrich is the largest bird now living. The Hebrew words ya`anah, which means "greediness," and bath ha-ya`anah, "daughter of greediness," are made to refer to the indiscriminate diet of the ostrich, to which bird they apply; and again to the owl, that at times has a struggle to swallow the whole prey it has taken, but the mere fact that it is a night hunter forever shuts it from the class of greedy and promiscuous feeders. The bodies of owls are proverbially lean like eagles.
Neither did the owl frequent several places where older versions of Jeremiah and Isaiah place it; so the translations are now correctly rendered "ostrich." These birds came into the Bible because of their desert life, the companions they lived among there, and because of their night cries that were guttural, terrifying groans, like the roaring of lions. The birds were brought into many pictures of desolation, because people dreaded their fearful voices. They horned on the trackless deserts that were dreaded by travelers, and when they came feeding on the fringe of the wilderness, they fell into company with the vulture, eagle, lion, jackal and adder, and joined their voices with the night hawks and owls.
For these reasons no birds were more suitable for drawing strong comparisons from.
1. Physical Peculiarities: They attained a height ranging from 6 to 8 ft., and weighed from 200 to 300 lbs. The head was small with large eyes having powerful vision, and protected by lashes. The neck was long, covered with down, and the windpipe showed, while large bites could be seen to slide down the gullet. The legs were bare, long, and the muscles like steel from the long distances covered in desert travel. The foot was much like the cloven hoof of a beast. The inner toe was 7 inches long, with a clawlike hoof, the outer, smaller with no claw. With its length and strength of leg and the weight of foot it could strike a blow that saved it from attack by beasts smaller than a leopard. The wings were small, the muscles soft and flabby. They would not bear the weight of the bird, but the habit of lifting and beating them proved that this assisted in attaining speed in running (compare Xen. Anab. i.5,2, 3).
The body was covered with soft flexible feathers, the wings and tail growing long plumes, for which the bird has been pursued since the beginning of time. These exquisite feathers were first used to decorate the headdress and shields of desert chieftains, then as decorations for royalty, and later for hat and hair ornaments. The badge of the Prince of Wales is three white ostrich plumes. The females are smaller, the colors gray and white, the males a glossy black, the wing and tail plumes white. The ostrich has three physical peculiarities that stagger scientists. It has eyelashes, developed no doubt to protect the eyes from the dust and sand of desert life. On the wings are two plumeless shafts like large porcupine quills. These may be used in resisting attack. It also has a bladder like a mammal, that collects uric acid, the rarest organ ever developed in a feathered creature.
The body was covered with soft flexible feathers, the wings and tail growing long plumes, for which the bird has been pursued since the beginning of time. These exquisite feathers were first used to decorate the headdress and shields of desert chieftains, then as decorations for royalty, and later for hat and hair ornaments. The badge of the Prince of Wales is three white ostrich plumes. The females are smaller, the colors gray and white, the males a glossy black, the wing and tail plumes white. The ostrich has three physical peculiarities that stagger scientists. It has eyelashes, developed no doubt to protect the eyes from the dust and sand of desert life. On the wings are two plumeless shafts like large porcupine quills. These may be used in resisting attack. It also has a bladder like a mammal, that collects uric acid, the rarest organ ever developed in a feathered creature.
2. Eggs and Care of Young: These birds homed on the deserts of Arabia and at the lower end of the great Salt Sea. Here the ostrich left her eggs on the earth and warmed them in the sand. That they were not hard baked was due to the fact that they were covered for protection during the day and brooded through the cooler nights. The eggs average 3 lbs. weight. They have been used for food in the haunts of the ostrich since the records of history began, and their stout shells for drinking-vessels. It is the custom of natives on finding a nest to take a long stick and draw out an egg. If incubation has advanced enough to spoil the eggs for use, the nest is carefully covered and left; if fresh, they are eaten, one egg being sufficient for a small family.
Sinbad the Sailor, by Nadir Quinto
No doubt these were the eggs to which Job referred as being tasteless without salt (Job 6:6). The number of eggs in the nest was due to the fact that the birds were polygamous, one male leading from 2 to 7 females, all of which deposited their eggs in a common nest. When several females wanted to use the nest at the same time, the first one to reach it deposited her egg in it, and the others on the sand close beside. This accounts for the careless habits of the ostrich as to her young. In this communal nest, containing from 2 to 3 dozen eggs, it is impossible for the mother bird to know which of the young is hers. So all of them united in laying the eggs and allowing the father to look after the nest and the young.
The bird first appears among the abominations in Lev 11:16 the Revised Version (British and American) the King James Version "owl"; Dt 14:16, the Revised Version (British and American) "little owl," the King James Version "owl." This must have referred to the toughness of grown specimens, since there was nothing offensive in the bird's diet to taint its flesh and the young tender ones were delicious meat. In his agony, Job felt so much an outcast that he cried: "I am a brother to jackals, And a companion to ostriches" (Job 30:29). Again he records that the Almighty discoursed to him about the ostrich in the following manner: "The wings of the ostrich wave proudly; But are they the pinions and plumage of love?" etc. (Job 39:13-18). 3.
Old Testament References:
The ostrich history previously given explains all this passage save the last two verses, the first of which is a reference to the fact that the Arabs thought that the ostrich was a stupid bird, because, when it had traveled to the point of exhaustion, it hid its head and thought its body safe, and because some of its eggs were found outside the nest.
Feathermade objects from ancient Egypt. Ostriches in Egypt were good source of varied prime matter: eggs, feathers, meat... Hence highly valuable.
The second was due to a well-known fact that, given a straight course, the ostrich could outrun a horse. The birds could attain and keep up a speed of 60 miles an hour for the greater part of half a day and even longer, hence, it was possible to capture them only by a system of relay riders (Xenophon, op. cit.) When Isaiah predicted the fall of Babylon, he used these words: "But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there; and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures; and ostriches shall dwell there, and wild goats shall dance there" (Isa 13:21).
Moses' as baby with his mom. In the background you can see feather made fan-parasol.Because this was to be the destruction of a great city, located on the Euphrates River and built by the fertility and prosperity of the country surrounding it, and the ruins those of homes, the bird indicated by every natural condition would be the owl. The wild goats clambering over the ruins would be natural companions and the sneaking wolves--but not the big bird of daytime travel, desert habitation, accustomed to constant pursuit for its plumage.
Exactly the same argument applies to the next reference by the same writer (Isa 34:13). "And the wild beasts of the desert shall meet with the wolves, and the wild goat shall cry to his fellow; yea, the night monster shall settle there, and shall find her a place of rest" (Isa 34:14). "The beasts of the field shall honor me, the jackals and the ostriches; because I give waters in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert, to give drink to my people, my chosen" (Isa 43:20). Here we find the ostrich in its natural location, surrounded by creatures that were its daily companions.
Depiction of an ostrich & ostrich eggs in ancient Egypt The next reference also places the bird at home and in customary company: "Therefore the wild beasts of the desert with the wolves shall dwelI there, and the ostriches (the King James Version "owls") shall dwell therein: and it shall be no more inhabited forever; neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation" (Jer 50:39). "Even the jackals draw out the breast, they give suck to their young ones: The daughter of my people is become cruel, like the ostriches in the wilderness" (Lam 4:3). This reference is made to the supposed cruelty of the ostrich in not raising its young.
Ancient ostrich eggs found in Israel
Farmer discovers four ostrich eggs in Sharon region field, estimated to be thousands of years old. The area may have once resembled an African savanna.
Was the Sharon region, just north of Tel Aviv, an African-type savanna with underbrush several million years ago? The answer is perhaps to be found in tests being conducted on four ancient ostrich eggs discovered on Sunday near Kibbutz Yakum.
Yaniv Levi, Israel Nature and Parks Authority with one of the eggs. 'Laid thousands of years ago'
The eggs were found by chance by Yonatan Baruch, a farmer who was spraying the potato fields of Kibbutz Shefayim and Kibbutz Yakum. Seeing what looked like four stones west of the Coastal Road near Kibbutz Yakum, Baruch got off his tractor and discovered that the objects actually were more like large eggs. He then told Alon Potash, a farmer from Kibbutz Shefayim, of his discovery.
According to Potash, “when I saw the objects I realized that we had something out of the ordinary on our hands. The eggs were whole and lighter than stones. We shook two of them and they seemed totally empty. One of the other eggs sounded like it had powder in it, and the fourth egg had something liquid in it. They were light brown and had a scale-like substance on them that had apparently built up over the years.”
The heavy rains that fell in the area two weeks ago created a one-meter channel in the ground that apparently uncovered the eggs and swept them to the edge of the field, where they were eventually found lying in the eroded earth.
Potash brought the eggs to an employee of the Israel Nature and Parks Authority, who gave them to Authority inspectors.
Dr. Yariv Melihi, central region ecologist for the Authority, gave the eggs an initial examination. Melihi noted that “they were whole. In the past ostrich egg fragments had been found near the Herzliya marina, and they were dated at 5,500 years old. But we thought that they were fragments that had been used as eating utensils. The eggs found now were whole, not fragments, which could indicate that ostriches grew in the Sharon region. If this is true, since we know that ostriches live chiefly in the African savanna, where the growth is low, perhaps the Sharon region, too, once looked this way.”
The eggs were sent to the Israeli Sea Turtle Rescue Center in Michmoret for examination. Lab tests are also being conducted, and after the Passover holiday the eggs will be x-rayed and undergo additional tests to assess when they were laid. “On the face of it it appears that these eggs are from thousands of years ago,” Melihi said.
Is the Name of the Chinkukizo Alcoholic Drink "Zu" Derived From the Pagan God?The Chinkukizos tend to use the alcoholic drink "zu" at every opportunity. They end up pretty badly drunk. As Lost Israelites they ended up in Mesopotamia, neighboring peoples like the Assyrians or Babylonians. They were punished by God for their idolatry with captivity in these lands.
They probably soaked up their neighbors' religions. Perhaps the Babylonian pagan god Pazuzu, or Zu, with its bad reputation, became identified with anything evil, with a bad connotation & this is the origin of the name of the Chinkukizo alcoholic drink "zu".
Not much is known about Pazuzu -- or Zu, as he is sometimes called. This little-known demon from Babylonian myth was represented as a very thin, emaciated man with the feet and wings of an eagle, and the forepaws and head of a lion. He is nearly always shown with the right paw raised and the left held at his side. The demon first appeared in early Babylonian myth in the guise of the 'storm-bird' Zu, who stole the Tablets of Destiny from the dragoness Tiamat. In the later Babylonian civilization, he once again appeared, this time under the name of Pazuzu, and was said to be the child of the chief wind-demon, Hanpa. When Pazuzu is summoned by worshippers, he appears in a statuesque form, frozen into the position described above. However, he metamorphoses out of the statue form to his living form. In this form, he is fully capable of movement.
The Yezidi tribes of Kurdistan (one of the ethnic groups regarded as lost Israelites), who worship a Watcherlike god called Malek Taus, or the Peacock Angel, tell a very similar story to the one about Zu and Tiamat. In their mythology, a creature --who is half-lion, half-eagle -- called Imdugud, or Anzu. "This monster was said to have stolen the Tablets of Destiny from the god Enlil (Ellil) in Akkadian which, in its possession, gave 'him power over the Universe as controller of the fates of all,' enough to endanger 'the stability of civilization,'.
Although Pazuzu was a malevolent force, his image was used on amulets to ward off his enemy Lamashtu, a female demon that preyed on newborn babies and their mothers.
Do the Va People (Wah) Have a Hebrew Name?
The Wa people are also known as Va people. In the same way the Hebrew letter waw is pronounced vav & va. Vav is also a prefix that changes past tense to future tense and vice versa. It's used mostly in Biblical Hebrew as waw-consecutive (compare waw-conjunctive). Pronounced "va" when changing future tense to past tense. Usually pronounced "v'" or "u" when changing past tense to future tense. The meaning of the word vav is "hook," as a connecting hook used when the mishkan (tabernacle) was assembled.
The Wa people are also known as Va people. In the same way the Hebrew letter waw is pronounced vav & va. Vav is also a prefix that changes past tense to future tense and vice versa. It's used mostly in Biblical Hebrew as waw-consecutive (compare waw-conjunctive). Pronounced "va" when changing future tense to past tense. Usually pronounced "v'" or "u" when changing past tense to future tense. The meaning of the word vav is "hook," as a connecting hook used when the mishkan (tabernacle) was assembled.
The first Vav in the Torah occurs in Genesis 1:1. The placement of the Vav suggests two of its essential connective powers: By joining heaven and earth it implies the connection between spiritual and earthly matters.
Ethnic Wah (or Va) woman
Since it occurs as the 22nd letter in the Torah attached to the sixth word, (et), it alludes to the creative connection between all of the letters. Vav is therefore the connecting force of the God, the divine "hook" that binds together heaven and earth.
Vav and the Tabernacle (mishkan)
The word Vav is used in Exodus 27:9-10 to refer to the hooks of silver fastened to posts (called amudim) that were used to hold the curtain (yeriah) that encloses the tabernacle:
Just as the tabernacle was the habitation of God while the Israelites traveled in the wilderness, so the Torah is the habitation of His word today. Therefore, the scribes developed the idea that the Torah Scroll was to be constructed in the manner of the tabernacle. They called each parchment sheet of a scroll a yeriah, named for the curtain of the tabernacle (there are roughly 50 yeriot per scroll) and each column of text an amud, named for the post of the tabernacle's court.
Now since each curtain of the tabernacle was fastened to its post by means of a silver hook (vav), the scribes made each column of text to begin with a letter Vav, thereby "hooking" the text to the parchment.
Are Tarim & Tibet Hebrew Names Given By Israelites That Populated These Areas?
As we will see later, the word Tarim could come from the Hebrew word Tarim. Another possibility is to derive from the Hebrew word Atharim. The Hebrew meaning of the word Tarim is more logical because the Tarim basin held several of the Silk Route trails. And the Hebrew word Tarim is the very name of the Tarim basin. Atharim's Hebrew meaning is less logical with the Tarim basin context. And for Atharim being the origin of the toponym Tarim the first a & the h have to be taken away.
However the two possibilities shouldn't be dismissed outright. Tarim is a Hebrew word meaning merchants & trade was a major activity in the Tarim basin (through the Silk Road) for millenia. In Hebrew vowels were not taken into account, so changing them for another vowel or dropping them completely was a common situation. The phoneme tended to dissapear as well. Atharim's meaning "spies" could be more problematic for the context of the Silk Road. Some scholars can't find a certain meaning, but deem it possible to mean "mountain pass" or "caravan route". These two meanings are spot on right in the Tarim basin context because the through the Tarim basin goes the Silk Road which is both a "mountain pass" & a "caravan route".
Tarim
Different translations of the the Bible render the Hebrew word Tarim as chapman (i.e. cheap man), merchant.
Chap'-man (plural 'anshe ha-tarim): Word used only once in the King James Version (2 Chronicles 9:14, the American Standard Revised Version "the traders"; compare also 1 Kings 10:15 the Revised Version (British and American), where the Hebrew uses the same expression). The English word means "merchant"; compare the verb "to chaffer," and the German Kaufmann. The Hebrew means "those who go about" as merchants.
Atharim is a place in the desert through which Israel passed. Ath'arim was a place in the south of Palestine near which the Israelites passed on their way thither (Nu 21:1, where the English version renders , "the way of the spies;" It was, perhaps, a general designation of the region north of Mount Seir through which the Canaanites presumed that the Israelites were about to pass, as indeed they would have done but for the Edomites' refusal of a passage to them.
Numbers 21:1 - The Canaanite, the king of Arad, who lived in the South, heard that Israel came by the way of Atharim. He fought against Israel, and took some of them captive.
Location of the place name of Atarim in the Promised Land. In Hebrew it would be spelled as "'Athariym". Its meaning is uncertain, but two possible meanings are "mountain pass" or "caravan route".
Another definition is that 'Athariym is a plural from an unused root (probably meaning to step); places; Atharim, a place near Palestine meaning spies.
Atharim is mentioned in Num. 21:1. According to the Revised Version (British and American) "The way of Atharim"; the King James Version "The way of the spies." the Revised Version (British and American) regards Atharim as a place in the Septuagint. The King James Version follows Syriac and Targum, rendering Atharim as if Tarim = spies. Dillmann translates "the caravan path," connecting it with Arabic athar, "a track or footprint." Here the king of Arad fought against Israel, taking some captives (Nu 21:1).
As the map shows, the Tarim basin is spotted between as Israelitish areas as Pashtunishtan, Kashmir...
The celebrated Silk Route went through the Tarim basin. The Silk Road was a sort of ancient trading highway that went from eastern Asia to western Europe. There's several historical indications that strongly point at the using of this road by the lost masses of Israelites. For example around the Tarim basin there are many toponyms, traditions... pointing at it.
Some of these Israelitish geographical areas, peoples, traditions...will be discussed in the next paragraphs.
As Isaac rendered Saka & Sakya, Then Tabita & Thabita could render Tibet. Sakas, Nephtalites, Sakya Buddha, Takla Makan are Hebrew names.
Tarim, as mentioned before, is the name of a huge basin in the south of the western Chinese province of Xinjiang. The Tarim Basin is a large basin in northwest China occupying an area of about 350,000 sq miles. Its northern boundary is the Tian Shan mountain range and its southern boundary is the Kunlun Mountains on the edge of the Tibet Plateau. The Takla Makan Desert dominates much of the basin. Nextdoor, southward, lies the celebrated Chinese province of Tibet. The two provinces are the only Chinese provinces in which the dominating ethnic Hans are in the minority.
In Xinjiang the Uygurs form the largest ethnic group. The local name for Xinjiang is Turkestan, but many Uygurs call it Uyguristan after them. They mostly speak Uygur, a Turkic language. Islam is the dominant religion. The Reubenite Gogites were in modern Chinese Turkestan, also known as Xinjiang, Sinkiang or Uyguristan.
Tibet means "mountain pass" or "caravan route".
Was Tibet Named After the Israelite Scythian Goddess Tabita or Perhaps After Tabitha, the Israelite Queen Mother?
Different scholars believe Buddha was an Israelite. He belonged to the Sakya family. This family was Saka, a powerful people descended from Israelites, roughly dwelling in the area between modern Iraq & India. Sakya supposedly derived from Saka, which in turn derived from Isaac, their forefather. The Sakas or Scythians were Israelites, as mentioned above. As the scripture says in Genesis 21:12 "...in Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned."
Blue eyed Buddha. Sakya, Gautama Buddha, is depicted in different local paintings as a white man, even having blue eyes. Not by chance peoples like the Kashmiris, Kalashas, Pashtun...are Caucasians & are identified as lost Israelites. Redheaded, blond, blue eyed...people are not very rare to come across among the said peoples either. In the process they encountered Mongoloid looking people & some of them mixed up until it was impossibly undistinguishable from the Mongols themselves.
That would happen to smaller group of Israelites surrounded by a great host of Mongoloid peoples. It's easy to guess this was the case with lost Israelites like the Qiangs, Chins, Zos, Kukis, Nagas, Hmongs, Karens... Everyone of these ethnicities has traditions of a lost book, a lost script, a lost scroll...very often being described as golden, made of gold... This Golden Scroll has later been identified with the Bible by Christian & Jews alike. This would explain why, unlike the Chinese mass, they accepted the Gospel of Jesus Christ in such great proportion. A number, however tiny, has drifted away from Christianity, & converted to Judaism, the modern version of their ancestors' ancient Israelism.
Legends, traditions...describe these peoples as pale, fair skinned, blue eyed, blond... Caucasian people. Modern western missionaries saw Semitic features in the Qiangs, Karens... Those were & still are ocular witnesses (sometimes modern-day color pictures) showing that the white Caucasian ancestors of the Israelites of the Lost Scroll of Gold were of the Hebrew stock. Even the traditional Qiang town still looks as if taken from the Promised Land of Israel. Their Chronicles, as well as the Chinese ones, record that they caused great trouble to the Chinese until they were massacred, diminished & isolated in mountainous areas, caves...
Taoping Qiang villageTabiti was the Scythian Goddess who ruled the realm of animals and fire. The Scythians were Israelites really. Some of them founded Empires around India. Tibet is right next to India.
Acts 9:36-43 Dorcas implies “the female of a roebuck,” “a gazelle”—an emblem of beauty. Dorcas is the first Greek name of a female in the New Testament, its Hebrew equivalent being Tabitha which is the Syro-Chaldaic form of the Hebrew Zibiah, or Tsibiah, the name of a princess of Judah, the mother of King Joash. The Greek equivalent for her Syriac name may be accounted for by her residence at Joppa, a seaport much frequented, and no doubt partially inhabited by foreigners speaking chiefly the Greek language. In other words the word Tibet would come from the Syro-Chaldaic (an Aramaic dialect) Tabitha, which corresponds to the Hebrew word Zibiah, or Tsibiah that means "you will look".
Was Tibet a Haven for Israelite Outcasts?
We have more possible Hebrew meanings for the word Tibet. Is the noun "Tibet" derived from the Hebrew word "tabit" meaning "you will look"?
Israelites of the Lost Scroll
In the third century BC the Tribe of Manasseh is documented as living in near the Hindu Kush, and suffering defeat at the hands of Alexander the Great; according to Robert Mock M.D. from bibleresearchers.com. They likely fled to places like Kyrgyzstan who have the Epic of Manas. Risbet, [Richard Hewitt] in his book Manas Lost and Found; A Bridge Linking Kyrgyzstan’s Epic to Ancient Oracles links the Manas Epic to ancient Israelites. The ancient oracles he refers to, we would understand as the bible.
They probably later fled across the silk road to China. From the Sambatyon River legend we know that the Ten Tribes crossed a river of sand. It was also said that these Ten Lost Tribes dwelt in a land where men had no noses; just two holes in their faces. Implying their noses were very short as compared to their Caucasian noses. It was here they were, as legend goes, ruled by a strong prince. This certainly sounds like the Chinese. The river of sand could be no other than the silk road passing through the Taklamakan Desert; between the Mountains of Heaven Tian and the Tibetan Plateau. Dr Avigdor Shachan says that "Tak lam a kan" is a Hebrew sentence meaning “You will be destroyed here!”. Hence the Sambatyon River legend says that these people could not come back! The chance that Taklamakan means in Hebrew “You will be destroyed here!” makes sense & links it to the belief that Tibet has a Hebrew meaning.
The Tarim Basin, between both Tibet & Taklamakan would also be under this category of Hebrew names as said above.
Do we really think that there are so many coincidences?
Some people know the Qiangs as Israelite Tibetans for the area of their dwelling. It's remarkable that they passed through Tibet & that Lhasa, capital of Tibet, has almost the same name of an ancient Israelite city mentioned in Genesis 10:19 (Laish or Lasha, depending on the time or version). But it's not the only Biblical name repeated in the area of the Hindu Kush & the Himalaya & around it (in brackets the Biblical name or explanation): Samarkand (meaning city of Samaria in the local language), Pishgah (Pisgah), Rezin (Rezin), Samaryah (Samaria), Gozana (Gozan)...
God commanded the Israelites to destroy the wicked Canaanites, but the Israelites disobeyed God. That's the main reason why the Israelites became pagan idol worshippers. If the Israelites became pagan, the ones living in, or next to, Canaanites populations like in Bet-Shan that had the name of one false deity (Shan) in its own name then these Israelites living there they would be even more idolaters than other Israelites & therefore with less Israelite traditions. That's why the Manassehites living in this area, when they were taken captive by the Assyrians, wouldn't have maintained their Israelite tradition because they wouldn't have any God-fearing Israelite tradition, not even in their land & could have even acquired the name of their city's god, Shan. In the Mishnah "Beth-Shan" is considered as a center of idolatry. Even after centuries of captivity of the Israelites "Beith-Shean" is also identified as populated by the celebrated historian Flavius Josephus.
It's interesting the fact that one historical & biblical city of Israel was called Beth-Shan, Beth-She'an (in Apocrypha Baithsan or Bethsa). The Shans may not only have received their name from Bet-Shan in Manasseh, but from Bashan also found in Manasseh. Perhaps the name of the Shan people was received from the city of Beth-Shan. The ancient city ruins are now protected as an Israeli national park, known as Bet She'an National Park. The interesting fact is this city was in the territory belonging to the tribe of Menasseh. It's interesting because the Bnei Menasseh (Mizo-Kuki-Chin or Shinlung) say they come from the tribe of Manassah. It's believed that the Shinlung are related to the Karen which are also Israelites & both, the Karens & Shinlung surround the Shan people in Myanmar (formerly called Burma).There should be more research done, but there's remarkable data pointing at the Israelite origin of the Shan people. The city of Bet-Shan was, for a while , the celebrated city of Scythopolis (meaning city of the Scythians), named after its Scythian conquerors. The Scythians were Israelites that bore the name of Isaac in Saka, another name for Scythian. The Sakas were ancestors of the Pashtuns (they call themselves Banu Israel or Children of Israel and still have many Israelite traditions) & could have been the ancestors of the Shans.
In 1827, Christian missionaries travelled into the jungles of Burma to bring the gospel to an indigenous group known as the Karen people. As the missionaries began teaching the Karens from the Bible, they were astounded to discover that the Karens already worshipped a deity they called “Y’wa”, had a detailed creation story with striking parallels to the biblical Eden narrative, and had many other folktales mirroring the traditional accounts found in Genesis.
That same year, a world away, Joseph Smith Jr. obtained a mysterious artifact that would become the Book of Mormon, published in New York in 1830. This book told of an ancient lost civilization: a monotheistic splinter from the house of Israel that settled an distant “promised land,” whose founding story involved contentious brothers, some of whom embraced God’s words, while the others rejected them. The book contains prophecies concerning the Gentiles: how the gospel would be brought back through them, and the unbelieving factions would be restored the to knowledge of the true God. The story concludes with the account of the last believer, who seals up a book of gold which contains these holy words, promising that his brothers will someday obtain his words, and then flees for his life.
Our book of gold that Y’wa gave, Our book of silver that he gave, The elders did not obey. Lost, it wandered to the foreigner.
In 1853, another missionary, Reverend E. B. Cross, referencing much of Mason’s work, wrote a more detailed article that would be published in the Journal of the American Oriental Society. In this article, Cross tells of the tradition of prophets among the Karens, and how these prophets taught that “the white foreigners were in the possession of all the words of God, and that they would one day come and restore to the Karens the true knowledge of God, which they professed themselves to have lost, and would restore their books containing the word of God.”
Cross further retells Karen legends surrounding their origin as a tribe, telling of a ‘younger brother,’ also known as the ‘white Westerner,’ who God receives, and “warns him not to remain in the country of the elder brother,” and escapes “to a country in the West.” The legend is eluded to in this traditional Karen verse:
The Karens were the elder brother; They obtained all the words of God. They did not believe all the words of God, And became enemies to each other. Because they disbelieved God, Their language divided. God gave them commands, But they did not believe him, And divisions ensued.
The Bible as the Lost Golden Book
The Christian missionaries picked up on this tradition, and the Bible was presented to the Karen people as this “lost golden book.” The foreign missionaries were evidently the “white brothers” who were coming to bring the forgotten knowledge of God back to them. Even now, this legend, and its connection to the Bible, is cited in Burmese Christian Ministries. Saw Ka Law Lah, a modern Burmese pastor, explains:
The Karen have legends. It says that in the beginning, God had three sons, the eldest son is the Karen, and the second son is the Burmese, and the third son is the white man. But, the youngest brother read the book, and take it away, so he becomes educated and prosperous.
And when the eldest brother realized that the book disappeared, they longed for the book, and the story continued that one day, the youngest brother will come back and give the book. If the youngest brother come back and give the book, then it is the Golden Book that god gave to him, so if he study it, he will [prosper] like the youngest brother.
So in the 19th century, during the 19th century when the American Baptist mission came to Burma, all [the] Karen people went to meet him, and asked for the Golden Book. “You [took] our golden book, why not giv[e] [it] back [to us]?” The missionary had no idea, then [they] related the story that this [the Bible] is the book.
“You are prosperous now because of this Golden Book; we want that Book back, so that our children will be prosperous too. And according to our legends, you will someday come and give it back. Now, where is the book?”
Then, the American mission [took] the opportunity, the Bible was translated to Karen, and when the Bible was completed, the Karen became Christian in a rapid motion, and every Karen who learned that this is the Golden Book we received back, they accepted Christianity in a very rapid motion.
To this day, the Karen people remain an anomaly in their large-scale acceptance of Christianity among neighboring groups, and are celebrated as an example of God preparing the people of the earth for the gospel.
Echoes of the Book of Mormon
Nearly 100 years after the first Christians’ exposure to the Karen and their legends, Hugh Nibley, noting the findings of E.B. Cross, saw some unmistakable similarities between the Karen narrative and the Lehite account found in the Book of Mormon. He stated that “the case of the Karens is particularly interesting because those people have displayed such astonishing cultural affinities with the Jews that some observers have even claimed them to be of Jewish origin. If that is so, their history may have paralleled Lehi’s in more ways than one.” It appeared that the Book of Mormon story—with tales of golden plates, family feuds, rejecting God’s words and prophets, and promises of restoration to the remnant of their seed by means of the return of a lost book—could be overlaid on the Karen legends with far more compelling connections than the Bible could be.
In 1994, Dr. Ralph Olsen, a Cornell-educated retired chemistry professor from Montana State University, drafted a book-length manuscript in which he hypothesized (among other things) that the Karen people are not merely an interesting parallel to the people of the Book of Mormon, but are actually integral to the Book of Mormon story. He further surmised that the Book of Mormon account—while literally historic—did not take place in the Americas, but rather took place directly south of the home of the Karen people: The Malay Peninsula, which covers Malaysia, Singapore, and parts of Thailand and Burma.
The Malay Hypothesis
Dr. Olsen’s hypothesis postulates that Lehi and his family, having launched from the Arabian peninsula, traveled through the Indian Ocean, into the Bay of Bengal, and landed on the Malay Peninsula. Non-Mormon Anthropologist Harold Gladwin has suggested that around 300 BC, Nearchus, a prominent Cretian naval officer, made a journey with his fleet from the Middle East to the Malay Archipelago and beyond to the Pacific after the death of Alexander the Great. Gladwin’s proposed route takes Nearchus’ fleet through a very similar path that Dr. Olsen puts forth for that of the Lehites and Jaredites. Gladwin’s theory serves to explain several historic unknowns, such as the fate of Nearchus, and the existence of Indonesian groups claiming descent from Alexander the Great; and it supports the plausibility of early marine travel from the Middle East to Southeast Asia. His book entitled Men Out of Asia contains this map and proposed route.
According to the Malay Hypothesis, the sagas of the Nephites, Lamanites, Mulekites, and Jaredites would have taken place within the confines of the Malay Peninsula. This theory has been discussed at some length in the bloggernacle, and has by-and-large either been mistaken for satire, summarily dismissed as wholly implausible, or cited as evidence that Book of Mormon geography is sufficiently amorphous to render false positives in nearly any given setting. Dr. Olsen, however, is convinced that he has identified “a more promising land of promise.”
Geographic Correspondence
At first glance the Malay Hypothesis’ most striking strong point is the peninsula’s correspondence to geographic features mentioned in the Book of Mormon text. The size and relative distances between various points are commensurable with those of the limited geography theories of Mesoamerica. The general contours of the coastline feature distinct southern and northern lands adjoined by a narrow neck—features that originally led the hemispheric model of the Americas to be the logical choice.
The narrow neck of land has long been the must-have feature of any Book of Mormon geography model. The text states that it took between 1–1.5 days by foot to traverse the narrow neck of land. Foot soldiers are known to cover 15-40 miles in a day. 18 That places the acceptable range of the narrow neck’s width to around 19-50 miles wide. The narrow neck of the Malay Peninsula is between 30 and 40 miles, a far more suitable distance than Tehuantepec’s 130 miles, the Yucatan’s 190 miles, Eerie-Ontario’s 20 miles, or Lake Nicaragua’s 10 miles.
The Nephite and Lamanite lands were reportedly divided by a “narrow strip of wilderness” in the vicinity of the headwaters of the river sidon. 20 A prominent hill station named the “Cameron Highlands” spans west to east through Malaysia, and is situated south of the headwaters of the Kelantan river, a river system that creates a large river basin in the northeast quadrant of the peninsula’s main body. The geographic correspondence between the Kelantan river basin and the river Sidon of the land of Zarahemla is striking.
At the floodplain of the Kelantan river is a city called Tenah Merah. Anciently, Tenah Merah was the capital of a kingdom known to the Chinese Sui Dynasty as “Chi Tu,” which is likely the same as “Raktamaritika,” which was known to the Thai as one of the lost kingdoms of their history.
Chronological evidence places Chi Tu around the year 600 AD, possibly making them a remnant of Zarahemla after the Nephite collapse. Dr. Olsen further draws attention to the orthographic correlation between the names “Tenah Merah” and “Zarahemla.” The variants between the two names are certainly no greater than those found between the English “William” and the french “Guillaume,” and if it stands the test of further scrutiny, this may well be considered an external corroborate on par with the NHM-Nahom connection of Yemen.
Problems Solved
Perhaps the most appealing features of the Malay Hypothesis are those that deflect the considerable difficulties involved in attempting to place the Book of Mormon into pre-Columbian America.
Issues surrounding the flora and fauna described in the Book of Mormon have long been the subject of debate, and the impetus for reinterpretations or other creative solutions to match the text of the Book of Mormon to the known plant and animal landscape of the ancient New World. Domesticated barley and wheat have appeared only sparsely in paleoethnobotanical studies of pre-Columbian America, and the Book of Mormon is strangely silent with regards to the types of crops that would have been common to the area, such as chocolate, tomatoes, maize, or potatoes.
Likewise, great difficulty has been involved in locating any significant evidence for “the cow and the ox, and the ass and the horse, and the goat and the wild goat,” to say nothing of elephants or the cryptozoologic cureloms or cumoms. John Sorenson, seasoned Mormon scholar and early proponent of the Tehuantepec limited geography theory, has publicly bemoaned the overwhelming unlikeliness of locating Book of Mormon animals in the ancient New World without substantial reinterpretations of the text:
What kind of animals did the Nephites have? The terms cattle, horses, sheep and so on are mentioned at several points in the Book of Mormon, in the Nephite record. And it is dismaying to some, some who wish to be dismayed, I believe, (and a few others who wish an answer could be provided) why there are not cows like we mean cows, horses like we mean horses, sheep like we mean sheep. The fact is, however, is that all the ancient studies say those animals simply were not present in the New World. Period. They were not here.
Well, 99.9% period. There is some little possibility of some horses as we know horses. The likelihood, however, is that we must go back to the text again, we see the internal having to articulate constantly with the external. We get some ideas from the internal, look outside, try to get enlightening, illuminating information, and then we may have to back into the text, and re-read it, and understand: “Let’s see now, when Mormon said this, what did really mean? Did he mean what I think he means? Or shall we read it the way he wrote it an meant it in his mind? We do not know that when he said ‘horse,’ he meant our kind of horse.”
Framing the Book of Mormon within the megadiverse biosphere of the Malay Peninsula virtually dissolves every one of these obstacles; it decreases the reliance on loose semantics, and doesn’t require holding out for the 00.1% chance Sorenson mentions. While cureloms and cumoms remain unidentified, the other animals (including elephants) as well as the crops that are so problematic for the ancient Americas, all become far less challenging. Likewise for issues of metallurgy: all manner of “iron, and of copper, and of brass, and of steel, and of gold, and of silver, and of precious ores, which were in great abundance” in Nephi’s promised land were also found in the Old World.
LDS anthropologist Raymond Matheny, a professor at BYU, delivered a speech alongside University of Maryland archaeologist John Carlson in which he puts himself “in a non-Mormon’s professional shoes and talk[s] about the nature of the problems that the Book of Mormon poses for the archaeologist,” and goes on to comment on how Book of Mormon events seem more suitably placed in an Old World setting:
I would say in evaluating the Book of Mormon, it had no place in the New World whatsoever. And we’d have to look for the place of the Book of Mormon events to have taken place in the Old World. It just doesn’t seem to fit anything that he [John Carlson] has been taught in his discipline, nor I in my discipline in anthropology, history; there seems to be no place for it. It seems misplaced. It seems like these are anachronisms. It seems like the items are out of time and place, and trying to put them into the New World. And I think there’s a great difficulty here for we Mormons in understanding what this book is all about.
Furthermore, the Book of Mormon’s embarrassing negative references to “skins of blackness” 35 take on new possibilities in considering the presence of the Semang, an indigenous dark-skinned negroid ethnic group that existed on the Malay Peninsula. 36 In the early years, those not adhering to the principles of marrying within the covenant (the followers of Laman, Lemuel, and the sons of Ishmael) would likely have intermixed with the pagan Semang, and received their designation as Lamanites, along with the physical characteristics that would have set apart their offspring.
Another problem associated with the Book of Mormon that becomes far less pressing is that of DNA. Simon Southerton is a molecular biologist whose DNA analysis was nearly synchronous with the 2004 revision to the Book of Mormon’s official introduction, which had previously stated that Lamanites are the “principal ancestors” of the native people of the Americas. In his analyses, Southerton demonstrates the problems involved in ascribing Middle Eastern origins to the native Americans, and submits that the traditional understanding of the identity of the Lamanites does not correspond with the findings of modern science. Interestingly, however, Southerton does refer to some DNA research that hints at the possibility of a lost tribe of Israel reaching as far as the Bay of Bengal—which happens to adjoin the waters directly west of the Malay Peninsula.
Scattering and Migrations
One very important component of Dr. Olsen’s Malay Hypothesis is that it takes a very expansive interpretation of Lehi’s words that state that his family “should be led with one accord into the land of promise, unto the fulfilling of the word of the Lord, that [they] should be scattered upon all the face of the earth.” The proposed reading of this passage is that the descendants of Lehi would have continuously have been expanding outward, further “scatter[ing themselves] upon all the face of the earth.” Early Nephites, Hagoth and his people, disaffected Nephites during Helaman’s judgeship, Jacob and his faction, and doubtless others would have constituted this “scattering” to the land northward, to the “islands of the sea,” and beyond.
This corresponds to the Book of Mormon’s mentioning of a plurality of “lands of promise,” which would very well include the Americas: the continents more traditionally thought of as the “promised land.” Fittingly, leading anthropological research does in fact indicate that the islands of the Pacific were populated from west to east, and many populations found in the Pacific trace their origins to the Malay Archipelago.
Dr. Michael Coe, a non-Mormon archaeologist of Mesoamerica who is well versed in the Book of Mormon, finds no compelling evidence to suggest that Old World contact with the Americas was Middle Eastern in origin. He is, however, agreeable to the possibility of Pacific Islanders and Southeast Asians having successfully reached America:
I’d like to say one thing now, is that… about this whole idea of contact between the Old World and the New World. I’m not entirely against the idea of transoceanic contacts, in fact, there’s beginning to be evidence for it. The leading scholar of this kind of stuff is a Mormon, a friend of mine, John Sorensen at BYU, who’s written extensively about this whole thing. Very interesting stuff. I mean, he’s a real scholar. I think that he’s again often looking in the wrong direction, but I think there’s pretty good evidence for contact between east Asia and Southeast Asia, not the middle East at all, but totally in another direction across the Pacific… As I say, I’m not against this kind of study. John Sorenson has really come up with some interesting stuff, but to me, it all points the eastern part of the Old world, of Eura—eastern Eurasia—that is: China and Southeast Asia in particular.
Additionally, non-Mormon archaeologist Gordon Ekholm of the American Museum of Natural History, who has also had notable exposure to Book of Mormon archaeology, expressed his belief that “there may have been some historical connection between the peoples of Middle America and those of southern Asia, and thus indirectly with early peoples in the Near East.”
Accordingly, placing the setting of the Book of Mormon in Southeast Asia does notexclude the Americas from its designation as a land of promise. In fact, doing so may even add additional meaning to the words of Zenos, who said God will “remember the covenants which he made to their fathers. Yea, then will he remember the isles of the sea; yea, and all the people who are of the house of Israel, will [he] gather in… from the four quarters of the earth.” 50 The connections and flow between Southeast Asia, the isles of the Pacific, and the American continents are illustrated in this map, again from Gladwin’s Men Out of Asia.
Moroni & Cumora
Often the first protest directed at the Malay Hypothesis is the issue of Cumorah, New York, and the irreconcilable distances and settings it would require to get the plates from Asia to New York. Proponents of the Tehuantepec (and other) limited geography theories have long made the case that the hill in New York never was the Hill Cumorah referenced in the Book of Mormon, and was named “Cumorah” ex post facto by exuberant early latter-day saints. Furthermore, a careful reading of Mormon 6:6 indicates that the plates of Mormon—the plates from which the Book of Mormon was translated—were never buried in the hill Cumorah at all; quite the opposite: the source materials (large plates of Nephi, etc) were buried in Cumorah, and Mormon gave to Moroni the few remaining plates from Mormon to complete. The deposit location and ultimate fate of these plates—which would have included the plates of Mormon—is never mentioned in the Book of Mormon text, other than that they were “sealed up.” John Sorenson, an advocate of the Tehuantepec model, suggests that Moroni made the trip from Mexico to New York in the 21 years between Mormon 8:6 and Moroni 10:1, and left them in the hill where Joseph Smith found them centuries later.
Dr. Olsen provides a speculative narrative for the fate and travels of Moroni that, if true, would provide a fascinating interpretation of existing external evidence. His conjecture proposes that Moroni, in hopes of evading the Lamanite warriors, traveled northward into what would now be Burma. Perhaps he found others—Nephite exiles, peaceful Lamanites, or completely separate groups—and told them of his father’s work, of the Nephite chronicles, and of the prophecies of restoration he had written in his book of gold. These stories may have persisted in the region until they came to be adopted into folklore of the Karen people who would later arrive into Burma from southern China around 500 A.D.
Eventually Moroni, perhaps led by God as Nephi was, might have been compelled to set sail into the Bay of Bengal. Archaeological and DNA evidence suggests that between 200 BC and 500 AD, migrations were occurring between Southeast Asia and the east African islands of Madagascar. Additionally, linguistic evidence indicates that Malagasy (the language of Madagascar) is related to the Malayo-Polynesian family of languages, thus providing even more evidence of migration to Madagascar from the Malay Archipelago. Moroni may have been among these migrants after his escape from Cumorah. Incidentally, just off the northwestern coast of Madagascar lies a tiny country named “Comoros”—with a capital known as “Moroni”.
After some time in Comoros, perhaps with others, or perhaps alone, Moroni may have again set sail, this time on a more ambitious journey, one that may have taken him around the Cape of Good Hope, through the Atlantic, across the equator, and landed him on the east coast of America, where he could have been led to bury the plates in the hill where Joseph Smith eventually would obtain them.
A transoceanic trip of this magnitude may seem impossible, but it is no more incredulous than the alternative stories of Lehites, Mulekites and Jaredites crossing comparable distances to arrive in America. The primary difference between the two would be centuries of seafaring experience and knowhow to Moroni’s advantage. Note that this route is very similar to the transatlantic Lehite route required by the Heartland geography theory, the plausibility of which was recently bolstered by the experience of the 2010 Phoenician Ship Expedition.
Alternatively, the relocation of the plates of Mormon into the New York hill could have been instigated by any number of divinely-aided means, from the resurrected Moroni posthumously moving them, to the Three Nephites helping out somehow, to any other number of miraculous means akin to those that are inextricable from the contents of Book of Mormon and the narrative of its coming forth.
Authoritative Statements
One of the major objections to the Malay Hypothesis, and to any other non-American placement of Book of Mormon geography, is that countless LDS Church leaders and authorities have asserted that the American continent is the Book of Mormon’s promised land, that America is where the Book of Mormon lands are “supposed” to be, and that the testimony of Jesus furnished by the Book of Mormon belongs to the New World. Church leaders have indicated that the hill in upstate New York is in very fact the Hill Ramah/Cumorah of the Book of Mormon’s great last battles. The introduction of the official Church edition states unequivocally that it is a “record of God’s dealings with the ancient inhabitants of the Americas.” Apostles have identified those of native American descent as Lamanites.
Thomas Marsh explained how Moroni was hunted down and killed by a band of Indians. Joseph Smith told Zion’s Camp that a skeleton found in Illinois was once none other than “Zelph, the white Lamanite,” in addition to having related to his family “the most amusing recitals that could be imagined” describing “the ancient inhabitants of this continent,” presumably referring to the civilizations described in the Book of Mormon.
The key to properly facing all these issues—and this cannot be emphasized enough—is understanding that these issues areexternal to the Book of Mormon text itself. The Church has assured its members that all speakers or authors, regardless of their priesthood or leadership positions, are responsible for and accountable to their own statements, and that their statements should be weighed against the standard works to assess their credibility. The Malay Hypothesis does not purport to be a proposal to accommodate past leaders’ statements or mainstream assumptions about the Book of Mormon. Rather, it purports to be a model in which to consider the text per se, and makes no appeal to extratextual sources to construct its model. Readers and students who uphold a sacrosanct relationship between the contents Book of Mormon and the statements or beliefs of modern religious authorities will understandably feel compelled to discredit the Malay Hypothesis and all other non-traditional theories.
The story of Vincenzo Di Francesca, who discovered and accepted the Book of Mormon virtually in a vacuum—with no institutional strings attached—provides a real instance in which we can consider how the Book of Mormon can be received completely on its own terms. To Di Francesca’s independent reading of the Book of Mormon text, without any preface, tradition, or institutional history to frame the Book of Mormon text, all of these problematic statements would be complete non-issues. The degree to which readers consider the text of the Book of Mormon wedded to the environment and organization from which it came forth will largely determine the extent of their reluctance or eagerness to consider the viability of non-American geography models for the Book of Mormon.
The one external statement that probably carries the most weight in this matter is one that is included in nearly all official explanations of the origins of the Book of Mormon and is said to have come from the mouth of Moroni himself, who, in resurrected form, told Joseph Smith that the Book of Mormon contains an “account of the former inhabitants of this continent.”
The source of this statement is a manuscript written by James Mulholland at the dictation of Joseph Smith in 1838. Incidentally, this same manuscript—and even the same paragraph—misidentifies the angel Moroni as “Nephi,” and is marked with an asterisk stating that it is “evidently a clerical error.” This error was perpetuated in the Nauvoo periodical Times and Seasons and the 1851 edition of the Pearl of Great Price before it was corrected to “Moroni.”
There is no direct evidence to indicate that the words “of this continent” are likewise erroneous, but the clear presence of neighboring errors should encourage some caution in using this statement as a non-negotiable hinge attaching the Book of Mormon lands to the Americas.
Assuming that Mulholland’s transcript is nevertheless correct, Dr. Olsen emphasizes Moroni’s words which immediately follow the reference to America: “the former inhabitants of this continent and the source from whence they sprang.” Traditional readings of these words assume the “source from whence they sprang” to be Jerusalem and Mesopotamia, but taken in another light, this could very well be understood as Asia and the Pacific, which not only corresponds more closely with current scientific consensus regarding the origins of early American migrants, but is also compatible with the Malay Hypothesis’ considerations of multiple lands of promise, and the continual scattering and expansion of Nephite and Lamanite people from their previous lands of promise.
Zion and the Promised Land
New York Cumorah and traditional LDS notions aside, there are some issues that are grounded in the Book of Mormon text that would challenge any non-American setting for the Book of Mormon. These issues are the prophecies that seem to indicate that the United States of America is central to the latter-day promised land, the modern Zion, and the New Jerusalem.
The Book of Mormon communicates that Lehi would be led to “a land of promise” that is “choice above all other lands;” that “a man among the Gentiles,” presumably Christopher Columbus, would reach the “seed of [Nephi’s] brethren, who were in the promised land;” that “this land… shall be kept from all other nations;” that “this land shall be a land of liberty unto the Gentiles,” with “no kings upon the land;” that “they should be established in this land, and be set up as a free people;” and that “a New Jerusalem should be built up upon this land.”
These passages are often cited by those promoting ethnocentric interpretations designating the United States exclusively as the “choice land.” Rodney Meldrum and his FIRM Foundation have gone to great lengths to conclude that the Book of Mormon’s references to any promised land point unambiguously to the United States of America. Meldrum further cites 2 Nephi 1:5 to demonstrate that the land Lehi arrived upon was the “land of promise” which he had “obtained.” However, a closer inspection of this verse shows that Lehi stated that his family “obtained a land of promise.”
The use of this indefinite article is significant in light of the aforementioned plurality of promised lands noted in the Book of Mormon.
Furthermore, uncompromisingly strict interpretations of these passages disqualifies even the United States as the land of promise. If the “man among the Gentiles” is in fact Columbus, the “promised land” designation would have to extend to the Bahamas and other Caribbean islands. Also, the United States was ultimately not “kept from all other nations.” African slaves—Gentiles in their own right—would most certainly not describe their relocation to America as becoming “a free people” in “a land of liberty”—a land which, parenthetically, was ruled by European kings for centuries prior to 1776.
And, despite the current construction of an LDS temple not even ten miles from the Temple Lot in Independence Missouri, 83 a “New Jerusalem” is still conspicuously absent from the United States.
There are, of course, suitable rebuttals for each of these counterpoints. These rebuttals do, however, require the introduction of a more liberal, allegorical, or broad interpretation of the prophecies in the Book of Mormon. Defenders of Mesoamerican geography models have long advocated generalized explanations for these passages, considering the history of suffering and oppression of the countries in the most immediate regions they propose for the Book of Mormon setting. The degree to which liberal interpretations are applied to these prophetic statements will largely be influenced by the presuppositions and confirmation bias of the interpreter. Preferences for the promised land being within the the political boundaries of the United States, or covering all of North America, or the greater Americas, or a wide array of promised lands ranging from Israel, through Asia, into the Pacific and the Americas, can all be accommodated through creative readings, American traditions and references to “this land” notwithstanding.
Historically speaking, Latter-day saints are actually quite accustomed to reinventing their definition of Zion. The latter-day gathering of Israel has at various times been focused around Kirtland, Missouri, Illinois, Utah, and even the symbol of “stakes” of Zion’s tent, coupled with the metaphor: “this is Zion—the pure in heart.” Despite what Meldrum might insist on, the prophecies regarding the promised lands and their direct corollaries to the United States, while certainly ingrained firmly in the latter-day zeitgeist, are not unambiguously substantiated by an objective reading of the Book of Mormon text.
Nephi’s prophecies about “his seed” in contrast to “the seed of his brethren” are also problematic to traditional readings. These statements are generally understood to be the future Nephites and Lamanites, and their latter-day remnants. The first obstacle to this notion is that Nephi’s “brethren” would have also included Jacob and Joseph, who’s early descendants were collectively referred to as “Nephites.”
The other problem is that during the Zionist utopia described in 4th Nephi, there were no distinctions based on lineage, and the entire population was unified. The Nephite and Lamanite factions that emerge after that period distinguish themselves by belief and demeanor, not by blood heritage. This further necessitates liberal interpretations of who the modern Lamanites are relative to Laman and Lemuel as well as to the Lamanite people described in the pages leading up to 4th Nephi.
Fitting these prophecies into the Malay Hypothesis does admittedly require unconventional reinterpretations of the text along with a vast departure from traditional teachings. But to its advantage, it does allow for the possibility of many promised lands throughout the earth, and does not necessarily exclude America from these promises. Again, The degree to which these interpretations are determined to be plausible will be largely influenced by the cultural expectations and presuppositions of the reader.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has wisely taken no official position on Book of Mormon geography, despite the clear presence of americentric sentiment throughout the Church as a whole. Approaching the Book of Mormon in a new paradigm offers a broad array of interesting possibilities, that may prove to be useful in this age where science, history, and the public eye are putting an increasing amount of scrutiny on the Book of Mormon as a historical text. Dr. Olsen submits that his Malay Hypothesis is merely a “tentative guess,” and invites experts to challenge his proposals:
In science, if a hypothesis seems faulty we at least try to concoct a better one. I accordingly postulate that Book of Mormon peoples left their homelands in the Middle East and found lands of promise on the Malay Peninsula. My hope is that, as an uninvited intruder in a sacred domain, I will be permitted to present the Malay Hypothesis as a tentative guess. Qualified experts are encouraged to make the needed adjustments and to do the requisite digging to check its validity.
To date, the only credible scholar to address Dr. Olsen’s Malay Hypothesis with more than a cursory glance or summary dismissal is Brant Gardner, an ethnohistorian of Mesoamerica. In an effort to establish the element of falsifiability in any given external placement of the Book of Mormon setting, Gardner analyzes the summary points Olsen presents in a 2004 Sunstone article on the Malay Hypothesis. Gardner addresses some of the article’s points that he deems plausible, others that he considers less plausible (or irrelevant to the issue of falsifiability) and concludes that the Malay Hypothesis does not contain sufficiently credible correspondence to the Book of Mormon text to warrant further investigation of the setting, and further notes that the points that do seem plausible (such as the general topology) are vague or flexible enough to be ascribed to coincidence.
The question as to whether any given location is even worth looking into as a viable candidate is a valid one. America remains the conventionally obvious place to look. Even so, Hugh Nibley highlighted the difficulties associated with trying to place the Book of Mormon in the more traditionally accepted setting of the Western Hemisphere:
The Book of Mormon…is not a history of the Indians, but only of some very remote relatives of theirs living in a distant age with a totally different culture; it does not describe or designate any known ancient people, civilization, or individual in the Western Hemisphere, nor does it designate any recognized place, city, or territory in the New World.
With that statement in mind a very interesting phenomenon to note is that the external evidences that appear to bolster the Book of Mormon’s credibility as an ancient document are overwhelmingly associated with the Eastern Hemisphere:
Geographic correspondence with the Arabian Peninsula as described in First Nephi.
Chiastic structures and Hebraisms such as cognate accusative throughout the text.
The apparent occurrence of the feast of tabernacles in Zarahemla.
Nephite compliance with documented ancient Jewish legal practices.
Specific accurate descriptions of olive culture.
An artifact that surfaced on the international antiquities market which may identify a Book of Mormon personality.
In contrast, Book of Mormon associations with the Western Hemisphere have followed an unsettling trend:
The Christ-Quetzalcoatl connection, once taught in LDS missionary tracts, has been shown to be far more tenuous than originally presumed.
Izapa Stela 5, the Mexican artifact once heralded as the “Lehi Stone,” has undergone reevaluation in light of new evidence.
A Church-produced film once used by missionaries in Latin America to establish archaeological connections between the Americas and the Book of Mormon 105 has not been updated for the current generation, who instead receives the counsel to avoid attempts at locating Book of Mormon cities.
The Lamanites, once taught to be the primary progenitors of all of Native American and Polynesian people, 107 have been officially demoted to merely “among [their] ancestors.”
LeGrand Richards’ A Marvelous Work and a Wonder and Talmage’s Articles of Faith (once required reading for missionaries) both contain extensive sections attempting to demonstrate connections between the Book of Mormon and the Native Americans, and both were recently removed from the approved Missionary Reference Library with the advent of Preach My Gospel.
To be fair, external evidences for plausibility in the New World have surfaced in past years, such as cement highways, volcanism, mtDNA haplogroup X, similarities to Mayan customs and political structures, Mayan gardens, and Mesoamerican temples. However, these points appear notably less robust (or precise) when juxtaposed with features of Southeast Asia, which include: documented use of writing on metal plates, wheeled vehicles, a millennialist tradition among indigenous people, suitable flora and fauna, a town called “Lammuella,” a modern Burmese battleground known as “Kawmoora,” and—of course—the persistent legend of a prophetic brother who left his rebellious kin, taking with him a golden book containing the words of Y’wa, promising that the words from this book would someday be restored.
Epilogue
In 2009, an LDS man named John Yettaw trespassed into the home of prominent Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Equipped with homemade flippers and heroic charisma, he swam across Inya Lake and intruded into the heavily guarded Yangon compound in which she is continuously under house arrest. He passed the AK-47-brandishing security guards, and delivered to her, among other things, a copy of the Book of Mormon.
Could Yettaw have been the ‘white foreigner’ who unknowingly brought to pass the fulfillment of the prophecy concerning the return of the Lost Golden Book?
There are some rumored underground LDS branches in Mandalay and Yangon, but there is no established foundation of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints within the military dictatorship of Burma. Yettaw’s stunt is, to date, the most prominent advance in LDS missionary efforts to Burma, and is also a notably singular event in terms of United States outreach to Burmese leaders. Referring to the incident, Yangon citizens often quip: “China gets ping-pong diplomacy, Burma gets John Yettaw.”
Does Southeast Asia have a greater place within the latter-day narrative and the gathering of Israel than may have previously been supposed? Joseph Smith noted that he “tried for a number of years to get the minds of the Saints prepared to receive the things of God; but we frequently see some of them, after suffering all they have for the work of God, will fly to pieces like glass as soon as anything comes that is contrary to their traditions: they cannot stand the fire at all.” 127 If nothing else, perhaps Dr. Olsen’s hypothesis gives us a new context in which to consider the scripture concerning those who are “kept from the truth because they know not where to find it.”
The Messianic Gift of the Prince Siddhartha to the Lost Ten Tribes of the House of Israel
It may seem hard to understand what the original Buddhist’s (followers of Buzi/Buddhi) religious beliefs were like. Buddhism in its most primitive and ancient form is now accepted to have begun spreading across Eurasia about the year of 600 BCE. What is understood, is that the spiritual lives they professed, practiced and lived then is not the same as practiced by Buddhism today.
We will suggest that Primitive Buddhism was an inoculation of true Temple of Solomon Torah Judaism implanted by a Jewish priest and son, the prophet, into the lives and culture of the Lost Ten Tribes of the House of Israel. This was before the Lost Ten Tribes began to disseminate and scatter across Eurasia as “The Wanderers” to the East in Nepal, India, Cambodia, Viet Nam and over to Japan and to the west across Samartha, Crimea and Ukraine north of the Black Sea and the Balkans below until most of them settled in the dense unpopulated forests of Northern Gaul.
It appears that Primitive Buddhism was cloned from the reformation within both the Houses of the Lost Ten Tribes of the Israelites by Jewish emissaries that were sent by the G-d of Israel to restore parts of Torah Judaism back into the religious spiritual life of the Lost Ten Tribes of the House of Israel. Understand, Buzi and Ezekiel were a part of the Aaronic priesthood that did not apostatize with the rest of Israelites from the Northern House of Israel.
It was a monotheistic reformation seeking to redeem the Lost Ten Tribes away from the pagan cultures that they were assimilating within, after they first created, and later amalgamated and worshipped while living during the days of the great apostasy in the Land of Samaria under the rule of King Ahab and Jezebel. The Lost Israelites were to become noted as the creator of many religions and later apostasies; the most famous being the Roman Catholic Christian Church.
Today, these same Jewish patriots are also returning a favor to the Lost Israelites who are still imbedded in their ancient religious apostasies of Buddhism, Confucianism, Zoroastrianism, and Roman Catholic and Protestant Christianity. Soon the day is coming when they will all be redeemed and restored back together in brotherhood and reunited again into a Greater Israel. This time it will be ruled under “The Messiah” a Prince of Kings David and Solomon called David son of David.
There are many parallelisms between the Chinkuki legends, stories...& the Israelite history: the Creation, Adam & Eve, Jacob working for marrying Rachel, Joseph in Egypt, Manassah, the Assyrian captivity... Several traditions are common or have paralelisms. In the creation of Adam, God breaths air into the earth-created Adam to give him life. One translation for the Hebrew word Adam is red. Interestingly in one Chinkuki creation myth the first man is made of red earth & God breaths life to him. They even had Zion songs. In traveling records Kabul is a main stop, hinting that they were once one as the same people with the Pashtuns. Now & then you find Hebrew or Hebrew like words that make sense through a Hebrew translation. These traditions where dying off with the knowledgeable old men & women. Seeing this trend a Chinkuki scholar, Dr. Khuplam, recopilated these oral traditions in English script. Nowadays these traditions are not only maintained, but are revived. In their genealogy there are several undeniable Israelitish names & other blurrier. Gelet is the Biblical Gilead, Zakip is Jacob & Lamza is Ulam. The Central Asian Kyrgyz Epic Jakyb is identified with the Biblical Jacob. It seems like a group of Manassahite Pashtuns kept the stories & in Kyrgyz lands the name (and story) Jacob turned into Jakyb. Eventually with Mongol invasions, migrations & intermixing, these Israelites became more Mongoloid looking. The name Zakip is crearly a mispronounciation of Jakyb. Indeed in certain Chinkuki dialects J is pronounced as Z. B & P are very similar sounds & one is often an evolved sound of the other.
Other names identified with Biblical ones found in the Chinkuki folklore were Tera (Terah), Apram (Abraham), Iaksak (Isaac), Muriah (Moriah), Si-nai (Sinai)...
The sacred bulpizam, the ancient lost Chinkuki script, was identified by foreign & Chinkuki scholars as the Israelite Torah given on Mount Sinai after the Exodus.
Other names identified with Biblical ones found in the Chinkuki folklore were Tera (Terah), Apram (Abraham), Iaksak (Isaac), Muriah (Moriah), Si-nai (Sinai)...
The sacred bulpizam, the ancient lost Chinkuki script, was identified by foreign & Chinkuki scholars as the Israelite Torah given on Mount Sinai after the Exodus.
In their stories they tell of a wild cat that occupied their ancestors' city. This is believed to have happened around 722 B.C. This wild cat is called Sangah Meichol & drove their ancestors from their lands. But how can a wild cat drive a people out of their lands unless he represents somebody else? Later he has been identified as Shalmanezer, the Assyrian king that drove the Israelites out of their Promised Land. The story is identified as the conquest of Samaria. From then long Manmasi's children spread throughout the earth. This account is narrated in Thado, but Kuki & Chin speakers can't pronounce Sangah Meichol & they say Sangametsal. In the history of languages l, m & n, changed places with each other, as l & r did. In the case of Kuki speakers & Mizo speakers they couldn't pronounce sh, so they pronounced s instead. As we can in the Old Testament this is the very phenomenon that happened to the Gileadites. Interestingly the Gileadites belonged to no other tribe but to Manasseh's.
Judges 12:5 The Gileadites captured the fords of the Jordan opposite Ephraim. And it happened when any of the fugitives of Ephraim said, "Let me cross over," the men of Gilead would say to him, "Are you an Ephraimite?" If he said, "No," 6 then they would say to him, "Say now, 'Shibboleth.'" But he said, "Sibboleth," for he could not pronounce it correctly. Then they seized him and slew him at the fords of the Jordan. Thus there fell at that time 42000 of Ephraim. 7 Jephthah judged Israel six years. Then Jephthah the Gileadite died and was buried in one of the cities of Gilead.
The Kuki-Chin-Mizos were descendants of Manasseh. And as Manassehites pronounced the sh sound like the s sound, so do the Kuki-Chin-Mizos. The neighboring Naga people have much in common with them. They have a clan called Mikir, a name very similar to Machir, Gilead's father & Manassah's son. Interesting because in Hebrew vowels aren't written & therefore swappable. Especially if ch & k represent the same phoneme as they do. So Machir & Mikir are virtually the same sounds.
In the Assyrian besiege of Samaria of 722 B.C.E. the ruler attacking the Israelites is called Shalmaneser. If this Hebrew name had survived in the memory of an Israelite tribe for hundreds of years & if now in Southeast Asia is pronounced Salnamesel & was connected to an ancient defeat, disaster, exile... & if none any longer knew who Salnamesel was, would it not be natural to seek an explanation in a similar sounding word in their modern Asian language? This history could even evolve senseless into an animal familiar to them that drives their ancestors from their original land. Not far away, in Meghalaya, a people & their language are known as Amri.
Hmars live mostly in the hills of south Manipur, Mizoram, Cachar, Dima Hasao, Meghalaya, Tripura and Chittagong Hill Tracts. Although these areas are within different administrative divisions, they are geographically connected. In Manipur, the Hmars reside in the south, especially in the Churachandpur District and its adjoining areas. These areas, except Tuithaphai, are hilly. Tuiruong (Barak), Tuivai and Tuithapui are some of the important rivers flowing through this area. In Mizoram, the Hmars live mostly in the north, especially in the Aizawl District. In Assam, the Hmars live in the Cachar and North Cachar District. In Meghalaya, the Hmars live in the Jaintia Hills District and Shillong in Khasi Hills District. In Tripura, the Hmars mostly live in and around Darchawi, a village on the Mizoram – Tripura border. The Hmars are but a part of the Israelite Mizos. Here we have mentioned two really Hebrew toponyms, not to mention the possible Israelite name Hmar.
The Tuiruong river is also known as Barak. The given name Barak, also spelled Baraq, from the root B-R-Q, is a Hebrew name meaning "lightning". It is a Biblical name, given after the Israelite general Barak (ברק Bārāq).
Cachar means "to go about," "occupy with," "trade," "traffic," "merchant," and so the business of the moving merchant or peddler. Joseph said to his brothers: "So will I deliver you your brother, and ye shall traffic in the land" (Genesis 42:34). He evidently meant that they should have license to become, throughout Egypt, traveling traders.
Seven is a recurrent number in both "ancient Judaism" & Chinkukism, as Dr. Khuplam tells us in his anthropological work about his people: "seven folds of heaven" & "seven folds of earth". If they're not biblical, at least these are very Israelitish sounding concepts. In fact seven is considered in the Judeo-Christian world as the number of perfection. Moreover, seven is a semisacred number in the Bible & heavens were imagined as seven-tiered in biblical Apocrypha & post-biblical Judaism. Likewise in ancient China & Tibet they had the notion of seven, eight, nine & thirteen levels of heaven & earth. The Rengma Nagas believed that above the visible sky there were six skies, totaling in seven skies. The Karens prayed to the Lord of the seven heavens & seven earths. And seven is a constant number in the Lahu creation epic. This epic is known as a Mvuh Hpa Mi Hpa.
Prince Sakya, that became the celebrated Buddha, is considered to have been an Israelite. His family bore the last name Sakya which is an altered form of Isaac. The Pashtuns descended from the Sakas. The Sakas, bearing Isaac's name, were not others but the Israelites that the Assyrians settled in the area after taking them captive from their original land in Israel. The Chinkukis, & other peoples with the tradition of a lost book or script like the Karens, probably descended from the Pashtuns which in turn descended from the Sakas, but unlike the Kashmiris or the main bulk of Pashtuns, they ended up further east. In their journey eastwards they mixed up with Mongoloids, hence their current Mongoloid look.
Two-Housers (a.k.a. British Israelites) traditionally regard western Europeans as the only & authentic descendants of the Israelites that were lost after their conquest by the Assyrians. Destination Yisrael & Bible Researches lean to Two-Houserism, but they're open to regard non-Caucasians as descendants of the lost tribes of Israel & agree that as evidences point at western Europeans being the lost offspring of Israel, likewise there's plenty of evidences of Israelites found in certain Negroid, Mongoloid... ethnicities or cultures. In this line of thought a classical British Israelite author writes "The Afghans, Pathans, Karens, and some people in the mountains of China, are traced as the descendants of the Indo-Saxons. The Afghans call themselves Beni-Israel. And there is one section called Yusufzai, and another Isakzai." It's a rarity to find such comments in these circles, let alone in beginning of British Israelism, nevertheless here you are, a Two-Houser, moreover, a classical one.
When the author says "mountains of China", he is referring to mountainous areas like the ones inhabited by the Qiangs, next to Tibet, or the high lands next to Myanmar, inhabited by Miaos, Jingpos... & other Israelites of the lost script of gold.
Do we think it is by chance that there are so many Pashtuns, Kashmiris or Kalashas with light skin, eyes & hair (blond & red), just like in western Europe & the Middle East & among Jews? Certain that is far less common the light hair & eyes among Kashmiris, Pashtuns & Middle Easterners, but is no less common among Kalashas. Perhaps a greatly contributing reason of the smaller number of blue/green eyed & blond/redheaded individuals among the Pashtuns, Kashmiris & Jews is that they were surrounded & by darker looking peoples.
Take for example the Pashtuns & Kashmiris. They received great population flows from the different Mongol & Turkish empires. Not to mention the dark looking Chinese & Indian populations. Nevertheless western Europe barely received, if at all, the Mongol or Turkish invasions received by eastern Europeans. The only exception of western European countries invaded by darker looking Muslim peoples being the Iberians were you find more of the darker Europeans.
The likely reason why the Kalashas tend to be fairer eyed, blonder...is that they were, & still are, in an isolated valley hardly accesible.
The presence of blondish, blue/green eyed people among the Miao people of south western China is documented by pictures, legends, written texts & ocular witnesses.
The Miaos (usually included within the Hmong), Kachins, Lahus, Karens, Akhas, Lisus, Miens, Chins, Kukis, Nagas...have common traditions of comming originally from Mongolia & Tibet. Other tradition in common is that they were warring the Chinese & causing them trouble. The Chinese considered them Barbarians. The continuous exposition to the Chinese (apart from the previous Mongol encounters) made them the darkish slanted eyed people we now know.
All of them have the tradition of having lost a book or script, sometimes described as made of gold. The script, scroll, book or whatever that was, has been identified with the Hebrew Scriptures.
Some of them have traditions of their ancestors going through a river of sand, that has been identified with the Taklamakan Desert, from which the celebrated Silk Route flowed. Throughout the Silk Road, traders, including the lost Children of Israel, went by. They had been placed further in Asia by their Assyrian conquerors, ruled by king Shalmaneser. Different scholars identify these peoples as descendants of the Children of Israel. This might be why these peoples have embraced Christianity so heartily, with the exception of the ones held/dominated by the opressive communist Chinese.
They usually hold to traditions of one only god, or at least one main god. Depending on the ethnicities it has different names. Although the name Ywa is the most spread out, they have other names. Some of the Chinkukis use the name Ywa while others use the name Pathen. Since they have altered or lost many traditions it's normal to have these differences. Ywa is very similar to the Hebrew Yah or Yahweh. The name Pathen rings familiar too. In fact sounds very similar to Pathan, another form of Pashtun, the lost Israelites from which the Israelites of the lost golden script came. Pathans or Pattans are still found out of Afghanistan-Pakistan in India, Nepal. Pathen is a last name. In Nepal is found as a place name. In the Indian subcontinent the name Pattan is found sometimes meaning "port of call" or "dockland". But sometimes might have been named after the colonizing. This name can also be found down in as far as southern Thailand with the name Pattani.
Zo, Karbi & Hmar, Three Israelite Tribes in Zomia
In English the name Joseph is often shortened into Joe. English is not the only language that shortens names of course. Perhaps the Semitic name Yosef was a little strange for people like the Chinkukis & they shortened it as simply Yo. If we take into account that the Hebrew Yah is Ya & in some local Chinkuki dialects is pronounced as Za, then is easy to apply the same rule to the name Yo (possibly Yosef) & turn it into Zo. And if the claimed ancestor of the Chinkukis, Manasia, was Manasa then the name "Zo" or "Yo" could apply well for his father Joseph. In English the short form of Joseph, Jo or Joe, is even more used than the long one. In the area monosylable nouns are pretty widespread after all. So Zo would be a form of saying Josephites or Zosephites in the currently spoken local language.
The Karbis are also known as Mikirs. Amri is their language's name.
Here we have several likely indicators that point at this people's Israelite origin. The name Karbi is the very name of an Armenian place. This area, through Kurdistan (olden Media) & Iran roughly corresponds to the places of exile to which the Israelites were first sent by the Assyrians. The Karbis, like many neighboring peoples, have a tradition of a lost book, lost scroll, golden book... which has been often identified with the Israelite Torah. Many peoples of these areas have that lost book tradition & also the tradition of descending from Manmasi/Manasia, identified with the biblical tribe of Manassah. More interesting is the fact that another name for the Karbi people is Mikir, which is almost identical to the biblical Makir, son of Manassah. There's more because their language's name Amri has almost the name of the Israelite king Omri. Omri was not a righteous Israelite king, but was very celebrated. Perhaps the most noteworthy event performed by this king was the foundation & establishment of Samaria as Israel's capital since Jerusalem stayed as capital of Judah at the separation of the two Hebrew kingdoms. But this king Omri must have been remarkable to the Assyrian invadors because in different inscriptions like the Behistun rock, the invadin Assyrian king Pul calls the Israelites "Bit Khumri", which translates as "House of Omri".
The Israelites were known as Khumri after their king, the biblical Omri. Since ancient times in Semitic languages vowels never have counted as proper letters. Under this rule Hmar might be a name derived from Khumri, the said Israelite king, as well.
Abounding in what was said before, Omri was such a remarkable king in olden Israel that he impressed foreigners. In his honor the Kingdom of Israel was referred to by the Assyrians as Bit Khumria or House of Omri. In Hebrew the name Omri begins with the letter "ayin" which can take a guttural sound and be pronounced as a "K" or a "G". Omri could be rendered as "Humri".
KHUMRI was the Assyrian designation of the Israelites according to the Behistun rock monument which also depicts conquered princes paying tribute, including "Jehu, the son of Khumri," a term designating him as an Israelite. This Assyrian name for Israel, Khumri, translates as "House of Omri," after the Israelite king Omri who gained fame for a new law-code he developed (Micah 6:16). Famed early 20th century historian archaeologist, Archibald Henry Sayce, in his book, Higher Critics and the Monuments, p. 396, adds: 'lt was, however, in the time of Ahab the son of Omri that the Assyrians first became acquainted with the northern kingdom of lsrael, and consequently Samaria continued ever afterwards to be known to them as Beth-Omri, the 'house of Omri'. "
Scholars confirm that the people known to the Persians as SAKA, to the Babylonians as GIMIRRI, and to the Assyrians as KHUMRI, were but different names for the Lost Ten Tribes in captivity. "Saka" or "Sacae" meant "House of Isaac," while the terms "Khumri" and "Gimirri" translate as "House of Omri." The Assyrians later also adopted the Babylonian variant of Khumri, Gimirr. Said that, the name Amri could have been preserved as a more faithful evolution from after his demise. "Bit Khumria" was the name which the Assyrians gave to northern Israel presumably in remembrance of King Omri ("Khumri" in Assyrian) whose son Achab had once fought and defeated the Assyrian forces.
In the east Caucasus area the Humri River is also called the River Gumri. Forms of the Khumri's name or root words derived from it are: Cymree, Cimbri, Cumbria, Cymru, Cumberland, Camber, Humber, Hammer, Himmer, and so on. These toponyms are found in western European areas (especially Britain, Germany & Scandinavia) where the biggest group of Lost Israelitish tribes ended up. The name Hmar would be under this category. We have to think that in Hebrew like other Semitic languages what really counts is not the vowels, but the consonants. In Hebrew the sound "K" is represented with the same character as the sound "KH", so sometimes one word is k sound & sometimes is kh, a sound like the ch in "Loch Ness". And the h sound is only softer than the sound kh. Hence why the sample words of the list above has such supposedly different words as Camber & Hammer.
Micah (6:15) condemns the northern Israelites for keeping the "Statutes of Omri". So Omri was a remarkable king in many regards, but an evil one at the same time.
Are the Mikir Hills Named After Makir, Son of Manassah?
If the Chinkukizos are truly Children of Manassah that should be the case.
Not only the Kukis, Zos, Chins, with their different tribes, clans (Hualngos, Thados...) or families (Hawkip, Haokip, Sailo...) have to be related to the Nagas, Meiteis & other neighboring tribes or ethnicities. This is not to say they are not related as fellow Israelites, but to the contrary because of the many Hebraic traditions, tribal names & toponyms...
As mentioned at times, many surrounding tribes have the tradition of an important (holy, sacred...?) lost scroll (the Torah?). Also many place names, language names, last names...have very Hebraic sounding names among all peoples & contexts: Maram (Miriam?), Cachar (Cachar?), Ya (Yah?), Nohemi (Noemi?), Karen (Keren?), Mikir (Makir?) Ywa (Yahweh?), Sailo (Siloh?), Meitei (Matteh? [matteh or metteh is tribe in Hebrew & Meitei is a local tribe]), Barak (Barak?), Sonai (Sinai?)...
As mentioned above this area & peoples are full of Israelite names. It really is there a little Israel in southeast Asia. There are also connections with other Israelite peoples like the Pathans, Kashmiris, Qiangs, Kalash... For example in relation to the Pathans, apart from Ywa or Patuan was another form of the Chinkukizo only God. The word Pathan or Pattan is very similar to the word Patuan, as if it was derived from it. In other words, as if they had memories of Pattan ancestors & they gave an alternative name to their God in this Myanmaran land. It's quite interesting also that Patuan is translated as Eternal Father.
The Chinkukizos also named their only God the name of Patyen or Putchien, that was the Great Creator. This were, but variants of Patuan & therefore they might be deformations of the word Pathan. Indeed other forms of Pattan or Pathan are Pashtun & Pukhtun, which resemble Putchien. This was a pre-Christian monotheism. However they eventually diminished his role & focused on evil jungle spirits called "huai" by the Mizos & "thilba" by the Thados. The moon & the sun were also part of the mentioned spirits. Every tree also had thilba or huai. Nevertheless Sun, moon & tree worship, was a pagan tradition already practiced by the Israelites in the Promised Land when they (or some of them) became idolatrous. Pathian was the Only God's name used by the Mizos, Pasien by the Chins & Pathen by the Kukis. Perhaps these names were a reminiscent memory of their mighty warrior Pathan ancestors, or even of their Parthian powerful ancestors. The Pathans & the Parthian ancestors were warlike Israelites. Parthia, the Parthian homeland, had the consonants PRT. P just a harder form of B. PRT was really BRT (Brit) meaning "covenant" in Hebrew, indicating PaRThia was a land of the Covenant. In other words, Parthia was a land of exiled Israelites.
Again the Pathan word "khel" means clan. Kelkhal is translated in Kuki (Lushai) as family thanksgiving sacrifice. Khal is usually translated as sacrifice, the sacrifice performed for God. And for religious purpose sacrifices are inseparable to thanksgivings. Hence if we break down the word & "khal" means "thanksgiving sacrifice", then "kel" would mean "family" or it would have a similar connotation. What's a clan, but a larger family? So there's a resemblance in phonetics & semantics between the Pashto word "khel" (large family, clan) & the Lushai word "kel" (family or related to it). Is this another coincidence between these two Lost Israelite peoples? In Chin "family" is "innchungkhar" & family reunion is "chungkhar", so everything related to family could be simplified as "chungkhar". The end in "khar" is also similar to "kel". After all l & r have similar sounds as kh & k. In fact we've seen the Assyrian Shalmaneser's r turned into the Chinkukizo Sangameichol's l.
The Cachar District Is In Assam State, India.
The Barak Valley is located in the southern region of the Indian state of Assam. The main city of the valley is Silchar. The region is named after the Barak river. The Barak River is one of the major rivers of South Assam and is a part of the Surma-Meghna River System. It rises in the hill country of Manipur State, where it is the biggest and the most important of the hill country rivers. After Manipur it flows through Mizoram State and into Assam, ending just after it enters Bangladesh where the Surma and Kushiyara rivers begin.
The name "Cachar" has derived from the Dimasa word Kachari. The district headquarters are located at Silchar. The name Cachar traces its origin to the Kachari kingdom (called Dimasa Kingdom in medieval times). Cachar in Hebrew is the act or business of trading, trade, traffic, to carry on commerce. There are 3 towns in Cachar district namely Silchar, Lakhipur and Sonai.
The origin of the Latin word Damascus (the Syrian capital) is from Ancient Greek Δαμασκός (Damaskós) & from Aramaic דרמשק (darmeśeq, “well-watered place”). If the Arabic name of this city is Dimashq & was derived directly from the Aramaic Darmeśeq, then the name Dimasa could have the same origin and similar evolution. In French & other languages the last c was dropped. That could have been the case & then an "a" could have been added as a suffix later. This might have been the Dimasa's name origin.
It's important to point out that Damascus has been an old place of exile for the Israelites of the kingdom of the north since the Assyrian conquest in 2700 B.C. And yet Damascus was next door to the Holy Land. So Damascus has been partly Israelite since really ancient times. Nowadays there are still streets mostly peopled by Israelites. Since the northern kingdom of Israel was taken captive there's Hebrew community in Damascus. Israelites still have their own streets there. Because Damascus is so close by, the city is in a way an extension of the Land of Israel. This means that despite the Hebrew community is not original from the southern kingdom (Judah) & they are Israelites (because of coming from the northern kingdom & tribes) in practice they are like any other Jews. They are not Lost Israelites because they were not in contact with the Jews more than with their fellow Israelites which became lost.
It's important to point out that Damascus has been an old place of exile for the Israelites of the kingdom of the north since the Assyrian conquest in 2700 B.C. And yet Damascus was next door to the Holy Land. So Damascus has been partly Israelite since really ancient times. Nowadays there are still streets mostly peopled by Israelites. Since the northern kingdom of Israel was taken captive there's Hebrew community in Damascus. Israelites still have their own streets there. Because Damascus is so close by, the city is in a way an extension of the Land of Israel. This means that despite the Hebrew community is not original from the southern kingdom (Judah) & they are Israelites (because of coming from the northern kingdom & tribes) in practice they are like any other Jews. They are not Lost Israelites because they were not in contact with the Jews more than with their fellow Israelites which became lost.
Promised Land with Damascus within its borders
Long before the settlement of Israelites in Damascus this city was part of the Solomonic & Davidic Israelite empires. But, as the map shows us, in even older times God included this location in the Promised Land given to Abraham & confirmed to Isaac & Israel.
The name Assam is easily derived from the Hebrew word Asham meaning guilt, guilt offering, guilt offerings, guilty deeds, sin, wrong. As we can see with the name Shibboleth that some Israelites couldn't pronounce it & said Sibboleth, the very same thing could have happened with the word Asham to evolve into Assam. Assam is a constant word in the Hebrew Bible & it has several meanings. What can we say about the local valley of Barak? It is thoroughly Hebrewish. Barak is an Israelite hero. The given name Barak, also spelled Baraq, from the root B-R-Q, is a Hebrew name meaning "lightning". It is a Biblical name, given after the Israelite general Barak (ברק Bārāq). In this way the names Assam, Cachar & Dimasa would be Israelitish names.
In Assam State there's a district (& its capital city) with the name Golaghat. As with the names above mentioned, there will always be a local etymology, an outside etymology shouldn't be discarded either. Golaghat can be broken down into gola & ghat. Gola is a form of galut, which is diaspora in Hebrew, ghat is a hebrew word that can be translated as terror, fear...
The history of the Cachar district includes the active participation and support of its people in the Indian freedom movement. Many leaders, such as Kamini Kumar Chanda, his son Arun Kumar Chandaand Abdul Matlib Mazumdar etc. led the people of the district to fight for the cause. While Chanda was instrumental in garnering support of the Bengali Hindus, Mazumdar was one of the prominent Muslim leaders of Eastern India to oppose the Partition of British India on communal lines. Mazumdar, along with Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, (who later became the 5th President of India) became the most prominent Muslim opponents to the demand for a separate Muslim state of Pakistan, especially in the eastern part of the country. To counter the rising popularity of Muslim League, he successfully organised the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind movement in Assam. Jamiat was an ally of the Congress having a mass following among the nationalist Muslims. In the very crucial Indian general election, 1945/1946 General Elections, conducted just on the eve of India’s independence, he wrested the Muslim majority Hailakandi seat from the hold of the Muslim League. That victory virtually sealed the hopes and aspirations of the Muslim League to include southern Assam, including Cachar, in Pakistan.
Assam's Surma Valley (now partly in Bangladesh) had Muslim-majority population. On the eve of partition, hectic activities intensified by the Muslim League as well Congress with the former having an edge. A referendum had been proposed for Sylhet District (now mostly in Bangladesh). Mazumdar along with Basanta Kumar Das (then Home Minister of Assam) travelled throughout the valley organizing the Congress and addressing meetings educating the masses about the outcome of partition on the basis of religion. On 20 February 1947, Mazumdar inaugurated a convention – Assam Nationalist Muslim's Convention at Silchar. There after another big meeting was held at Silchar on 8 June 1947. Both the meetings, which were attended by a large section of Muslims, paid dividend. He was also among the few who were instrumental in retaining the Barak Valley region of Assam, especially Karimganj with India.
Mazumdar was the leader of the delegation that pleaded before the Radcliffe Commission that ensured that a part of Sylhet, the present Karimganj District, remains with India.
The entire eastern India was swept by Violence just after India's partition and independence on 15 August 1947. Scores of Hindus had to flee the newly created East Pakistan for India and Muslims fled Assam for East Pakistan. A large number of people lost their lives owing to violence, which resurfaced with more ferocity in 1950. Mazumdar, the only member from the undivided Cachar in the cabinet, along with his cabinet and party colleagues took up the responsibility for the safety of both Hindus and Muslims in Cachar, touring affected areas and arranging camps and rehabilitation for the Refugees, organizing supplies and security.
In the 1960s, Moinul Haque Choudhury, who was a cabinet minister in Assam from 1957 to 1966, became a prominent political figure in the district. In 1971, he became the Industry minister of India under the Prime Ministership of late Indira Gandhi. Some people regard the surname Chowdry, Choudhury & the likes, as a typical Israelite surname from the Indian subcontinent
Chinkuki & Naga Israelite TraditionsCircumcision was practiced in the Israelite way by Paites up until the time they started marrying Chinese women. These women sued it & the Chinese authorities banned it. As a substitute of circumcision they pierced their ears instead. The Lakhers of Myanmar & many Naga tribes practiced it. For the Nagas of the Rengma Hills to be with unpierced ears would make the individual unwelcome or unrecognized by relatives in the world of the dead.
Another tradition very similar to the one practised in ancient Israel is that of the double chicken sacrifice. One chicken was left alive & on the loose to carry the person's illness, while the other was sacrificed. Not only the Chinkukis perfomed this, because the Ao Nagas also did it with roosters.
In a similar way & speaking of Aaron the priest, the Lord says in Leviticus 16: Then he is to take the two goats and present them before the LORD at the entrance to the tent of meeting. He is to cast lots for the two goats—one lot for the LORD and the other for the scapegoat. Aaron shall bring the goat whose lot falls to the LORD and sacrifice it for a sin offering. But the goat chosen by lot as the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the LORD to be used for making atonement by sending it into the wilderness as a scapegoat.
One type of Chinkuki priest is known as "sadawt", which sounds pretty similar to "sadok". Sadok was a noteworthy Israelite. The most common version of this name in English is Zadok or Zadoq. Zadok was a priest, said to be descended from Eleazar the son of Aaron (1 Chron 6:4-8). He aided King David during the revolt of his son Absalom.
The meaning of the Hebrew name Sadok is "just", "righteous"... The four phonemes b, v, f & p are related & the evolution of a word turns any of these phonemes into one of the others. It's the same with the phonemes k, g, kh (the ch sound in Loch Ness) that are also related & the evolution of a word turns any of these phonemes into one of the others. Because of the relation between the said phonemes in Hebrew the p phoneme is represented with the same character as the f phoneme. In Arabic is the same.
As implicitly said before, these phonemes (p, b, v & f) are swappable in all languages because they are made in somewhat similar mouth-tongue-teeth positions. In rare ocasions the said bilabial phoneme turns into the other bilabial which is the m phoneme.
A substitutory process of frontalization happens in some instances when speakers of any given language substitute the phoneme /k/ for the phoneme /t/. It can also happen the other way round by substituting the /t/ for the /k/, for which in this case we would be speaking of posteriorization. It seems likely that the Israelite priest sadok turned into the Chinkuki priest sadot (sadawt) through the said frontalization process.
The Chinkukizo lore is often unique as compared to their neighbors, however the Kenya's (& other neighboring peoples') lore has parallels with them. In northern Thailand the most popular of tribes are the Yao, Akha, Lahu, Hmong, Lisu and the Karens. Most of the tribes have two types of priests, the village priest & the shaman. Apparently the village priest dealt with village rituals & was a public priest, whereas the shaman dealt with the invisible, the ocult, the spirits & thus categorized as private priest. The Mizos shaman was known as "bawlpu" and the village priest was known as "sadawt". Likewise the Kukis shaman was known as "Doipu" and their village priest was known as "thempu". Interestingly the "sadawt" being the most reminiscent to the Israelite "sadok", is also the closest phonetically.
The similarities between the ancient Israelite priesthood & the Chinkuki priesthood don't end there because they also had a High priest coming from a particular clan. They had some type of rudimentary building like a hut which was considered to be holy & within it there was a holiest place. There's a striking resemblance between both traditions.
The Hmong Genocide and Immigration
The paintings of Cy Thao tell traditional and contemporary stories of Hmong culture and migration, from creation beliefs to recent urban American experiences. As a Hmong-American, Thao has created a visual narrative based in the history and culture of his family's heritage.
The Hmong are regarded as one of the earliest groups in Eastern Asia, originally inhabiting the area north of the Yellow River in China as early as 3000 B. C. Hmong legend contends that the two earliest groups in this region were the Hmoog (Hmong) and the Suav (Chinese).
Enduring a legacy of genocide, oppression and multiple migrations, Hmong culture and tradition has remained viable. The initial migration, called "The First Move" began with early Han tribes forcing the Hmong out of their ancestral lands to areas further south in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River Valley around 2000 B.C. Second and third forced migrations created further dispersions of the group into various parts of China, Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Viet Nam. Further evidence documents Hmong influence in Japan. Contemporary migrations have created Hmong communities throughout the world, including groups in Australia, Canada, France, South America and the United States.
Beginning with the Hmong creation story of the original hatching from the egg of a butterfly to the everyday life of Hmong Americans in St. Paul, Minn., these images paint a history that emphasizes the resilience and determination of a people.
The ideas for this series came into being when I was a junior in college. I was reading "Tragic Mountain" by Jane Hamilton. In the book there was a drawing of a Hmong village being pillaged, with women being raped and their heads decapitated and men being tortured. This was a drawing by an eyewitness who saw the whole event. He couldn't write so he drew what he saw. This illustration reminded me of the tapestries made in the refugee camps during the late seventies. The tapestries, or story cloths, depict daily lives, people running from war and coming to America. These were like picture books without words.
I thought it would be a great idea to use oil paint to continue this tradition of telling stories without words. I also wanted to stretch the boundaries of this method of story telling by adding my own personal commentary. I gravitated towards oil paint because it was more fluid and easier to manipulate than sewing.
In my junior year (1993) I experimented and completed three pieces. A year after graduating from college (1996), I decided I wanted to make a series out of this. I went to China and started researching the history of the Hmong people. I completed ten pieces from 1996-99. It was hard trying to paint and keep a job and pay the mortgage. In 2000, I received the Bush Artist Fellowship. I was able to spend a whole year concentrating on completing the series. I completed most of the series from 2000-01. To complete the series I traveled to three countries, read countless books, and talked to a number of people who experienced the war in Laos.
I want the series to educate the younger generation, to have some closure with the generation that went through the war, and hopefully to become a historical document for generations to come.
These reproductions and the exhibition 'The Hmong Migration," fifty paintings and text by Cy Thao, is presented by the Minnesota Artists Exhibition Program, an artist-run curatorial department of The Institute of Arts, which is made possible by generous support from the Jerome Foundation.
Two brothers were working in the field. An old man appeared and told the brothers that a great flood was going to come. Because the older brother treated the old man unkindly, he instructed the older brother to build a metal drum while telling the younger one to build a wooden drum. When the flood came the younger brother and his sister got into the wooden drum. The older brother in the metal drum was lost in the flood, but the wooden drum floated for days until the earth dried. Because the brother and sister were the last two humans on earth they agreed to marry each other. Out of incest they gave birth to a big pumpkin. The brother cut the pumpkin into pieces and each piece turned into a human being. These beings became all the clans of the Hmong family.
Five thousand years ago the Hmong people lived in the basin of the Yellow River where the present day Beijing is. The Han Chinese also had a kingdom nearby. In their expansion the Han Chinese took over Hmong lands. In defense the Hmong waged war. As the first Hmong King, Chi You led the Hmong against the advancing Chinese. The Hmong lost the war. Many fled the area. This started the Hmong migration that eventually ended up in America.
In the mid 1800's the Chinese empire lost the Opium War to the British. To pay the British, they taxed the poor heavily, especially the Hmong. Many families had to dig up valuables that they had buried with the dead to pay the heavy tax. Out of desperation we rebelled. A long war broke out. We took back many lands, but in the end we lost again.
In the mountains of Laos the untamed jungles were infested with man-eating tigers. The Hmong had to trap and kill many tigers before it was safe to live there. Fields had to be cleared for housing and farming.
Laos was already under the control of the French. The French needed money to run their colony. Opium was a great cash crop for the French. Since the Hmong lived on land that was good for cultivating opium, they were encouraged to grow as much opium as possible. When collecting taxes the French preferred opium to cash.
The French treated the Hmong poorly and collected heavy taxes, while giving local control to the Laotians. Due to this harsh and unfair treatment, the Hmong rebelled. The French, in their arrogance, couldn't understand why the Hmong rebelled. They called the rebellion "The Mad Man's War."
When America left Saigon, they packed up and left Laos too. The Hmong were left to fend for themselves. On May 14, 1975, the last C46 took the last of the Hmong military officers to Thailand. This marked the final end of the "Secret War."
The communist soldiers came to Hmong villages and massacred whole villages. Women were raped, men tortured, and babies slammed into objects or the ground. After ravaging the village the soldiers dismembered the corpses.
To speed up the genocide, the communists sprayed chemicals on villages. People, animals, and crops were wiped out. We called this chemical Yellow Rain.
With the communists committing genocide against the Hmong, the people left Laos. Usually whole villages would leave together, with as many as 5,000. Only half would ever make it across to Thailand.
Reaching the Mekong River, the border between Laos and Thailand, was very difficult. After coming close many never reached the river. Those that had made it across tell stories of seeing babies trying to nurse on rotting corpses not knowing that their mother is already dead.
If you made it across the river, Thai officials take you to a refugee camp to register. Although the refugee camps are a lot better, Thai police often abuse the refugees' human rights.
We spent a lot of time waiting. Every other day we waited for the UN ration truck to deliver food. At night we waited for the water pump to open so we can fetch water for cooking and bathing. Some people waited for their names to appear on the list to come to America. Others are still waiting for Laos to get better so they can go back home. Some just simply wait because that's all they know.
The Boy Scouts of America was a natural fit for the Hmong boys. We get to learn about America in a safe environment. We also get to explore the woods like our parents use to do back in Laos.
After 25 years of being in America, our communities are beginning to take root. The children are getting a first rate education. Opportunities are beginning to open up. Hmong businesses are popping up everywhere, It's a sign that we will make it here too.
Does the Name Hmong Come from the Hebrew "Hachmoni"?
A Tachmonite was the first of the princely warriors of David, named Adino or Jashobeam, son, apparently, or descendant of some unknown "Tachmoni" or "Hmong" the epithet, however, as the Vulgate reading shows, has also been regarded as an adjective, signifying "most scientific".
The TachMonite
"The Tachmonite that sat in the seat," chief among David's captains, (2 Samuel 23:8 ) In 1 Chronicles 11:11 is called "Jashobeam an Hachmonite," or, as the margin gives it, "son of Hachmoni." Kennicott has shown that the words translated "he that sat in the seat" are a corruption of Jashobeam, and that "the Tachmonite" is a corruption of the "son of Hachmoni," which was the family or local name of Jashobeam. Therefore he concludes "Jashobeam the Hachmonite" to have been the true reading.
David’s Mighty Warriors
These were the chiefs of David’s mighty warriors—they, together with all Israel, gave his kingship strong support to extend it over the whole land, as the LORD had promised— this is the list of David’s mighty warriors:
Modern Hmong Warriors
Jashobeam (Possibly a variant of Jashob-Baal), a Hakmonite, was chief of the officers; he raised his spear against three hundred men, whom he killed in one encounter.
Eleazar ben Dodai the Ahohite
Next to him was Eleazar son of Dodai the Ahohite, one of the three mighty warriors. He was with David at Pas Dammim when the Philistines gathered there for battle. At a place where there was a field full of barley, the troops fled from the Philistines. But they took their stand in the middle of the field. They defended it and struck the Philistines down, and the LORD brought about a great victory.
Three of the thirty chiefs came down to David to the rock at the cave of Adullam, while a band of Philistines was encamped in the Valley of Rephaim. At that time David was in the stronghold, and the Philistine garrison was at Bethlehem. David longed for water and said, “Oh, that someone would get me a drink of water from the well near the gate of Bethlehem!” So the Three broke through the Philistine lines, drew water from the well near the gate of Bethlehem and carried it back to David. But he refused to drink it; instead, he poured it out to the LORD. “God forbid that I should do this!” he said. “Should I drink the blood of these men who went at the risk of their lives?” Because they risked their lives to bring it back, David would not drink it.
Such were the exploits of the three mighty warriors.
Abishai, Joab's brother
Abishai the brother of Joab was chief of the Three. He raised his spear against three hundred men, whom he killed, and so he became as famous as the Three. He was doubly honored above the Three and became their commander, even though he was not included among them.
Benaiah son of Jehoiada, a valiant fighter from Kabzeel, performed great exploits. He struck down Moab’s two mightiest warriors. He also went down into a pit on a snowy day and killed a lion. And he struck down an Egyptian who was five cubits tall. Although the Egyptian had a spear like a weaver’s rod in his hand, Benaiah went against him with a club. He snatched the spear from the Egyptian’s hand and killed him with his own spear. Such were the exploits of Benaiah son of Jehoiada; he too was as famous as the three mighty warriors. He was held in greater honor than any of the Thirty, but he was not included among the Three. And David put him in charge of his bodyguard.
These were the chiefs of David’s mighty warriors—they, together with all Israel, gave his kingship strong support to extend it over the whole land, as the LORD had promised— this is the list of David’s mighty warriors:
Jashobeam (Possibly a variant of Jashob-Baal), a Hakmonite, was chief of the officers; he raised his spear against three hundred men, whom he killed in one encounter.
Next to him was Eleazar son of Dodai the Ahohite, one of the three mighty warriors. He was with David at Pas Dammim when the Philistines gathered there for battle. At a place where there was a field full of barley, the troops fled from the Philistines. But they took their stand in the middle of the field. They defended it and struck the Philistines down, and the LORD brought about a great victory.
Three of the thirty chiefs came down to David to the rock at the cave of Adullam, while a band of Philistines was encamped in the Valley of Rephaim. At that time David was in the stronghold, and the Philistine garrison was at Bethlehem. David longed for water and said, “Oh, that someone would get me a drink of water from the well near the gate of Bethlehem!” So the Three broke through the Philistine lines, drew water from the well near the gate of Bethlehem and carried it back to David. But he refused to drink it; instead, he poured it out to the LORD. “God forbid that I should do this!” he said. “Should I drink the blood of these men who went at the risk of their lives?” Because they risked their lives to bring it back, David would not drink it.
Such were the exploits of the three mighty warriors.
Abishai the brother of Joab was chief of the Three. He raised his spear against three hundred men, whom he killed, and so he became as famous as the Three. He was doubly honored above the Three and became their commander, even though he was not included among them.
Benaiah son of Jehoiada, a valiant fighter from Kabzeel, performed great exploits. He struck down Moab’s two mightiest warriors. He also went down into a pit on a snowy day and killed a lion. And he struck down an Egyptian who was five cubits tall. Although the Egyptian had a spear like a weaver’s rod in his hand, Benaiah went against him with a club. He snatched the spear from the Egyptian’s hand and killed him with his own spear. Such were the exploits of Benaiah son of Jehoiada; he too was as famous as the three mighty warriors. He was held in greater honor than any of the Thirty, but he was not included among the Three. And David put him in charge of his bodyguard.
Miao / Hmong people
Some people has considered that the Miao-Hmong people came from the Middle East. The debate has been between Persia & Babylon. These are the areas where the captive Lost Ten Tribes were forced to move to after leaving the Holy Land. After that they would have moved to Central Asia. Then would have branched off the main group of Israelites to go neighboring Mongolia. Finally they would have gone south to Tibet to end up in southwest China, eastern India & Indochina.
They probably made this journey together with the other Israelites of the Lost Book of Gold: Chinkukis, Qiangs, Nagas, Karens, Hanis, Was, Lahus... According to legends this Lost Golden Book would be the Torah. That's why these peoples accepted Christianity so well. The main areas where the missionaries didn't succeed were the ones controlled by the Chinese.
Møn is an island in south-eastern Denmark. Until 1 January 2007, it was a municipality in its own right but it is now part of the municipality of Vordingborg, after merging with the former municipalities of Langebæk, Præstø, and Vordingborg. This has created a municipality with an area of 615 km2 (237 sq mi) and a total population of 46,307 (2005). It belongs to the Region Sjælland ("Zealand Region"). Møn is one of Denmark's most popular destinations for tourists with its white chalk cliffs, countryside, sandy beaches and the market town of Stege. There's quite many toponyms of the western European Lost Israelites coinciding with their Lost Israelite peers in Pashtunistan, Kashmir, the Caucasus (Georgia, Ossetia...), Igboland... Sometimes is a Pashtun topnym coinciding with a western European toponym, sometimes a Pashtun toponym coincides with a more or less popular western European last name, sometimes Kasmiri topnym coincides with the corresponding peer in western Europe. Sometimes is not the same, but it's very similar. And the same can be said about Chinkukis, Jats, Rajputs... Møn can derive from the Hebrew Mon, just like Hmong might, or instead Hmong & Møn might come from the Hebrew Hachmoni.
The Israelites picking up their God-given Manna.
A little group of several thousand Chinkukis have converted to Judaism, the original religion of their ancestors.
These groups, especially the Miao - Hmong, have been reported to have been redhead & blond in the past. It shouldn't be surprising if they were Israelites. Even as late as 19th century it was reported that if the Chinese found a Miao with blue or green eyes the Han Chinese would kill it. After centuries of fighting the Chinese & mingling with them the original Caucasian look should have disappeared. Nevertheless some individuals of these peoples still look somewhat Caucasian.
Original look of the Israelites of the Lost Book of Gold: Chins, Kukis, Mizos, Qiang, Miao, Hani, Karens, Lahu, Wa...
The sacrifices they perform, their profound belief in an after life & spiritual world, their attachment to a lost divine book, their belief in a divine creation, a first man, a great diluge & many other beliefs set all these ethnic groups apart from the others around them & make them good candidates as Israelites that lost their conscience of being the Chosen People with the Jews. The Hmongs were powerful anticommunists in the Vietnam war. The Miaos were considered in China among the barbarians. They fought the Chinese for centuries. In ancient times they became a good threat to China. Eventually the Miaos were defeated decimated & isolated in their native lands by the Chinese.
They probably made this journey together with the other Israelites of the Lost Book of Gold: Chinkukis, Qiangs, Nagas, Karens, Hanis, Was, Lahus... According to legends this Lost Golden Book would be the Torah. That's why these peoples accepted Christianity so well. The main areas where the missionaries didn't succeed were the ones controlled by the Chinese.
Møn is an island in south-eastern Denmark. Until 1 January 2007, it was a municipality in its own right but it is now part of the municipality of Vordingborg, after merging with the former municipalities of Langebæk, Præstø, and Vordingborg. This has created a municipality with an area of 615 km2 (237 sq mi) and a total population of 46,307 (2005). It belongs to the Region Sjælland ("Zealand Region"). Møn is one of Denmark's most popular destinations for tourists with its white chalk cliffs, countryside, sandy beaches and the market town of Stege. There's quite many toponyms of the western European Lost Israelites coinciding with their Lost Israelite peers in Pashtunistan, Kashmir, the Caucasus (Georgia, Ossetia...), Igboland... Sometimes is a Pashtun topnym coinciding with a western European toponym, sometimes a Pashtun toponym coincides with a more or less popular western European last name, sometimes Kasmiri topnym coincides with the corresponding peer in western Europe. Sometimes is not the same, but it's very similar. And the same can be said about Chinkukis, Jats, Rajputs... Møn can derive from the Hebrew Mon, just like Hmong might, or instead Hmong & Møn might come from the Hebrew Hachmoni.
A little group of several thousand Chinkukis have converted to Judaism, the original religion of their ancestors.
These groups, especially the Miao - Hmong, have been reported to have been redhead & blond in the past. It shouldn't be surprising if they were Israelites. Even as late as 19th century it was reported that if the Chinese found a Miao with blue or green eyes the Han Chinese would kill it. After centuries of fighting the Chinese & mingling with them the original Caucasian look should have disappeared. Nevertheless some individuals of these peoples still look somewhat Caucasian.
Original look of the Israelites of the Lost Book of Gold: Chins, Kukis, Mizos, Qiang, Miao, Hani, Karens, Lahu, Wa...The sacrifices they perform, their profound belief in an after life & spiritual world, their attachment to a lost divine book, their belief in a divine creation, a first man, a great diluge & many other beliefs set all these ethnic groups apart from the others around them & make them good candidates as Israelites that lost their conscience of being the Chosen People with the Jews. The Hmongs were powerful anticommunists in the Vietnam war. The Miaos were considered in China among the barbarians. They fought the Chinese for centuries. In ancient times they became a good threat to China. Eventually the Miaos were defeated decimated & isolated in their native lands by the Chinese.
Population 11,822,000
Subdivisions: A-Hmao, Beidongnuo, Emae, Ga Mong, Gao, Gao Gelao, Ge, Gelao, Gha-Mu, Ghao-Xong, Eastern, Ghao-Xong, Western, Hmong Be, Hmong Bua, Hmong Daw, Hmong Dlex Nchab, Hmong Do, Hmong Don, Hmong Dou, Hmong Leng, Hmong Njua, Hmong Shuad, Hmong Vron, Hmu Eastern, Hmu Northern, Laba, Man, Miao Baishi, Miao Changshu, Miao Chuan, Miao Enshi, Miao Guiyang Northern, Miao Guiyang Northwestern, Miao Guiyang South Central, Miao Guiyang Southern, Miao Guiyang Southwestern, Miao Horned, Miao Hua, Miao Huishui Central, Miao Huishui Eastern, Miao Huishui Northern, Miao Huishui Southwestern, Miao Luobohe, Miao Lupanshui, Miao Mashan Central, Miao Mashan Northern, Miao Mashan Southern, Miao Mashan Western, Mjuniang, Na-Meo, Phula, Qanu, Sanqiao & Xi.
A-Hmao in China
Population 446,000 Christian 80.00% Evangelical 75.00%
Main Language Miao, Large Flowery
The A-Hmao are one of "close to a hundred distinctive subgroups of Miao in China alone, each speaking a slightly different dialect and maintaining its own traditional customs." These people call themselves A-Hmao. The Chinese and foreigners have traditionally called them Da Hua Miao (Big Flowery Miao). The "Big Flowery Miao" (A-Hmao) speak a completely different language from the "Small Flowery Miao" (Gha-Mu) who also live in Guizhou.
The Chinese officially label A-Hmao the Diandongbei (Northeast Yunnan) dialect of Miao. It is one of the "30-40 different Miao languages in China."
For centuries the A-Hmao lived in dire slavery to the Nosu Yi. The Nosu bullied the A-Hmao by seizing their land, taking slaves, and imposing unfair taxes on them. Nosu landowners customarily used the back of an A-Hmao slave to mount their horses. As recently as 80 years ago, the A-Hmao still practiced cannibalism. Samuel Pollard recorded in his diary, "After a fight, the warriors who are killed on either side are opened and their hearts removed these are cooked and eaten."
Before their mass conversion to Christianity, the A-Hmao were ensnared by a complex system of evil spirits they called bidlang. The people's immorality was "so bad that they could hardly be worse. There are no decent women among the Big Flowery Miao (A-Hmao)."
When missionary Samuel Pollard first arrived in 1904, he found the A-Hmao trapped in slavery to the Nosu and overwhelmed with poverty. Together with Francis Dymond he converted them to Christianity, invented an alphabet for their language, and taught them to read and write. Although a severe famine in 1918 left many A-Hmao believers "disenchanted with Christianity," Pollard baptized 10,000 A-Hmao believers, and before the mission was expelled from China, 80,000 had turned to Christ. Some estimate that as many as 80% of the A-Hmao today are Christians.
After the departure of the missionaries, the A-Hmao church stayed steadfast to Christ, despite sinister plots during the Cultural Revolution aimed at destroying their faith. During the 1940s the church experienced "a very serious process of retrogression and decay, which if not soon arrested will bring us back to our starting point again." The A-Hmao New Testament was printed in 1917; 50,000 copies were reprinted and sold out between 1983 and 1988. In 1974 many A-Hmao believers were massacred by Chinese troops when they secretly met for prayer in a cave at Xinglongchang. Instead of destroying the church, the massacre caused a doubling in the number of Christians over a short time.
Alternate Names Big Flowery Miao, Da Hua Miao, Dahua Bei, Diandongbei Miao, Flowery Miao, Great Flowery Miao, Hmong, Northeastern Dian, Hua Miao, Hwa Miao, Miao, Big Flowery, Northeastern Yunnan Miao, Ta Hua Miao, Ta Hwa Miao, Variegated Miao.
They live in the mountains of northwest Guizhou Province and adjacent areas of northeast Yunnan. A group of A-Hmao live in Wuding and Luquan counties in northern Yunnan Province, having migrated there in the 1830s. A small number also live in the Panzhihua area in southern Sichuan.
Beidongnuo in China
Population 500 Christian 0.00%
Evangelical 0.00% Largest Religion Ethnic Religions
Main Language Miao, Northern Qiandong
Although they were initially noted in the 1982 census, the Beidongnuo were not granted status as a separate people group. They have since been buried under several artificially constructed layers. Chinese scholars came in and found that the Beidongnuo speak the same language as the Numao, another ethnic group living in Libo County. The Numao (now including the Beidongnuo) were then counted as one of 11 groups of Bunu people. Finally, the Bunu were placed under the Yao nationality, one of China's 55 official minority groups. Because of the government's methods, very few people have ever heard of the Beidongnuo. Even local people in Libo County are not familiar with their name. Although the Beidongnuo may speak the same language as the Numao, they claim they are a different people group and are upset by the government's official classification.
The Beidongnuo are believed to have migrated to their present location at least 300 years ago. The remote mountains of Libo County are home to several small unofficial groups including the Mo and the Numao.
The few Chinese people in the area who are aware of the existence of the Beidongnuo people call them by the nickname Changsha Yao, meaning "long shirt Yao." Terms that reflect the clothing of minority groups are commonly given by the Han. The nearby Numao people, for example, are commonly known as the Heiku (Black Trouser) Yao.
The Beidongnuo are polytheistic animists. They worship numerous spirits and deities. Their religious ceremonies also include rituals borrowed from Daoism, including elements of ancestral worship.
The tiny Beidongnuo people group have absolutely no knowledge of the gospel or of the existence of Christianity. They are a people who have been effectively hidden away from the outside world for centuries. Pre-1949 missionaries in Dushan (to the north) once listed the Pei Tong Nuo as one of the groups in the region, but no outreach was ever undertaken to reach them.
Alternate Names Changsha Yao, Long-Shirt Yao, Pei Tong Nuo
When the 1982 Chinese census was conducted, people were asked to name their ethnic group and language. Two hundred and forty-four people answered that they belonged to the Beidongnuo ethnic group. The later 1990 census did not include this question, as people were told to list the official minzu that had been assigned to them by the government. The Beidongnuo live in one or two villages in the mountains of Libo County in the southernmost tip of Guizhou Province. Libo is close to the Guizhou- Guangxi provincial border.
Ga Mong in China
Population 70,000 Christian 0.00%
Largest Religion Ethnic Religions
Main Language Miao, Chuanqiandian Cluster
Until 1997 the Ga Mong had been combined with numerous other groups to form the Miao nationality in China. The Chinese call this group Dong Jia. Jia means "family" or "household." The Dong Jia are not the same as the large Dong people group of eastern Guizhou Province. The Chinese character used for Dong Jia is different from that used for the official Dong minority. The Ga Mong speak their own language and have their own set of customs and festivals, different from all other peoples in the area. This group calls itself Ga Mong or Ge Mong. Local Chinese call them Yangya Miao which means "duckraising Miao." In 1997 the government reclassified the Ga Mong into the She nationality, the majority of whom are located in Fujian and Guangdong provinces. The Ga Mong are upset with this change and demand to be given their own status.
The Ga Mong claim a history dating back as far as the Song Dynasty (AD 960-1279). During the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), the Ga Mong were a powerful group. They were continually fighting and defending territory. At one stage 13 armed groups of Ga Mong attacked the city of Duyun.
The Ga Mong celebrate their own set of festivals. Every year on the 18th of October they stage bullfights and cockfights and have a massive communal feast. Prominent family names among the Ga Mong include Wu, Luo, Gin, Ting, Wang, and Yang.
The primary religious practice among the Ga Mong is ancestor worship. Every home has an ancestral altar. Any action that may offend their ancestors is considered a most serious matter. Bowls of food and drink are placed on the table several times each year, to honor the dead among the family and to ensure they will have enough food in the next life. In one location in Kaili, there was found to be belief in the "heaven-dog religion." This probably refers to the worship of Pan Hu, also practiced by many Yao groups in China.
There are no known Christians among the Ga Mong. They live in one of the most spiritually neglected areas of China. Few have ever heard the gospel, and most have never even met a Christian. The nearest believers to the Ga Mong are the handful of small churches among the Northern Hmu and Ge in the Panghai area, east of Kaili.
Alternate Names Dong Jia, Dongjiahua, Duck-Raising Gedou, Duck-Raising Miao, Ge Mong, Yangya Gedou, Yangya Miao
A 1990 government study listed 41,861 Ga Mong people living in Guizhou Province. Their villages are spread out in parts of five counties of central Guizhou. In Duyun County, 2,679 Ga Mong live in 14 villages. The remainder live in parts of Kaili, Majiang, Longli, and Xiuwen counties.
Gao, Gelao in China
Population 3,600 Christian 0.80%
Evangelical 0.73% Largest Religion Ethnic Religions
Main Language Gelao, Green
Although only 2,000 speakers of this language are reported, the number of people who belong to the Gao ethnic group may be substantially larger than the number of people who can still speak their language. The Gao, who also call themselves Qau, Klao, and Klan, are one of five subgroups of the official Gelao nationality in China.
The different subgroups of the Gelao are usually recognized as the original inhabitants of Guizhou Province by most other minority peoples. Samuel Clarke wrote, "These people claim, and rightly, we believe, to be the real aborigines [original inhabitants] of that region. ... Where the Miao and Keh-lao [Gelao] occupy the same district, the Miao allow that the Keh-lao were there before themselves."
It is likely that most of the Gelao communities across this wide tract of land share few cultural or ethnic traits. Because of many centuries of separation from other groups of Gelao, the Gao have developed their own ethnic identity, customs, and language. Gao women no longer wear traditional dress, except for festivals and special occasions.
In the past century the Gao have adopted the religious beliefs of their neighbors, especially of the pervasive Han Chinese. The Gao worship their ancestors on several occasions throughout the year. Local spirits -such as the gods of the Water, Forest, Rice Field, and Village - are also appeased by the Gao. Many Gao youth are atheists with no religious persuasion.
There are believed to be a small number of Gao Christians in southern China, mixed in with Han Chinese congregations. There is a smattering of believers in most of the areas where the Gao live. Luzhi City, for example, has 470,000 citizens, of which more than 2,800 are Christians who worship in 24 government sanctioned churches and meeting points. In 1992, "three ministers, including one woman, and 12 elders were ordained at the Luzhi Church to serve Christians in the area. At the same service, 42 new evangelists were also commissioned."
Guizhou Province, Zunyi, Daozhen Gelao and Miao, Wuchuan Gelao and Miao autonomous counties; southwest Guizhou Province, Anshun, and Bijie prefectures; southeast Yunnan Province, Wenshan Zhuang and Miao Autonomous District Prefecture, Maguan and Malipo co.
Ge in China
Population 134,000 Christian 0.12%
Evangelical 0.10% Largest Religion Ethnic Religions
Main Language Ge
The Ge have been counted as part of the large Miao minority group in China - a classification that infuriates them. They believe themselves to be a completely separate people. The Ge wear a unique costume and speak a language unintelligible with that of surrounding communities. They call themselves Ge Mong. The Hmu call them Gedou; the Xi call them Gewu; and the Mulao Jia call them Gedu. One unconfirmed report indicated the Ge were granted official status as a minority in 1993.
The Ge language - which has six tones - is a member of the Western Hmongic branch, similar to some Miao varieties spoken in Yunnan. In 1933 missionary M. H. Hutton "reduced the Ge language to writing, using the same spelling principles as for Hmu." A Ge Christian hymn book and catechism were published in 1937; however, one report says the books "were probably never sent to the Ge area." Hutton's script is not used among the Ge today.
There are two theories surrounding the origins of the Ge people. Legend has it that many centuries ago a high-ranking Han soldier fell in love with a beautiful Miao girl and desired to marry her. This was an unheard-of disgrace at the time and cost the official his title and position. The couple were forced to move away and live apart from both the Han and Miao. Over time, their descendants formed into the Ge people. The second theory, which is perhaps more realistic, is that the Ge are the remnants of a Western Miao group who originally inhabited an area farther to the west.
The Ge women's costume is designed to resemble a general's uniform, in remembrance of their progenitor. The Ge are highly skilled makers of batik.
The Ge practice polytheism and animism. Ancestral altars are also found in most of their homes.
China Inland Mission's M. H. Hutton was the only known missionary among the Ge prior to 1949. In a 1935 article he reported, "the best and cheering news of all to us is, one of these new baptized believers is a Keh Deo [Ge] tribesman. It reminds me of the nine years of prayer and work to get an entrance into that tribe and the one soul - now there are six men and I hear their wives and families are interested in the Gospel too." In 1936 Hutton described visiting a Ge Christian service, and in 1937 he reported three Ge families had become Christians. Tragically the Ge Christians ceased to believe once the missionaries were expelled from China. One Ge observer explained, "They believed in the missionaries and not in Jesus." Today there are about 100 Ge Christians in the Chong'an area.
Alternate Names Chonganjiang, Flower Dou Miao, Flower Gelao, Flowery Root, Ge Jia, Gedang, Gedong, Gedou, Gedou Miao, Gedoudiu, Gedu, Gejia, Getou, Gewu, Huadou, Keh Deo, Keh-teo Miao, Miao, River Gelao
A 1984 National Geographic article listed a population for the Ge of 70,000. The majority are located in the mountains surrounding Chong'an Township in the central part of Guizhou Province. The largest single community of Ge is in Fengxiang (Maple Fragrance) Village, which contains more than 400 households. Small numbers of Ge are located in several villages southwest of the city of Kaili and in the southern part of Hunan Province.
Gelao in China
Population 736,000 Christian 0.20%
Evangelical 0.09% Largest Religion Ethnic Religions
Main Language Chinese, Mandarin
The Gelao, despite their considerable size, are one of the least known of China's official ethnic minorities. Gelao means "human beings" as well as "bamboo." Today, most Gelao are culturally indistinguishable from the Chinese. Even back in 1911 one observer wrote, "The Gelao are now nearly extinct; many of them have married into Bouyei and [Chuanlan and Chuanqing] families."
The Gelao are thought to be descended from the ancient Liao race who established the Yelang Kingdom in Guizhou about 2,000 years ago. A folk tale tells how the king of Yelang was born from bamboo, so the whole group came to be called Bamboo. The Gelao are considered the original inhabitants of each region where they live. "Where the Miao and Gelao occupy the same district, the Miao allow that the Gelao were there before themselves."
The Gelao primarily grow maize, wheat, potatoes, sorghum, millet, tobacco, and tea. "In the past, the Gelao practiced initiation rites for their young men, including toothbreaking and hair-cutting rituals. (is this kind of a bar mitzvat?) The Gelao were once head-hunters and cannibals." Among the Yaya (Tooth) Gelao, the custom of breaking the front tooth of a bride was observed until recently.
The Gelao are primarily ancestor worshipers. "They also worship the gods of giant trees, of mountains, of sky and earth, cows, etc. They have no idols, temples or monasteries, and no systematic religious creeds or organization. But they have a number of primitive superstitions and taboos, which affect every aspect of their lives."
Because it is difficult to convey the Gelao as a cohesive people group with a common identity, it is also difficult to gauge the status of Christianity among them. The Gelao were reached with the Gospel by French Catholic missionaries in the late 1800s, but little fruit from that effort remains today.
Alternate Names Cờ Lao, Ilao, Keh-lao, Kelao, Thu
The 1982 Chinese census recorded 53,800 Gelao people in China, but by 1990 that figure had dramatically jumped more than eight-fold to 438,000. There are several reasons for this peculiarity. The Gelao are widely scattered across 40 counties in six provinces of southern China. The majority live in western Guizhou Province. Other communities are in Yunnan, Guangxi, Hunan, Sichuan, and Jiangxi provinces. Approximately 7,000 Gelao are also located in northern Vietnam.
Gha-Mu in China
Population 141,000 Christian 80.00%
Evangelical 50.00% Largest Religion Christianity (80.00%)
Main Language Miao, Small Flowery
The Gha-Mu are widely known as the Small Flowery Miao in Chinese and mission literature. The Small Flowery Miao (Gha-Mu) are not the same people group, nor do they speak the same language, as the Big Flowery Miao (A-Hmao) of Guizhou and Yunnan. The names were given to these groups by the Chinese last century. They do not use the word flowery in their autonym, which is Gha-Mu, and which may be a cognate for the name Hmong used by many Western Miao tribes and peoples. The Gha-Mu have small, complex geometrical shapes embroidered on their clothing around the shoulders and waist.
There are many flood legends among the Gha-Mu. They believe that when the Thunder god threatened to destroy the earth with a deluge, a man called A-Zie "hollowed out a large gourd for himself, collected a hundred kinds and a thousand sorts of seeds, and put them in a smaller gourd." They believe that from A-Zie came all the peoples of the earth, including the many different branches of today's Miao nationality.
The Gha-Mu observe the Tiaohuapo Festival each March. "For the marriageable young of both sexes ... it is one of their main chances to find a possible spouse. The young men decorate themselves with hats with long pheasant feathers." In the past, bandits raided remote Gha-Mu villages in Nayong County. The Gha-Mu had no weapons with which to defend themselves so they used sticks. Today, to remember their bravery, Gha-Mu maidens perform a Painted Stick Dance during their festivals.
The Gha-Mu call the spirit world bi-lao, a general term "including gods, specters, ghosts, elves, demons, and any other supernatural media. While some bilao are kind and act as bodyguards, most are evil and compared to thieves. These malevolent bi-lao are indifferent to human feelings and are continually seeking ways to cause harm to people." Today the great majority of the Gha-Mu are reported to have converted to Christianity.
The first Protestant missionary to the Gha-Mu was J. R. Adam who commenced work near Anshun in 1899. Just as a breakthrough in the work was starting to occur, a military official and a village headman went through the region, threatening people with death if they joined the "foreign religion." The floodwaters were ready to break, however, and by 1907 the number of believers numbered 1,200. Despite severe persecution in the 1960s and 1970s, the Gha-Mu believers today are a vibrant and effective Christian community of approximately 80,000.
Alternate Names Blue Hmong, Green Hmong, Hmong Lay, Hmong Njua, Hmong Sib, Hsiao Hwa Miao, Miao, Small Flowery, Small Flowery Miao, Xiao Hua Miao
A 1995 study listed a 1990 population of 84,000 Gha-Mu in China. They are located in Shuicheng, Nayong, Zhenning, Guanling, and Hezhang counties in the western part of Guizhou Province. The main center for the Gha-Mu is Nayong County. The area is cold in the winter, with frequent snowfall and frosts.
Ghao-Xong, Eastern in China
Population 134,000 Christian 3.50%
Evangelical 0.97% Largest Religion Ethnic Religions
Main Language Miao, Eastern Xiangxi
Ghao-Xong is the autonym of this group, who have officially been included under the Miao nationality in China. The Ghao-Xong were labeled Red Miao by the early missionaries. They have also been called Huayuan Miao and Northern Miao.
During the Song Dynasty (AD 960-1279) the Ghao-Xong staged 112 wars to save their tribal lands and preserve their way of life. Ralph Covell notes, "The Miao [Ghao-Xong] people in Hunan seem to have been badly oppressed by the Chinese over a long period of time, but remained more independent in spirit than those in Guizhou and Yunnan. This contributed to their reluctance to adopt a new faith."
For centuries the Ghao-Xong have been "growing mulberries and raising silkworms, spinning and weaving, making papercuts and, of course, embroidering." Many Ghao- Xong festivals feature music played on the suona horn (shofar?) and on drums.
Ibrim children with shofar & Torah
The Ghao-Xong have the custom of worshiping Pan Hu, the dragon-dog they claim as their ancestor. Today the Ghao-Xong of Maxiang County in Hunan have a carved stone tablet inscribed "for sacrificing to Great King Pan Hu" and topped by two dragon heads. Certain kinds of trees are also worshiped as deities. In many villages the front door of a family's home is considered a god. The doors in these villages are worshiped annually in a ceremony where a pig is sacrificed and the blood is sprinkled on the doorposts. (perhaps the door reminded them of the destroying angel that didn't destroy the Israelites because of the blood from which the doorposts were painted; Interestingly they sprinkle the doorposts with pig's blood; it's not lamb's blood, but it's blood anyway; perhaps they lacked of sheep & there was plenty of pigs, or they just apostatized.)
In the 1920s Father Theopane Maguire of the Catholic Passionist Fathers - based in Brighton,
Massachusetts, USA - commenced work among the Ghao-Xong in three counties of Hunan Province. Their work, which was based in Yangshui County, suffered a setback when rebels killed three of the missionaries in 1929. By 1934 they had won 2,500 converts, but no record was made of how many were Ghao-Xong compared to Han Chinese. In 1946 Maguire was forced to concede, "Here are no startling mass conversions, no pilgrimages of the mighty to the feet of the crucified Christ, no peals of thunder to announce the herald of the Great King."
Massachusetts, USA - commenced work among the Ghao-Xong in three counties of Hunan Province. Their work, which was based in Yangshui County, suffered a setback when rebels killed three of the missionaries in 1929. By 1934 they had won 2,500 converts, but no record was made of how many were Ghao-Xong compared to Han Chinese. In 1946 Maguire was forced to concede, "Here are no startling mass conversions, no pilgrimages of the mighty to the feet of the crucified Christ, no peals of thunder to announce the herald of the Great King."
Alternate Names Ghao-Xong Eastern, Hmong, Eastern Xiangxi, Miao, Xiangxi Eastern
Approximately 100,000 speakers of the Eastern Ghao-Xong language are found in China. Western Ghao-Xong is spoken by far greater numbers, claiming close to one million speakers. The Eastern Ghao-Xong inhabit the far northeastern extent of Miao territory in China, near the Xiang (Hunanese) Chinese. They are located in parts of Luxi, Jishou, Guzhang, and Longshan counties in northwest Hunan Province. Most of their villages are on the top of mountains where they are able to maintain their customs in privacy. A Miao proverb states, "Fish swim in water, birds fly in the air, Miao live on the mountains."
Ghao-Xong, Western in China
Population 1,377,000 Christian 0.60%
Evangelical 0.38% Largest Religion Ethnic Religions
Main Language Miao, Western Xiangxi
The Western Ghao-Xong have been called several different names in the past, including Huayuan Miao, Red Miao, and West Hunan Miao. They are part of the Miao nationality, but they speak a language different from all other Miao groups in China. Their dress and customs are also different. Most Miao in Hunan call themselves Ghao-Xong, in contrast to other Miao groups such as the Hmong, Hmu, Gha-Mu, and A-Hmao.
The virtually inaccessible mountains where the provinces of Hunan, Sichuan, and Guizhou meet were the site of countless wars involving the Ghao-Xong. The Qing Emperor Kangxi (1662-1722) issued an edict that "the rules governing them should be different from those enforced elsewhere in China." It took the Chinese 18 years (1855-1872) to crush one rebellion. According to a memorial, "When reaching a Miao village, the government troops slaughtered rebels and those who had surrendered."
The Ghao-Xong celebrate the Siyueba Festival on the eighth day of the fourth lunar month. "Many centuries ago, there were Miao [Ghao-Xong] people living by the River Longtang at the foot of the Fenghuang Mountains in Western Hunan. No longer able to bear the oppression they suffered under the rule of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), they rose in revolt under the leadership of two brothers, Yayi and Yanu. ... Yayi was killed in battle. Yanu led the remnants of his forces into safety in Guizhou. ... To commemorate their heroes the Miao [Ghao-Xong] people gather to hold a ceremony at which they sing, dance and perform traditional rites."
The Ghao-Xong (along with the She and Yao minorities) worship Pan Hu, the dragon-dog they claim as the forefather of their race. The Pan Hu myth was recorded as early as the fifth century AD in the Chronicles of the Later Han Dynasty (Hou Han Shui).
The work of the Catholic Passionist missionaries was hindered by their inability to speak either Ghao-Xong or Chinese fluently. One missiologist remarks, "Little wonder then, that in Hunan there does not appear to be any large-scale turning of the Miao [Ghao-Xong] people to Christ." The western Hunan region was largely neglected by Protestant missionaries prior to 1949. Today, the majority of Ghao-Xong have never heard the gospel.
Alternate Names Ghao-Xong Western, Hsianghsi Miao, Huayuan Miao, Meo Do, Northern Miao, Red Miao, West Hunan Miao, Xiangxi
A study based on the 1990 Chinese census listed 820,000 speakers of the Western Ghao-Xong language. Most live in six counties of northwestern Hunan Province. Others are scattered far and wide, from Hubei Province in the north, to Guizhou and Sichuan in the west, and to the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in the south.
Hmong Be in China
Population 1,300 Largest Religion Ethnic Religions
Chinese linguistic and anthropological literature in the past frequently mentioned the Hmong Be, despite their small population. The Chinese call them Luzhai Miao after the name of their village. They call themselves Hmong Be (Mountain Hmong). The neighboring Hmong who live in Dananshan (is this village named after Dan?; the ancient Irish Danites were known as Danaan too) Village refer to them as Hmong Nzhil (Peppery Hmong), or Hmong Drout Raol (Six Village Hmong). They are one of several dozen ethnic groups combined to form the official Miao nationality in China. Although the Hmong Be speak the same language as the Hmong Dou, they claim a different ethnic identity. In addition, Hmong Be women wear their own unique style of dress.
History In China many of the branches of the Miao do not accept each other as members of the ethnic group. This is because the Chinese have used the name Miao as a generic cover term to refer to the original inhabitants of Guizhou for more than 2,000 years. Today, centuries after they have splintered into numerous separate entities, they are still called Miao by the Chinese. In comparison, the former great Mon- Khmer race was never called by one generic name. They have splintered into today's groups such as the Lahu, Wa, De'ang, and Bulang, each acknowledged by the government as distinct nationalities. Today's Miao groups show just as much ethnolinguistic variety as the Mon-Khmer groups, but they are all officially included in the same nationality.
The Hmong Be celebrate several regional festivals, including an annual gathering when the youth come together to find partners.
Animism is the primary religious belief system among the Hmong Be. Although animism is not technically an organized religion, the people's lives and communities reflect their bondage to the spirit world that surrounds them.
Many Hmong Be have heard something of the gospel, mostly through the temporary witness of Christians passing through the area. As a result, few Hmong Be today have a full understanding of the concepts of grace and salvation. It is unknown whether there are presently any active believers among the Hmong Be.
Alternate Names Hmong Drout Raol, Hmong Nzhil, Hmong, Luzhai, Luzhai Miao, Miao, Luzhai, Mountain Hmong, Peppery Miao, Six Village Miao
Approximately 1,000 members of the Hmong Be tribe live in a compact community in Luzhai Village near Babao Township. The area lies within Dafang County in the northwestern part of Guizhou Province. This part of southern China is a hilly region with lush forests watered by numerous rivers and streams.
Hmong Dlex Nchab in China
Population 21,000 Largest Religion Ethnic Religions
Main Language Hmong Daw
The Chinese call this group Qingshui Miao, meaning "clear water" Miao. This name corresponds to their autonym, Hmong Dlex Nchab (Clear Water Hmong). They also call themselves Black Hmong, but they are not the same group as the local Black Hmong (Hmong Bua) living in the same area.
Historically, the Chinese have viewed the Hmong with contempt, believing them to be "uncivilized barbarians." Visitors to the minority peoples of China, however, have generally found them an extremely warm and hospitable people, often more than the Han Chinese themselves. Father De Mailla's comments on the tribes of Taiwan in the early 1700s still stand true for many of the minorities in China today. De Mailla wrote, "Savages though they may be according to the maxims of the Chinese world, I believe them to be nearer to the true philosophy than a great number of the most celebrated Chinese sages. One never sees among them, even upon Christian testimony, either cheating or quarreling, or robbery or litigation... Their dealings are equitable, and they are attached to each other... they are circumspect in their words, and upright and pure in heart."
The Hmong Dlex Nchab join with other ethnic groups in the area to celebrate several major festivals each year, including the Chinese New Year and Spring festivals.
Most Hmong Dlex Nchab are polytheistic animists. Despite their fear of the spirit world, no Hmong in China are idolaters in the true sense of the word. They worship no idols or images in their rituals.
Generations of Hmong Dlex Nchab have perished without receiving news of the sacrifice of Christ for their sins. The Jinping area is tightly controlled by the Chinese authorities. In 1994, in response to thousands of Hmong Daw coming to Christ through radio broadcasts, the local police arrested 18 church leaders, beat local Christians, and destroyed numerous Bibles and much Christian literature.
Alternate Names Black Hmong, Clear-Water Hmong, Clear-Water Miao, Hmong Dlob, Qingshui Miao
Linguist Michael Johnson listed a figure of 15,000 members of the Hmong Dlex Nchab ethnic group. They live in and around Tongchang Township in Jinping County - the only place they are found in China. Jinping is located in the southern part of Yunnan Province close to China's border with Vietnam. There are a total of 80,000 Miao in Jinping County. The largest group is the Hmong Leng, followed by the Hmong Bua and the Hmong Daw. There are also a small number of Hmong Shuad in the area.
Hmong Do in Vietnam
Christian 25.00%
Evangelical 3.00% Largest Religion Ethnic Religions
Main Language Hmong Do
Ha Giang Province, Dong Van and Meo Vae districts; Lao Cai Province, Bac Ha district.
Hmong Don in Vietnam
Is Don a form of Dan like the European river? In China there are several toponyms considered to come from Dan.
Christian 30.00% Evangelical 4.00% Largest Religion Ethnic Religions
Main Language Hmong Don
Hoa Binh, Yen Bai, and Son La provinces.
Hmong Dou in China
Population 4,100 Christian 11.00%
Evangelical 9.46% Largest Religion Ethnic Religions
Although they speak a language mutually intelligible with other Western Miao (Hmong) varieties, the Hmong Dou possess their own ethnic identity. They do not consider other Miao/Hmong groups to be of the same ethnic stock and do not usually intermarry outside of their communities. The Chinese call them Hongxian Miao, which means "red thread Miao." The Hmong Be (Mountain Hmong) in Luzhai Village of Dafang County call them Hmong Dou which means "downhill Hmong."
Centuries of discrimination and military campaigns against them by the Chinese have splintered the Miao/Hmong into their numerous present-day ethnic groups and languages - including the Hmong Dou.
The Hmong Dou were given their Chinese name (Hongxian "red thread" Miao) because the women "often make their hair into a large bun that bulges on each side of the head. The bun is held in place by red thread wrapped around the forehead in a band about three inches in height."
For centuries the Hmong Dou have been diligent to appease demons, offering annual sacrifices in a bid to keep peace with the spirit world. They believe spirits can be either good or bad and can locate themselves in a person, animal, or some other object of nature.
Because they live alongside the Gha-Mu, who have thousands of Christians, most Hmong Dou have some awareness of the gospel, and a small number have placed their trust in Jesus Christ. Missionary J. R. Adam worked in the area in the early 1900s and included the Hmong Dou in one of his 1907 mission reports.
Approximately 3,200 Hmong Dou live in the large Dananshan Village in Bijie County, located in the western part of Guizhou Province. Small numbers also live in a few surrounding villages in Xiaoshao and Yanzikou townships. In addition, some Hmong Dou have migrated to the Daguan and Xiehe districts of Qianxi.
Hmong Leng in China
Population 322,000 Christian 0.20%
Evangelical 0.20% Largest Religion Ethnic Religions
Main Language Hmong Daw
The Hmong Leng have been included under the official Miao nationality in China. Their self-name is Hmong Len or Hmong Shib which means "light Hmong." In Jinping County one subgroup is called Hmong Liab (Red Hmong) or Hmong Liab Haut (Red-Headed Hmong), but they speak the same language as the Hmong Leng.
The Hmong Leng are "a geographically widespread and populous group. There are a number of Hmong Leng ethnic and geographic subgroups speaking identical or extremely similar dialects. The differences amongst the subgroups are mostly obvious in clothing styles, geographical locations, and autonym but some sociocultural differences may also exist. The closeness within the group indicates that they probably formed a single ethnolinguistic group, with no internal variation, in the southeast Yunnan area only a few hundred years ago."
The Hmong Leng are among the most economically progressive minority groups in south China. Hmong Leng youth frequently travel to cities and towns in search of employment and have a reputation for being good businessmen. Hmong Leng women wear dresses made from hempcloth. A flat, round turban consisting of black and white cloth is also worn. In Jinping the clothing style includes a black or blue shirt and a flap of red cloth with sharply pointed corners at the back of the neck.
Hmong Leng homes customarily have a spirit and ancestral altar that is placed in a prominent location on a wall in the main room of the house. Offerings of fruit and incense are placed on the altar to honor and nourish the souls of their dead ancestors and to seek the spirits' blessings.
There are few believers among the Hmong Leng in China, although in Southeast Asia and the United States, Hmong Leng Christians number in the thousands. Generally speaking, the Hmong Leng near the Vietnam border have a far greater chance of hearing the gospel than their counterparts farther north. Around Kaiyuan County there are few Christian communities and the Hmong Leng remain largely untouched. There may be a small number of Hmong Leng believers mixed in with the Hmong Daw churches in Jinping County and other parts of Wenshan Prefecture.
Alternate Names Hmong Bal Hout, Hmong Lens, Hmong Sib, Hongtou Miao, Light Hmong, Miao, Leng, Red Hmong, Red Miao, Red-Headed Hmong, Red-Headed Miao
Approximately 250,000 Hmong Leng live in southern and southeastern Yunnan Province - including 30,000 in Jinping County alone. Others are scattered in Pingbian County, parts of Wenshan Prefecture, and as far north as Kaiyuan County. In addition, large numbers of Hmong Leng live outside of China in Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, and as refugees in various Western nations, particularly the United States. The total world population for the Hmong Leng exceeds 500,000, the majority found in Vietnam.
Hmong Njua
Population All Countries 672,000
People Cluster Miao / Hmong
Number of Countries 10 Number Unreached 5
Largest Religion Ethnic Religions
Hmong Shuad
Population All Countries 351,400
People Cluster Miao / Hmong
The main Chinese provinces with large non-Han minorities
Number of Countries 2 Number Unreached 2
Largest Religion Ethnic Religions
Hmong Vron in China
Hmu, Eastern in China
Population 587,000 Christian 3.00%
Evangelical 0.22% Largest Religion Ethnic Religions
Main Language Miao, Eastern Qiandong
The Eastern Hmu, who are one of the many components of the great Miao minority, call themselves Hmu. Missionaries in the past called them the Black Miao, but this name has never been used by the people themselves. Linguists label them the Eastern Qiandong Miao.
After the many Miao rebellions and wars during the Ming Dynasty, the survivors scattered across the country. Around that time, the group known today as the Eastern Hmu arrived in their present location.
Many Miao groups in Guizhou, including the Eastern Hmu, have a legend describing the creation of the human race. They say a long time ago a rat and a small animal called the jiao-ao chewed away the roots of a pine tree. Worms laid twelve eggs in the branches of the fallen tree, but none of the eggs would hatch. At last, a swan was able to hatch the eggs. From ten of them came Thunder and nine different types of animals. The swan thought the two other eggs had died, and began to peck the eggs open. The eggs cried out, "Don't peck us! Wait another two days!" Two days later a boy named Ang emerged from one shell and his sister from the other.
The Eastern Hmu have a 1,000 line poem that tells how the heavens and the earth were created by a heavenly king named Vang-vai and his son Zie-ne. Today the Eastern Hmu know little about any Creator. Most are trapped in slavery to evil spirits.
Of the few Christians among the Eastern Hmu, most are members of Catholic churches. The vast majority of this group, however, have never heard the gospel. Protestant work began in Guizhou in 1877, but it was not until 1896 that an effort was made to focus on the Hmu. The three Hmu language groups have proven more resistant to Christianity than Miao in other parts of China. Today, despite their considerable population, there are no more than a handful of ministries conducting any Christian work among the Eastern Hmu.
Alternate Names Black Miao, Eastern Guizhou Miao, Eastern Hmu, Eastern Qiandong Miao, Hmong, Eastern Qiandong
Approximately 450,000 Eastern Hmu speakers inhabit Jinping, Jianhe, and Liping counties in the fareastern corner of Guizhou Province, as well as Jingxian, Tongdao, and Huitong counties of neighboring Hunan Province. The Qinghsui River, which flows through the region, contains a breed of giant salamanders, each weighing up to 39 kilograms (66 lb.).
Hmu, Northern in China
The Northern Hmu are a linguistic distinction within the large, official Miao nationality in China. Their autonym is Hmu. "Miao" is a Chinese name. There are three Hmu language groups, of which Northern Hmu is the largest.
Northern Hmu is a part of the Eastern branch of the Hmongic linguistic family. It contains at least seven dialects, some of which may also qualify as distinct languages. An orthography was introduced by the government in the 1950s, but it has never gained widespread acceptance among the people.
The Chinese have despised the Hmu for centuries. The Chinese called the Hmu "men-dogs," believing they had tails. Stories were circulated that when the Hmu were born, their feet were cauterized to make it impossible for them to get tired.
Perhaps the greatest Hmu festival is the annual Dragon Boat Festival. Legend has it that at one time an evil dragon lived in a palace in the depths of the Qingshui River. Occasionally he would rise up to cause destruction among Hmu communities. An old man swam to the bottom of the river and set fire to the dragon's palace.
When a Hmu dies, a shaman "opens the road" by giving directions to enable the soul of the deceased to reach heaven after a long journey. This journey resembles that of the Egyptians. The Wicked Israelites made the famous golden calf because of the Egyptian idolatrouos influence, because after 400 years dwelling in Misr/Mizrahim/Egypt, the Israelites became very paganized. He says, "When you come to the snow mountain, don't fear the cold. When you come to the door of heaven, an old man guards it and will not let you in. Tell him who you are and all about yourself, and he will allow you to enter."
The gospel has never taken root among the Northern Hmu. F. B. Webb commenced Protestant mission work at Panghai in 1896. In 1898, CIM missionary W. S. Fleming and the first Hmu convert, Pan Xiushan, were murdered. Thirty-two Hmu "Christian inquirers" were "seized and beheaded without trial or defense." This caused great harm to the advance of Christianity. M. H. Hutton described the cool reception he received at a Hmu village 14 years later: "Some of the men began to curse my men for leading us to their village. They said they did not want the foreigner nor his Gospel, for some years ago, they said, all those who had anything to do with the Gospel Hall were killed." Hutton later reported that "work is steady, with families coming to Christ several at a time." By 1934 he had completed his translation of the Black Miao (Hmu) New Testament. Today only about 50 believers near Kaili "know Hutton's Black Miao writing. Hymns are still sung from the 1928 hymn book."
Alternate Names Black Miao, Chientung Miao, East Guizhou Miao, Hei Miao, Hmong, Northern Qiandong, Hmu Northern, Miao, Qiandong Northern, Northern Hmu, Northern Qiandong Miao
Approximately 1.6 million Northern Hmu are concentrated in eastern Guizhou Province and areas of northern Guangxi. The main center for the Northern Hmu is the city of Kaili. Others are located in southeast Guizhou. Scattered pockets are also found in southwest Guizhou and in Longlin County in northwest Guangxi.
Laba in China
Are the Laba the Levites of the Miao-Hmong people? The Labani Afghans are considered the Levites of the Pashtuns. The vowels are not really important in Hebrew or in the other Semitic languages.
The consonants l & v are what really count here. The sounds v & b in Hebrew are represented with the same character. Sometimes this character is transliterated into the Latin alphabet as v & sometimes as b. So b & v are different sounds but interchangeable. This means that Laba & Levi are virtually the same word.
The consonants l & v are what really count here. The sounds v & b in Hebrew are represented with the same character. Sometimes this character is transliterated into the Latin alphabet as v & sometimes as b. So b & v are different sounds but interchangeable. This means that Laba & Levi are virtually the same word.
Population 297,000 Christian 0.30%
Evangelical 0.22% Largest Religion Ethnic Religions
Main Language Chinese, Mandarin
When Chinese scholars first visited the Laba in the 1950s they were unable to determine what ethnolinguistic relationship the Laba had with other groups. The Laba shared many of the customs of their Gha-Mu (Small Flowery Miao) neighbors yet seemed to only speak a form of Chinese. In the 1982 census the Laba were included in an extensive list of Undetermined Minorities, which included more than 900,000 people in 80 groups, most of which were located in Guizhou Province. In 1985 the government officially reclassified the Laba under the Miao nationality. One source says that although the Laba are now considered Miao, "really they are Han." The Laba are also widely known as the Huguang, or Huguangren. Laba is the name they call themselves.
One alternative name for the Laba is Huguangren. This is because they reportedly originated in Huguang County of Hunan Province, before migrating across Guizhou and settling in their present location. During the Qing Dynasty there were still 4,500 Laba in Hunan Province. The Laba were probably a garrison of Han Chinese soldiers who were sent to Guizhou to fight the Miao. After hostilities ceased, the soldiers stayed behind, married local women, and gradually developed a separate ethnicity until they forgot their roots as Han people.
The customs and celebrations of the Laba also reflect both Miao and Han influences. For many years the main cultural connection between the Laba and Miao was the fact that they prepared and ate the same kind of food, which is significant in China.
Ancestor worship and animism are the primary religious systems practiced by the Laba. In the past, a cow was sacrificed to the spirits of the Laba's ancestors every three years. Animal sacrifice was a very popular Israelite tradition. Most importantly was prescribed in the Torah. These & other Miaos changed the worship & fear of the true God of Israel for spirits or demons, sometimes represented as dragons. The Old Testament is full passages mentioning dragons. For example: “You shall tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shall you trample under feet” (Psalm 91:13).
The Laba believed the meat was able to nourish the souls of their forefathers in the next life. Contrary to the Chinese, this peoples have a strong belief in an after life.
Although approximately 500 Laba follow Christ, the gospel has never taken root among this group as it has among other peoples in the area. More than two-thirds of the Gha-Mu (Small Flowery Miao), for example, are Christians. The first Protestant missionary in the area was J. R. Adam, who commenced work near Anshun in 1899. In 1998 gospel recordings were produced in the Laba language.
Alternate Names Huguang, Huguangren, Laba Miao, Laobazi, Nabazi
More than 200,000 people belonging to the Laba ethnic group live in Guizhou Province in southern China. The population of the Laba in 1982 was given at 150,000 by a Chinese official publication. The Laba predominantly live in Qinglong, Shuicheng, Pu'an, and Panxian counties in southwest Guizhou. There are also reports of Laba people in parts of Jiangxi, Hunan, and Sichuan provinces.
Man in India
Population 5,400 Christian 5.78%
Largest Religion Hinduism (48.80%)
Main Language Bodo
Approximately 3,500 people belonging to the Man ethnic group live in north-east India According to the 1991 census, 2,582 Man people lived in Assam State, dispersed in the Karbi Arleng District and North Cachar District. A small number may live in Tinsuria. An additional 585 Man people live in the state of Meghalaya, primarily in the West Garo Hills.
The name Man literally means 'a Burmese immigrant'. K S Singh says, 'Legend has it that they came to this part along with an invading army, and were afterwards recruited as sepoys to fight the Garos in the second decade of the nineteenth century. Those who settled down in the Garo hills after relinquishing their duty as sepoys took women from other communities as their wives and formed a separate community. They married Koch, Hajong, Assamese and Bengali women, but they never encouraged marriage with the Muslims.'
Over time, as a consequence of their mixing with other communities, the Man emerged as a distinct people group, and all links to their origins in Myanmar have long been forgotten. Their Tai language has also been lost. They have 'completely forgotten their original language and have adopted Assamese as their mother tongue and use the Assamese script. They sometimes use Bengali and Hindi to communicate with others. The Man have been Assamized to a large extent into the greater Assamese culture.'
Although the majority of Man people say they are Buddhists, Hinduism has influenced their religious belief system and is gradually taking over. 'The life cycle rituals they perform demonstrate much similarity with those of the neighboring caste Hindus of Assam and Meghalaya. The marriage, however, is solemnized by a Buddhist monk or pathak reciting hymns from the Pali scripture.'
Despite growing Hindu influence, approximately half of the Man continue to profess Theravada Buddhism. In most of their families the goddesses Lakshmi and Saraswati are venerated. The 1981 census returned 92.04 per cent of the Man in Meghalaya as followers of Buddhism, 3.45 per cent Hindus, 2.55 per cent Christians, 1.05 per cent 'other religions' (i.e., animism), 0.6 per cent Muslims and 0.31 per cent did not state their religion. The 1991 census revealed the inroads Hinduism has made, with the majority of Man in Assam at that time professing Hinduism.
There are approximately 250 Man Christians today in India, a remnant that does not have the resources or motivation to reach the rest of their ethnic group. The 1991 census returned 133 Man Christians living in the Karbi Arleng District and 97 Christians in the North Cachar District, both in Assam State.
Because they do not appear on most missionary lists of ethnolinguistic peoples from India, few Christians have ever heard of the Man and fewer still have tried to reach them with the gospel. About 50 per cent of Man have never heard the gospel in a clear way such that they could intelligently either accept or reject the claims of Christ.
Alternate Names Mann, Mien, Tai, मान
According to the 1991 census, 2582 Man people lived in Assam State, dispersed in the Karbi Arleng District and North Cachar District. A small number may live in Tinsuria. An additional 585 Man people live in the state of Meghalaya, primarily in the West Garo Hills.
Secondary Languages: (only 20 largest shown)
Assamese Naga, Mao, Naga Ao, Naga Inpui, Naga Kabui, Nepali Naga, Southern Rengma, Naga Sumi, Naga Zeme, Punjabi, Eastern Tamil, Chin Thado, Telugu, Kok Borok, Munda, Urdu Mising, Karbi, Malayalam, Byangsi Bengali
Buddhism 45.10 %, Christianity (Evangelical Unknown) 5.78 %, Ethnic Religions 0.00 %, Hinduism 48.80 %, Islam 0.19 %, Non-Religious 0.00 %, Other / Small 0.00 %, Unknown 0.13 %
Miao, Baishi in China
Population 17,000
Largest Religion Ethnic Religions
Main Language Chinese, Mandarin
The Miao of Baishi have been counted as part of the Miao nationality in China, which contained approximately 7.4 million people in 1990. The Baishi Miao qualify as a distinct people group because of their language, which is not understood by any other Miao people.
Although they are officially acknowledged as part of the Miao nationality, the Hmu and Ghao-Xong living in eastern Guizhou do not consider themselves to be related to the Baishi Miao. The Baishi Miao probably migrated into the area relatively recently (i.e. in the last 500 years) and brought with them different customs, traditional dress, and language.
The Baishi Miao faced opposition from other Miao groups in the past. When they migrated to Baishi they were forced to live on the worst land. In the last few decades they have been allowed to intermarry with other ethnic groups in the area. Weddings are elaborate affairs which often cost the groom's family the equivalent of two years' wages.
The Baishi Miao worship their ancestors. Elements of animism are also present in their religious rituals. The Baishi Miao believe that when a person dies, the soul remains in the village for a time before departing to the abode of ancestors. Offerings of paper money, food, and drink are made to the soul of the deceased, in a bid to provide for its needs in the next world.
There is practically no Christian presence of any kind in the Baishi District of Guizhou Province. Few Baishi Miao have any awareness of Jesus Christ.
Approximately 13,000 Miao people living in the Baishi District of Tianzhu County in the eastern part of Guizhou Province comprise their own ethnolinguistic group. The area is mountainous, as is 97% of the total land in Guizhou Province. For centuries the Baishi Miao have grown crops in the poor, rocky soil. The Baishi Miao are only one branch of several distinct Miao ethnolinguistic groups who live in the region.
Miao, Changshu in China
Population 21,000 Largest Religion Ethnic Religions
Main Language Miao, Chuanqiandian Cluster
Although they have been included as part of the Miao nationality, the Changshu Miao consider themselves to be a unique group and do not consider other Miao groups to be related to them. They generally do not marry outside of their tribe, although this custom is being relaxed in recent years as more youth are traveling to towns and cities in search for jobs. The name Changshu Miao is a Chinese word meaning "long comb" Miao. It is uncertain what this group calls itself.
Anshun has been an important trading town in southwest China since the thirteenth century. Merchants from as far away as Burma (Myanmar) frequently came through Anshun. The Chinese described Anshun as "the throat to Yunnan and the belly of Guizhou."
The Changshu Miao are a distinctively dressed group. "The women wear an ankle length nonpleated white skirt which has about four broad horizontal black bands. The shirt opens in the middle. The hair, along with false hair, is hung on a bamboo comb at least 18 inches long that sticks out horizontally from one side of the head." Every year, on the 12th, 13th, and 14th days of the first lunar month, a Miao festival called Tiao Hua Chang is held near Anshun. The people meet at an appointed festival site known as the Flower Ground. It offers a chance for relatives and friends to catch up with each other. Young girls display their finest embroidery and silver jewelry, hoping to capture the attention of a young suitor.
Most Changshu Miao families are animists. They are a highly superstitious people. Probably because of their prolonged contact with the Chinese, the Changshu Miao also worship their ancestors. Every home has an ancestral altar which is the focal point of attention during festivals and religious events.
There are no known Christian believers among the Changshu Miao. It is possible that there are a small number of Catholics among them, as there are several Bouyei and Chinese Catholic churches in the vicinity. Most are adequately bilingual in the Guizhou dialect of Chinese.
Alternate Names Changshu Hmong, Changshu Miao, Long Comb Miao
Approximately 15,800 Changshu Miao live along the road between Yangliu and Geli townships in Zhenning County; and as far north as Jichang Township in Anshun County in the western part of Guizhou Province. A new highway has been constructed between Anshun and Guiyang (the provincial capital), reducing the journey to only two hours. The Changshu Miao live in the same area as people from the Bouyei, Chuanqing, and Hmong Shuad ethnic groups.
Miao, Chuan in China
Population 198,000 Christian 5.50%
Evangelical 1.50% Largest Religion Ethnic Religions
Main Language Hmong Daw
Although the Chuan Miao speak a language similar to the Hmong Daw in southern Yunnan, they possess a distinct ethnicity and wear their own traditional dress.
The Chuan Miao migrated north from southern Yunnan into Sichuan around 1806 to escape forced assimilation by the Han Chinese. Miao children were forced to attend Chinese schools, large tracts of Miao land were confiscated, and the Miao were banned from celebrating their traditional festivals. During the Hui Rebellion in Yunnan (1855-1873), the Chuan Miao sided with the Hui against the Han Chinese. As a result, "Thousands of Miao were killed and many more migrated into Southeast Asia."
The Chuan Miao love to sing. The early Christians among them "preached the Gospel by song ... they will sing all night after a hard day's work, to be followed by another such day."
The Chuan Miao's traditional animistic religion has gradually eroded under the influence of the Chinese.
The China Inland Mission commenced work among the Chuan Miao in 1915 when Samuel Pollard opened a school for 40 Miao boys. By 1922, 569 Chuan Miao had been baptized. In 1923, 5,000 Chuan Miao were described as being interested in Christianity. Thirty churches were planted by the CIM: 17 in Gulin County and 13 in Xuyong. Three thousand Chuan Miao were "under instruction from time to time." The Gospel of Mark was translated into Chuan Miao in 1922, using the Pollard script. In 1937 the United Methodist missionary R. H. Goldsworthy also focused on the Chuan Miao. Within ten years, the Methodists numbered 113 baptized believers, in addition to 130 "on trial." They also had 406 students attending their schools. In 1946 Ewart Wright wrote, "There is a great lack of Bibles and hymnals, both in Chinese and in River [Chuan] Miao. There is a felt desire to get the whole New Testament translated into River Miao." Unfortunately, since the missionaries were deported in the 1940s, the Chuan Miao church has not significantly grown, and all the church buildings have been destroyed.
Alternate Names Magpie Miao, River Miao, Sichuan Miao, Yaque Miao
The Chuan (River) Miao inhabit five counties in the southern part of Sichuan Province. They are located primarily in Xuyong, Gong, Gao, Junlian, and Gulin counties. In 1990 there were 117,000 Chuan Miao in China - an increase from 1949 when they reportedly numbered between 60,000 and 70,000. In addition, 10,000 Chuan Miao also live in Myanmar. They migrated there in the mid-1800s to avoid Chinese oppression.
Christianity (Evangelical 1.50 %) 5.50 % Ethnic Religions 94.50 %
Miao, Enshi in China
Population 671,000 Christian 0.50%
Evangelical 0.06% Largest Religion Ethnic Religions
Main Language Chinese, Mandarin
In Operation China this group is labeled Miao, Enshi even though far more of these people live in southeast Sichuan than in the Enshi County of Hubei. This is to avoid relating their name with Sichuan Province because of confusion with the Chuan Miao group who live farther to the west in Sichuan. The Enshi Miao and the Chuan Miao are two very different ethnolinguistic people groups.
The Enshi Miao have lost all or most of their culture. They no longer celebrate Miao festivals, although in recent years a movement has commenced to rediscover their roots as Miao people. The Enshi Miao observe the major festivals of the Han Chinese, including the Spring Festival and the Chinese New Year.
Elderly Enshi Miao continue to worship their ancestors, especially during the annual ancestral rites when graves are cleaned and prayers are offered to the spirits of the dead. Most Enshi Miao under the age of 40 have no interest in religion.
Very little mission work was ever undertaken in eastern Sichuan and western Hubei prior to 1949, except for work in the city of Chongqing. Today, there are thought to be only a few hundred Christians among the Enshi Miao, mostly Catholic believers living in the townships. Most Enshi Miao have never heard the gospel.
Approximately 500,000 Miao people - living in the southeastern part of Sichuan Province and in and around Enshi County in Hubei Province - speak Mandarin as their first language. More than 300,000 Chinese-speaking Miao live in eastern Sichuan Province alone. Because they have lost the use of their original tongue, this group has not been included in linguistic studies of Miao language groups in China. The Enshi Miao are the northernmost Miao group in China. Many Tujia people also live in the Enshi area.
Christianity (Evangelical 0.06 %) 0.50 %
Ethnic Religions 90.00 %
Primary Language: Chinese, Mandarin (671,000 speakers)
Miao, Guiyang Northern in China
Population 142,000 Christian 1.00%
Evangelical 0.90% Largest Religion Ethnic Religions
Main Language Miao, Northern Guiyang
A part of the official Miao nationality in China, Northern Guiyang Miao is one of four distinct Guiyang Miao languages. There are said to be more than 70 tribes of Miao in China, "each one with a distinctive costume." The name Miao comes from the Chinese. The character used in the Chinese Book of History means "tender blades of grass or sprouts." One historian notes, "The various subgroups of Miao have no love for each other, and the Chinese have in the past been able to get some Miao groups to serve as mercenaries against other Miao groups."
The Guiyang Miao language group is divided into five distinct languages: Northern, Northwestern, South Central, Southern, and Southwestern.
In 1924 Father F. M. Savina of the Paris Foreign Missionary Society published his book Histoire des Miao, which caused a sensation in the Western world. Savina claimed the Miao were of Caucasian origin (Israelite I would say). He wrote, "In appearance [the Miao are] pale yellow in complexion, almost white, their hair is often light or dark brown, sometimes even red or 'corn-silk blond', and a few even have pale blue eyes."
A Miao mother is not allowed to help her daughter during the delivery of a baby. The mother's sister-in-law is not even allowed to enter the delivery room, for if they do, Miao superstition dictates, the new mother will have no milk. When visitors come to see the new baby, often they will remark how ugly or dirty the baby is, so the demons will be tricked into thinking the baby is not worth their trouble and will leave the child alone.
The worldview of some Miao groups states that heaven is a flat land on top of the sky where the deceased souls of their ancestors live. It is a wonderful place, with no sickness or death, no mountains to climb, and no fields to plow. The sun always shines, and although it never rains, there is an abundance of water available.
The Northern Guiyang Miao were first visited by Protestant missionaries in the late 1800s. Several Protestant families lived in the Guiyang-Anshun region, but the Miao were described by the missionaries as "utterly indifferent to things spiritual." The 1900 Boxer Rebellion broke out just as the work was seeing its first fruit, causing the mission to close and the missionaries to flee China. During the years the missionaries were gone, a military official and a noted village headman went throughout the entire district and threatened people with death if they joined the "foreign religion." A small church remains today among the Northern Guiyang Miao.
Alternate Names Hmong, Northern Guiyang, Miao, Guiyang, Northern Guiyang Miao
Eighty-four thousand speakers of the Northern Guiyang Miao language were reported in 1990. They occupy the western part of Guiyang Municipality and are also found in eight counties of Guizhou Province: Pingba, Qianxi, Jinsha, Qingzhen, Kaiyang, Xifeng, Xiumen, and Guiding.
Christianity (Evangelical 0.90 %) 1.00 % Ethnic Religions 95.00 %
Miao, Guiyang Northwestern in China
Population 10,000 Largest Religion Ethnic Religions
Main Language Miao, Northern Guiyang
At the completion of studies based on the 1982 census findings, there were still eight unclassified Miao languages that did not fit into any of the government's recognized categories. One of these was a language labeled Qianxi, Pingba, Qingzhen after the names of three counties where it is spoken. In 1993 Chinese linguist Li Yunbing arrived at the conclusion that it was a part of the Guiyang Miao language cluster. It has subsequently been called Northwestern Guiyang Miao by the Chinese authorities. None of the other seven Miao languages has yet been classified.
The Northwestern Guiyang Miao have been forced from the best and most fertile land into the mountains by Han Chinese settlers. Organized and brutal attacks on the Miao were launched at regular intervals by the Chinese during the 1700s and 1800s when hatred for the Miao reached a fever pitch. Hundreds of thousands of troops were mobilized from all over China to attack the Miao. The official Chinese policy was one of genocide and complete extermination of the Miao race.
Linguists have ascertained that more than 5,000 people speak the Northwestern Guiyang Miao language. Within that number, however, there may be several ethno-socio subgroups, each wearing distinct dress and practising slightly different customs from the others.
The Miao believe that the gods are invisible unless they choose to reveal themselves. Among them, Ntzi is the highest god. He is kind, just, and powerful, controlling heaven and earth. Stories recount how he sent his daughter to earth to help the poor and unfortunate. Some Miao groups believe there was once a ladder that connected the earth with heaven, but the ladder was broken. Since that time no Miao have been able to visit heaven.
Most of the Northwestern Guiyang Miao have never heard the gospel and live hidden away from any Christian influence. Those few who have heard the good news in Mandarin have found it interesting, but because it was not presented to them in their own language, it has proven to be something abstract or foreign. Specific crosscultural evangelism will need to occur before the gospel takes hold in the hearts and minds of the Northwestern Guiyang Miao people.
Alternate Names Hmong, Northwestern Guiyang, Miao, Guiyang
In 1982, 5,000 speakers of the Northwestern Guiyang Miao language were reported in China. At that time, Chinese linguists began to investigate the numerous Miao languages and dialects, assigning them to their various classifications. The Northwestern Guiyang Miao live in Pingba, Qianxi, Luzhi, and Qingzhen counties, west of Guiyang City in Guizhou Province.
Primary Language: Miao, Northern Guiyang (10,000 speakers)
Miao, Guiyang South Central in China
Population 5,900 Largest Religion Ethnic Religions
Main Language Miao, Southern Guiyang
The classification of the South Central Guiyang Miao was only made in 1995. Until that time scholars had not yet determined that it qualified as a distinct language. After the 1982 census the language was placed in a list of eight unclassified Miao languages and was named "Ziyun, Zhenning" after the counties where it was spoken. Finally it was agreed that South Central Guiyang Miao was unlike any of the other Miao languages and was set apart by itself. This group is one small part of the massive Miao nationality, whose ten million members are found throughout China and in the neighboring countries of Southeast Asia.
The areas now inhabited by the Guiyang Miao are believed to have once been home to many of today's Western and Farwestern Miao groups. The majority of these peoples fled Guizhou to Yunnan and beyond during times of persecution, while those that remained have, over the centuries, fragmented into small tribes and ethnic groups.
Miao families are renowned for being close-knit. Family and community relationships are prized above all among the Miao, who often frown upon individualism and decisions made without the input of others. The Guiyang Miao women are also known for their embroidery. In the past one of the subgroups of Miao in Guizhou was even known as Mp'eo or De Mp'eo, which means "embroidery."
The South Central Guiyang Miao are animists. Above all they revere the spirit of the dragon, and another spirit which they believe blesses their crops.
While pre-1949 mission labors resulted in several wonderful people movements to Christ, there were quite simply not enough laborers to cover the numerous minority areas in southwest China. Most people groups missed out on the gospel. While people like Isobel Kuhn - who worked among the Lisu and once said, "When I get to heaven they aren't going to see much of me except my heels, for I will be hanging over the golden wall keeping an eye on the Lisu church!" -were faithful to their call, other areas were completely neglected. As a result, the more than 3,000 hidden souls who speak the South Central Guiyang Miao language have never had any known Christians in their midst.
Alternate Names Hmong, South-Central Guiyang, Miao, Guiyang Southcentral, Miao, Guiyang South-Central, Southern Guiyang Miao
In 1985 Chinese linguist Wang Fushi listed a 1982 figure of 3,000 speakers of the South Central Guiyang Miao language in China. They are one of five Guiyang Miao languages spoken in China's Guizhou Province. The South Central Guiyang Miao live in parts of Ziyun and Zhenning counties.
Primary Language: Miao, Southern Guiyang (5,900 speakers)
Miao, Guiyang Southern in China
Population 47,000 Christian 10.00%
Evangelical 9.00% Largest Religion Ethnic Religions
Main Language Miao, Southern Guiyang
Officially considered part of the Miao nationality, the Southern Guiyang Miao have lived in their current location for many centuries. They share the same part of China as the Bouyei minority.
Miao legends from Laos depict the distant ancestors of the Miao as "white," with "pale skin and light hair." During intense periods of Chinese persecution, the Miao were killed because they were easy to single out. An 80-year-old Miao man in Laos, Cher Sue Vue, remembers his childhood when the Chinese crossed into Laos looking for white babies. "At that time there was only one white baby in our village. The infant's parents were warned before the Chinese arrived, and they carried him into the forest where they hid." he Miao have a legend of a homeland where "days and nights lasted six months, the water was frozen, and snow hid the ground. Only a few trees grew and they were small. The people, too, were short and squat, clothed in furs."
Strict superstitions apply to the Miao when they are eating. If someone changes his chopsticks during a meal, he can expect either a divorce or a change of spouse. If he taps something with his chopsticks, he will become a beggar. If he finishes his meal by leaving the chopsticks standing straight up in his rice, someone will die. After a meal, if he turns his bowl upside down, he is cursing the host to be barren.
The Southern Guiyang Miao believe all living things have a spirit. They seek to live in harmony with nature and are careful to avoid offending the spirits of the hills, river, crops, rain, etc. A number of Southern Guiyang Miao near Anshun have converted to Christianity.
The first Protestant missionary in the region was J. R. Adam of the China Inland Mission, who commenced work near Anshun in 1899. A strong Miao church exists there today. One author who visited them comments, "They witness to God not by their appearance, but by their living. Their mouths are not filled with theological terms or Biblical messages. Pastors do not wear ties, white shirts and dark blue pants. What they wear are work clothes; what they carry are agricultural tools; the Miao Christians are a blessed community."
Alternate Names Hmong, Southern Guiyang
Approximately 36,000 Southern Guiyang Miao are located in the mountains of southern China, primarily in Anshun, Changshun, Ziyun, and Zhenning counties in Guizhou. Anshun was once an opium trading center and is now the commercial hub of western Guizhou.
Miao, Guiyang Southwestern in China
Population 118,000 Christian 3.00%
Evangelical 2.40% Largest Religion Ethnic Religions
Main Language Miao, Southwestern Guiyang
The Southwestern Guiyang Miao speak their own distinct language. One anthropologist has counted "72 different tribes of Miao in Guizhou alone."
Speculation about the origin of the Miao race has led some to claim that they first lived in Persia or Babylon before migrating north into Siberia. (Yeah, the captive Lost Ten Tribes were in Persia after being taken captive from their native Israel) After staying there for a time, the Miao moved again, passing through Mongolia and entering China. One writer has even asserted that there was a Miao princess named Mong Kao Lee who led the Miao in their great migration. "In her honor they called their former homeland by her name, Mongoli or Mongolia." Chinese histories confirm the Miao used to be found in northern and central China before they were pushed south under Chinese pressure.
Southwestern Guiyang Miao women wear a style of clothing referred to as "flag clothing" by local people. Square and rectangular patterns on their jackets resemble the pattern of a flag. The Guiyang Miao live on the mountaintops where the land is poor. Often their homes are a long distance from streams and rivers. Water therefore carries a high price. Miao women are responsible for walking hours down the mountain and back again, to fetch drinking water in hollowed bamboo. In the most extreme cases, the women mix cow urine with the water, so that others they meet on the pathway will not be tempted to steal the water from them. Young Miao women often base their answer to a marriage proposal on how far the would-be bridegroom's water supply is from his village.
Most Southwest Guiyang Miao are either animists or Christians. Some whole villages have converted to Christ, while others prefer to retain their ancient traditions and superstitions.
Shortly after J. R. Adam commenced work in Anshun in 1899, he was forced to leave because of the Boxer Rebellion. When Adam returned to Anshun in 1902 he baptized 20 Miao at the first baptismal service. The work grew quickly, and by 1907 the number of baptized believers numbered 1,200. Adam started a Bible college where students came for four to eight weeks of study. Tragically, Adam's work was cut short when he was killed by a bolt of lightning while he stood in the doorway of his house in 1915.
Alternate Names Hmong, Southwestern Guiyang, Southwestern Guiyang Miao
More than 90,000 speakers of the Southwestern Guiyang Miao language are located in Pingba, Qingzhen, and Changshun counties, as well as in the Guiyang and Anshun municipalities in Guizhou Province. China's largest waterfall and the province's chief tourist attraction, Huangguoshu Falls, is located about 40 kilometers (25 mi.) southwest of Anshun.
Miao, Horned in China
Population 83,000 Largest Religion Ethnic Religions
Main Language Miao, Horned
The Horned Miao have been officially counted as part of the large Miao nationality in China, but they have a distinct ethnolinguistic identity. The Chinese call them Jiaojiao Miao in Mandarin, or Koko Miao in the local Chinese dialect.
We have called them Horned Miao because of their women's practice of wearing large wooden horns on their head. The Miao in Bijie call them Hmong Soud which means "lively" or "bustling." This name is a reflection of the energetic way the Horned Miao celebrate festivals. The Horned Miao are not the same as the Hmong Vron (Long Horn Miao), who live in northwest Guizhou.
The Horned Miao call themselves Hmong Khuat Shuad Ndrang which means "guest of the Chinese plain Hmong." Johnson notes, "This autonym is somewhat ironic in that the local Hmong claim they lived in the small plain just north of Bijie before the Chinese did, and were driven out to the surrounding hilly regions by Chinese settlers."
The Horned Miao women have a striking appearance. "Their hair, along with false hair, is wrapped around a large horn-shaped wooden comb. In the past this comb was smaller and the tips only just protruded out from the hair. In more recent times, and especially amongst older people, the comb is extremely wide, almost the size of buffalo horns. During festival times the young women wear as many as thirty skirts and several long jackets."
The majority of Horned Miao share the animistic and polytheistic practices of their Hmong neighbors. They are a superstitious people, believing a finely balanced harmony must be kept between them and the spirit world.
Despite living near the heavily Christianized A-Hmao and Gha-Mu groups, linguistic and cultural barriers have prevented the Horned Miao from hearing the gospel. In the past there was no Christian work among them, resulting in few today having heard of Christ. There are no known Horned Miao believers or churches.
Alternate Names Bai Miao, Hmong Soud, Hmong Vron, Horn Miao, Horned Miao, Jiaojiao Miao, Koko Miao, White Miao
Linguist Michael Johnson, an expert on the Miao languages, listed a 1998 population of 50,000 Horned Miao living in southern China. They are located on a thin strip of land that stretches from Zhenxiong County in northeastern Yunnan Province all the way southeast to Guiyang Municipality, the capital of Guizhou Province. The main concentration of Horned Miao inhabit the Shuangshau, Xiangshui, and Pojiao districts of Dafang County in Guizhou.
Miao, Hua
Population All Countries 781,200
People Cluster Miao / Hmong
Largest Religion Ethnic Religions
Miao, Huishui Central in China
Population 67,000 Christian 1.00%
Evangelical 0.58% Largest Religion Ethnic Religions
Main Language Miao, Central Huishui
Central Huishui is one of four Huishui Miao languages - totaling more than 140,000 speakers. They, in turn, are considered part of the official Miao nationality by the Chinese government.
Because they do not have a written language, Miao history is handed down by word of mouth and through songs. Miao legend tells how human life originated when a maple tree metamorphosed into a butterfly. The butterfly then laid twelve eggs from which hatched Jiangyang, the ancestor of the Miao. The other eggs hatched, giving birth to Thunder, Centipede, Dragon, Elephant, Tiger, Snake, Rooster, Dog, Fish, and Water Buffalo. The twelve eggs might be a distorted version of the twelve tribes. The Miao's ancestor, Jacob, it's really the origin of the eggs, but the distorted story portrays him the other way round. It's noteworthy that both names start with similar sounds: Jiangyang & Jacob. Even if you take away the n, the g & c are close sounds.
Alternate Names Central Huishui Miao, Hmong, Central Huishui
The lives of most Miao people in China have become more complicated in recent years as China's economic condition has improved. Today, a prospective partner for marriage is often required to own a television, radio, and motorbike before being considered marriageable.
Most Central Huishui Miao are animists, living in fear of a host of different demons and deities. Miao shamans and sorcerers possess great demonic power. An early missionary described his experiences: "As a rule I don't believe in devils but these wizards seem to have communications with a whole world of demons." He went on to describe some of the supernatural things done by these men, such as putting white hot chains around their necks without being harmed.
There are small numbers of indigenous Miao and ethnically mixed Christian fellowships in the Central Huishui Miao region. Few of the Central Huishui Miao are Christians, although most members of this group have yet to receive an adequate presentation of the gospel. The Miao language used for the Jesus film is not understood by the Central Huishui Miao. They are relatively open to change, but few evangelists or missionaries have ever specifically focused on the Central Huishui Miao.
Approximately 50,000 Miao speak the Central Huishui Miao language as their mother tongue. They are located in the suburbs of Guiyang City, in the Baijin area of Huishui County, and in parts of adjacent Changshun County. These two counties are located south of Guiyang City in Guizhou Province.
Miao, Huishui Eastern in China
Population 23,000 Christian 0.50%
Evangelical 0.28% Largest Religion Ethnic Religions
Main Language Miao, Eastern Huishui
The Eastern Huishui Miao are one part of the Miao diaspora that has taken place at various stages over the last 1,000 years.
The Chinese hatred of the Miao reached a feverish climax during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) when the Imperial Court attempted to completely isolate the Miao territory from the rest of China. They set up stone guard posts and military stations, and in many places even erected walls to keep the Miao in the mountains. The remains of these stone towers can still be seen along ridges in Guizhou today. In 1650 the Miao rebelled, tore down the guard posts and walls, and "demolished the border between themselves and the Chinese.
The Miao have many oral legends of great heroes. One heroine often portrayed on embroidery is Wu Yaoxi. Born in Shidong in Guizhou, she joined the Miao rebellion against the Qing Dynasty (1855-1872) and became a famous general. She was finally killed, but she is still proudly remembered by her descendants.
A sinister part of the traditional Miao religion was the role of some women who produced an evil poison called gu. It was used in secret black magic rituals to put curses on their enemies, who often died because of it. All Chinese people living near the Miao were afraid that these dark powers would be used against them and, therefore, lived in utter terror of the Miao.
In the early years of Protestant missionary work, most workers focused on the needs of the A-Hmao and Gha-Mu in northwest Guizhou because of the readiness with which these peoples responded to the gospel. The Miao groups in southern Guizhou, such as the Eastern Huishui Miao, were comparatively neglected. There may be small numbers of believers among all of the Huishui Miao groups, but there are few vibrant fellowships meeting regularly. The handful of Christians live in small, scattered communities. Few Eastern Huishui Miao have been so fortunate as to receive the offer of salvation.
Population 23,000 Christian 0.50%
Evangelical 0.28% Largest Religion Ethnic Religions
Main Language Miao, Eastern Huishui
Alternate Names Eastern Huishui Miao, Hmong, Eastern Huishui
More than 18,000 Miao in southern Guizhou Province speak the Eastern Huishui language. They live in the Gaobaibang District of Huishui County, in the Xiguan District of Luodian County, and in Pingba County.
Miao, Huishui Northern in China
Population 118,000 Christian 1.00%
Evangelical 0.06% Largest Religion Ethnic Religions
Main Language Miao, Northern Huishui
The Northern Huishui Miao are defined as a group purely on the basis of a linguistic classification within the Miao nationality, which contains "30-40 languages in China." The Northern Huishui Miao language group may consist of several ethnic subgroups.
According to legend, in about 2550 BC a Miao chief, Jiyou, was defeated by the Han race. The Miao were forcibly exiled to the inhospitable mountains in southern China. Military campaigns were launched against the Miao for centuries. Throughout the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), more than 80 fierce attacks were made against the Miao - an average of one every three years. In 1832 another Miao rebellion was directed by the selfappointed "Golden Dragon King," who dressed in yellow robes. He declared that the government of China had lost its "mandate from heaven" and, therefore, no longer had a right to rule over the Miao people. He mobilized a large army with his promise to overthrow the Qing Dynasty, but without the arms or means to pose a threat, he was soon captured and executed, and the rebellion was crushed.
Music is always at the center of Miao celebrations and social gatherings, whether it involves singing, instrument playing, or leaf-blowing. Traditional love songs are handed down from generation to generation. Two young lovers may sing to each other in questionand- answer form to express their mutual feelings. Many annual Miao festivals are held which offer a chance for young people from different villages to mix and for romance to blossom.
Most Northern Huishui Miao live in fear and bondage to evil spirits which harass them continually. Some Miao stories tell of a dark place inhabited by demons and ruled by a demon king. To the Miao, demons are the souls of humans, birds, or animals. If a deceased person had no descendants to continue his family line, or if his descendants do not make proper offerings, he becomes a demon and causes harm to people.
Few of the early missionaries focused on the Miao groups in southern Guizhou. As the great people movement to Christ unfolded in northwest Guizhou and in Yunnan among the A-Hmao and Gha- Mu, many of the missionaries placed among other Miao groups were summoned to lend a hand to disciple these new believers. This is one of the reasons why the gospel has never taken a firm foothold among most of the Miao groups in China. Most Northern Huishui Miao are completely unaware of Christ or the claims of the gospel.
Alternate Names Hmong, Northern Huishui, Northern Huishui Miao
The Northern Huishui Miao language is spoken by more than 90,000 people south of Guiyang Municipality - the capital of Guizhou Province. They live in the Gaopo District of Guiyang
Municipality, and Huishui and Guiding counties.
Municipality, and Huishui and Guiding counties.
Miao, Huishui Southwestern China
Population 95,000 Largest Religion Ethnic Religions
Main Language Miao, Southwestern Huishui
Population 95,000 Largest Religion Ethnic Religions
Main Language Miao, Southwestern Huishui
Although they were officially placed under the Miao nationality - which contained 7.4 million people in the 1990 census - the Southwestern Huishui Miao are a distinct ethnolinguistic people.
The Ethnologue states that the Southwestern Huishui Miao language is "inherently unintelligible with other Hmong [Miao] varieties." It is one of four Huishui Miao languages in Guizhou and one of more than 30 Miao languages in all of China.
The Miao have a folk tale explaining why their language has never possessed a written form. They tell of a time long ago when they lived alongside the Chinese. The Chinese were too crafty for them, so they decided to move away and live by themselves. At that time the Miao knew only a few Chinese characters. When they came to a deep river they saw some water spiders walking about on the water. They asked, "If they can walk on water, why can't we?" So they tried to walk across the river but almost drowned, having swallowed much water. By the time they made it to the other side of the river they had swallowed all the characters they knew. That is why the Miao no longer have a written language.
Sexual immorality is rampant among many of the Miao groups. Some practice what they call "free marriage." Young people are allowed to engage in sexual relationships with multiple partners before and after betrothal. Families may build a separate room onto their homes so young men can visit their daughters at night, while many villages have "flower houses" set aside where young people can meet in sexual orgies that often last for several days. Sexual diseases were so rampant that Samuel Pollard wrote, "When one mentions the Miao disease everyone knows what one means, it is so typical." Idolatry with sexual immorality was the reason why ancient Israel was taken captive & eventually scattered through out the world. It wouldn't be surprising to find some lost Israelites still practicing those evil deeds.
The majority of Southwestern Huishui Miao villages are animists, with altars and incense boxes located inside their homes. They do not worship idols, however. Marriages, funerals, and major festivals are presided over by Miao men who fill the traditional role of spirit priest.
Few Southwestern Huishui Miao have ever been exposed to the Christian message and no ministries are known to be focusing on them.
Alternate Names Hmong, Southwestern Huishui, Miao, Huishui Southwester, Southwestern Huishui Miao
More than 70,000 Southwestern Huishui Miao live quiet lives in the mountains of southern China. They are concentrated in four districts of Huishui County, and in the Baitang and Zhongguo districts of Changshun County. Both counties are located directly south of Guiyang City, the capital of Guizhou Province.
Miao, Luobohe in China
Population 102,000 Largest Religion Ethnic Religions
Main Language Miao, Luopohe
The friendly Hmong tribes (also known as the Miao) originated in China. However, during the 1800's, many immigrated to Vietnam, Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar. Over the years, they gradually expanded into approximately seventy to eighty separate groups, each with its own dialect, style of dress, and customs.
Today, there are about two million Hmong speakers living in China. The five Hmong groups covered in this profile are spread throughout the mountains of southern China, primarily in the central and southwestern parts of the Guizhou province. They include the Luopohe, Central Mashan, Chonganjian, Southwestern Huishui, and Western Mashan. Their language forms part of the Western branch of the Miao languages.
The Hmong have a long history of resistance to the Chinese imperial authorities and endeavor to live separately from the Han Chinese, who called them "barbarians" and "dogs." For centuries, the Chinese have attempted to subjugate the Hmong. These attempts have instilled a quest for freedom deep within the hearts of the Hmong.
The Hmong live in villages nestled high in the rocky mountain areas. Some are located several days walk from the nearest road. The Hmong economy is based on farming and raising draft animals such as cows or buffalo. The Hmong generally use the "slash and burn" method of agriculture on the mountain slopes. Those who live in the lower areas cultivate dry rice and maize. They also grow opium poppies as a cash crop. Those living at higher altitudes grow maize, millet, or buckwheat rather than rice. The children work alongside their parents in the fields.
The Hmong do not live with other ethnic groups, but have their own, separate villages. Divination is used to determine the site of each new settlement. This ensures that the villagers will live in harmony with the spirits that surround them. A typical settlement contains from seven to fifty households arranged in a horseshoe pattern. The villages are preferably sheltered by the forest and situated near a good water source.
Within the village, the site for each house is chosen with great care, since the location must be acceptable to the ancestral spirits. Houses are usually built directly on the ground rather than on stilts. In some parts of China, the Hmong live in houses made of adobe or stone, similar to the homes of the Chinese. Poorer families construct their houses out of pieces of split bamboo and rough matting. Each home contains at least one altar for the ancestral spirits. Houses are never built in a way that would hinder a spirit from freely entering the door and going to the altar. Every house must face downhill, and no two houses may be in direct line with each other, since this might obstruct the pathway of the spirits.
Hmong society is divided into a number of patrilineal clans, which means that the line of descent is traced through the males. These clans freely intermarry. Polygyny (having multiple wives) is permitted, although only the wealthiest men can afford to have second wives. Courtship is one of the main themes of the numerous Hmong festivals. Young couples often sing love songs to each other and exchange small gifts. Although arranged marriages are becoming more common, young people are still free to select their own mates. A newlywed couple usually lives with the groom's family until the birth of their first child. At that time, the young couple moves into their own home.
Among the five Hmong groups discussed, the most important social units are the family and the clan (extended family). Within the extended family, the oldest male has virtually unlimited authority. Some households are nuclear, while others are extended, ranging from one to twenty-five members.
The Hmong are generally small in stature, kind, hospitable, and lovable. They are well known for their songs and dances. Although they have no full-time craftsmen, they are famous for their silver work, embroidery, and intricate needlework.
The Hmong practice their own ethnic religion, which involves the worship of demons, spirits of nature, and ancestral spirits. There are many "household spirits," which they believe protect them from disease and death, and watch over their crops, money, and livestock. These spirits are appeased through animal sacrifices and the burning of "paper money." Every village has at least one Shaman (witchdoctor) who is used to exorcise evil spirits.
Almost all activities of the Hmong are regulated by customs and taboos. They believe that their surroundings are inhabited by spirits. They are therefore always on guard against the evil spirits, avoiding activities that might anger them. Prescribed methods and procedures govern everything from individual behavior to the locations of their homes and villages.
The majority of the Hmong have not heard a clear presentation of the Gospel. Witness to them is difficult, however, because missionary activity in China is currently restricted. Prayer is the key to seeing them reached with the Gospel that can truly set them free!
Alternate Names Hmong, Luopohe, Luopohe, Luopohe Miao, Xiamahe Miao
Approximately 77,000 speakers of the Luobohe (Luobo River) Miao language live in southern China. They inhabit parts of Fuquan, Weng'an, Guiding, Longli, Kaiyang, and Kaili counties in central Guizhou Province. Visitors to the region are often overwhelmed at the enormous variety of different Miao subgroups. "Along the roads of central Guizhou, one cannot fail to notice a great variety of Miao. Every 50 kilometers or so we found that the women's dress and appearance varied. There were those with long skirts, those with short skirts, hair done in a knot, hair done in a more elaborate coiffure."
Miao, Lupanshui in China
Population 67,000 Christian 4.00%
Evangelical 2.00% Largest Religion Ethnic Religions
Main Language Chinese, Xiang
The Lupanshui Miao are a peculiarity. Scholars have found that although they are ethnically members of the Miao nationality, they speak the Xiang (Hunanese) Chinese language. Their dialect is similar to the Xiang language spoken in Dongkou County in western Hunan Province, at least 400 kilometers (247 mi.) from their present location. Today the Lupanshui Miao are linguistically distinct from all of the other Miao groups in western Guizhou. Other Miao people view the Lupanshui as a different group and usually do not intermarry with them.
The precise reason why the Lupanshui Miao migrated away from their homeland in Hunan Province is uncertain. The 1990 Chinese census listed only 304 Miao people still living in Dongkou County in Hunan, suggesting that almost the entire people group were transplanted across the province to their present-day location in Guizhou. Chinese military campaigns against the Miao are a likely reason for their migration. On certain occasions, the authorities uprooted whole communities and forced them to move to sensitive areas as guards and soldiers, and to spy on other Miao groups.
Since the mid-1980s there has been a growing desire among young people to move to Lupanshui City or one of the other economically thriving towns in the area, to find work in a factory or on a construction site.
The Lupanshui Miao are not a particularly religious people. Most of them are hardworking agriculturists who do not center their lives around religion. Many older Lupanshui Miao practice animism and still worship spirits and the elements of nature, but many of the youth are atheists.
There are now some Christian believers among the Lupanshui Miao. Miao churches exist among other subgroups in the vicinity, but they speak languages very different from the Lupanshui. Christians in the Lupanshui area have experienced severe persecution in the past.
More than 50,000 Miao people living in the Lupanshui and Qinglong areas of western Guizhou Province form their own ethnolinguistic group, which we have labeled Miao, Lupanshui. Lupanshui (also spelled Liupanshui) is an amalgamation of several towns and districts, combined to form a municipality which contains 2.5 million people. Qinglong County, farther to the south, contained a total of 51,555 Miao people in the 1990 census, of which about 30% are part of the Lupanshui Miao group.
Miao, Mashan Central in China
Population 120,000 Christian 1.00%
Evangelical 0.25% Largest Religion Ethnic Religions
Main Language Miao, Central Mashan
There are four Mashan Miao language groups in Guizhou, designated Northern, Southern, Central, and Western Mashan. All four comprise part of the large Miao nationality - the fourth most populous of China's 55 official minorities. The Central Mashan Miao may call themselves Bu Cao.
The Central Mashan Miao language -which contains an extraordinary 11 tones - is not spoken in any other part of China.
According to legend, at one time there were two Miao sisters who were unhappy because they could not find suitable husbands. A special social gathering was arranged with a neighboring village, enabling them to meet two handsome young men, whom they married. To this day the Central Mashan Miao - and most other Miao groups - prefer to marry outside of their village. Marriage outside of their tribe or clan is extremely rare, however, and is discouraged by community leaders. They endogamic like ancient Israel.
The Central Mashan Miao believe that all sickness is caused by evil spirits. A farmer with a headache is often thought to have met the "Shrinking Head Spirit" on a mountain slope. The victim is required to throw a bowl of rice and water outside the village gate to appease the spirit.
Only a tiny fraction of the Central Mashan Miao profess to be Christians. A small number of them have believed the gospel, but they currently do not have the resources or initiative to spread the gospel throughout the remainder of their people, most of whom have yet to hear the gospel. There is a massive church among the A-Hmao and Gha-Mu about 200 kilometers (124 mi.) to the northwest. If the believers from these two "Miao" groups came to the Central Mashan Miao they would need to learn a new language and new customs, and they might not be socially accepted.
Alternate Names Central Mashan Miao, Hmong, Central Mashan
The 1995 Miaoyu Jianzhi lists a 1990 population of 70,000 Central Mashan speakers out of a total population of 92,000 for all four Mashan vernaculars. The Central Mashan Miao are found in the Zongdi District of Ziyun County, in the Dayi District of Wangmo County, and in the Banyuan District of Luodian County. The locals have a saying that the Chinese live at the base of the hills, the Bouyei halfway up, and the Miao at the very top.
Miao, Mashan Northern in China
Mashan is very similar to the masculine Hebrew name Mashen meaning "support". The Hebrew verb משה (masha) is identical to the name save & the Hebrew name Moshe (Moses). So we have here two posibilities of Hebrew origins in this Miao name.
Population 59,000 Largest Religion Ethnic Religions
Main Language Miao, Northern Mashan
Officially included under the Miao nationality, the Northern Mashan Miao language is part of the socalled Chuanqiandian language group. This term was derived from the historical names of the three provinces of Sichuan (Chuan), Guizhou (Qian), and Yunnan (Dian). Although different sources have listed a variety of figures for the number of Miao groups in China - including "seventy," and "forty in Guizhou," all agree that the Miao are a collection of groups rather than one cohesive ethnolinguistic identity.
According to Miao tradition there were originally six suns, but their intense heat dried up everything on the earth. Then the people decided to shoot down all the suns, except one. But they discovered this was impossible to do and, instead, shot at the suns' reflections in the lake. The remaining sun became frightened and refused to come out, plunging the world into continual darkness. The Miao used various methods to coax the sun out, but nothing worked. Then a rooster crowed, and suddenly the sun appeared. The Miao conclude that this is why the sun rises every morning when the rooster crows.
One of the numerous Miao festivals is Sister's Day. It is held every spring to enable young women to meet with young men from other villages. A series of games and dances is arranged, and glutinous rice dishes are prepared. Playing the lusheng (a bamboo instrument) is popular during these festivals. Young men who play skillfully are favored by the girls.
The Northern Mashan Miao offer sacrifices to a demon they believe dwells in the highest mountain. They also sacrifice to various other deities, believing their efforts can summon protective dragons to act on their behalf. But the Devil is a dragon in the Bible, so they changed the Lord for the Devil.
The Northern Mashan Miao are an unreached people group who have never appeared on a list of unreached peoples. Most foreign agencies prefer to view all the Miao as one people, despite their multiplicity of languages and customs. There are no known churches or house fellowships among the Northern Mashan Miao. Their social and community structures are very exclusive, creating an additional barrier to the introduction of the gospel among them.
Alternate Names Hmong, Northern Mashan, Northern Mashan Miao
A 1990 linguistic survey reported 35,000 speakers of the Northern Mashan Miao language. By the end of the twentieth century their population was expected to exceed 50,000. The Northern Mashan Miao live in one small location at the juncture of three counties: the Daihua District of Changshun County, the Bianyang District of Luodian County, and the Dongshan District of Huishui County. All are located in the southern part of Guizhou Province.
Duyun, a place name in Miao areas, is very close phonetically to the Hebrew name Dayan meaning judge.
Miao, Mashan Southern in China
Population 17,000 Largest Religion Ethnic Religions
Main Language Miao, Southern Mashan
Population 17,000 Largest Religion Ethnic Religions
Main Language Miao, Southern Mashan
Although the government considers them a part of the Miao nationality, the Southern Mashan Miao are a distinct people group. They live in small and compact communities, speak their own language, and have little to do with the outside world.
The Southern Mashan Miao are a group who migrated south following persecution against them in the past. The Chinese Canon of Shuen records one Miao group, the "San Miao," being driven into the mountains of San Wei around 4,000 years ago.
The Miao believe there was a time when dragons guarded their families, crops, animals, and trees against disease and pestilence. The people regularly sacrificed chickens to the dragons and burned paper money to procure their favor.
During funeral chants, which predate all Christian influence, many Miao groups refer to an outer place of darkness where the spirit of the deceased must travel. They believe it is a horrible place of demons, torments, and gnashing of teeth. (This resembles the Christian belief) Legend claims there was once a time when the Miao were able to climb to heaven on a huge fir tree, but the gods struck it down. Left with no other way to communicate with heaven, the people in Yanpai village of Xijiang County in Guizhou climbed to the top of the highest mountain and thrust a bamboo branch into its crest, signaling to the gods, "All is not well." The Southern Mashan Miao are animists, living in fear of evil spirits.
Wangmo County, the sole area where the Southern Mashan Miao live, was largely neglected by mission organizations in the pre-Communist era. There are a few Catholic believers among the Bouyei minority to the north, but the Miao and Bouyei have little contact with each other and speak different languages. Most Southern Mashan Miao cannot speak more than basic Mandarin; fewer still are able to read or write Chinese.
Alternate Names Hmong, Southern Mashan, Southern Mashan Miao
The Southern Mashan are one of the smallest of the distinct Miao language groups in China, with a 1990 population of 10,000 people. Despite the one-child policy in China, many Southern Mashan Miao have several children. This is because that policy is not applied on the non-Han minorities. This has resulted in a rapid population increase: their number was expected to exceed 12,000 by the year 2000. The Southern Mashan Miao live in a small region in the Mashan and Lekuan districts of Wangmo County. Wangmo is located in the extreme southern part of Guizhou Province. Their villages are accessible only by a lengthy walk over treacherous trails. For much of the year the weather in the region is wet and miserably cold.
Alternate Names Hmong, Southern Mashan, Southern Mashan Miao
The Southern Mashan are one of the smallest of the distinct Miao language groups in China, with a 1990 population of 10,000 people. Despite the one-child policy in China, many Southern Mashan Miao have several children. This has resulted in a rapid population increase: their number was expected to exceed 12,000 by the year 2000. The Southern Mashan Miao live in a small region in the Mashan and Lekuan districts of Wangmo County. Wangmo is located in the extreme southern part of Guizhou Province. Their villages are accessible only by a lengthy walk over treacherous trails. For much of the year the weather in the region is wet and miserably cold.
Miao, Mashan Western in China
Population 23,000 Largest Religion Ethnic Religions
Main Language Miao, Western Mashan
The minority peoples of southern Guizhou are among the poorest in Asia and face mounting health risks. According to United Nation's figures for the late 1980s, only 22% of Guizhou's rural villages had access to an improved water source (running water, pump, or well). "The main source is usually a river or pond which is affected by droughts and almost always polluted from factory waste, seepage of agricultural chemicals, and human and animal waste."
These people have some Caucasoid features.
These people have some Caucasoid features.
The Western Mashan Miao language -which has 13 recognizable tones -does not have a written script.
A festival on the eighth day of the fourth lunar month commemorates the death of Ya Nu, who was killed in action as he led the Miao into battle against the Chinese 1,700 years ago.
The majority of Western Mashan Miao are hardworking peasants. They are also talented musicians, composing songs for festivals and creating energetic and demonstrative dances. Because of the region's mountainous terrain, it often takes several hours to walk down into the valley and up again to reach a village on a nearby hill. Without the use of telephones, the Miao have learned to project their voices across the valleys and trees to reach a neighboring village.
The Western Mashan Miao put their trust in the spirit world. If a crop fails or a woman cannot produce children to help with work in the fields, the village could face starvation. As a result, an intricate system of spirit appeasement gradually developed. The Miao believe that if they make peace with the spirits, the survival and prosperity of their communities will be ensured.
The Western Mashan Miao have no knowledge of the gospel. Little has changed since William Clifton Dodd traveled through southern China in the 1920s: "It was a Christless land that we passed through. A man can endure a few days of absolute heathenism if he has a few Christian companions. But to foot it for a thousand miles without any sight or sound giving any evidence of anything Christian, to march as boldly as may be for so long and so far against such a blank wall of heathenism; this is to enter the land of darkness that may be felt."
Alternate Names Hmong, Western Mashan, Western Mashan Miao
More than 18,000 people in China speak the Western Mashan Miao language. Their villages are located in the small, remote area of Houchang and Sidazhai districts in Wangmo County. Wangmo, located in southern Guizhou Province, is a mountainous region rarely visited by outsiders. The total population of Guizhou fell from 14.7 million in 1928 to 9.2 million in 1935, mainly due to two civil wars. Today the province's population has mushroomed to 35 million. Roads and facilities are poor or nonexistent in the region. The Western Mashan Miao live near the Bouyei, Yao, and Zhuang.
Mjuniang in China
Population 55,000 Largest Religion Ethnic Religions
Main Language Cao Miao
Although they have been officially included as members of the large Miao nationality in China, the Mjuniang speak a language closely related to Dong. The name Mjuniang is the autonym of this group. The Chinese invariably call them by the nickname Cao Miao, meaning "grass Miao." All the peoples in the area call the Mjuniang Cao Miao.
The Eurasian ancestry of the Miao (including the Mjuniang) was still apparent as recently as the nineteenth century. One visitor remarked, "They ate with spoons rather than chopsticks. ... Even more odd were the many red or blond-haired Miao with light skin, and some with blue eyes." For thousands of years the Han Chinese called themselves Li-min, which is generally translated "black-haired people." One writer asks, "Why, then, did they designate themselves the Black or Dark people? Did they at one time live in the neighbourhood of people who were fair-haired and of lighter complexion than themselves?"
To accommodate their terrain, some Mjuniang villages consist of hanging houses. "These three-story wooden homes are built on stakes against the mountain slope. The top story is used to store the grain, the middle for bedrooms and living room, and the bottom for cattle, sheep and poultry."
For centuries, Mjuniang shamans and sorcerers have possessed great demonic power. Since the advent of Communism in China, however, their influence has been diminished. In many locations shamans continue to operate in secret.
The Lutherans worked in Liping until the 1930s, when they were forced to leave China. The church property was confiscated by the Communists. Most of the present generation have never heard of Christ, nor have they ever met a Christian.
Alternate Names Cao, Cao Miao, Grass Miao, Miao, Cao
The Encyclopedic Dictionary of Chinese Linguistics listed a 1991 figure of 60,000 speakers of the Mjuniang language. They live at the juncture of three southern provinces: Guangxi, Hunan, and Guizhou. In Guizhou they are located in Liping County; in Hunan they live in Tongdao County; and in Guangxi they are found in Sanjiang County. Liping County, which also contains many members of the Dong nationality, was captured by the Communists during the Long March in December 1934. Zhou En Lai chaired a meeting there at a shop belonging to a merchant named Xu. Today a small museum in Liping commemorates the Communist visit.
Na-Meo in Vietnam
Population 1,300 Largest Religion Ethnic Religions
Main Language Na-Meo
Phula
Population All Countries 11,000
Largest Religion Ethnic Religions
Qanu in China
Is the name Qanu related to Canaan or derived from it? The name Kanao, the other name they have, sounds even more as Canaan.
Population 15,000 Largest Religion Ethnic Religions
Main Language Miao, Northern Qiandong
Although they have been officially included as part of the Miao nationality in China, the Qanu possess their own distinct ethnic identity. The Qanu may also be known as the "Miao with Combs in Their Hair" to local people. There are many smaller Miao groups in China, such as the Qanu, who have not yet been thoroughly researched by Chinese linguists. In southern Guizhou, six different Miao "dialects" remain unclassified. One linguist states they are "presumably mutually unintelligible languages." These six unclassified groups amount to about 30,000 people.
The lack of a written script has caused great anguish among the Miao for centuries. A Miao pastor, Wang Mingji, declared his feelings: "We Miao do not have writing. For thousands of years we have been like the blind, it has been very bitter. Everybody knows that there is nothing worse in the world than to be blind, however shimmering is the sun in the sky, however shining is the moon in the sky, however clear are the rivers and mountains on the earth, however beautiful are the flowers in the wilderness, the blind cannot see them anyway."
Most Qanu are agriculturists. Many families also raise livestock to supplement their meager incomes.
The majority of Qanu are animists. The spirit of the water is particularly held in great fear.
Many Protestant missionaries focused on the Gha-Mu and A-Hmao in northwest Guizhou and northern Yunnan prior to the advent of Communism, but few worked in the region of southeast Guizhou where the Qanu are located. Former missionaries in China are generally remembered as self-sacrificing servants who labored with the love of God for the people they lived among. The Communist authorities, however, have a very different view of history: "From the nineteenth century onwards the imperialists propagated Christianity in northwest Guizhou and in other Miao areas. They ... printed the 'Bible' in order to poison and deceive the masses in the area of question. Furthermore, they sowed dissension and discord, spied, exploited, pillaged etc."
Alternate Names Kanao, Miao, Qa Nu, Qanu Miao
Approximately 11,500 members of a Miao subgroup who call themselves Qanu are primarily located in villages to the south of the city of Kaili, in Guizhou Province's Qiandongnan Prefecture. Kaili is the main center of the Northern Hmu language group.
Sanqiao in China
Population 6,800 Largest Religion Ethnic Religions
Main Language Dong, Southern
The official classification of the Sanqiao people is extremely confusing. In the 1950s they applied for recognition as a distinct minority group, but their application was rejected. It appears that because some Sanqiao wear Dong clothing and have Dong customs, while others have been assimilated to the Miao culture, the authorities did not know how to classify the Sanqiao. In the 1982 census they were included in a list of Undetermined Minorities. In 1985 those Sanqiao people who lived near the Dong and who had adopted Dong customs were officially included in the Dong nationality, while those who lived near the Miao and showed characteristics of the Miao people were included under the Miao nationality. This division is not accepted by the Sanqiao who view themselves as a distinct group, different from both Miao and Dong. More research needs to be done to determine if the Sanqiao are related to the Mjuniang, who live in the same part of China and appear also to be partly absorbed into Miao and Dong culture. It may turn out that the Sanqiao are a subgroup of the Mjuniang, who have been profiled separately in Operation China.
The valleys of southeast Guizhou Province have seen numerous wars and interracial conflict over the centuries. Millions of Han Chinese have used this area to migrate from northern to southern China. As a result, there are numerous ethnic groups living among the mountains in this region.
As previously mentioned, the Sanqiao have lost their own identity and now practice the customs of the people who live nearest to them. Some Sanqiao practise Dong customs while others have taken up the Miao way of life.
Although the Sanqiao do not consider themselves to be a particularly religious people, they do worship their ancestors and hold ceremonies to appease local spirits on a few occasions throughout the year. Many Sanqiao youth are nonreligious.
Little is known about the status of Christianity among the Sanqiao, but their location is one of the more gospel-neglected parts of southern China. Few missionaries ever ventured into the mountains of southeast Guizhou prior to 1949, and few believers exist among the local Dong or Miao.
Alternate Names San Qiao
It is estimated that more than 5,000 Sanqiao people live in the southeastern part of Guizhou Province, possibly in Liping County. The Sanqiao area is near the juncture of Guizhou and Hunan provinces, and the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
Xi in China
Population 1,700 Largest Religion Ethnic Religions
The Xi applied for official recognition as a minority in the 1950s, but were rejected. In 1982 they were included in a list of Undetermined Minorities; in 1985 they were incorporated into the Miao nationality. The Xi history, language, and customs are completely different from that of surrounding Miao groups. The most closely related people to the Xi are the Ga Mong, a group living in the area who were also included as part of the Miao until 1997. At that time the government reclassified both groups under the She nationality. This new status was done for political reasons and is not ethnohistorically accurate.
The Xi claim to have originated in Gansu or Shaanxi many centuries ago. They fought with the Miao and Ge against the Qing Dynasty armies in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
Xi women regularly wore their beautiful traditional dress, until a few years ago. Now they wear it only on special occasions. All Xi people come together to celebrate festivals. Xi are allowed to take Ge, Miao, or Han spouses, but if they marry another Xi it must be someone from a different village than their own.
The Xi are animists. They particularly worship the spirits of trees and the forest - and even worship a spirit they believe inhabits the wood used in the construction of their homes.
The Xi have never had a church in their midst. Chinese Christians visited the Xi in early 1998, and while the Xi did politely listen to the evangelists, they were unwilling to accept Christ. They complained that they had been previously abused by members of the indigenous Chinese Er Liang Mifan (200 Grams of Rice) cult. The people in this group eat only 200 grams of rice per day. The Xi could not discern the difference between their Christian visitors and the cult, which has created a significant obstacle to future advancement of the gospel among the Xi.
Main Language Miao, Luopohe
It's interesting that in the Pacific islands (Vanuatu & Solomon islands, both close to each other & both in Melanesia) there are peoples with the very names of some of the Hmong - Miao Subdivisions: Emae & Gao. Perhaps groups from them sailed away founding new colonies in the islands.
Miao Hmongb／Hmub／Xongb／ab HmaobThe Miao is an ethnic group recognized by the government of China as one of the 55 official minority groups. Miao is a Chinese term and does not reflect the self-designations of the component groups of people, which include (with some variant spellings) Hmong, Hmub, Xong (Qo-Xiong), and A-Hmao.
The Chinese government has grouped these people and other non-Miaopeoples together as one group, whose members may not necessarily be either linguistically or culturally related, though the majority are members of Miao-Yao language family, which includes the Hmong, Hmub, Xong (Qo-Xiong), and A-Hmao.
The Chinese government has grouped these people and other non-Miao peoples together as one group, whose members may not necessarily be either linguistically or culturally related, though the majority are members of Miao-Yao language family, which includes the Hmong, Hmub, Xong, and A-Hmao and the majority do share cultural similarities. Because of the previous given reasons, many Miao peoples cannot communicate with each other in their mother tongues, and have different histories and cultures. A few groups designated as Miao by the PRC do not even agree that they belong to the ethnic group, though most Miao groups, such as the Hmong and Hmub, do agree with the collective grouping as a single ethnic group - Miao.
The Miao live primarily in southern China's mountains, in the provinces of Guizhou, Hunan, Yunnan, Sichuan, Guangxi, Hainan, Guangdong, and Hubei. Some members of the Miao sub-groups, most notably the Hmong people, have migrated out of China into Southeast Asia (northern Vietnam, Laos, Burma (Myanmar) and Thailand). Following the communist takeover of Laos in 1975, a large group of Hmong refugees resettled in several Western nations, mainly in the United States, France, and Australia. There has been a recent tendency by Hmong Americans to group all Miao peoples together under the term Hmong because of their disdain for the Chinese term Miao. This however fails to recognize that the Hmong are only a subgroup within the broader linguistic and cultural family of Miao people and the vast majority of Miao people do not classify themselves as Hmong and have their own names for themselves.
The term "Miao" gained official status in 1949 as a minzu (ethnic group) encompassing a group of linguistically-related ethnic minorities in Southwest China. This was part of a larger effort to identify and classify minority groups to clarify their role in the national government, including establishing autonomous administrative divisions and allocating the seats for representatives in provincial and national government.
The later prominence of Hmong people in the West has led to a situation where the entire Miao linguistic/cultural family is sometimes referred to as Hmong in English language sources. Following the recent increased interaction of Hmong in the West with Miao in China it is reported that some upwardly aspiring non-Hmong Miao have even begun to identify themselves as Hmong. However, most non-Hmong Miao in China are unfamiliar with the term as referring to their entire group and continue to use "Miao", or their own separate ethnic self-designations.
Though the Miao themselves use various self-designations, the Chinese traditionally classify them according to the most characteristic colour of the women's clothes. The list below contains some of these self-designations, the colour designations, and the main regions inhabited by the four major groups of Miao in China:
Ghao Xong/Qo Xiong; Xong; Red Miao; Qo Xiong Miao: west Hunan
Gha Ne/Ka Nao; Hmub; Black Miao; Mhub Miao: southeast Guizhou
A-Hmao; Big Flowery Miao: west Guizhou and northeast Yunnan
Gha-Mu; Hmong, Mong; White Miao, Green/Blue Miao, Small Flowery Miao; south and east Yunnan, south Sichuan and west Guizhou
Demographics
According to the 2000 census, the number of Miao in China was estimated to be about 9.6 million. Outside of China, members of the Miao linguistic/cultural family sub-group or nations of the Hmong live in Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Burma due to outward migrations starting in the 18th century. As a result of recent migrations in the aftermath of the Indochina and Vietnam Wars from 1949–75, many Hmong people now live in the United States, French Guiana, France and Australia. Altogether, there are approximately 8 million speakers in the Miao language family. This language family, which consists of 6 languages and around 35 dialects (some of which are mutually intelligible) belongs to the Hmong/Miao branch of the Hmong–Mien (Miao–Yao) language family.
The Hmong live primarily in the northern mountainous reaches of Southeast Asia including Thailand, Laos and Vietnam, and in far Southwest China mostly in the provinces of Yunnan, Guangxi, and to a very limited extent in Guizhou. There are about 1.5-2 million Hmong in China.
Note: The Miao areas of Sichuan province became part of the newly created Chongqing Municipality in 1997.
Most Miao currently live in China. Miao population growth in China:
1953: 2,510,000
1964: 2,780,000
1982: 5,030,000
1990: 7,390,000
3,600,000 Miao, about half of the entire Chinese Miao population, were in Guizhou in 1990. The Guizhou Miao and those in the following six provinces make up over 98% of all Chinese Miao:
Hunan: 1,550,000
Yunnan: 890,000
Sichuan: 530,000
Guangxi: 420,000
Hubei: 200,000
Hainan: 50,000 (known as Miao but ethnically Yao and Li)
In the above provinces, there are 6 Miao autonomous prefectures (shared officially with one other ethnic minority):
Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture (黔东南 : Qiándōngnán), Guizhou
Qiannan Buyei and Miao Autonomous Prefecture (黔南 : Qiánnán), Guizhou
Qianxinan Buyei and Miao Autonomous Prefecture (黔西南 : Qiánxīnán), Guizhou
Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture (湘西 : Xiāngxī), Hunan
Wenshan Zhuang and Miao Autonomous Prefecture (Hmong) (文山 : Wénshān), Yunnan
Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture (恩施 : Ēnshī), Hubei
There are in addition 23 Miao autonomous counties:
Hunan:Mayang (麻阳 : Máyáng), Jingzhou (靖州 : Jīngzhōu), and Chengbu (城步 : Chéngbù)
Guizhou: Songtao (松桃 : Sōngtáo), Yingjiang (印江 : Yìnjiāng), Wuchuan (务川 : Wùchuān), Daozhen (道真 : Dǎozhēn), Zhenning (镇宁 : Zhènníng), Ziyun (紫云 : Zǐyún), Guanling (关岭 : Guānlíng), and Weining (威宁 : Wēiníng)
Yunnan: Pingbian (屏边 : Píngbiān), Jinping (金平 : Jīnpíng), and Luquan (禄劝 : Lùquàn)
Chongqing: Xiushan (秀山 : Xiùshān), Youyang (酉阳 : Yǒuyáng), Qianjiang (黔江 : Qiánjiāng), and Pengshui (彭水 : Péngshuǐ)
Guangxi: Rongshui (融水 : Róngshuǐ), Longsheng (龙胜 : Lóngshēng), and Longlin (隆林 : Lōnglín) (including Hmong)
Hainan Province: Qiong (琼中 : Qióngzhōng) and Baoting (保亭 : Bǎotíng)
Most Miao reside in hills or on mountains, such as
Wuling Mountain by the Qianxiang River (湘黔川边的武陵山 : Xiāngqián Chuān Biān Dí Wǔlíng Shān)
Miao Mountain (苗岭 : Miáo Líng), Qiandongnan
Yueliang Mountain (月亮山 : Yuèliàng Shān), Qiandongnan
Greater and Lesser Ma Mountain (大小麻山 : Dà Xiǎo Má Shān), Qiannan
Greater Miao Mountain (大苗山 : Dà Miáo Shān), Guangxi
Wumeng Mountain by the Tianqian River (滇黔川边的乌蒙山 : Tiánqián Chuān Biān Dí Wūmēng Shān)
Several thousands of Miao left their homeland to move to larger cities like Guangzhou and Beijing. There are 2,000,000 Hmong spread throughout northern Vietnam, Laos, Burma, and on other continents. 174,000 live in Thailand, where they are one of the six main hill tribes.
Traditional Miao irrigation system made entirely of wood planks (Yunnan Province)
History according to Chinese legend and other considerations
According to Chinese legend, the Miao who descended from the Jiuli tribe led by Chiyou (Chinese: 蚩尤 pinyin: Chīyóu) were defeated at the Battle of Zhuolu (Chinese: 涿鹿 pinyin: Zhuōlù, a defunct prefecture on the border of present provinces of Hebei and Liaoning) by the military coalition of Huang Di (Chinese: 黃帝 pinyin: Huángdì) and Yan Di, leaders of the Huaxia (Chinese: 華夏 pinyin: Huáxià) tribe as the two tribes struggled for supremacy of the Yellow River valley.
Archaeological discoveries
Rice terrace farming in Longji, Guangxi, China.
According to André-Georges Haudricourt and David Strecker's claims based on limited secondary data, the Miao were among the first people to settle in present-day China. They claim that the Han borrowed a lot of words from the Miao in regard to rice farming. This indicated that the Miao were among the first rice farmers in China. In addition, some have connected the Miao to the Daxi Culture (5,300 - 6,000 years ago) in the middle Yangtze River region. The Daxi Culture has been credited with being amongst the first cultivators of rice in the Far East by Western scholars. However, in 2006 rice cultivation was found to have existed in the Shandong province even earlier than the Daxi Culture.
The migration of the Hmong according to legend.
A western study mention that the Miao (especially the Miao-Hunan) have some DNA from the Northeast people of China, but has origins in southern china. Recent DNA samples of Miao males contradict this theory. The White Hmong have 25% C, 8% D, & 6% N (Tat) yet they have the least contact with the Han population.
Chu
In 2002, the Chu language has been identified as perhaps having influence from Tai–Kam and Miao–Yao languages by researchers at University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Qin and Han dynasties
The term Miao was first used by the Han Chinese in pre-Qin times (in other words, before 221 BC) for designating non-Han Chinese groups in the south. It was often used in combination: "nanmiao", "miaomin", "youmiao" and "sanmiao" (三苗; pinyin: Sānmiáo)
Ming and Qing dynasties
During the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368–1911) 'miao' and 'man' were both used, the second possibly to designate the Yao (傜 Yáo) people. The Yuan, Ming, and Qing Dynasties could neither fully assimilate nor control the indigenous people.
During the Miao Rebellions, when Miao tribes rebelled, Ming troops, including Han Chinese, Hui people, and Uyghurs crushed the rebels, killing thousands of them. Mass castrations of Miao boys also took place.
A Qing-era painting depicting a government campaign against the Miao in Hunan, 1795.
During the Qing Dynasty the Miao fought three wars against the empire. In 1735 in the southeastern province of Guizhou, the Miao rose up against the government's forced assimilation. Eight counties involving 1,224 villages fought until 1738 when the revolt ended. According to Xiangtan University Professor Wu half the Miao population were affected by the war.
The second war (1795–1806) involved the provinces of Guizhou and Hunan. Shi Sanbao and Shi Liudeng led this second revolt. Again, it ended in failure, but it took 11 years to quell the uprising.
The greatest of the three wars occurred from 1854 to 1873. Zhang Xiu-mei led this revolt in Guizhou until his capture and death in Changsha, Hunan. This revolt affected over one million people and all the neighbouring provinces. By the time the war ended Professor Wu said only 30 percent of the Miao were left in their home regions. This defeat led to the Hmong people migrating out of China.
Detail from Stielers Hand-Atlas, 1891, showing a "Miao-tse" enclave between Guiyang and Guilin
During Qing times, more military garrisons were established in southwest China. Han Chinese soldiers moved into the Taijiang region of Guizhou, married Miao women, and the children were brough up as Miao. In spite of rebellion against the Han, Hmong leaders made allies with Han merchants.
Politically and militarily, the Miao continued to be a stone in the shoe of the Chinese empire. The imperial government had to rely on political means to ensnare Hmong people, they created multiple competing positions of substantial prestige for Miao people to participate and assimilate into the Qing government system. During the Ming and Qing times, the official position of Kiatong was created in Indochina. The Miao would employ the use of the Kiatong government structure until the 1900s when they entered into French colonial politics in Indochina.
20th century
During the founding of the People's Republic of China (PRC), the Miao played an important role in its birth when they helped Mao Zedong to escape the Kuomintang in the Long March with supplies and guides through their territory.
In Vietnam, a powerful Hmong named Vuong Chinh Duc, dubbed the king of the Hmong, aided Ho Chi Minh's nationalist move against the French, and thus secured the Hmong's position in Vietnam. During the Vietnam War, Miao fought on both sides, the Hmong in Laos primarily for the US, across the border in Vietnam for the North-Vietnam coalition, the Chinese-Miao for the Communists. However, after the war the Vietnamese were very aggressive towards the Hmong who suffered many years of reprisals and genocide. Most Hmong in Thailand also supported a brief Communist uprising during the war.
Han Chinese origin Miao clans
A great number of Hmong lineage clans were founded by Chinese men who married Hmong women, these distinct Chinese descended clans practice Chinese burial customs instead of Hmong style burials.
Chinese troops during the first unified China under the emperor Qin
The Hmong children of Hmong women who married Chinese men was the origin of numerous China and South East Asia based Hmong lineages and clans, these were called "Chinese Hmong" ("Hmong Sua") in Sichuan, the Hmong were instructed in military tactics by fugitive Chinese rebels.
Marriages between Hmong women and Han Chinese men is the origin of a lot of Hmong lineages and clans.
Hmong women married Han Chinese men to found new Hmong lineages which use Chinese names.k
Chinese men who married into Hmong clans have established more Hmong clans than the ritual twelve, Chinese "surname groups" are comparable to the Hmong clans which are patrilineal, and practice exogamy.
Hmong women married Han Chinese men who pacified Ah rebels who were fighting against the Ming dynasty, and founded the Wang clan among the Hmong in Gongxian county, of Sichuan's Yibin district.
Hmong women who married Chinese men founded a new Xem clan in a Hmong village (among Northern Thailand's Hmong), fifty years later in Chiangmai two of their Hmong boy descendants were Catholics. A Hmong woman and a Chinese man married and founded the Lauj clan in Northern Thailand.
A marriage between a Hmong woman and a Chinese man resulted in northern Thailand's Lau2 clan being founded, another Han Chinese with the family name Deng founded another Hmong clan, Han Chinese men's marriages with Hmong women has led some ethnographers to conclude that Hmong clans in the modern era have possible all or partly have been founded in this matter.
Jiangxi Han Chinese are claimed by some as the forefathers of the southeast Guizhou Miao, and Miao children were born to the many Miao women married Han Chinese soldiers in Taijiang in Guizhou before the second half of the 19th century.
Imperially commissioned Han Chinese chieftancies "gon native", with the Miao and were the ancestors of a part of the Miao population in Guizhou.
The Hmong Tian clan in Sizhou began in the seventh century as a migrant Han Chinese clan.
Non-han women such as Miao women became wives of Han Chinese male soldiers who fought against the Miao rebellions during the Qing and Ming dynasties since Han women were not available.
The Ming dynasty Hongwu Emperor sent troops to Guizhou whose descendants became the Tunbao. The origin of the Tunbao people traces back to when the Ming dynasty sent 300,000 Han Chinese male soldiers in 1381 to conquer Yunnan and the men married Yao and Miao women.
The presence of women presiding over weddings was a feature noted in "Southeast Asian" marriages, such as in 1667 when a Miao woman in Yunnan married a Chinese official. Some Sinicization occurred, in Yunnan a Miao chief's daughter married a scholar in the 1600s who wrote that she could read, write, and listen in Chinese and read Chinese classics.
Xijiang, a Miao-majority township in Guizhou
The Sichuan Hmong village of Wangwu was visited by Nicholas Tapp who wrote that the "clan ancestral origin legend" of the Wang Hmong clan, had said that several times they were married into the Han Chinese and possibly one of these was their ancestor Wang Wu, there were two types of Hmong, "cooked" who sided with Chinese and "raw" who rebelled against the Chinese, the Chinese were supported by the Wang Hmong clan. A Hmong woman was married by the non-Hmong Wang Wu according to The Story of the Ha Kings in Wangwu village.
Cuisine
Miao Fish (苗鱼 miáo yǘ)
Miao fish is a special way of cooking a fish by Miao people. It has been recognized as a local featured cuisine with its tasty flavor: the mixture of fish, green peppers, ginger slices and garlic provided people with great eating experience.
Israelite Toponymy in Indochina
Cambodia
There's a very Semitic sounding name in Cambodia which is Malik, related to royalty. Does it come from the local Israelites?
How about the Cambodian toponyms Rohat Tuek, Bakan, Bakong? Rohat is very similar to the town of Rahat, in the Land of Israel.
These are possibly some other toponyms, but this time they have the name of the very traveling tribe of Dan: Dankourm, Sandann, Or Sandanh, Danrun, Dangkor & Kdanh.
Vietnam
Bến Cát, Bến Tre, Bình Đại
There are numerous names with the Semitic Ben/Bin. Not to mention the derived from Dan like Thanh, Tan or with similar spellings, Dao (in Portuguese Dan is Dã, so in southern Asian languages should be even more different), Do, Dian, Dien, Dau, Tau: Hồng Dân.
Laos has plenty of names with Bin, a Donkon, a Khana & Sam. Bin is son in Hebrew. Donkon has DN of Dan & KN of Canaan. Khana also has KN of Canaan or Cana.
Thailand
Sukhothai (similar to sukot), Pattani (Pathan, word found in the Torah), Samui (similar Samuel). There are many toponyms composed of Sam.
Myanmar
Ywathit (Ywa--)Yahweh?), Ywadegon, Ywangan, Ywa Ma, Kanni (Kanaanite?), Kansi, Hpakan, Kan, Datkon, Konbo, Kanghai, Tatkon, Hakan, Kanmaw, Man Kan, Kanbalu, Kaunghein, Kunhing, Kwanhlar, Pathein (Pathan), Patam (Pathan?), Pantanaw (Pathan?), Padein (Pathan?), Letpadan (Pathan?), Matha (gift of Yahweh in Hebrew), Waw (name of a Hebrew letter), Sakanthit (any relation with the Sakas, a people of Israelite origin?), Kanthaya (Kan---)Kanaan & ya--)Yah), Sidoktaya (Yah), Duya (yah), Tuya (Yah), Madaya (Yah), Thar Ga Ya (Yah), Mansi (Manashe?), Bansak (Ben Isaak?), Sakta (Isaak with suffix?), Karin (Keren, horn in Hebrew), Lai Zar (Lazar, Hebrew name), Samee, (Sam), Sime (Simeon?), Kaduma (Kadima?), Ann (Ana Hebrew name),
Names from Dan?: Ka Don Ka Ni, Dawnvein, Kyonkadun, Kangydaunt, Mawdin, Dani (Danite in Hebrew), Shwedaung, Daunggyi, Dawniye-hku, Letpadan, Mudon, Kadin, Hankadin, Don, Kadan, Kadwan, Sindin, Danai, Hopin (Hopi), Than Daung Gyi, Mindon, Padein, Danubyu (This is a city next to the Irawadi river, one of the biggest in Indochina. Interestingly the biggest river in Europe is called Danube. In Spanish is Danubio, which is almost like Danubyu. The river is said to be named after Dan. Is it coincidental that the name of a great river in Europo is so similar to the name of a city in Myanmar next to another great river? Were two different groups of Danites naming these two places? In Myanmar (former Burma) , as seen above, there are ossible Danite toponyms, but some are strikingly sounding Danite like Dani, Danai... That doesn't prevent other tribes to have been there.), The toponym Don is also found in the area as in Europe. And it's also believed to be named after Dan because in Hebrew vowels didn't exist. Coincidence again?
Thailand
Sukhothai (similar to sukot), Pattani (Pathan, word found in the Torah), Samui (similar Samuel). There are many toponyms composed of Sam.
Myanmar
Ywathit (Ywa--)Yahweh?), Ywadegon, Ywangan, Ywa Ma, Kanni (Kanaanite?), Kansi, Hpakan, Kan, Datkon, Konbo, Kanghai, Tatkon, Hakan, Kanmaw, Man Kan, Kanbalu, Kaunghein, Kunhing, Kwanhlar, Pathein (Pathan), Patam (Pathan?), Pantanaw (Pathan?), Padein (Pathan?), Letpadan (Pathan?), Matha (gift of Yahweh in Hebrew), Waw (name of a Hebrew letter), Sakanthit (any relation with the Sakas, a people of Israelite origin?), Kanthaya (Kan---)Kanaan & ya--)Yah), Sidoktaya (Yah), Duya (yah), Tuya (Yah), Madaya (Yah), Thar Ga Ya (Yah), Mansi (Manashe?), Bansak (Ben Isaak?), Sakta (Isaak with suffix?), Karin (Keren, horn in Hebrew), Lai Zar (Lazar, Hebrew name), Samee, (Sam), Sime (Simeon?), Kaduma (Kadima?), Ann (Ana Hebrew name),
Names from Dan?: Ka Don Ka Ni, Dawnvein, Kyonkadun, Kangydaunt, Mawdin, Dani (Danite in Hebrew), Shwedaung, Daunggyi, Dawniye-hku, Letpadan, Mudon, Kadin, Hankadin, Don, Kadan, Kadwan, Sindin, Danai, Hopin (Hopi), Than Daung Gyi, Mindon, Padein, Danubyu (This is a city next to the Irawadi river, one of the biggest in Indochina. Interestingly the biggest river in Europe is called Danube. In Spanish is Danubio, which is almost like Danubyu. The river is said to be named after Dan. Is it coincidental that the name of a great river in Europo is so similar to the name of a city in Myanmar next to another great river? Were two different groups of Danites naming these two places? In Myanmar (former Burma) , as seen above, there are ossible Danite toponyms, but some are strikingly sounding Danite like Dani, Danai... That doesn't prevent other tribes to have been there.), The toponym Don is also found in the area as in Europe. And it's also believed to be named after Dan because in Hebrew vowels didn't exist. Coincidence again?
The Mizos Are Lost Israelites
Some people don't believe in miracles, others believe that miracles only happened in the biblical prophet's time & finally others believe that miracles still happen today.
For the ones that don't believe in miracles or believe that they only happened in biblical times, the story of the Hmars about the parting of great waters is not referring to the parting of the Red sea. It's referring to the Tuipui river through which their Hmar ancestors crossed. I believe that their story is referring to the parting of the Red sea. Nevertheless that doesn't preclude the Hmars, as Israelite descendants, from having Tuipui river's great waters being parted as well. I believe that because I still believe in miracles.
Priests crossing the Jordan
Priests crossing the Jordan
The parting of great waters happened in other biblical events, not just when Israel crossed the Red sea. When the Israelites crossed the great Jordan river with Joshua, its waters were parted as well. Then, a long time later, the prophet Elias parted the Jordan river with a mantle. Then, again, Elias' succesor, the prophet Elijah, parted the Jordan river with the same mantle.
These are the recorded biblical ocasions in which great waters have been parted. However there are so called legends, like the Sambation river's, that are likely based on real miracles that the Lost Tribes of Israel received from God. So why couldn't God perform a new miracle for the Chinkuki Israelites in Tuipui river?
Zebulunites Among the Chinkukis?
Descendants of Zebulon Through Elon
Elon = Alan (Scyths, Khazar Jews), Aland (Sweden, Finland), Halin (Norway), Halland (Sweden), Holland (Netherlands).
The Halam is a Mizo clan native to the state of Tripura. The name Halam is close phonetically to that of the Elonite clans above.
While the words good and well are respectively buen & bien in Spanish & bonne & bien in French, in Portuguese, the original word that in Latin ended in n, turned into m: bom & bem. This could have been the case with the Chinkuki clan of Halam.
Another possibility is that the name could derive from the biblical Helam. Moreover, the Chinkukis' land is a "place of abundance" (one of the meanings of Helam in Hebrew), in trees & other plants & therefore in diverse kinds of fruits, as well as in animals. The consonantal sounds, the ones that count in Hebrew, are the same. King David fought a battle at Helam. Helam (Hebrew: ḥêlām; meaning "stronghold", or "place of abundance") is a Hebrew Bible place name, where King David’s army defeated the military forces of the Syrian King Hadadezer under his army chief Shobach (2 Sam. 10:15-19). Some scholars associate Helam with "Alema" mentioned in the Apocryphal book of First Maccabees (5:26, JB). Thus, it may be plausible to link Helam to modern ʽAlma, Israel as possibly a district rather than a city. It is located about 55 km (34 mi) due E of the Sea of Galilee.
Zale'n-gam Supranational Flag
In a program called "Quest for the Lost Tribes" was the flag of a people called the "Manmasseh" or "Manasseh". The program reported these people live in the states of Manipur and Mizoram near the India-Burma border and they allege that they belong to the tribe of Manasseh which is one of the 10 lost tribes of Israel. According to the program they are trying to create a sovereign Israelite state in that area. They display a flag that has three horizontal stripes: Green, Red, and Blue. The red stripe is double the width of the other two stripes. At the center of the red stripe there is a blue Star of David on a white background. The white background has the same contour as the star. The size seems to be 2:3
The white background of the Star of David does not quite touch the green and blue stripes. The flag was designed for a proposed independent Manmasseh state which is called Zaleg B'en or something like that. The Star of David was selected because it was a neutral symbol among the different sub-tribes that compose the Manmasseh or Manasseh people.
Descendants of Zebulon Through Elon
Elon = Alan (Scyths, Khazar Jews), Aland (Sweden, Finland), Halin (Norway), Halland (Sweden), Holland (Netherlands).
The Halam is a Mizo clan native to the state of Tripura. The name Halam is close phonetically to that of the Elonite clans above.
While the words good and well are respectively buen & bien in Spanish & bonne & bien in French, in Portuguese, the original word that in Latin ended in n, turned into m: bom & bem. This could have been the case with the Chinkuki clan of Halam.
Another possibility is that the name could derive from the biblical Helam. Moreover, the Chinkukis' land is a "place of abundance" (one of the meanings of Helam in Hebrew), in trees & other plants & therefore in diverse kinds of fruits, as well as in animals. The consonantal sounds, the ones that count in Hebrew, are the same. King David fought a battle at Helam. Helam (Hebrew: ḥêlām; meaning "stronghold", or "place of abundance") is a Hebrew Bible place name, where King David’s army defeated the military forces of the Syrian King Hadadezer under his army chief Shobach (2 Sam. 10:15-19). Some scholars associate Helam with "Alema" mentioned in the Apocryphal book of First Maccabees (5:26, JB). Thus, it may be plausible to link Helam to modern ʽAlma, Israel as possibly a district rather than a city. It is located about 55 km (34 mi) due E of the Sea of Galilee.
Zale'n-gam Supranational Flag
In a program called "Quest for the Lost Tribes" was the flag of a people called the "Manmasseh" or "Manasseh". The program reported these people live in the states of Manipur and Mizoram near the India-Burma border and they allege that they belong to the tribe of Manasseh which is one of the 10 lost tribes of Israel. According to the program they are trying to create a sovereign Israelite state in that area. They display a flag that has three horizontal stripes: Green, Red, and Blue. The red stripe is double the width of the other two stripes. At the center of the red stripe there is a blue Star of David on a white background. The white background has the same contour as the star. The size seems to be 2:3
The white background of the Star of David does not quite touch the green and blue stripes. The flag was designed for a proposed independent Manmasseh state which is called Zaleg B'en or something like that. The Star of David was selected because it was a neutral symbol among the different sub-tribes that compose the Manmasseh or Manasseh people.
Prior to the formation of Mizo National Front, which had as its goal uniting all 12 Mizo tribes in the independent state of Greater Mizoram, that organization existed under the names:
Mizo Union 1947. Mizo Cultural Society 1955. Mautam Front 1956. Mizo National Famine Front 1960.
In 1961 it assumed the name of Mizo National Front and initiated the armed struggle against Indian Government. MNF was outlawed in 1967, but entered negotiation with the Indians in 1971, which led to compromises on both sides and creation of the Union Territory in 1972. MNF became a political party and held power several times, bringing statehood to Mizoram in 1986. It exercises the power in the State currently, inviting heavy criticism from other segments of Mizo political spectrum for selling out ideas of independence for some cushy positions in the administrative bureaucracy.
The Chin-Kuki-Mizo or Zo Nation
In the larger context of our people separated by three international boundaries, respectively of India, Burma and Bangladesh, our goal must remain the final integration of the Zo shon Kuki, Chin and Mizo people (Zohnahthlak), i.e. descendants of Zo, the progenitor and our lands.
Today, would it be true to say that unification of the Zo shon Kuki, Chin and Mizo people (Zohnahthlak), i.e. the second stage of nationalism, is a goal ZORO and KNO share? If this be true, at this critical juncture, it is essential for us to concentrate our every effort and resources to establish Kuki statehood, which is the first stage of nationalism, already accomplished in regard to our land in Burma, i.e., Chin State and partly in India, i.e., Mizoram. Kuki statehood will conclude the first stage of our national movement that will signal the beginning of the second stage.
Our people and territories in Tripura are under severe threat. The deluge of displaced people from East Bengal has overwhelmed the land and political processes there. We appeal to the Maharaja to intensify what he has initiated, the process of reclaiming our rights there.
In respect to the Chittagong Hill Tracts in Bangladesh, our Bawm brothers guard our Kuki identity and our claim to our territories there. I would like to cite an excerpt,
“The Bawm people are one of the Kukis of the Chittagong Hill Tracts. They are among the numerous ethnic Kukis also identified by their clan or named after their habitat. Kuki has persisted from antiquity as the collective terminology to identify the clans and groups irrespective of geographical divisions initially created by the British colonialists, and latterly reinforced by international boundaries in the post-colonial era.
The Kuki group in Chittagong Hill Tracts are Tlangmi or hill people, Known as Bawm, Pangkhua, Lushai, Khumi, Mro, and Khyang.”
Twipigal...Twipiral...twiperra...or Twiperrah Kingdom is not complete without its link to the Twipi or ocean, and the Chittagong Hills complete that essential connection.
The final phase of our nationalism would be integrating the Chin state, Mizoram state, our territories in Tripura and KNO’s proposed Kuki states in India and Burma and our territories in the Chitagong Hill Tracks presently within Bangladesh.
Let me also take this opportunity to address some issues of immediate concern. Unfortunate as it were, unlike the unity of effort and singularity of objective we shared under the MNF movement, our task of securing our territories within the present state of Manipur is complicated by our struggle to unite our efforts and objectives. Our biggest challenge today lies within us. We need to be willing to reason out this obstacle and we best do it soon, lest forces antipathetic to our interests shall gain momentum from it.
Today, when the Kuki people’s conviction that the past 65 years of sharing truck with our neighbours have only resulted in our loss, of land, lives and life opportunities, and when the ultimate political aspiration for Kuki people, i.e., to carve out our territories as a separate political entity, is represented by the KNO, we have another contending proposition by a few who challenged the wisdom of leveraging the political heritage of Kuki. The UPF today avoids the question of our identity because one section within the UPF advocates Zomi as an identity while the others were founded on the very basis of Kuki identity. That in-house contradiction have perhaps unfortunately forced them to drift without anchor, and tragic as it were, they found themselves raising Kuki and Zomi volunteers for an undefined, vague and unreciprocated tribal cause encompassing our exclusivist neighbours, the Nagas, and that too, apparently without their consent or participation, in their demand for a tribal state under a defunct constitutional provision. They seem to be pre-occupied more with projecting an alternative proposition anyhow to the KNO’s program of securing our land and rights than they are engaged in the pressing task securing our rights and territories. This disorientation is most unfortunate and yet a reality of our times. We need to remedy this unfortunate situation before we can proceed further. I look forward to the ZORO leadership to impress upon us all the importance of looking beyond scoring brownie points over each other and beginning to represent and unite to fight for the ultimate interests of our people.
During the last quarter of 2012, the UPF in their meeting held at Delhi resolved to explore possibilities of uniting cause and force between UPF and KNO. The KNO appreciated such initiative and a meeting between us was held, where in it was decided to form a core committee to work on cementing our unity further. The KNO proposed integrating our political objective around a separate state under Article 3 of the Indian constitution out of our territories, which will later form a solid component of our territories, like Mizoram and Chin State already have, for a possible integration into a Zo nation in the future.
Further, the KNO reasoned that the political identity ‘Kuki’ holds our political and cultural heritage over our territories and, therefore, advocated that we unite behind this identity history has given us. The UPF response showed that they seem more loyal to the so-called territorial integrity of Manipur than the ultimate interest of our people, and sadly sounded cowed down by circumstances to what our detractors would like to dictate to us as ‘pragmatism’. I ask you today, do we raise arms to succumb to fear and political blackmail, or to fight for what rightfully belongs to us. The so called pragmatic approach is nothing but compromise, and the compromise is entirely on our rights, not any rights of the detractors. Should we give in to their threats and psychological pressures? Should we give in to their sugar coated and poison loaded pill of ‘chingtam amatani’? Have we not seen their true colors in the past 65 years? Should we still allow forces that brutally killed our children and women in their greed for our land to dictate our actions today? Mending fences is the best way to maintain neighbourly harmony, and KNO strives to do that for our land and people.
At a time when all our unprotected territories over which we have claim as Kuki people is under severe threat from both our neighbours, should we be engaged propping up contentious alternate identities for reasons whatsoever? Or, should we hasten to unite under the identity which gives us rightful claim to our land and cultural heritage? Should we, at this critical juncture in our history take excuse of casualties of our inexperience and ill-prepared armed movement, or our past petty squabbles for refusing to come together for the rights of our future generation?
Are we so petty as to fight among ourselves over which dialect of our language should be used as the link language in a radio station, or do we have the maturity of aspiration to establish our own radio and television broadcasting stations where each of our dialects find expression and promotion? Are we so petty as to end up squabbling on the particular locality of a MINI secretariat or do we have it in us to plan for our very own people’s assembly and numerous executive secretariats to serve our people of every locality? Do we demand of others to set up universities and courts in our land, or do we start thinking in terms of setting up our very own courts and universities, building our own roads and other vital infrastructure?
I believe we are capable of giving ourselves according our needs. I believe it is beneath our national dignity to beg others for such pittance. Once our rights are established, we will decide our needs and give unto ourselves the best.
Should we pretend to forget our oneness just because our detractors cunningly identified us separately as distinct scheduled tribes based on our mutually intelligible and inter-useable dialects of our language? When should we take cognizance of the cleverly crafted mechanism of categorizing our people as Scheduled tribes so as to ensure systemic discrimination in the garb of privileges of reservation? When should we realize that the merit of our youth today is tainted by this tag of reservation, preventing them to be credited for their achievement and excellence, and how that is being used by the system operators to deny them top positions everywhere?
We are Mizo in Zoram, Chin in Chin state and Kuki in the rest of our unsecured territories, and we shall all be Zo people in Zougam/Zoram, or Zalen’gam, where we shall be proud Zo people, not a scheduled tribe.
Should we pretend to forget our oneness just because our detractors cunningly identified us separately as distinct scheduled tribes based on our mutually intelligible and inter-useable dialects of our language? When should we take cognizance of the cleverly crafted mechanism of categorizing our people as Scheduled tribes so as to ensure systemic discrimination in the garb of privileges of reservation? When should we realize that the merit of our youth today is tainted by this tag of reservation, preventing them to be credited for their achievement and excellence, and how that is being used by the system operators to deny them top positions everywhere?
We are Mizo in Zoram, Chin in Chin state and Kuki in the rest of our unsecured territories, and we shall all be Zo people in Zougam/Zoram, or Zalen’gam, where we shall be proud Zo people, not a scheduled tribe.
Without a clear vision, a nation perishes. We shall not perish, for we have a vision and I urge all gathered here and all the descendents of Zo to pledge to stand firmly behind this vision of our resurrection as a proud nation in the comity of nations.
Miao People Are Israelites Living In China
There are some parallelisms between the Hmong (or Miao) traditions & the Jewish (or Israelite) traditions. If in the Jewish wedding the groom uses wine as part of the ritual, in the Hmong-Miao wedding the groom uses another alcoholic drink to get drunk also as part of the ritual. In ancient Israel widows married their husband's younger brothers.
Likewise the Mon-Miao widows have the option to marry their husband's younger brothers/ younger cousins (never the older brothers). Even though the Miao widows weren't forced to marry their husband's younger brother, it's still noteworthy that is an important option. It's like a deformed levirate Israelite marriage. In ancient Israel brides were given presents (Ge 24:53; Ps 45:12) as in the Mon & Miao traditions. Also Israelite wives were obtained by purchase (Ge 29:20; Ru 4:10; Ho 3:2; 12:12), but in some ocasions by kidnapping (Jud 21:21-23). The biblical tradition of kidnapping one's future wife is very important still among Miaos & Mons.
In Kyrgyzstan is stil fashionable. Kyrgyzs are considered as Lost Israelites. This kidnapping tradition also practised among other Central Asians. When the Hmong-Miao bride departs toward the groom's household she receives food for the Journey. These Journeys are not long, so food is not that necessary unless is symbolic. Perhaps these Journeys represent the one that Rebecca took when she was going to marry Isaac. As in olden Israel, divorce was not common in the olden Mon-Miao society.
Adultery was punished in both societies with compensation to the damaged party. A man's duty involves family responsibility and the provision for the physical and spiritual welfare of his family. Hmong men have a system for making decisions that involves clan leaders. Husbands may consult their wives if they wish before making major decisions regarding family affairs, but the husband is seen as the head of the household who announces the decision. Traditionally in Hmong - Miao society there was some marked gender roles like in Israel of old, as seen above, but not in the way the Chinese place women as if they were nothing.
Likewise the Mon-Miao widows have the option to marry their husband's younger brothers/ younger cousins (never the older brothers). Even though the Miao widows weren't forced to marry their husband's younger brother, it's still noteworthy that is an important option. It's like a deformed levirate Israelite marriage. In ancient Israel brides were given presents (Ge 24:53; Ps 45:12) as in the Mon & Miao traditions. Also Israelite wives were obtained by purchase (Ge 29:20; Ru 4:10; Ho 3:2; 12:12), but in some ocasions by kidnapping (Jud 21:21-23). The biblical tradition of kidnapping one's future wife is very important still among Miaos & Mons.
In Kyrgyzstan is stil fashionable. Kyrgyzs are considered as Lost Israelites. This kidnapping tradition also practised among other Central Asians. When the Hmong-Miao bride departs toward the groom's household she receives food for the Journey. These Journeys are not long, so food is not that necessary unless is symbolic. Perhaps these Journeys represent the one that Rebecca took when she was going to marry Isaac. As in olden Israel, divorce was not common in the olden Mon-Miao society.
Adultery was punished in both societies with compensation to the damaged party. A man's duty involves family responsibility and the provision for the physical and spiritual welfare of his family. Hmong men have a system for making decisions that involves clan leaders. Husbands may consult their wives if they wish before making major decisions regarding family affairs, but the husband is seen as the head of the household who announces the decision. Traditionally in Hmong - Miao society there was some marked gender roles like in Israel of old, as seen above, but not in the way the Chinese place women as if they were nothing.
The good welcome with which the missionaries's teachings were received in Miao areas & areas of the other Israelites of the Lost Golden Book, was probably because of the similarities of beliefs. These peoples' original beliefs are said to be shamanism or the like, but they have much in common to the ancient Israelite religion. Perhaps the case of the Karen's & Chinkuki's ancient religions are the most studied & known among anthropologists for their commonalities with Israelism.
In traditional Hmong spiritual practices, one does not separate the physical well-being of a person from their spiritual health; the spiritual realm is highly influential and dictates what happens in the physical world. According to these beliefs, everything possesses a spirit, both animate and inanimate objects. There is a delicate balance between these two worlds, thus the necessity to revere and honor the ancestors for guidance and protection. The spirits of deceased ancestors are thought to influence the welfare and health of the living. Individuals perform rituals which include the offering of food and spirit money, pouring libation, and burning incense to appease the spirits and earn their favor.
This sounds as a corrupted Israelite religion in which they substitute the true God of Israel for spirits. Nevertheless they also believe in a Supreme God. Their New Year celebrations have a parallelism with the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah. The biblical name for this holiday is Yom Teruah.
This sounds as a corrupted Israelite religion in which they substitute the true God of Israel for spirits. Nevertheless they also believe in a Supreme God. Their New Year celebrations have a parallelism with the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah. The biblical name for this holiday is Yom Teruah.
The shaman could be compared to the Levite, or with the Cohen. Likewise they are both male.
During the New Year's celebration, Hmong dress in traditional clothing and enjoy Hmong traditional foods, dance, music, bull fights, and other forms of entertainment. Hmong New Year celebrations have Hmong ethnic traditions and culture, and may also serve to educate those who have interest in Hmong tradition. Hmong New Year celebrations frequently occur in November and December (traditionally at the end of the harvest season when all work is done), serving as a Thanksgiving holiday for the Hmong people.
Israelite priest reading from scrolls
Israelite priest reading from scrolls
During the Hmong New Year celebration, the Hmong ball tossing game pov pob is a common activity for adolescents. Boys and girls form two separate lines in pairs that are directly facing one another. Girls can ball toss with other girls or boys, but boys cannot ball toss with other boys. Having men & women dancing facing each other, but separated, is what the traditional Ashkenazis used to do in eastern Europe.
The Hmong New Year celebration—specifically based on both religious and cultural beliefs—is an “in-house” ritual that takes place annually in every Hmong household. The celebration is to acknowledge the completion of the rice-harvesting season—thus, the beginning of a new year—so that a new life can begin as the cycle of life continues.
Hmong & Miao calendar is lunar like the Jewish one.
In ancient Israel animals were sacrificed for different events as among the Hmong - Miao society.
The Hmong Miao don't incinerate but bury their ancestors. Interestingly they bury them to the west, where Jerusalem is.
The Hmong Miao don't incinerate but bury their ancestors. Interestingly they bury them to the west, where Jerusalem is.
After death, the body is bathed by the sons or daughters of the deceased while extended family members are notified and begin to travel to the home of the dead relative. After the body is washed it is dressed in only new ceremonial burial clothes. The deceased is dressed accordingly to their sex for the ceremony. Burial clothing includes hand-made hempshoes that help the soul across the caterpillar river and over the green worm mountain on the quest for their ancestors (“Death”).
The aim to be close to their ancestors of the Miaos & Mons, although somehow corrupted, resemble that of the Jews. Contrary to the Chinese, the Miao - Hmong believe in an after life. Reincarnation is a belief proper of certain parts of Asia, including among Miaos. The only others believing in reincarnation were the Jews. Not all Jews believed in reincarnation. In Jesus' time the ones that did so were the Pharisees.
Hmong Customs and Culture
The Hmong people are an ethnic group currently native to several countries, believed to have come from the Yangtze River basin area in southern China.
The Hmong are known in China as the Miao, a designation that embraces several different ethnic groups. There is debate about usage of this term, especially amongst Hmong living in the West, as it is believed by some to be derogatory, although Hmong living in China still call themselves by this name. Chinese scholars have recorded contact with the Miao as early as the 3rd century BCE, and wrote of them that they were a proud and independent people. However, after the Ming Dynasty and Qing Dynasty attempted to impose several new taxation systems and continued expansion of their empire, the Hmong are reported to have rebelled. Many wars were randomly fought, and eventually many Hmong were pushed from China into Burma (Myanmar), Laos, Thailand and Vietnam. The history of the Hmong people is difficult to trace; they have an oral tradition, but there are no written records except where other people have encountered them. Hmong history has been passed down through legends and ritual ceremonies from one generation to another as well as through Hmong textile art or story cloths sewn by the women.
Hmong high school students perform a traditional dance at a high school on the outskirts of Vientiane, Laos. Many Hmong families are moving into lowland villages, and are becoming more integrated into Lao life but still retain a strong sense of their own culture and heritage. This performance was done in appreciation to Big Brother Mouse, a literacy project that had visited the school that day with books and interactive educational activities.
Throughout recorded history, the Hmong have remained identifiable as Hmong because they have maintained their own language, customs, and ways of life while adopting the ways of the country in which they live. In the 1960s and 1970s many Hmong were secretly recruited by the American CIA to fight against communism during the Vietnam War. After American armed forces pulled out of Vietnam, a communist regime took over in Laos, and ordered the prosecution and re-education of all those who had fought against its cause during the war. Whilst many Hmong are still left in Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, and China (which houses one of the biggest Hmong populations in the world, 5 million), since 1975 many Hmong have fled Laos in fear of persecution. Housed in Thai refugee camps during the 1980s, many have resettled in countries such as the United States, French Guiana, Australia, France, Germany, as well as some who have chosen to stay in Thailand in hope of returning to their own land. In the United States, new generations of Hmong are gradually assimilating into American society while being taught Hmong culture and history by their elders. Many fear that as the older generations pass on, the knowledge of the Hmong among Hmong-Americans will die as well.
The clan (xeem (姓)) remains a dominant organizing force in Hmong society. There are about eighteen Hmong clans that are known in Laos and Thailand. Clan membership is inherited upon birth or occasionally through adoption. All children are members of the father’s clan, through which they will trace their ancestors. Women become members of their husband's family upon marriage but will retain their clan name of their father. Members of the same clan consider each other to be kwv tij, translated as "brothers", "siblings," and they are expected to offer one another mutual support. The term kwv tij is regarded as one's father's family or in the case of women who are married it refers to her in laws. A related term neej tsa is the wife's family after marriage. However she regards her birth family to be her kwv tij until she is married. Also many clans even consider each last name as kwv tij Example: Khang, Kue, and Kong are kwv tij because of helping each other and respect each other.
Respected clan leaders are expected to take responsibility for conflict negotiation and occasionally the maintenance of religious rituals. Members of a clan who share the same ritual practices may identify as a group on the sub-clan level.
The Hmong New Year celebration—specifically based on both religious and cultural beliefs—is an “in-house” ritual that takes place annually in every Hmong household. The celebration is to acknowledge the completion of the rice-harvesting season—thus, the beginning of a new year—so that a new life can begin as the cycle of life continues. During this celebration, every "wandering" soul of every family member is called back to unite with the family again and the young will honor the old or the in-laws—a ritual of asking for blessings from elders of the house and clan as well as the in-laws of other clans.
Also, during the Hmong New Year celebration, house spirits as well as the spirit of wealth (xwm kab) are honored. In addition, if a shaman is in the house, the healing spirits of She-Yee are also honored and released to wander the land (Neeb Foob Yeem)—similar to vacationing after a long year of working —until they are called back right after new year. Hmong New Year lasts only for 3 days—with 10 dishes of food each day, for a total of 30 dishes—thus the Hmong saying “eat 30.” Here are a few practices that the Hmong observe during their New Year Celebration, performed anytime during the 3 days of celebration.
Hu Plig (Soul Calling)—Calling back every soul in the family to unite with the family
Txi Xwm Kab (Honoring Xwm Kab)—Offerings to the God of Wealth
Neeb Foob Yeem/Neeb Tso Qhua—Shamanistic Ritual to release the Curing spirits of She-Yee for “vacationing"—occurs only if the specific family has a shaman in the house
Noj peb caug (Eat 30)—The main meal of New year
Pe Tsiab (Asking for Blessings from Elders)—Occurred early morning during New Year’s day, including parents, uncles, father/moth-in-law, and dead ancestors
Ntxuav Kauv Laug (Cleaning the Body) —To cleanse the body of dirtiness
Ntuag Qhauv—A ritual to get rid of problems, issues, temper, loneliness, and all the bad things which have occurred in the household
Lwm Qaib/Sub—Using a chicken, a ritual also
Tog Neej Tsa Tuaj Noj Tsiab—Request special guests (such as father in law, son in law etc.) to come “eat Tsiab,” a very big “eat 30”.
Xa Noob Ncoos/Tsoog Laug—A very special “thanksgiving” event where parents and in-laws are honored
Tam Noob Ncoos—A thank you feast from parents and in-laws
Tso Plig—To release the souls of all dead ones
Noj Tsiab (eat tsiab)—a very big “eat 30,” involving pigs, cows, and buffalo.
The list above is what a Hmong New Year is. All these things take place for only 3 days. After all these things are done, then the “outside” fun begins, which has nothing to do with Hmong New Year. In the United States, people refer to the “outside” event as “new year”—but, this is a misconception. Hmong New Year occurs in-house, and whatever occurs outside after the “new year” is called “Tsa Hauv Toj”—meaning “raising the mountain.” This is the tradition where Hmong toss balls and sing “kwv txhiaj.”
During the Tsa Hauv Toj celebration, Hmong dress in traditional clothing and enjoy Hmong traditional foods, dance, music, bull fights, and other forms of entertainment. Hmong New Year celebrations preserve Hmong ethnic traditions and culture, and may also serve to educate those who are interested in Hmong tradition. Hmong New Year celebrations occurred anytime within or close to the end of the harvesting period give or take a few days. However, the Tsa Hauv Toj event is based on lunar calendar, typically in November and December (which would consider a month ahead of western calendar).
Another Hmong Festival that this culture celebrates is, Independence Day. The Hmong celebrate Independence Day to celebrate the anniversary of their freedom.
Many tribes are distinguished by the color and details of their clothing. Black Hmong wear deep indigo dyed hemp clothing that includes a jacket with embroidered sleeves, sash, apron and leg wraps. The Flower Hmong are known for very brightly colored embroidered traditional costume with beaded fringe.
Hmong people have a culture built on animistic beliefs and a strong faith that after death the soul reincarnates as one of many forms such as humans, plants, rocks and ghosts (Goetz par. 1, 12). Death is often considered the most important time for practicing rituals in the Hmong community because without practicing the necessary rituals the soul will roam for eternity. Hmong culture has been around for thousands of years and some of the rituals have slightly changed due to immigration and urbanization. Throughout time rituals have always varied from tribe to tribe therefore there is no one-way of performing the pre-funeral rituals, the burial rituals and the post burial rituals. However, the differences are minor and are aimed at achieving the same goal of reincarnation.
The funeral is the most elaborate of all Hmong rituals. The overall goal of the performed rituals is to guide the soul back to the placental jacket, then to Heaven to ask for reincarnation.
After death,the body is bathed by the sons or daughters of the deceased while the extended family members are notified and begin to travel to the home of the dead relative. After the body is washed it is dressed in only new ceremonial burial clothes. The deceased is dressed accordingly to their sex for the ceremony. Burial clothing includes hand-made hempshoes that help the soul across the caterpillar river and over the green worm mountain on the quest for their ancestors (“Death”).
Funerals in the Hmong culture can last anywhere from three to twelve days depending on a number of variables. The main factor in determining the length of the funeral is choosing a good day tobe buried. Another variable that alters the length of the funerals is present day laws. Western laws regarding treatment of cadavers and animal sacrificing have resulted in a change from the traditional ceremony. The final variable concerning funeral duration is the way in which the deceased has passed. For infants and victims of violent deaths the body is disposed of with. haste and little fuss because there are strong beliefs among the Hmong people that these deaths create negative spirits.
An essential part of the mourning process is the three daily meals prepared by the men in the family. At each meal the ceremonial dish, laig dab that is composed of pork and rice, is offered to the deceased body by the eldest son, while the reed pipe instrument, called the qeej, plays a ceremonial song. Another offering made to the spirit of the deceased is a daily animal sacrifice. Traditionally, the sacrifice has been a pig, bulls, and oxen, however due to local laws it is often replaced with a chicken. Once the offerings have been finished a lamp is lit on the dead body and male relatives retreat outside to fire three shots into the air to scare any evil spirits that may attack the house during this time of turmoil (“Death”).
Jews with candles
Jews with candles
Reincarnation is a pillar of the Hmong faith. During the ceremonies it is culturally taboo to show distress, as the ceremony is not about the death of the person but the rebirth of the soul and a new life. The main reason the funeral rituals are performed is so that the dead will be reborn into the same family. If the rituals are not performed properly the Hmong fear that the soul will be punished by returning as a lesser form or in a different family. One ritual that must be completed is the payment of the deceased debts. Any debts unpaid are thought to negatively impact the living family along with the deceased party (“Death”).
In the Hmong culture a death is an extremely important event. The burial process must be performed correctly in order to protect those living and the deceased from evil spirits that are present when there is a death. The first step in burial is sacrificing a number of oxen that are prepared by the descendents of the deceased for a feast that the entire village partakes in to pay homage to the dead (“Death”). Once the body is prepared for its journey it is positioned on a table with items that will be necessary for the voyage into the afterlife.“
A bottle of alcohol and a cooked chicken in the two halves of a gourd, together with a boiled egg, a crossbow, a knife and a paper umbrella, will be placed by the head of the corpse”.
An initiatic poem, “Showing The Way” is sung to help the soul on the journey to the afterlife. The body is removed from the house on a stretcher while “Song of Mounting The Way” is being played on the qeej.
A female from the village will then guide the funeral procession with a torch to “light the way” for the corpse. Along the way the procession takes steps to confuse the evil spirits. This includes stopping, changing course frequently and disposing of the torch before the burial site is reached (“Death”).
The final ritual before burial is the second sacred song, “The Song of Expiring Life” and informs the deceased they have passed on and need to begin the journey to the placental jacket and into the spirit world.
The traditional burial site is on the side of a mountain where the body is placed facing west. This is because Hmong people believe that west is the direction of death and if the head is facing the east it will be blinded by the sun. The placement of the grave is determine by older members of the community and depends on age, sex, and status.
Once the body has been laid in the ground and covered the stretcher used to transport the deceased to the burial site is destroyed while onlookers burn incense, symbolic paper and place stones on the grave.
Likewise the Egyptians burned incense for their dead & believed they took a trip to a spirit world. The trip was also navigating through a river. Many Egyptian traditions & stories were taken by the Israelites after having dwelled in Egypt for four hundred years.
Placing stones on a tomb is a clear Jewish costum. So it is the reverence to the ancestors & the belief in the after life.
The final step of the burial is to construct a fence around the grave that protects the site from any harm (“Death”). The celebration will continue on the way back to the village and throughout the next three days through performing a variety of rituals that vary from tribe to tribe all within tent to honor the deceased.
There is a thirteen-day mourning period in which the family of the deceased observes certain sacrifices in respect of the passed loved one. On this day a ritual is performed within a tent to welcome the soul into its former home one last time before it begins the journey into the afterlife.
The final step of the burial is to construct a fence around the grave that protects the site from any harm (“Death”). The celebration will continue on the way back to the village and throughout the next three days through performing a variety of rituals that vary from tribe to tribe all within tent to honor the deceased.
There is a thirteen-day mourning period in which the family of the deceased observes certain sacrifices in respect of the passed loved one. On this day a ritual is performed within a tent to welcome the soul into its former home one last time before it begins the journey into the afterlife.
The soul (or recently deceased person) could also be reborn as the next child in the family through the males. Because of this, males in the family of that deceased person must not impregnate a woman between the burial day and the next two years. If they do, they must marry the female otherwise the child won'tbe born into the male's family, and they will lose that family member forever.
Per legend, this "13 day" ritual is based on the belief that a long time ago, after 13 days of "death," the corpse would return toblife again--thus there is really no death at all. However, legend has it that, nowadays, we send the soul to be "reincarnated" because the corpse cannot come back to life anymore.
Lahu in China
Population 310,000 Christian 55.00%
Evangelical 33.00% Largest Religion Christianity (55.00%)
Main Language Lahu
The Lahu are one of China's 55 official minority groups. The name Lahu reportedly means "to roast tiger meat by fire," although others say the name has no particular meaning. Their skill as hunters has given them their nickname of Musso, which is used throughout Southeast Asia. Since 1890, when the Lahu surrendered their rebellion against their Yi and Tai landlords, they have been viewed as cowardly by other minority groups in Yunnan. An old Lahu man said, "Ever since the defeat, the Lahu lost heart and were despised by other groups."
The Lahu have a long history of war and armed conflict against their oppressors. They rebelled more than 20 times throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The region they occupied west of the Lancang River was branded "a place of constant riot."
Lahu woman
Lahu women give birth in the privacy of their own rooms. Three days after the birth they invite old people to a small feast where a name is given to the child. However, if an unexpected visitor should come in the meantime, he or she is given the honor of naming the newborn. When a Lahu dies, three shots are fired into the air to scare away the spirits and to announce the news to the village. Lahu communities have long been plagued by stealing and rampant alcoholism. "It is common to see a group of Lahu drunk and beating their fists on the roadside and shouting as they are led homeward."
The Lahu believe in a supreme god named G'ui Sha. Many Lahu villages have a temple consecrated to this deity. This belief in One Supreme Being played a large part in their mass conversion to Christianity.
When American Baptist missionary William Young first preached the gospel to the Lahu in northern Burma in 1901, they exclaimed, "We as a people have been waiting for you for centuries. ... We even have meeting houses built in some of our villages in readiness of your coming." Many of the Lahu men wore strings on their wrists. They explained, "We Lahu have worn [strings] like these since time immemorial. They symbolize our bondage to evil spirits. You alone, as the messenger of G'ui Sha, may cut these manacles from our wrists -but only after you have brought the lost book of G'ui Sha to our very hearths!" Lahu tribesmen came all the way from China to hear Young preach. Six thousand Lahu were baptized in 1905 and 1906. Today there are between 35,000 and 50,000 Lahu Christians in China, "mostly concentrated in Banli, Mujia, Gengma and Menglian.
Population in China 310,000 World Population 580,800
Alternate Names Black Lahu, Kaixien, La Hủ, Lahuna, Laku, Launa, Lohei, Luohei, Mooso, Muhso, Mussar, Musso, Mussuh, Mussur, Namen, Red Lahu, White Lahu
More than 475,000 Lahu inhabit seven counties in the western part of Yunnan Province. Their villages are often situated on mountains at least 1,500 meters (4,920 ft.) above sea level. In addition, significant numbers of Lahu are located in Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos.
Possible Hebraic Toponyms From Punjab Through Southeast AsiaThe word Pakpattan consists of two Punjabi words "pak" and "pattan" meaning "clean port" (Pattan means port or place where ships or boats stop). Pattan is the Hindi word for port too. Pathans in many parts of the Indian subcontinent are generally called Pattan or Pattani too. There are Pattans in Afghanistan & Pakistan everywhere, although mostly concentrated in the countries' border & inside areas. In India there are a few Pattans in the north, Tamil Nadu & other areas. As seen before, there are many areas with Pashtun populations in Afghanistan, Pakistan & India. There are people with Pashtun last names like Pattan. There's probably some Pattan toponyms as Pattan, Pakpattan, Pattani... Some might have gone as far south as southern Thailand were a Muslim province is called Pattani. In Pattani they are separatists because they are a very different people, Malays, with a different religion, Islam. Perhaps the people from Pattani had Pashtun ancestors that named the area after them & eventually mixed up with the locals.
The Pattans are Hebrews in origin, so many of their traditions are Hebraic. Although their language was lost they preserved Hebrew words. Perhaps that's the case with "Kamoka" from which the toponyms "Thatta Kāmoka" & "Kāmoke" might originate. In fact "Ein Kamocha" is a popular Jewish song & "Ein Kamocha" is Hebrew for "There is none like You". Kamoka could be the shortened version of that Hebrew phrase. The Hkamoks from Indochina are part of the peoples of the lost golden book, a group of peoples regarded as Hebraic in origin. Perhaps a group of faithful Pattans fathered them.
Thatta Kāmoka is a tiny town in Jhang tehsil, Punjab State & Kāmoke is a midsized city in Kāmoke tehsil. These two locations are in Punjab, but are several tens of apart from each other. Thatta Kāmoka (or Kaimoka) is located in the Jhang tehsil, Punjab State. Punjab's capital Lahore is approximately 141 km / 88 mi away from Thatta Kamoka. The distance from Thatta Kamoka to Pakistan's capital Islamabad is approximately 234 km / 146 mi. It's only 30 kms away from Faisalabad. Thatta Kamoka is 138 km away from Gujranwala.
Kāmoke (Urdu:كاموكى), is a town of Kamoke Tehsil, Gujranwala District located in the State of Punjab, Pakistan, it has a population of 167,300. The city is the capital of Kamoke Tehsil which is an administrative subdivision of the district, the city is itself subdivided into 8 Union Councils. The city is located on the Grand Trunk Road 21 km from Gujranwala and 44 km from Lahore.
Kamonki is administered by Town Municipal Administration under City District Government Gujranwala.
Chenab, a Punjabi river
Chen or Hen is a Hebrew name meaning Grace, Charm, Fairness, Gracefulness. Ab is Hebrew for father.
The name Hen in the Bible
It's not clear whether the name Hen is actually a Biblical name. If it is, then it occurs only once and Hen is a son of Zephaniah (Zechariah 6:14), who also has a son named Josiah (Zechariah 6:10). Most scholars seem to believe that Hen and Josiah are the same person but it may not be that simple.
All we know is that the prophet Zechariah was commanded by YHWH to:
Take an offering from Heldai, Tobijah and Jedaiah Then go to the house of Josiah, son of Zephaniah. Create an ornate crown. Set the crown on the head of Joshua, the son of Jehozadak, the high priest Speak to him about the man named Branch, and the temple of the Lord.
And then the Lord said, "Now the crown will become a reminder in the temple of the Lord to: Helem, Tobijah, Jedaiah, and Hen the son of Zephaniah".
Of those four names, only the middle two (Tobijah and Jedaiah) were mentioned before. Heldai and Josiah aren't part of the crown's mnemonic function, and Helem and Hen don't contribute to its fabrication.
And it's not even all that certain whether these names are actually names. The authors of the Septuagint (3rd century BC) didn't acknowledge Heldai, Tobijah, Jedaiah, Helem and Hen as names but translated these words and used them in the narrative. Only since Jerome's Vulgate (3rd century AD) have translations printed these words as names.
Etymology of the name Hen
The "name" Hen comes from the verb חנן (hanan), meaning to be gracious, and is identical to the noun חן (hen), meaning favor or grace:
The root-verb חנן (hanan) shows up all over the Semitic language spectrum in meanings from to grant a favor, to be gracious and to favor. In Arabic this verb means to feel sympathy or compassion.
In the Bible our verb "depicts a heartfelt response by someone who has something to give to one who has a need" (in the words of HAW Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament). The verb covers the actions of people towards people (Judges 21:22, Psalm 37:21, Job 19:21), but mostly that of God towards man (Genesis 33:11, Psalm 119:28, Amos 5:15).
Our verb comes with the following derivations:
The masculine noun חן (hen), meaning favor or grace (of appearance: Proverbs 31:30; acceptance: Zechariah 4:7). This word is featured in the familiar phrase "finding favor" on the eyes of someone (Genesis 30:27, Exodus 33:12). The adverb חנם (hinnam), meaning freely, gratis (Genesis 29:15); in vain or for no purpose (Malachi 1:10); without cause, undeservedly (1 Samuel 19:5). The masculine noun חין (hin), probably meaning grace. It occurs only in Job 41:4, and (in the words of BDB Theological Dictionary), "the meaning is not very appropriate in this context ( . . . ) but nothing better has been proposed". The adjective חנון (hannun), meaning gracious and only used as an attribute of God (Exodus 22:27, Psalm 116:5). The feminine noun חנינה (hanina), meaning favor (Jeremiah 16:13 only). The feminine noun תחנה (tehinna), meaning favor (Joshua 11:20), or supplication (1 Kings 8:52). Note that this noun is spelled the same way as תחנה (tahana), meaning encampment, from the verb חנה (hana), meaning to decline or encamp. The masculine counterpart of the previous noun: תחנון (tahanun), which in the Bible occurs only in plural: תחנונים (tahanunim; Proverbs 18:23, Psalm 143:1).
Associated Biblical names
♂ Ananias ♀ Anna ♂ Annas ♂♕ Baal-hanan ♂ Elhanan Elonbeth-hanan ♂ Hanan ♂ Hananel ♂ Hanani ♂ Hananiah
♀ Hannah Hannathon ♂ Hannibal ♂ Hanniel ♂♕ Hanun ♂Ø Hen ♂ Henadad ♂ Jannes ♂ Jehohanan ♀ Joanna
♂ Johanan ♂ John ♂ Jonan ♂ Tahan ♂ Tehinnah
Chenab would the combination the Hebrew words Chen & ab. It would something like gracious father.
Gulberg Town, in Lahore district resembles the Jewish last name Goldberg, so perhaps is an adapted form of the same word.
Jacobabad or Khangarh (Sindhi: جيڪب آباد) is a city in Sindh, Pakistan, serving as both the capital city of Jacobabad District and the administrative centre of Jacobabad Taluka, an administrative subdivision of the district. A Muslim wouldn't name a city after Jacob (Israel), Israelites' patriarch unless is Muslim Israelite himself.
Dana Abad (Danabad) is a village in Jaranwala Tehsil, Faisalabad District, Punjab, Pakistan. It is featured in the Punjabi folklore of Mirza Sahban. Mirza, the hero of this folklore, was born in this village. The Mirza Sahiban Mausoleum is located in the village. Dana Abad is located 30 kilometres (19 mi) from Nankana Sahib and 50 kilometres (31 mi) from Shahkot. Dana Abad or Dan Abad means Dan's City. Perhaps a group of Danites reached the area with other Israelites & named after Dan, their ancestor. Another city that might have have founded after the Israelite patriarch Dan is Dhanbad. Dhanbad is a city in the Indian state of Jharkhand, India.
THE JEWS ARE THE SMALLER PART OF THE ISRAEL OF GOD
The Israel of God will have descendants that are like the sands of the sea; that cannot be numbered.
Although many today would call all descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob ‘Jews’, it is not the terminology that God uses. The presumption that the northern kingdom of Israel, that went into captivity 2700 years ago, no longer matters to God is erroneous at best and deceptive at worst. Scripture such as Hosea 1:9-10, written of the northern kingdom of Israel, states:
9And the LORD said, “Name him Lo-ammi, for you are not My people and I am not your God.” 10Yet the number of the sons of Israel Will be like the sand of the sea, Which cannot be measured or numbered; And in the place Where it is said to them, “You are not My people,” It will be said to them, “You are the sons of the living God.”
Verse 9 says they will not be a covenant people [lo-ammi] anymore. ‘Lost for ever’ some might say; ‘needing to come back into covenant through Judah’ others might say. However, verse 10 tells us that the judgment is reversed at a later date and they once more become “sons of the living God.”
We Christians will immediately understand how they become “sons of the living God.” Paul tells us, in Romans 9:24-26, that the gentiles are the’lo-ammi’; or ‘not my covenant people’ of Hosea chapter 2.
The Calling of the Gentiles …24even us, whom He also called, not from among Jews only, but also from among Gentiles. 25As He says also in Hosea, “I WILL CALL THOSE WHO WERE NOT MY PEOPLE, ‘MY PEOPLE,’ AND HER WHO WAS NOT BELOVED, ‘BELOVED.'” 26“AND IT SHALL BE THAT IN THE PLACE WHERE IT WAS SAID TO THEM, ‘YOU ARE NOT MY PEOPLE,’ THERE THEY SHALL BE CALLED SONS OF THE LIVING GOD.”…
It is by being reconciled to God, through the blood sacrifice of Yeshua ha Mashiah – the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, that we become ‘sons of the living God‘!
So where are these ‘lost’ Israelites, these ‘lo-ammi’ Israelites, now? I would suggest to you that large numbers of them are to be found inside the ‘church’.
‘Replacement theology!’ I hear you say.
I argue that this is not replacement theology. Replacement theology is the idea that the church replaces Israel as the sons of God. I suggest that the Israelites, throughout history, become the church and, therefore, no replacement has taken place. In the following paragraphs I will give evidence that ancient Israelites indeed were brought into the church.
A book written by missionary Asahel Grant M.D., in 1841 called ‘The Nestorians: or, the Lost Tribes‘, gives ample evidence that the people of Asia Minor who were left from Assyria, known also as Nestorians, were part of that northern kingdom of Israel. They remembered that four apostles had come and taught their people: Thaddeus, Matthew, Bartholomew and Thomas. They are one of the earliest Israelite [northern kingdom] nations to convert to Christianity. Today they are suffering again 100 year after the genocide of 1915-18; that took 750,000 of their people to their graves. How many of these people would remember their true identity after these systemic attacks by the evil ones? We would know these people, in Western nations, as ‘Assyrians’ from the Assyrian church. But I know that God remembers them and He knows exactly who they are – “Sons of the living God“.
Thomas, the Apostle, also went to India. According to Dr. Avigdor Shachan, in his book In the Footsteps of the Lost Ten Tribes, Thomas had gone to the Israelites who were all along the sea border of India. At the bottom of page 221 he writes:
“Following an interlude of 700 years from the exile of the Ten Tribes until the advent of Thomas, the Israelites unquestioningly accepted his [Thomas] message as the logical continuation of the Torah of Moses. Christian-Israelite churches flourished in the east, in places steeped in Israelite spirit and faith, but in time their names became distorted, often to the point where they were barely recognizable.”
The Lord will protect His people
Thomas had told them Jesus was the Messiah according Shachan in the previous paragraph. At the top of page 223 Shachan goes on to quote:
In the 7th century, Patriarch Nestoriani wrote that Christianity had gotten a foothold among the Israelite community, which encompassed 1,200 parsangs in India, some 5,000 kilometers of the Indian coast. This was a very large area and it is difficult to estimate the size of the population, but the assumption is that there were hundreds of thousands of Jews [Israelites] in the region.
Today we would know them as the millions of Christians of southern India. Dr. Avigdor Shachan, goes on to say the many of these Christians were later forced in Islam. So many Muslims, in this part of the world, are probably ancient Israelites as well!
In the third century BC the Tribe of Manasseh are documented as living in near the Hindu Kush, and suffering defeat at the hands of Alexander the Great; according to Robert Mock M.D. from bibleresearchers.com. It is my hypothesis that they fled to places like Kyrgyzstan who have the Epic of Manas. Risbet, [Richard Hewitt] in his book Manas Lost and Found; A Bridge Linking Kyrgyzstan’s Epic to Ancient Oracles links the Manas Epic to ancient Israelites. The ancient oracles he refers to, we would understand as the bible.
I also believe they fled across the silk road to China. From the Sambatyon River legend we know that the Ten Tribes crossed a river of sand. It was also said that these Ten Lost Tribes dwelt in a land where men had no noses; just two holes in their faces. It was here they were, as legend goes, ruled by a strong prince. This certainly sounds like the Chinese. The river of sand could be no other than the silk road passing through the Taklamakan Desert; between the Mountains of Heaven Tian and the Tibetan Plateau. Dr Avigdor Shachan says that Tak lam a kan is a Hebrew phrase which means “You will be destroyed here!”. No wonder the Sambatyon River legend says that these people could not come back!
In the early 1900’s, a Scottish missionary, Rev. Thomas T Torrance, found the remnants of a previously large group – loosely known as the ch’iang. It was here at the Min River that this Q’iang Min people were documented as having extraordinary likenesses to Israelite people with just as astounding Israelite traditions. See the book by Rev Torrance, Ancient Israelites: China’s first missionaries.
It was not at all a surprise to Torrance; for 80 years early Dr and Mrs Mason, in northern Burma, are reported by Rev John Trew:
It is supposed by some that the Karens are part of the lost tribes of Israel. How numerous would be the members of these tribes were the sum of all who are set down as belonging to them told! It certainly is convenient when you meet with a people whom you cannot account for, to give “the lost tribes” the benefit of the doubt.
There is, however, this to be said for the above-mentioned theory, that [564/565] Dr. and Mrs. Mason found very remarkable and accurate traditions regarding the creation, the fall, and future regeneration of man.1.
These Hill Tribe Karen are closely related to nine other Hill Tribes who all had a “Lost Book” story [as did the Q’iang Min in Sichaun, China] according Don Richardson in chapter 2 of Eternity in their hearts. One of these tribes is the Mizo tribe from NE India. Both the Mizos and the Karen have had converts to Christianity; 100% and 95% respectively in the past. They are both among the highest missionary sending groups, per head of population, in the world still today. We would say they certainly are “Sons of the living God“!
So in conclusion, these few examples have shown that known Israelite communities became Christians. This happened in the first century in Asia Minor and India, the nineteenth century with the Karen tribe and also the twentieth century with the Mizos and the Q’iang Min. I propose that this process of being found by the Living God and becoming “sons of the living God” has been continuous throughout the last two millennium. God has indeed fulfilled His promise to the House of Israel [Hosea 1:10] by making their descendants too numerous to count therefore the Lost tribes will be found in the Christian church in very large numbers. So next time you are praying for Israel, think bigger that just the Jews – remember those in Syria, Myanmar and China as well. You may even be praying for yourself!
To find out where the Ten Tribes went and what nations they became I highly recommend you read Steven M Collin’s books. Also here. It is easy to recognize that these nations mostly became Christians at one time or another. It is precisely that the ten tribes became nations [gentiles] that we think the Ten Tribes are ‘Lost’. From God’s point of view He was simply fulfilling promises to Abraham by making him the father of many nationsand that kings would come from his loins and through him all families on the earth would be blessed. See also Gen 12:3.
EARLIEST CHRISTIANS FROM THE TEN TRIBES DOCUMENTED
I was called to the Mizos of NE India in 1997. This, I talk about in other places in this blogsite. The Welsh missionaries found them in 1894 and within five decades, they say, that one hundred percent had become Christian. Early on some of the missionaries had noticed “Israelite” customs but had concealed this from the Chhinlung (aka Mizo) population. A Mizo prophet by the name of Chala in the 1950’s had had a vision where, he says, God had revealed to him that the Chhinlung were Israelites. Within the next three decades; the Jewish agency had become involved, some Mizos from both Mizoram and the neighbouring state of Manipur emigrated to Israel, and Synagogues were set up to convert would be Aliya participants to Judaism.
It was in 1980’5 that researcher Zaithanchhungi became involved. Some of her relatives were preparing to go to Israel but she was of the opinion that the Mizos were not Israelites due to her seeing blue eyed Israelis in Israel on a world tour with her son Zira in 1979. Three serendipitous events happened; firstly she met a Jewish man on the way to Orissa (India) who invited her to stay with his family in Israel, secondly she met Rabbi Elihayu Avichail of Amishav in Israel and was asked to do research back in Mizoram, and thirdly she – as a ‘top’ insurance sales woman – travelled extensively throughout villages and towns in Mizoram selling insurance AND interviewing 85 to over 100 year old Chhinlung men and women in the evenings according to R. Avichail’s instructions. She told me “after a very short time I changed my mind” regarding her views that Mizos were not descendants of Israel. She went onto say,”over and over, these elders stated that their parents and grandparents told them that they were ‘son of Manasseh.’
So here we have a modern day example of ancient Israelites (not Jews) becoming Christians in large numbers but is this a one off or has this always been the pattern?
Today, in this blog, I will quote Asahel Grant MD from his book The Nestorians or Lost Tribes. It is written in 1841 and according to his findings there was a people group that had a remarkable history of being both of the Ten Tribes and also being among the earliest Christians. Their location was in the area of 19th century Persia, very near the locations of the Kurds. Grant went there as a missionary to what he called the Independent Nestorians. They were the remnant of the captivity of the Assyrians and today we may know them as a geographically isolated part of the Assyrian Church. He did not know their history before living among them and was surprised and delighted to find out that they owed their faith to apostles; Thomas, Thaddeus, Simon, Matthew, and Bartholomew, and to the disciples Ade, Mares, and Agheus.
“The Adjabena (i. e., inhabitants of Adiabene), Elamites, Persians, and Medes,” says Assemani “were brought over to the faith by the apostles Thomas, Thaddeus, Simon, Matthew, and Bartholomew, and by the disciples Ade, Mares, and Agheus, as has been shown above from Greek, Latin, and Syrian authors. After those first apostles of the Persians, the prelates subject to the archbishop of Seleucia aided either in imbuing the same people with the sacred rites of the Christians, or in confirming them in the faith which they had embraced.” And again he says, ” First of all beyond Mesopotamia,” as it appears, Adjabena (Adiabene) and Elamites, two of the provinces of the Persian kingdom, very quickly embraced the Christian faith, viz., in the very commencement of the infant church.”* page 229
The Independent Nestorians had remarkable customs and oral histories that they were descendants of the Ten Tribes of Israel. The entire book is well worth the read to convince you, the reader of this blog, that they were indeed Israelites! The follow exert ends with – And hence we infer that the numerous converts in the country of the ten tribes must have been the captive sons of Israel.
Here we are told that the inhabitants of the very places where the captive Israelites then lived were converted to the Christian, faith under the preaching, of the apostles, who went everywhere preaching the word several years before the disciples preached to the Gentiles.
Eusebius, the earliest of our ecclesiastical historians, expressly informs us that the apostles ” were not yet in a situation to venture to impart the faith to the nations, and, therefore,, only announced it to the Jews.” This was after the dispersion of the disciples and before the conversion of Cornelius, which is mentioned subsequently. Eusebius states, on the authority of Origen, that Parthia was assigned to Thomas; and he sums up the general success of the Gospel among ‘ the Israelites in the following graphic language : ” Thus, then, under a celestial influence and co-operation, the doctrine of the Saviour, like the rays of the sun, quickly irradiated the whole world. Presently, in accordance with Divine prophecy, the sound of his inspired evangelists and apostles had gone throughout all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. Throughout every city and village, like a replenished gamer, churches were seen abounding and filled with members.”* At length he mentions the conversion of Cornelius, and the first Gentile converts under Peter and Paul, as an act of the special, ” gratuitous benevolence of God;” making it evident that the success of the Gospel among the Jews was prior to its reception by the Gentiles. And hence we infer that the numerous converts in the country of the ten tribes must have been the captive sons of Israel.
Twelve Tribes represented in twelve tents
In chapter XX and on page 236 Grants goes on to say, Although the twelve tribes were scattered abroad, and a great part of them in the distant countries of the Parthians and Medes the apostle appears to have been well acquainted with their circumstances and wants, and knew into what particular sin they had fallen, and just how to adapt his epistle to their case. For this his situation in the Holy City, the centre of information and well as of influence in the Hebrew nation, was peculiarly favourable; and as we have seen that Josephus, and king Agrippa,. and Paul, all living in that age, knew the abode and condition of the captive Israelites ‘we could not for a moment suppose that James was’ less informed of their situation, even if there was not the clearest evidence to that effect in his epistle. They were not then “the lost tribes,” as they have been for centuries past. Not only were they well known, but, while we have no evidence that there was much general intercourse between them and the other Jews, the apostles and primitive disciples appear to have bestowed upon them a commendable share of attention; and it is equally clear that the efforts made for their conversion were attended with ‘great success.
Grants conclusions are that Having shown that the ten tribes were, as a people, converted to Christianity in the apostolic age of the church, few words will be required to prove that the Nestorian Christians are their direct descendants.
1. They inhabit the same places that were occupied by the ten tribes at the time of their conversion, and until the beginning of the fifth century, as has been already shown. 2. Nestorian churches and prelates have flourished in an uninterrupted succession in the same places where they were founded by the apostles among the Israelites. ” Succeeding those first apostles of the Persians [Thomas, Thaddeus, &c,, who preached in Adiahene and Media] the prelates subject to the archbishop of Seleucia aided either in imbuing the same people with the sacred rites of the Christians, or in confirming them in the faith which they had embraced.” * * Bib. Orient., v. iv. p. 414.
Grant draws the conclusion that the Nestorians/Assyrians had formed the church in the East.
Now it is well known that Seleucia was from the earliest times the chief seat of authority and influence among the Nestorians, and that their archbishop, and subsequently their patriarchs resided there, and ruled over the whole country inhabited by the ten tribes. Mares, above named, governed the church at Seleucia in the year 82, and from that time it continued to be the residence of the archbishop till a.d. 498, when the Nestorians, becoming the dominant sect in the East, made it the seat of their new patriarch,* whose successors occupied it till the year 762, when it was removed to Bagdad.
Adiabene (Adjabena), Assyria, and Halah (Halachae) were metropolitan bishoprics, whose prelates, in A.D. 852, had the principal agency in ordaining the Nestorian patriarchs, and they had embraced the Christian faith in the very commencement of the infant church.§ ” The schools of the Syrians flourished nowhere more than in Adiabene” ” This is a region of Persia mostly inhabited by Christians.”
They are well known to have taken the Gospel across the Silk Road, into China through the regions of the old Partian Empire. In fact, the Church in the East – as opposed to the Church in the West i.e. Rome and Constantinople – flourished in a Golden Age all the while that the Church in the West was going into a dark age. See Philip Jenkins book The Lost History of Christianity; the Thousand-Year Golden Age of the Church in the Middle East, Africa and Asia.
That the descendants of the Ten Tribes became the church and took the gospel to other regions that also had the Ten Tribes is the inescapable conclusion of reading just these two quoted books.
In another blog I comment that Jewish researcher Dr. Avigdor Shachan, in his book In the Footsteps of the Lost Ten Tribes complain that the Apostle Thomas went to the Israelites scattered all along the coastline of India converting them to Christianity and that by 7th century Patriarch Nestoriani said there were 5,000 kilometres of Israelite Churches.
It is my strong assertion that that pattern of the Gospel going to the Ten Tribes and becoming Christians in large numbers starts with those in Persia in 1st century and continues right through to the Mizos in NE India in the last century.
It would behoove missionary organizations to understand this biblical pattern in the propagation of the gospel. Whist the gospel is not exclusive to the bloodline of Israel it certainly looks like it finds good soil in the descendants of the Ten Tribes.
N.B. The Nestorian Church is better known today as the Assyrian Church. Whilst the Nestorian Church bears name of Nestorius (386–450), Patriarch of Constantinople from 428–431, it in no way holds to the incorrect doctrines of Nestorianism.
It was indeed divine providence that the Welsh came for the Welsh shared similar linguistic sounds with the Chhinlung and were able to develop a working alphabet and subsequently translate the bible into their language. Both Welsh and the Mizos have guttural sounds that are frequently found in Hebrew.
God mandated a Christian Mizo for the people of Mizoram: “Don’t change sticks!” for they were already the stick of Joseph and had already come back into the Olive tree of Israel through the covenanting blood of Messiah Yeshua.
Caught Between FrontiersA small group of Zos from the Northeast have struggled long and hard to practise Judaism and be recognized as Jews, writes Jael Silliman
A small group of people from the Zo tribe of northeastern India in Mizoram and Manipur call themselves the Bnei Menashe, or the "children of Menasseh". The Bnei Menashe have waged a heroic, almost century-long struggle to practise Judaism and be recognized as Jews. Their efforts have borne fruit. The chief rabbi of Israel has issued a call to 'rescue' this community and bring it to Israel.
To date, over 2,000 Bnei Menashe have been resettled in Israel after being formally converted to Judaism. They join the 1,00,000 Indian Jews living in Israel, leaving less than 10,000 Jews in India, the majority of whom are now Bnei Menashe. The Bnei Menashe are proud citizens of Israel with deep connections to their brethren still in the Northeast.
The Bnei Menashe claim their 'Israelite' origin from the time when the Assyrians conquered the Northern Kingdom of Israel in the 8th century BCE. They believe their ancestors were banished and forced to flee and their path took them through Afghanistan and the Khyber Pass, on through the Hindu Kush and Tibet to China and Southeast Asia. Finally they found a home in the area that now lies in two Indian states and three countries - Manipur, Mizoram, Bangladesh and Myanmar. According to the former Israeli chief rabbi, Shlomo Amar, there are now 6,000 Jews out of 3,000,000 Zo people spread across this hill terrain. Their embrace of Judaism resulted from the proselytization efforts of Protestant missionaries who have been active in the Manipur, Mizoram and the Chin hills since 1890. Prior to the arrival of the missionaries, the Mizos were shifting cultivators and animists with no written history.
The missionaries provided educational opportunities to the tribal communities of the Northeast, including the Mizos. Today most of the Zo, like other tribes in the Northeast, have fervently embraced Christianity, and many have become missionaries within the region and in South and Southeast Asia and even in Great Britain and Wales.
In the 1920s, the Bnei Menashe asserted their Jewish identity: some religious Zos, who had become Christians and familiarized themselves with the scriptures, believed that their traditional customs were akin to those of the ancient Israelites.
Challianthanga, a Pentecostal deacon from Mizoram, declared that god had revealed the truth to him to restore the religious practices ordained in the Bible and return to the Promised Land. This notion took firm hold by the 1950s, though a split occurred between those who retained their faith in Jesus when they learned that Jews did not recognize his messianic claims, and the Israelite group who sought to follow the Jewish faith.
The late Lalchhanhima Sailo, a leader of the Chhinlung Israel People Convention (1994), sought an independent nation in the Zo territories. The Chhinlung Israel People Convention seeks to reconcile ancient Israelite origins with a strong Christian faith and calls for a second Israeli state in Zo territories that cross the state boundaries of India, Myanmar and Bangladesh.
The Mizo struggle to be recognized as Jews has been arduous and has pitted this very small group of Jewish Zos against their fervent Protestant brethren. There have been several accounts of their being expelled from their villages as they are seen to be disruptive of the Zo community. The Christian Zo fear that the converts to Judaism will 'corrupt' other villagers. Thus the Bnei Menashe have met with violence from their fellow Christians in Manipur, who deem 'conversion' to Judaism a heresy.
Their 'conversion' has also been a point of contention among Indian authorities. In spite of the fact that the Bnei Menashe have actively sought out conversion from Jewish authorities, these conversions are not seen by the Central government of India as distinct from missionary efforts to convert tribal people to Christianity .
The Bnei Menashe Jewish claims have also met with resistance in Israel. This is in spite of the successful efforts of a few individuals from Amishav, and more recently Shavei Israel, an Israel-based Jewish organization that champions the cause of many communities who believe they are part of the Lost Tribes. These organizations reach out to descendants of Jews around the world to strengthen their connection to Israel and the Jewish people. Many Israelis are sceptical of the Jewish claims of the Bnei Menashe that have not been substantiated by DNA tests that can prove their Jewish identities.
There are some who see the attempt of the Bnei Menashe to claim Jewishness as actually an attempt to attain economic advantages for themselves. Whereas the Mizos are economically more successful than other tribal people of the resource rich but under-developed Northeast, the Mizo Jews tend to be poor except for some members in Manipur who are prominent. Claiming a Jewish identity makes it possible for many Zo to emigrate to Israel. Israel also offers many subsidies to Jews who choose to settle in Israel to make the prospect of their aliyah successful.
The Bnei Menashe's efforts to negotiate and reconcile their multiple claims to be Jewish, Zo, Indian and Israeli have been a complex and daunting challenge. They have been marginalized in India and in Israel. In India, the Northeast often feels discounted as part of India. In the Northeast the Zo have been discontented with their political status. As immigrants to Israel, they must overcome many challenges to be integrated there.
Yet the Bnei Menashe have negotiated their multiple identity claims successfully from the margins. There are now centres in Mizoram and Manipur that teach Hebrew and prepare Jews for emigration to Israel. They have opened a community centre in Israel (2005), and many Mizos in Israel are engaged in advancing the knowledge of Judaism among their fellow Jews in Mizoram and Manipur through the translation of Jewish scriptures into local languages.
The role that the Bnei Menashe will play in determining the future of the Jews in India, as well as the ways in which they will contribute to the Jewish aliyah in Israel is a work in progress.
The Longest Road to Judaism
Elitsur Haokip was among the first of the Kuki tribesmen in the northeastern Indian province of Manipur to begin exploring his Jewish roots almost 25 years ago. Today, 63 year-old Elitsur remains a leader of the Benei Menashe, or "Children of Menashe," who claim descent from the Biblical Menashe, eldest son of Joseph. The Jewish practitioners among this professed Lost Tribe of Israel number over 5,000. They regularly attend twenty makeshift, mud and bamboo synagogues in the hills on both sides of the India-Myanmar border, more than 2,000 miles from the nearest substantial Jewish community, in Bombay, India.
Tribal warfare, border conflicts and a flourishing drug trade ravage this corridor, so the Indian government severely restricts foreign visits. Only a dozen western Jews have ever visited the Benei Menashe.
Wise Elitsur teaches about the peace he has found in Judaism, even while surrounded by violence. "If you pray three times a day," he explains, smiling and stroking his long, sparse, gray-black beard and thin moustache, "your life will be very happy. If by chance you miss one day, at that time your life will not be happy. It is correct because I myself practice this. I pray three times a day, Shacharit, Mincha, and Ma'ariv," naming the Jewish morning, afternoon and evening services.
Most of the Judaism-practicing Benei Menashe, like Elitsur, were first attracted to the religion by the perceived connection to the Biblical Menashe. They trace the roots of today's Kuki, Chin and Mizo tribes to Menashe, whose descendants were expelled from Israel more than 2500 years ago. The Benei Menashe believe that their ancestors trekked from ancient Israel to Afghanistan, into China, through Tibet and Southeast Asia to Myanmar and northeastern India, where they are today's Kuki, Chin and Mizo.
Across the generations, the Benei Menashe maintained obsolete sacrificial rituals referenced in the Torah and, above all, a deep reverence for their patriarch, Menashe -- called "Manmassi" in the local dialect. Elitsur provides an example: "When someone dies, we list all his ancestors, beginning, "Manmassi Hi-tu, Geled (Gilead) Hi-Tu, Ulam Hi-Tu. Hi-tu means 'grandfather.' Like 'Abraham Hi-tu, Isaac Hi-tu and Jacob Hi-tu. The Bible tells that Geled and Ulam are Menashe's descendants. We only received the Old Testament in 1979, but we always said these ancestors' names."
A vision of making Aliyah (emigrating to Israel) unites the Benei Menashe like nothing else. For some, the dream is already coming true. Since 1992, more than 700 members of the tribe have reached Israel. Since all 5,000-plus Jewish-practicing Benei Menashe cannot immediately go to Israel, the Benei Menashe leadership in India want to build a permanent Jewish educational center in Manipur, to be sure that only genuine and deserving people will be selected for Aliyah.
The serene Elitsur meditates on the Benei Menashe's love of Israel. "We don't know where Jerusalem is," he concludes, "but when we sing of Zion, our tears come out. We are surely Menashe's tribe. We are surely Israel's tribe."
Bryan Schwartz and Sandy Carter visited the Benei Menashe in 2000 and will tell their story with vivid accounts and photographs in their upcoming book with Jay Sand, Scattered Among the Nations.
Find out how you can join the Scattered Among the Nations campaign to help the Benei Menashe attain their community goals.
Hundreds listen attentively to speech after speech praising G-d for finally allowing outside Jewish visitors to come to Churachandpur, two hours south of Imphal. Churachandpur embraced Judaism 25 years ago and still boasts the Benei Menashe’s flagship community, with several synagogues housing 1500 members. Yet, even Israeli Rabbi Eliayahu Avichail, the community’s father figure, was five times denied access to Churachandpur.
Solomon's Temple, Aizawl
Basic information
23.7479°N 92.6884°E Geographic coordinates
Christian Affiliation
Aizawl Municipality Mizoram Province Region India Consecrated 25th Dec. 1996
Website http://kohhranthianghlim.org/
Architect(s) Dr. L.B. Sailo
Founder Kohhran Thianghlim (The Holy Church)
Solomon's Temple in Aizawl, Mizoram is constructed by a non-denominational church, known in Mizo language as Kohhran Thianghlim which is rendered 'The Holy Church' in English. The church was founded by Dr. L.B. Sailo in 1984 and the members are known as 'the elects.' Their mission is to proclaim and disseminate the word of God throughout the world, particularly to the Mizo people through written and spoken means of communication, and they are constructing Solomon's Temple as a symbol of their love of Jesus Christ.
Dr. L.B. Sailo, the founder of the Holy Church said that he was enjoined by God in 1991 to build Solomon’s Temple in Mizoram, India. A piece of land was purchased in the eastern part, but due to the inaccessibility, lack of transportation facility and the inadequate size of the land acquired, the site was purposefully relocated.
The location is on the western side, 10 km away from Aizawl, the capital of Mizoram state in India. The foundation stone was laid on the 25th December 1996.
The Temple area accommodates 2,000 people within the main hall and ten thousand people within its courtyard. It is a square site 180 ft. on each side. The interior of the Temple building is also square, 120 ft on each side. A verandah 30 ft. wide is attached to the exterior of the main hall on all four sides. This provides a shelter for people with its sizable seating capacity and is called ‘The porch of Solomon’s Temple’.
The main building has twelve main doors, three doors each on one side, corresponding to the other side. The faces of the Temple exactly face South, North, East, and West. Above the porch, on all four sides, there are tall pillars, carrying Seven David’s stars representing angels/messengers of the Seven Churches of Revelation (Rev. 1:20). On each of the pillar, a picture of the Cross of Jesus Christ and the emblem of the Holy Church is embedded. Atop of the porch, a statue of two Angels blowing trumpets, facing the top of the pillar, flanked the northern side of the pillar, which is now used as the main entrance. Four towers (steeples) cornered the main hall of Temple. The tower is square shaped. A six-sided spire with a crown on top of it, is standing high at the top of the tower, surrounded by four mini-spires at the four corners.
Solomon's Temple during Jerusalem Khawmpui 2013. At the top there are 7 Stars of David
There are two intersecting horizontal ridges crossing the middle of the pitch roof, so that from above in the air, the ridges form a cross representing the new covenant. The Temple has 32 windows, 32 ventilations, and 32 skylights. It is a multi-storey building.
Within its compound, the temple complex has a natural park covered by various forest trees to shade and fruits for bird and squirrel of different kinds meant for their sanctuary. There will be standard restaurant on a hill for visitors. The complex will house an educational institution, social service center such as to care for destitute with De-Addiction center and polyclinics hospital as well.
Most of the financial needs are contributed by the church members. Donation was also collected worldwide, but the input received from this was not very significant. Visitors from time to time, donated considerable amount of money to the Temple authority, which is worthy of appreciation. However, there is no compulsory collections/entry fee/charge to the visitors.
Construction work is still in progress. The Temple has become a major tourist attraction/destination in Mizoram and tourists/visitors frequent the place.
The temple is occasionally used for holding church service on Sunday, Zanlai Au Aw (Midnight Herald) Anniversary organized by the Publication Board of Kohhran Thianghlim, Missionary Day organized by Mission Board and Jerusalem Khawmpui during the last part of December every year. This is a spiritual convention for all the church members. It is also used as a place for Voluntary Blood Donation Programme by the Church's youth wing, Youth Evangelical Front.
Talakon peopleLetangku is a little village in the Burman-Thai border. It's exactly in the Thai province of Tak. This is were the Talakon Lost Israelites dwell.
The last name Talakon is found among the close by Mon people, so perhaps the people with the last name Talakon were originally ethnic Talakons themselves that eventually migrated to Mon areas & were absorbed into the Mons.
Thalakona is a forest located 30-km from Tirupati, in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Deep in these forests is a 6m perennial waterfall known as 'Talakona'. It is an enchanting picnic spot of great scenic beauty. Thalakona & Talakona are similar sounding names & are also similar to Talakon. There might be an old relation between them, after all India & Myanmar are bordering nations.
One of the most important Vaishnava temples is the Venkatesvara temple at Tirupati in northern Tamil Nadu, which is a great all-India pilgrimage temple and the richest in India, the Venkatesvara temple at Kanci, and Srirangam in southern Tamil Nadu, a vast temple complex needing days to explore and filled with rich symbolism. Vaishnavism has much in common with Druzism. Druzes come from ancient Israelites.
Interestingly the very day that I suggest that the Temple of Tiraputi may have been Israelite, I find out that in the Lost Israelite group of Madiga Bene Ephraim they also assure that & that Jacob was represented in that temple, but Hindus reinterpreted it as being a pagan Hindu god. This would concord with my theory that a group of Israelites, of the Bene Ephraim, would have called themselves (in the new land) Talakon after their old land.
Talakona Waterfall
Moreover, the state of Andhra Pradesh, were the Indian names Talakona & Thalakona are, is in eastern India in the Bengala sea, in the opposite to the Myanmaran coast.
Talakona means head hill in Telugu (tala - head and kona - hill). However, Thalakona allegorically means “the head of the Seshachalam hills” as these mountains are believed to be the starting point of the Tirumala mountain ranges.
Maha Chai is home to the largest Burmese population per capita in Thailand, which relies heavily on low-cost labor—both legal and trafficked—from its two million foreign workers, of which some 80 percent are from Burma.
U Toe said Aung San Suu Kyi will tour centers for Burmese workers in the country and that her aide had come to Maha Chai to review those sites.
"We showed him where we will be taking her: to the national identity verification office, to the Talakon shrimp market, and to meet with workers at the library founded by the Migrant Workers Rights Network,” he said.
Talancón is a Spanish & Jewish Sephardi last name. From Murcia, Spain, they moved to Aguascalientes & Zacatecas, México. Talacón is probably derived from Talancón. Talacón & Talancón might have been derived from Tarancón, another last name & village's name in Cuenca, Spain.
Apart from the already known or documented, there's probably more peoples with the tradition of the Lost Gold Book. They would be found usually around Indochina, just as the other Lost Golden Book Hebrews.
Kingdom of the Lost Golden Book
A group of Talakon men pray in front of the two parts of a trunk separated by a gap representing the missing link of their religion.
The enigmatic Talakon tribe, who live in the jungle between Burma and Thailand, follow an obscure cult which is a mixture of animism and Buddhism. Talakon folklore has it that a 'white brother will bring them the "Golden Book of Life". The 'white brother', some believe, could be two American missionaries who, for 40 years, have been working to bring the Bible and Christianity to the Talakon.
Kachin, Akha, Hmong... Qiang & Miao Israelites Waiting for their Sacred Lost Book of Gold
The Kachin have a myth that they devoured their own writing out of hunger, as do the Akha, while Graham mentions that the ‘legend of a lost book’ was also found among the Qiang of west Sichuan.
This myth about lost books radically influenced the readiness of the Miao to accept writing.
Temple in Kachin Prov, Myanmar.
The “lost book,” was restored by foreign missionaries to the Hmong of Laos, just as it had been restored a century earlier by Samuel Pollard to the Miao in China.
Karen Refugees
Since Burma’s first year of Independence from the British in 1948 the Karen National Liberation Army has been fighting against the Burmese military regime for autonomy and cultural rights.
The civil war in Burma has been dubbed as the longest ongoing conflict in the world.
Millions of people from Burma, mostly from ethnic populations in the country’s borderlands, have fled armed conflicts due to the Burmese military’s continuous and horrific human rights abuses that have spanned over several decades.
Over 140,000 Karen people have fled across the border to Thailand for safety to live in refugee camps along the Thai/Burma border.
Some refugees have lived confined to the camps in Thailand for 30 years.
Figures from 2014 show that there are approximately 120,000 people living in the nine camps along the Thai-Burma border. (The Border Consortium – a humanitarian aid agency that provides food and shelter to refugees)
Recent political changes and ceasefires in Burma have resulted in widespread and possibly premature talks of refugee repatriation.
The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) says it will support repatriation if conditions become conducive in the home countries for voluntary returns to take place in safety and dignity.
Most Karen people are Sgaw Karen, there are other Karen cultural and language groups such as Pwo Karen and Bwe Karen.
It's been made a genetic discovery for hearing loss in the Middle East by massively parallel sequencing. Ashkenazis & Palestinians have been tested in the study. Once again the conclusion is the same as previously: Ashkenazis & Palestinians both descend from the same Jewish ancestors.
Although, the 10 tribes are no longer lost, many still remain unrestored to a knowlege of the gospel of Jesus Christ and a covenant relationship with God. Members and missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ are sharing in the work to restore the dispersed of Israel and bring them home to Zion.
Zion in Hebrew & Latin Characters in movement
Hmong folktales seemed familiar to Israel’s history until I realized they were CONNECTED.
Genetically Hmong can be tied by what they call is Morton's / Greek Toe. Many Hmong today have the Greek Toe which is mostly common in Greece and Europe. Jesus also had the Greek Toe. Conclusion is that Hmong origins are from Europe before migrating to Asia. Western Europeans are considered as Lost Israelites, so doubt solved.
The Hmong Are Israelites
While serving an LDS mission in Milwaukee WI, we had a large population of ethnic Hmong Americans. These people are ethnic minorities who live in the mountains of northern Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam. They were US allies during the Vietnam war and were left to suffer the wrath of the VietKong after we pulled out of the war. Years later, many have immigrated to the US under refugee protection programs. The Hmong now live in certain designated refugee cities in California, North Carolina, and the Midwest. There are many Hmong in France because of Vietnam's history as a French colony.
Blond Hmong girl
The Hmong have a peculiar history. They are very Caucasian for Asians. Every so often a Hmong child will be born with blonde hair and blue eyes. In their oral history and recorded in cross-stitch tapestry are stories which parallel with the Bible stories of the Garden of Eden, Noah and the Flood, and the Tower of Babel. They also say that their people originated from the "north." After leaving the north, presumably Mongolia and Siberia, they lived for centuries among the Chinese. Then a great persecution began, their records were burned, and they were forced to flee into the mountains of Southeast Asia where they can be found today. I was a Spanish missionary in Wisconsin, but the Hmong missionaries in my District told me that Hmong have lost 10 tribe lineage declared in their patiarchal blessings.
Hmong Lost IsraelitesAlthough, the 10 tribes are no longer lost, many still remain unrestored to a knowlege of the gospel of Jesus Christ and a covenant relationship with God. Members and missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ are sharing in the work to restore the dispersed of Israel and bring them home to Zion.
Hmong folktales seemed familiar to Israel’s history until I realized they were CONNECTED.
Genetically Hmong can be tied by what they call is Morton's / Greek Toe. Many Hmong today have the Greek Toe which is mostly common in Greece and Europe. Jesus also had the Greek Toe. Conclusion is that Hmong origins are from Europe before migrating to Asia. Western Europeans are considered as Lost Israelites, so doubt solved.
HILL TRIBE PEOPLES OF THE LOST BOOK
Four hundred years ago the vast Q’iang people (Q’iang is a Chinese word meaning ‘outsiders’) succumbed to the wars by the Han Dynasty.
They had lived in the mountains, on high ridges, in walled villages with Israelite like towers since the third century BC.
They had kept themselves separate, but now they were defeated and a vast and continuous migration took place to the south.
Today, we know them as the “Hill Tribe “people of the “Lost book”. They are at least ten separate tribal groups and we know them as the Karen, Lahu, Lisu, Wa, Naga, Mizo, Kachin, Shan, Kui, and Palaung. All ten hill tribes in the hill regions surrounding Myanmar had a Lost Book story. They were all ready and waiting for the gospel, according to Don Richardson, from his book “Eternity in their hearts.”
The Karen are an interesting study for in the early 1830’s, missionaries, Dr and Mrs Mason who were working amongst the Sgaw Karen said…..
It is supposed by some that the Karens are part of the lost tribes of Israel. How numerous would be the members of these tribes were the sum of all who are set down as belonging to them told! It certainly is convenient when you meet with a people whom you cannot account for, to give “the lost tribes” the benefit of the doubt.
There is, however, this to be said for the above-mentioned theory, that Dr. and Mrs. Mason found very remarkable and accurate traditions regarding the creation, the fall, and future regeneration of man.
The Karen reckon 2010 to be their year 2749. This means that they look to BC 739 as the year of their founding. In their legends Karen speak of coming from the land of ‘Thibi Kawbi” which some have thought may indicate Tibet and the Gobi desert. Some Karen oral traditions refer to crossing a river of “running sand” as an important event in their history. There are Chinese sources which refer to the Gobi Desert as the “river of sand,” and it is probable that the Karen originated in an area bordering Tibet. They crossed the Gobi Desert into China, and gradually made their way into the mountainous areas of Burma.
Karen traditions
The Karen have a start date for their calendar year virtually the same as the year the first of the northern kingdom tribes were taken into exile. They also have a tradition that mirrors a Jewish tradition of crossing a river of sand. It was also said that these Ten Lost Tribes dwelt in a land where men had no noses, but just two holes in their faces. It was here they were, as legend goes, ruled by a strong prince. This certainly sounds like the Chinese and the river of sand could be no other than the silk road passing through the Taklamakan Desert between the Mountains of Heaven Tian and the Tibetan Plateau. Dr Avigdor Shachan says that Tak lam a kan is a Hebrew phrase which means “You will be destroyed here!”. No wonder the Sambatyon River legend says that these people could not come back!
All that reinforces the belief that the Lost Israelites were once, after their Mesopotamian captivity, in areas spanning Central Asia (including Mongolia, Xinjiang), Tibet...
Sgaw Karens
According to Karen tradition, unmarried couples are not supposed to touch each other, unless they intend to wed. (a remnant of the Torah?) Usually Karen husbands and wife stay together for life.
Adultery is considered a major taboo. Harmony and family go hand in hand. Karen strive for both.
Adultery is considered a major taboo. Harmony and family go hand in hand. Karen strive for both.
The Karen think very highly of education (like the modern Jews). In one of their stories they tell, that God gave the elder and the younger brother a book. The elder brother (Karen) did not pay attention to it, but went out to work. His book fell to the ground and was eaten up by hens and pigs (interesting that pigs are playing a bad role just as the Jews consider them forbiden in their diet). The younger brother (white foreigner) paid attention to it and succeeded. The story went on that the younger brother one day would come and bring the book back to his older brother. In the past this story has been a key for evangelism and it has shown the Karen the worth of education.
Today for many Karen it is the number one goal to gain a better education. They feel left behind if they do not have educational opportunities equal to the rest of Thailand and the world.
The Karen are an indigenous people to the southeast Asian countries of Thailand and Burma. The population numbers between 3 to 7 million (the Karen National Union, KNU, even suggests 14 million), the majority of the Karen are living inside Burma.
Thailand Royal Gran Palace
The country of Thailand has a population of approximately 61 million people, and about 1,000,000 of those are what the Thais refer to as Chao Khao–or tribal people of the mountains. The six major tribal groups in Thailand are the Karen, Hmong, Lahu, Akha, Yao, and Lisu. There are about as many Karen as all other tribal groups combined. The majority of Karen are divided into two groups: Sgaw and the Pwo. The small minority of remaining Karen are collectively referred to as the Red Karen.
The Hilltribe Welfare and Development Center’s summary for April 2002 gives a total 914,755 hilltribe population. The Karen are said to count 438,450. These figures are very likely to be far less than the true numbers because many hilltribe people who can’t prove where they were born, or those who crossed state borders, are considered illegal immigrants. Counting another several ten thousands of refugees, there are well more than 500,000 Karen living in Thailand.
The Hilltribe Welfare and Development Center’s summary for April 2002 gives a total 914,755 hilltribe population. The Karen are said to count 438,450. These figures are very likely to be far less than the true numbers because many hilltribe people who can’t prove where they were born, or those who crossed state borders, are considered illegal immigrants. Counting another several ten thousands of refugees, there are well more than 500,000 Karen living in Thailand.
In Thailand the largest concentration of Karen live in Chiang Mai province (is this province called after the Chiabg Mai Lost Israelites of China? perhaps because the Karen Lost Israelites are considered to come from them & that once they changed countries they also changed names), about one third of Thailand’s Karen population. The Sgaw are the largest group of Karen. All the Sgaw Karen share a common language and biological characteristics. They also share a cultural heritage.
This includes Karen history, tales, legends, myths in songs, poetry, and prose; religious rituals; and preferences for dress and food. Their villages have between 10 and 200 houses.
This includes Karen history, tales, legends, myths in songs, poetry, and prose; religious rituals; and preferences for dress and food. Their villages have between 10 and 200 houses.
The Karen languages are difficult to categorize as to linguistic family. They differ from other Tibeto-Burman languages in certain aspects, and yet they do not seem to fit other classifications. Many linguists now refer to them as the Karenic group of the Tibeto-Burman family.
Caucasian children in Karen attires. That's how the original Karens might have looked
Caucasian children in Karen attires. That's how the original Karens might have looked
All Karen languages are monosyllabic agglutinated speech, with no final consonants in Sgaw Karen and with nasals and finals in other dialects. These are all marks of Sinitic speech. Dr. D.C. Gilmore believes that the Pwo dialect branched off from the parent stem earlier than the Sgaw, but kept the original nasals and, being in closer contact with outside races, adopted more outside words. The Sgaw has dropped the final nasals, because they were more difficult to pronounce, but has kept the original form of the language to a greater extent than the Pwo. Pwo Karen has six tones. In Burma a Burmese script is used to write down the language, in Thailand a modified Thai script is used. There are only 26 of the 44 Thai characters used, in the Thailand Pwo Karen Script.
The name “Karen” is an imperfect transliteration of the Burmese word “Kayin” the derivation of which has puzzled students of that language. It has been thought that this word is derived from the name by which the Red Karen call themselves, i.e., “Ka-Ya” The central Thai call them ‘Kariang’ the northern Thai call them ‘Yang’. According to their language or dialect differences the Karen people can be divided into four subgroups.
The Sgaw Karen that call themselves Paganyaw, and the Bwe Karen.
The Pwo Karen that refer to themselves as Phlong, Pho and Shu.
The Red Karen groups also known as Kayah for the state they live in Thailand.
The Pa’o or Black Karen are Karen speaking people, however ethnically they are not Karen.
Although all Karen speak related languages, individual Karen sub-groups speak languages which are sometimes unintelligible to other groups.
The smallest social unit among the Karen is the nuclear family, which occupies one household. Most households are made up of a husband, wife, and any unmarried children. But it is also common for younger married couples to live with the parents of the wife for 1-3 years before building their own home on the compound of the wife’s parents home or on a separate piece of property.
The husband will always consult with his wife before making a decision that will affect the entire family. Privately, both husbands and wives share equally in decision making regarding family issues, though the husband is usually the one to announce the decision in public.
If all of the children of the family are married, it is also common for the youngest married daughter, her husband, and her children to care for her elderly parents in the home in which she was raised. When her parents die, she will inherit this house.
The Karen traditionally build simple houses on stilts, usually using split bamboo for walls and floors, with roofs made of thatch or grass. Chickens, pigs, buffalo, and cattle are kept under the house at night...
All traditional Karen houses have a spacious, partly covered veranda which is used for preparing food, weaving, doing other work, and as a place to chat with friends and accommodate overnight guests. The houses usually consist of 1-2 rooms, one of which is used as a sleeping compartment.
In the main living room, located in the center of the house, there is a fireplace surrounded by cooking utensils, and dishes. Over the fire is suspended a woven bamboo tray that is used for drying and storage. The fire is often kept going day and night and is used for cooking, to keep the family members warm, and is a deterrent to mosquitoes, helping to protect the residents from malaria.
There are two main types of farming: slash and burn and paddy. Slash and burn farming involves clearing an area of trees and then burning the underbrush. The burning process adds minerals to the soil, which helps crops to be grown. Unfortunately, the negative aspects outweigh the positives. This process strips the soil of essential nutrients and leads to more erosion, therefore, only allowing crops to be grown for a few years. As a result, the Karen have begun to utilize the process of paddy farming more often than slash and burn. Instead of installing an irrigation system, a paddy farm is flooded by a close river in order to water the crop. Clearly, this displays a financial advantage of paddy farming.
As seen with only these two types of farming, rice was the main crop. For the Karen, rice was always consumed by the family and never sold for profit. The isolation of the villages prevented them from using cash transactions or trade. Since rice continues to be the staple food for the Karen, agriculture remains to be an important aspect of their lifestyle and economy. Problems facing the Karen in Thailand include the environmental issues and the sharing of economic success. Similarities can be drawn between the popularity of a crop after a successful year. For example, once a certain crop is successful, the following year sees an influx of that specific crop to the market. Problems arise when the market becomes flooded with a certain crop. Therefore, the villagers face the challenge of finding new ways/products in order to earn an income and survive in the current cash economy.
The Karen, like most people of the world, play both traditional and contemporary music. To play these two styles there is also a difference of instruments used. The traditional music is played on a pentatonic (five-toned) scale. This is made up of the first, second, third, fifth, and sixth notes of what we know as a modern octave. They keep a loose structure of what pitch and rhythm the song should be sung in, allowing compensation for peoples’ variety of voices and emotion to the song.
Traditionally the music is in a minor key, causing a saddened sound to emerge. Of the traditional instruments of the Karen are harp, Jew’s harp, bamboo guitar or fiddle, xylophone, flute, graduated-pipes, gourd bag-pipe, wedding horn, drums, cymbals, and gongs. The instruments were made by the villagers out of elements around them, except for the drums, cymbals, and gongs, which came from the Burmese. The Karen cultural icons are the frog drum (Klo) and the cow horn (Kwe). These instruments are used as ceremonial musical instruments. The Karen would use the music played by these instruments for dancing, ceremonies, calling to each other in the brush, courting, or just a way to pass the time in musical enjoyment.
Traditionally the music is in a minor key, causing a saddened sound to emerge. Of the traditional instruments of the Karen are harp, Jew’s harp, bamboo guitar or fiddle, xylophone, flute, graduated-pipes, gourd bag-pipe, wedding horn, drums, cymbals, and gongs. The instruments were made by the villagers out of elements around them, except for the drums, cymbals, and gongs, which came from the Burmese. The Karen cultural icons are the frog drum (Klo) and the cow horn (Kwe). These instruments are used as ceremonial musical instruments. The Karen would use the music played by these instruments for dancing, ceremonies, calling to each other in the brush, courting, or just a way to pass the time in musical enjoyment.
Along with Christianity coming to the Karen, the missionaries brought Christian hymns from their land. The Karen enjoyed the hymns, and although not forced to, began to drop their traditional songs for these hymns. Only a few of their traditional songs have been modified into hymns and added to their hymnbook.
Contemporary music can resemble western music, using guitars as the base for the music. Depending on who has influenced the village, the village follows likewise. Some people who play music a lot prefer to bounce between traditional and contemporary music. They may do this by playing a traditional song on their Karen guitar, followed by a western song on their western guitar. Others use their Karen instruments and create new songs.
The religion of the Karen majority is Animism and Buddhism although there is a sizable population of Christians among the Karen. Christians constitute roughly 30% of the Karen population.
In contemporary Thailand, of all Karen, approximately half are Buddhist, 20 % Christian and for about 30 % traditional animism is the main focus.
Their traditional belief is animism, their practices consist principally of attempts to gain the favor of the spirits that surround them. Since they believe in many different kinds of spirits or “gods”, they always have to give sacrifices to, and seek counsel from these supernatural forces before they start a journey, before hunting, buying animals, or taking part in any business ventures.
The most important person in the traditional non-Christian animist Karen village is the priest. The priest is always a man who has inherited his position from the deceased priest from his father’s lineage (this sounds like a sort of apostate Levitic priesthood. Karen people will consult the village priest when asking for advice from the spirits or gods. He will determine the will of the spirits through the casting of lots, and for this purpose he will consult special divining paraphernalia such as seeds of rice, bones from chickens and pigs, ashes from a ritual fire, and even common bamboo or wood (this sounds as a thoroughly apostate Israel). In addition, the village priest, in consultation with the elders of the village, admits people into the village, allocates rice fields to the households of the village, and asks people to leave the village if they have broken an important taboo (the Torah really).
The Karen are strongly monogamous (divorce is very rare like in old Israel) and they have a tradition of being extremely moral people with strong group sanctions against theft, physical violence, and both premarital and extramarital sexual relationships (just like as prescribed in the Torah again). It is the task of the village priest to restore harmony to the village by requiring a sacrifice of a pig or buffalo from those who have violated the morality of the community.
The Karen are strongly monogamous (divorce is very rare like in old Israel) and they have a tradition of being extremely moral people with strong group sanctions against theft, physical violence, and both premarital and extramarital sexual relationships (just like as prescribed in the Torah again). It is the task of the village priest to restore harmony to the village by requiring a sacrifice of a pig or buffalo from those who have violated the morality of the community.
A village priest performs three basic animistic rituals. One ceremony is for the village and the other two rites are performed within his own home and within the homes of all other traditional Karen.
As ritual leader of the village, the responsibility is to set the date for the “The Great Sacrifice” — an event held once every three years, where each family of the village brings a boar and a white chicken to the village priest. The people of the village are then required to confess their sins and the priest slaughters the pigs and chicken on behalf of the villagers, to the “Lords of Land and Water”. The gallbladders of the pigs are inspected to see if they are well-rounded, in which case the sacrifice is thought to be acceptable to the gods. If not, it is believed that the sins of the people have not been sufficiently atoned, and the priest will call for more sacrifices. As a consequence of this ceremony, the village is confirmed as both a social and religious unit.
Wrist tying or the calling back of the k’la
It is the belief of traditional animist Karen that the body has 33 spirits called k’la (33 is highest degree in free masonery & Jesus Christ's age when He was resurrected). An oversoul, or the principal k’la, determines the timing of one’s life and death. The oversoul also directs the other 16 pairs of k’la which control the body’s parts. When k’la wander, the person becomes ill. Therefore it is necessary to call back the k’la and have them remain in the body.
Wrist tying is a ritual performed in the home at least twice a year. Once at the new year (end of December or early January depending on the moon. The Israelites also had a lunar calendar) and the other half way through the year (in the month of June). During the wrist tying ritual the k’la are called back to the person and the family is unified.
The wrist tying ritual begins with a small round table arranged with an assortment of things associated with traditional Karen culture (man’s red shirt, long black or blue pants, woman’s red skirt, woman’s black blouse, a turban, blankets, money, cookies and sweets, rice seeds, wine, curry, and cooked rice). These are placed on the table to tempt the k’la to come back from the forest. The people in the house then knock on the table and call to the k’la to come back. The priest then takes a small amount of rice seeds, if the number of seeds is even, everything is acceptable and the k’la are coming back, but if number of rice kernels is odd, something has been left out, and the priest must insure that all the necessary items are on the round table. If everything is on the table and the number of rice seeds is still odd, then each member of the household must give a money offering. This is continued until the number of rice kernels is even. The spirits will then leave the forest and come back to the house and eat the rice, sweets, curry, and other food items placed on the round table.
Included in the ceremony is the drinking of wine. The participants call all the spirits of the mountains, water, forest, and land to come and drink the wine. Then each participant must drink a small amount of wine before the priest will tie one wrist of each person. It is this act of binding the wrist which symbolizes the return of all the wandering k’la. If there is any wine left in the bottle, the woman of the house must finish it.
This ritual is only performed when all members of the family are present, because the k’la of each person will be influenced by the k’la of the others. K’la of one member of the family will encourage other k’la to come back. Furthermore, strong k’la can help weak k’la, therefore, members of the family are thought to help each other. And it is in this process that family unity is promoted. For this reason it is essential for every member of the family to be present, including the elderly, sons and daughters in-laws and their parents, and other consanguinal kin. Since one has relationships with many households, one will attend many of these ceremonies. So this practice provides not only family unity, but also strong village solidarity.
House rite of ‘au xae. The second ritual performed within the home was created to appease si kho miu xa, the god or spirit of the house. This ritual is called ‘au xae and is the most important of all traditional animist Karen rituals. Traditionally the Karen practice ‘au xae whenever someone is sick in order to cause the sick person’s k’la to come back to them. It is thought that when si kho miu xa is hungry he eats the k’la and causes the person to be sick. If the family will sacrifice chickens and pigs to si kho miu xa he will become satisfied and allow the k’la to be reunited with the body of the sick person, causing them to be well again. For this reason all traditional animist Karen will, by necessity, have to raise an ample supply of both chickens and pigs for health ritual purposes.
Like the wrist tying ritual, the husband, wife, and all the children of the house must be present and collectively perform the family rite of ‘au xae. During this sacrifice, the husband must wear the Karen man’s red shirt and go into the forest and cut some bamboo, some banana leaves, and other types of leaves taken from a place near the rice field. From these materials he will make a small ritual house for si kho miu xa, and bring it into his home and put it on the floor in the corner of one of the rooms.
If the ‘au xae involves the sacrifice of a pig, the husband will then tie the feet and mouth of the pig and all members of the family will gather around the pig. Every member of the family must touch the sides of the pig with their hands beginning with the husband, who is followed by the wife; next to touch the pig is the eldest of the children and so on until the youngest child has touched the pig. The husband will then kill the pig and remove all of the internal organs. A rod will then be put through the entire body of the pig and the pig will be put into the fire which removes all body hair. The pig will then be washed, and all of the meat will be cut up into large chunks. During the entire process special attention is paid in regard to following correct procedure, so as not to offend si kho miu xa.
As each member sits around the fire, each takes in turn a small amount of the meat to eat and a small amount of water to drink. The water has been taken from a vessel which had been previously placed in si kho miu xa’s ritual house. Finally, the husband will take the bones from the ribs, the internal organs, and the pigs hoofs and tail, and rap them in banana leaves. He will then place the bundle in an old basket along with si kho miu xa’s ritual house and hang this basket in the forest in a very old tree. When this ritual has been completed, the family will feast upon rice and the remaining pork.
If the person becomes well then si kho miu xa’s appetite has been satisfied and the k’la has come back to them. However, if, after the family rite of ‘au xae, the person remains sick, the village priest will be consulted in determining the cause of the disease. A typical method for making a diagnosis for an illness or for determining its remedy is, for the priest to examine the bones of a chicken or pig used in the rite of ‘au xae.
As is often the case, if a person does not get better after many sacrifices of pigs and chickens in the rite of ‘au xae, in addition to having chronic health problems, the family will also become very poor. For this reason many Karen find it financially advantageous to convert to Christianity or Buddhism, because they are freed from the time consuming and expensive demands of Karen animism.
In the 1820s American Baptist missionaries Judson, Wade, and Mason came to Burma and evangelized the Karen. In the process they translated the Bible into the Sgaw Karen language using the Burmese script. This Bible translation was finished in 1839 and this translation is still used today. The Karen believe that before the preaching of the gospel, the Karen people were like the people of Israel. Mason even believed that the Karen were one of the lost tribes of Israel. They sacrificed chicken and pigs. So in animism, the Karen were in the stage of waiting. Before the good news of Christ’s atoning sacrifice, the Karen were subject to the obligation of sacrifice in atonement. Now the Karen people can accept Jesus’ death as their ultimate sacrifice and they no longer need to practice ‘au xae’ Jesus becomes the acceptable sacrifice.
For the first generation Christian it is the fulfilment of traditional Karen culture, in the same way that Christians claim that Christ came to fulfil the promise of Judaism. For many Karen, who suffered under the burden of making costly sacrifices of chicken and pigs to si kho miu xa, this was good news. In Thailand, the American Baptist missionaries started work among the Karen in 1952 and formed the Karen Baptist Convention in 1955. But before missionaries started to work, some Karen from Burma had already started to spread the Gospel among their people in Thailand.
If the smallest social unit among the Karen society is the nuclear family, then the largest social unit is the village itself. The village is presided over by a headman who is recognized as the village’s political leader by the government of Thailand. From the Karen point of view, the village headman has little power or authority. His duty is to determine the village consensus and then to follow it carefully. This can put him in a difficult position, as he needs to remain a “good Karen,” while at the same time carry out whatever duties the Thai authorities require.
Most Karen do not aspire to this position because of the potential conflicts that might arise. A Karen village is a very democratic place. Decisions are made by the whole group with the men doing most of the talking (at least in the meetings!). Unanimity is an important ideal and goal before any decision is reached. It is generally safe to say that issues that are never agreed upon are never acted upon. The headman is not so much a decision maker as the voice of the group after a consensus has been reached.
The consensus is usually reached through talking to each other. The village meeting endorses the reached agreement and announces it to everybody.
There are many kinds of learning, formal and informal and new opportunities are coming up all the time. The changes brought by Christianity and formal education have benefited the Karen in many ways. Learning new and better ways to perform traditional labours and gaining other ways to earn money has increased the standard of living significantly in the villages. More people have expanded into other occupations besides rice farming. While this has been favourable, increased education has come at a price.
The increased Thai presence education brings to the village has threatened the traditional Karen culture and lifestyle. Karen children are often not following in the footsteps of their parents and grandparents, and many elders have mixed feelings about this. Education brings many opportunities, but also many new questions to answer. If children are to grow up and become rice farmers like their parents, why do they need to go to school? If they do go to school, what can students do with their new knowledge and skills if they return to the village? Do the job opportunities in the village really make education worthwhile?
Schools for the Karen today are not providing an education comparable to what is found in urban Thai schools. The Karen believe in the importance of education, but they will be left behind if they do not have educational opportunities equal to the rest of Thailand.
The Karen people of Northern Thailand are facing some serious issues concerning the preservation of their culture. Due to several environmental issues they are dealing with the conflict between sustainable living and current usage of the earth’s resources. They are also faced with the intrusion of Thai influence, both from the government and from visitors who have easier access to the hill tribes due to the construction of the road that winds up the mountains. This includes the arrival of machines, televisions, and other modern amenities that are intrinsic to the process of globalization. Additionally, the ideas of efficiency and capitalism are rapidly being introduced to traditional hill tribe culture.
For many Karen, education at home was based on cultural tradition. Before the gospel came to the Karen villages, many families were brought up with Karen morals. Some of these teachings dealt with ceremonial traditions such as learning about the different rituals with death and burial, marriage ceremonies, etc.
The lack of education brought upon oppression and much of the suffering of the Karen people when the British came to colonize Burma. Many Karen were forced to migrate to Thailand because they did not want to pay tributes to the Burmese government. In Thailand, the Thai government started oppressing the Karen community by trying to convert them to become more Thai-like.
Growing up as a minority, many Karen’s right to lead their own lives with strictly Karen ways were taken away from them—with the control of the Thai government. Along with schools opening, modern industrialization allowed the Thais to move into the hills of northern Thailand.
The educational system shows the great dominance of Thai culture in the tribal villages. For instance, Thai laws state that no tribal language can be spoken or taught in the schools. Amy Grunewald mentioned how the Central Thai classes that are being taught in the village schools have no relation to the lives the Karen children lead when they go home. A typical schedule for a Karen student would be to take an English, Mathematical, Thai dance or culture, and Thai history class. Often times, Karen children will wai their elders (teachers) upon greeting them. This is something that has been adapted from Thai culture that has never been used in Karen culture. Schools are used to introduce Thai culture and Buddhism.
Tribal people like the Karen are facing the influx of Thai and Western culture and education. With the more recent development of formal education among the Karen, the protection of their traditional culture and lifestyle is a crucial issue today. For the Karen, education brings many benefits as well as new challenges.
Schools in Thailand are centralized, and all of their curriculum comes from the government in Bangkok. For this reason, most people refer to it as “the Bangkok Curriculum”. Students were formerly required to complete their compulsory primary schooling for six years. Then nine years were asked, but it has recently been increased to twelve years. All students in grades 1-12 are required to study Thai language, science, and mathematics. English formerly began at age eight or nine, but has recently been added at this level as well. Schools also have required electives, such as physical education, art, music, practical skills, and religion (Buddhism).
The Government has programs to help hill tribes improve their standard of living. The aim of the projects is to stop opium cultivation, slash-and-burn method of cultivation and forest destruction and to enable the people to grow useful crops that will earn them a good income. Among other things, the tribal people are taught proper use of land, soil conservation, proper use of water and forest preservation. Villagers are being introduced to new crops to the benefit of Thailand’s economy. Thai government and Karen often differ from each other on what is wanted and done for a village. In the past Thai officials didn’t know much about Karen people and culture so the government would use its power to see what it wanted to see, not what was really occurring and needed.
In addition to agricultural needs the National government has helped with the social welfare of the hill tribe people by bringing medical and educational programs. The King’s Royal Project has brought educational and medical facilities. The government schools are Thai and children are taught Thai language, history and politics instead of their own. With these facilities Thai government officials, employees and teachers take up permanent residence in the villages.
The last century has brought much National presence and influence to the hill tribes of Northern Thailand whether the Karen appreciate it or not.
The push towards higher education is mainly lead by the older generation. The lack of education in this age group has severely hindered their ability to work with the Thai, and in turn become a threat to the survival of the basic culture of the Karen. Education is seen as the best chance for the younger generation to survive in a world heavily influenced by the outside Thai stimuli.
A shift in power has occurred which lessens the power of the headman in order to make room for the government official. There has also been a split in the authority between the official government system and the traditional forms of authority, however, the two forms of authority compliment one another well and create a functioning system. Although new political issues often arise for the villages, the most pertinent issues are those that have existed for some time: land, drugs, water and relations with the Thai.
The Karen in Thailand, like all other ethnic groups, are confronted with social change. As much as they want to maintain their Karen ethnic identity within the country of Thailand, they are being pressured to assimilate into the larger society. Some of the social changes promote what Karen consider to be a better life for their families–they have greater access to education, health care, food, transportation, communication, better housing, ample water, warm clothing, and energy to light their homes and cook their food. Yet, such benefits may come at the cost of loosing their Karen culture.
Increasingly the primary language of Karen children is Thai and presently few children are able to read and write their tribal language. Traditional Karen dress, an important source of ethnic pride and identity, is more and more reserved for special occasions. The performance of ancestral Karen music and dance is so rare that even most middle age adults are unable to participate. Historic Karen stories, poems, and songs are no longer a part of the collective memory. How long will it take before the Karen people are completely assimilated into Thai society once they leave their mountain homelands and move into the large urban centres of Thailand?
Many Karen villages in Thailand can be reached by dirt roads. The roads improve steadily but the rainy season makes travelling on them a bit hazardous, if not impossible. Because of the mountainous home of the Karen they were able to stay fairly culturally and physically secluded as long as they did.
The ecology of the land is changing as well as the lives of the people. Because of the roads there is more erosion. Due to increased usage of pesticides and fertilizers there are more water pollution problems. The Thai government is interested in preserving the forest as well as the Karen people themselves. The Thai government and the Karen have different concepts of water, dirt, forest. Therefore the environment is a big issue in Karen/Thai relations. The Karen in the past have always been environmentally aware and have avoided farming methods which destroyed the forest.
Many Karen have built nice wooden houses and most recently some have even built concrete houses. In most of the villages where there is a dirt road, some Karen possess cars going together with debts. Many are working to pay off their car. They plant tomatoes and other cash crops. In many villages there are only a few young people left. As we have seen, the Karen want education and so most children are sent to hostels (mainly Christian) or Buddhist temples outside their villages, some even to very far away towns. The children usually return only during holidays. Because there are only a few schools in the mountains with poor standards, Christians in a nearby village to Omkoi have built hostels so that several hundred Karen children can receive education at the primary and high school level. There are also hostels from many other groups.
It is amazing how readily the Karen give their children away since to them family life has been of high value. Is there no better way? Do Christians do the right thing to take them out of their villages? What alternatives would there be?
We have to anticipate that in the very near future, the population of the Karen villages in the mountains will shrink, as many young people are leaving their home to find work or further education in towns and cities. Already nowadays one can find Karen Christians in almost any church in Chiangmai. But many who move to cities and towns or places where there is no church stay on their own and may be lost.
Christianity has made an impact in many Karen villages. There are numerous churches in the area. Those villages which have not been reached – especially some in the Maetun area and over to Tak province have seen an increasing influence through Buddhism. Chedis and temples are built. Through the state schools Buddhism is also spread. Those who have taken on a Buddhist layer over their animistic beliefs are much harder to reach with the gospel. Here are some new challenges for the Christians, of whom many do not know anything about Buddhism and how to reach those who believe in it.
Into our heart, into our heart, come into our heart Lord Jesus Come in now, come in now, come in my heart Jesus. Mother father, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, grandchildren, let's look back on our lives, when we were still in the hands of Satan. We had to sacrifice in order to please the spirits all the time, we lost our chickens we searched in vain and the spirits made us sick. But now we don’t have to sacrifice the spirits anymore. Because we see the true God who is the God who loves us who gave His only Son we should lift Him up.
Minloungs, or supernatural characters , or rather those supposed by the ignorant Karens to have supernatural powers, have appeared from time to time, and it has been conjectured that some such character, in order to impose upon the Karens and acquire power over them, has devised this plan, and that the Plate is a mere medley of characters, sufficient to inspire awe in the ignorant mind, and having no real meaning in themselves. This may be the fact; but, if it is so, it is beyond the memory of any living Karen, nor do they have any tradition which would favor this suspicion. Either tradition would seem to point to it as of ancient origin.
“Israelite Migration” page 127, The “Lost” Ten Tribes of Israel…Found! by Steven M Collins
After king Solomon died, the kingdom of Israel was divided into two, known as the House of Israel –representing the ten northern tribes – and the House of Judah –with the Levites and the remaining two tribes. All the kings of the House of Israel were evil in God’s eyes and finally they were sent into captivity in 3-4 phases. The first were the two and a half tribes east of the Jordan about 740BC.
ON A KAREN INSCRIPTION-PLATE.
The story of my visit to Karenee, and the circumstances attending the copying of the Plate, are briefly as follows:
Karenee is east from Toungoo twelve hard days' journey. It lies on the Salwen river, and is divided into Eastern and Western Karenee, each ruled by its own chief. Its natural scenery is most interesting to the traveller.
Shwedagon Pagoda at Yangon, anciently called Rangoon
I left Toungoo near the close of 1868 , and joined Rev. J. B. Vinton, of the Rangoon Mission, at Shwaygheen. We traveled east to the Salwen river, and the north to the village of Kai-pho-gyee, the chief of Western Karenee. From Shway-gheen to the Salwen is about seven days, and from thence to Kai-pho-gyee's village is about seven more, but we were nearly twenty days on the road, owing to the disturbed state of the country from roaming bands of robbers. We had sent to ask permission to enter Eastern Karenee, but were refused.
Among the objects of our journey, not the least was to obtain a sight, and if possible a copy, of the famous Plate. But though we were received most cordially by the chief, yet we soon found that this part of our mission would not be accomplished without difficulty. We discovered that the Plate, with other things of a strange character in the eyes of the natives, constituted in fact the talisman by which the chief held his power over the people.
With reference to the origin of the Plate we made careful inquiries; but, so far as I have been able to learn, the Karenees do not hold the same traditions concerning it as the Sgau and Bghai tribes; yet I cannot speak positively respecting the point. The tradition of the Red Karens, or Eastern Bghais, in which the inscription-plate here treated of plays a part, is given as follows by Rev. E. B. Cros s, in a paper on the Karens and their language.
To all our inquiries, " where did you get this Plate?" they reply, " it has descended to us from father to son, in the line of chiefs, from most ancient days ;" yet sometimes they profess to believe that it came from a supreme and supernatural being; that they formerly were able to read it, but soon lost the art I hope in a future trip to learn what traditions are really held by them concerning it, as well as concerning their own origin.
The fact that the Plate invests its possessor, the chief, with what authority he holds over his subjects, is owing to the superstition of the people. They believe that it has life; that it possesses the power of giving and taking life, of producing famine or of giving plenty. They also believe that if one ventures to look upon it, he will be blinded by it. The chief, whether he joins in the popular belief or not, finds it profitable to keep up the delusion, both as it guards his power, and as it brings him a revenue. The people, attributing to it such power as they do, are accustomed to assemble once a year from all parts of the nation, to propitiate it with offerings. The gathering of the people takes place in the month of March, and is with them the great feast-day. Every one brings offerings, according to his free will; but as the Plate is thought to have an especial fondness for silver coin, such coin is the chief offering made to it. This yields quite a revenue to the chief.
"In earliest and most ancient times, we came from the West. We came in company with the Chinese.
The Chinese were our elder brothers. Our elder brothers, the Chinese, went in a company in advance, and we in a company followed them. The Chinese company advanced more rapidly than we did, and thus left us behind, and we became separated; and the separation gradually increased between us.
The Chinese were our elder brothers. Our elder brothers, the Chinese, went in a company in advance, and we in a company followed them. The Chinese company advanced more rapidly than we did, and thus left us behind, and we became separated; and the separation gradually increased between us.
"Under these circumstances, we came upon a stream or river where there were abundance of shell-fish [cerithidia]. We stopped to boil and eat the shell-fish. We boiled them, but they remained hard. We boiled them still more, but still they remained hard. Upon this we went to our elder brothers, the Chinese, and observed how they cooked the fish. We saw that they boiled them till they were cooked, and then broke the shells and ate them. We returned and did the same, and then followed after our brothers. We followed, but we no more overtook them. We continued to follow until we came upon the place where our Chinese brothers had left us a bridle-bit, and a sickle, to cut food for a horse, and a book written on a plate of brass and gold, which was shining black. It was only a part of the plate. We therefore said among ourselves, 'now our elder brothers have determined not to wait for us any longer. They have given us, and left for us, our inheritance, that which we were to receive.'
"When this was done, we made no more attempts to follow our brothers. We stopped and made us cities and villages, and our palace, in the country and place where the city of Ava now is. The name of the city in which was our king's palace was called Hotailai. or ' gold and silver city.
"After we had been there a long time, a Burmese people called Kathai, who were in the West, came after us, and fought with us, and utterly destroyed our palace, our cities, and our villages. We then fled and built again our villages and cities and palace in the land of Kyeelya, where we now are, and where we have ever since remained."
In the Sgau or Tavoy tradition, as reported also by Mr. Cross, the Chinese are declared "younger brothers," and there is a similar story about cooking the shell-fish, but no mention of a " book " or plate.
At these yearly gatherings, the Plate is placed on a dish on a high altar, and shares a large part of the honors of the feast. Bullocks, goats, fowls, etc., are killed, and bits of all are heaped up around the dish on the altar. At this time the multitude bring their offerings of silver, and place them in the dish with the Plate, carefully avoiding a glance at it.
On account of these superstitions, we found that we had much to overcome before we could gain a sight of the Plate. However, a few days of careful diplomacy secured the consent of the chief and head-men, and one day about noon a messenger came to conduct us to the house where it was guarded. We must carry money to feed it, and we must take all the risk of being smitten by it, because of our rashness, if it should be angry; which we joyfully did. About 75 cents in silver coin was thought to be sufficient to satisfy it for that time. We were also to leave all our followers behind. Only the two "white men" would be allowed to enter. We were allowed to take pencils and paper. A few moments' walk brought us to a strongly fortified inclosure, where stood the palace of old King Kai-pho-gyee, who had died a few months before our arrival. We were conducted to the rear of the house, where, by a flight of steps, we ascended a high walled veranda. Here, in a semi-circle, were seated the sons of the late king, in company with the chief men; and before them lay the metal Plate on an ordinary dinner-plate. Beside it lay a stout canvas bag, made to hold it, about three feet in length. Two pillows were placed for us to sit upon. We were allowed to take the Plate in our hands, but were forbidden to press or close the hand upon it; and although we had prepared wax, yet they would not permit us to take an impression of it They granted us permission, however, to make a copy, and we set about our work, each for himself. We copied it throughout with out reference to each other's work, in order that we might test our copies for accuracy after they were made. We had no want of light, as the Plate lay in the fierce glare of a noon-day sun. While we were thus engaged, the keeper of the Plate, the wife of the deceased king, was occupied in chanting before the Spirit who had the Plate in especial charge, in order to distract his attention from what was going on, lest he should be angry. We were thrown into some anxiety on this account, as she alternately chanted her prayer, and then came out to reproach us for being so long in our examination.
The character is so complex that we found it difficult to make our copy, and the operation necessarily took some time. However, we completed the copy without serious interruption, the chiefs maintaining a complete silence till we were through.
Karenee Metal Plates
On comparing our copies we found that they were very nearly correct. We also were able to compare them with the original now that we were sure of them. I inclose the original copy as made by myself. No. 1 is the front an d No. 2 the reverse side.
I aimed to give every mark, however trifling, even what appeared to me to be slips of the chisel in the engraver's hand, and each stroke in its proper proportion. The first copy was made with a pencil, and traced with ink directly on my return.
The engraved lines were bold and deep cut, as I have endeavored to show in the copy. The strokes of the chisel formed a cut with a base more like two right angles than an acute angle. The letters were engraved very near to the edge of the Plate all around, and might give one the impression, on a hasty look, that the Plate had been divided, but I saw no reason for such a supposition, and I examined it carefully with this in view.
The Plate was evidently very old, as it showed signs of wear. Some letters were filled up with much handling, but owing to the color of the metal the form of th e letters was in almost every instance readily made out.
The size of the Plate by actual measurement is — length 6 r % inches, width 2J- inches, thickness about \ of an inch, but not uniform. As to its composition I cannot pronounce with confidence, as we were not allowed to examine it by any test. There are, however, two kinds of metals in it, without doubt. These two metals were first made into plates and then united by welding, not face to face but by their edges. This is the appearance the Plate presents. The line of union is irregular, at times almost disappearing in the perfect union of the metals. The first half of the Plate is dark copper color, but the other half is a much lighter yellow, and I am not sure that it is not gold. I could not tell much by weight as a test, yet it seemed to me at the time to be too heavy for copper, or a composition of any metal having the specific gravity of copper: but I cannot speak with confidence in this matter.
I have examined a list of the alphabets of the East, and while this character resembles none to which I have access, yet it has forms common to a number. The Siamese character for his repeated a number of times. A Hebrew letter occurs here and there. Some forms or parts of whole letters resemble Burmese characters: and so on. The division or apparent division of sentences is unlike any system with which I am acquainted. The Burmese system is couplets of short parallel bars before and after a sentence, while this appears to be a single or double cross at the close of a sentence.
Further than this I have no light It may be well to add, that accounts of shell-fish similar to those represented on the Plate enter largely into those traditions of the Karens which relate to their early travels: which fact is a little curious, to say the least.
Minloungs, or supernatural characters , or rather those supposed by the ignorant Karens to have supernatural powers, have appeared from time to time, and it has been conjectured that some such character, in order to impose upon the Karens and acquire power over them, has devised this plan, and that the Plate is a mere medley of characters, sufficient to inspire awe in the ignorant mind, and having no real meaning in themselves. This may be the fact; but, if it is so, it is beyond the memory of any living Karen, nor do they have any tradition which would favor this suspicion. Either tradition would seem to point to it as of ancient origin.
It might be well to remark, also, that this tribe seems to be the oldest tribe of Karens known, as they are by far the most civilized. Their works for irrigation , and the changes in the face of the country by agriculture, show this to be true also. Everything in their country tends to produce the impression on the mind of the traveler that he is among a comparatively old people, who have occupied their position for some length of years.
With reference to the ivory plates, I may say that I have little doubt of their existence at the same place. In fact, a descendant of the chief who is now with me tells me that such plates are in existence. How many they are or what their character I am unable to find out. The present chief denied having any more plates, but probably from fear that we should ask for a sight of them also. There are also other books, of palm leaf, which I think are of a modern date, perhaps in the Burmese character. I expect to visit the country again next season, and if possible shall get an impression of the Plate in question, and a sight, of such other writings or engravings as may be in the keeping of this chief.
If any further particulars are desired which I can give I shall be happy to furnish them. In the mean time, if any progress is made in deciphering this inscription, I shall be glad to be made acquainted with the results.
The ivory plates here referred to are thus mentioned by Mr. Cross: " Rev. Quala also states that the Red Karen king, Kai-pho-gyee, who holds this plate, has also in his possession five ivory plates, in shape and size about like the ordinary Burmese palm-leaf — that is to say, each plate is about two feet in length, and two and a half inches in width. These ivory plates are covered with the same characters as the metal plate already mentioned."
Overview of the Ten Tribes in the East
The dividing of the Kingdom of Israel
“Israelite Migration” page 127, The “Lost” Ten Tribes of Israel…Found! by Steven M Collins
After king Solomon died, the kingdom of Israel was divided into two, known as the House of Israel –representing the ten northern tribes – and the House of Judah –with the Levites and the remaining two tribes. All the kings of the House of Israel were evil in God’s eyes and finally they were sent into captivity in 3-4 phases. The first were the two and a half tribes east of the Jordan about 740BC.
The Half-Tribe of Manasseh 1 Chronicles 5 …25 But they acted treacherously against the God of their fathers and played the harlot after the gods of the peoples of the land, whom God had destroyed before them. 26 So the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul, king of Assyria, even the spirit of Tilgath-pilneser king of Assyria, and he carried them away into exile, namely the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh, and brought them to Halah, Habor, Hara and to the river of Gozan, to this day.
Many people believe that Halah, Habor, Hara and to the river of Gozan are in and around the area of modern day Afghanistan. Robert Mock from http://www.bibleresearchers.comstates…
River Go’zan – According to Saadia Gaon, the Lost Tribes of Israel were sent to the “River Go’zan” which is “the river north of the city of Balach in the north of Afghanistan. The river is known today as the “Amu Darya”, and is the border between Afghanistan and Russia. Afghanistan's tradition states that the whole river was once known as the Gozen River. Habor – The area of Habor’s location is found in the mountainous pass (Habor) between Afghanistan and Pakistan that is called “Pesh-Habor”. It is believed that this is the famous mountainous pass, Khyber Pass. That city today is known as Peshawar, on the Pakistani side of the Khyber Pass is called the “city after the pass”.
Hara – The city of Hara is located near the Persian border called Harat. Today, it is the third largest city in Afghanistan. The prophecy of Isaiah gives some identification for it alludes that the deportation of the Israelites brought the 10-Israelite tribes to the land of “Sinim”.
As we analyze the following text we get the impression that the wanderings of the Lost tribes initially moved eastward towards the land of Pakistan, the mountainous land of Kashmir that is disputed by Pakistan and India today, and the mountain Buddhist kingdom of Tibet, high in the Himalayas, being fought over by China and the huge Nation of China beyond. Into all of these nations the Lost Tribes left their progeny and their spiritual traditions behind.
Isaiah 49:12 – “In an acceptable time I have heard you, and in the day of salvation I have helped you; I will preserve you and give you as a covenant to the people to restore the earth…Surely these shall come from afar; Look! Those from the north and the east, and these from the land of Sinim.”
After they were taken captive around 740BC they became part of the Assyrian military guard in the far east of the empire. As Assyria weakened they broke away and became their own tribal groups. Manasseh was known as the Massaga. They were located in the Swat Valley in Northern Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan.
Ten tribes beyond the Euphrates an immense population
The Jewish historian, Josephus, states in the 1st Century, concerning the ten tribes of Israel in Asia during his day, “wherefore there are but two tribes in Asia and Europe subject to the Romans, while the ten tribes are beyond Euphrates till now, and are an immense multitude, and not to be estimated by numbers.”
Cyrus defeated by the children of Isaac
History tells us that in 530BC Queen Tomyris of the Massagetae (Manasseh) [also known as Ar-Sakes or Saccae or Ruling Saks] to the east of the Caspian Sea counselled Cyrus the Great of Persia to leave them alone. Cyrus would not listen to her and the invading Persian army was “virtually” wiped out, including Cyrus. The Massagetae spoke an Iranian tongue indicating they were originally from the Fertile Crescent region. This battle was fought on the Jaxartes River east of Oxus in modern day Afghanistan.
Alexander the Great in Afghanistan 326BC
The next great ruler to contend with the children of Isaac, in this region, was Alexander the Great. He invited all chieftains of the satrapy Gandhara to submit to his authority. It was the hill clans of the Pashtun Tribes of the Bani Israel that refused. They were the Aspsioi, the Assakenoi clans of the Kamboijas. In Indian literature they were the horse tribes also called Ashvayanas or Ashvakayanas. Alexander was understandably furious engaging them in battle along the Kunar River and the Alishang Valley, north-eastern Afghanistan, also the Peshawar Valley where the Pashtun live today.
The fighting was fiercest at the cities of Ora, Bazira and Massaga. At the Fort of Massaga the city fell after several days of siege followed by fierce fighting that caused the Massagan chieftain’s death and command passed to his mother Cleophis. Women fought by the sides of their husbands and sons. It was the siege of the winter of 327/6BC on a highly defensible spur known as Pir-Sat at Swat.
The fighting was fiercest at the cities of Ora, Bazira and Massaga. At the Fort of Massaga the city fell after several days of siege followed by fierce fighting that caused the Massagan chieftain’s death and command passed to his mother Cleophis. Women fought by the sides of their husbands and sons. It was the siege of the winter of 327/6BC on a highly defensible spur known as Pir-Sat at Swat.
Sons of Isaac massacred or escaped up the mountains
All defenders were massacred and the city reduced to rubble. In another valley the terrorized population fled, burning everything in their wake. Alexander’s men, burning small boxes to keep themselves warm, found them later to be coffins to the horror of all.
Where did the survivors go?
Well the stories of the Ch’iang Min and the Sgaw Karen may hold the key! And legends of the Sambatyon River running with sand and rocks rather than water, that the ten tribes of Israel went across, may also be true.
The Jews carry stories of their long lost brothers from the northern kingdom, the House of Israel, the Ten Lost Tribes, being carried beyond the Sabbath River, or Sambatyon River. It was said to be a mythical river that flowed with sand and rocks but rested on the seventh day so that it could be crossed over. They said that their kinsfolk had crossed and could never return. It was said that they lived with a powerful prince amongst people with no noses – just two holes.
Western part of the Silk Road that goes around the Taklamakan Desert. The Taklamakan Desert looks like a river of sand.
Travel from the west to China
Reverend Thomas T. Torrance, in his book, says that the Chiang or Q’iang (a Chinese word meaning outsider or ‘those people in the west who are not one of us’) Min who lived near the Min River, east of Tibet, remembered that they came from the Mediterranean several hundred years before Christ and the journey took three years and three months. The Karen have a story of crossing a river of sand and they date themselves in 2014/5 to their year 2,754. This means that they reckon the year 739 BC as their founding. Or could it be the beginning of their captivity and expulsion from their homeland in Israel?
Celtic Mummies in Taklamakan Desert, Tarim Basin
Another piece of the puzzle maybe the Celtic Mummies found buried in the Tarim Basin dressed in tartan. Whilst many people including Yair Dividiy, Lost Tribes researcher, publish works on the ten tribes on their western dispersion as being Celtic today; there is evidence that say these same people went east also. If it is true that part of the Ten tribes of Israel are known as Celts today, then finding ‘Celtic mummies’ in the Tarim Basin may be an added link of tracing the Ten Tribes as they went east.
Silk Road
The Taklamakan Desert is a large sandy expanse, part of the Tarim Basin, a region roughly between Tibet and Mongolia, in western China, and crossed at its northern and southern edge by the Silk Road.
Conditions are so harsh that travellers avoided the desert as much as possible, but in millennia gone by, the region was populated and habitable. The southern Taklamakan Desert, in 3800 BC, was an area where the Silk Road once flourished and prosperous cities were built. However, by 300BC, the desert had taken over. Studies confirm the assertion of Han [1998] that the occupants of digs in the Tarim Basin are not derived from proto-European steppe populations, but share closest affinities with Eastern Mediterranean populations. Mallory and Mair associate mummies dating (700 BCE–200 CE) to be Europoid in appearance and of the peoples who introduced the Iranian Saka language to the western part of the Tarim basin. Further, the results demonstrate that such Eastern Mediterraneans may also be found at the urban centres of the Oxus civilization located in the north Bactrian oasis to the west in Afghanistan. These people were in Afghanistan.
Celts
At their peak, around 300BC, the influence of the Celts stretched from Ireland in the west to the south of Spain and across to Italy’s Po Valley, and probably extended to parts of Poland and Ukraine and the central plain of Turkey in the east. These mummies seem to suggest, however, that the Celts penetrated well into central Asia, nearly making it as far as Tibet. Celtic traditions tie themselves also to Israel.
The Chiang Min
Rev. Torrance surmised that they were a powerful force in the west for many centuries. He also surmised that they were the originators of many redemption truths that were later found within the Chinese culture.
Hill Tribe peoples of Myanmar, Thailand, India, Laos etc.
Dr and Mrs Mason, missionaries to the Sgaw Karen in Myanmar in early 1830’s commented, “we found very remarkable and accurate traditions regarding the creation, the fall, and future regeneration of man.” They supposed them to be part of the Lost Tribes.
In their legends, Karen speak of coming from the land of ‘Thibi Kawbi”, which some have thought may indicate Tibet and the Gobi desert. Some Karen oral traditions refer to crossing a river of “running sand” as an important event in their history. There are Chinese sources which refer to the Gobi Desert as the “river of sand,” and it is probable that the Karen originated in an area bordering Tibet. They crossed the Gobi Desert into China, and gradually made their way into the mountainous areas of Burma.
The Lost Book
The Karen have this story: After Y’wa created the earth he decided to go on a long journey, and so he called his sons together and gave each a book of life. To the Karen, the eldest, he gave a Golden Book of Life. In his carelessness, the Golden Book of Life was burned, chickens and pigs ate it. (their Israelite origin might point to their low consideration of pigs in this story).
Other tribes who have Lost Book Stories
Lahu, Lisu, Wa, Naga, Mizo, Kachin, Shan, Kui, Palaung are, with the Karen, ten differing tribes that all had a Lost Book story in the hill regions surrounding Myanmar. They were all ready and waiting for the gospel, according to Don Richardson, from his book “Eternity in their hearts”. All these people east of the Taklamakan desert became Christian in huge numbers when the gospel arrived with missionaries in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
Lost Golden Book Israelites - Israelites of the Lost Golden Book
Conclusion – Ancient Israelites in Myanmar, NE India Thailand
Their parent group are no doubt the Q’iang Min of Szechwan, China, who also became Christian when their Lost Scriptures were found to be the Books of Moses and the One they were waiting for was Jesus the Messiah. The Q’iang Min, as we have shown, came from Afghanistan about 2,300 years ago fleeing Alexander the Great and his men. They were known as Ar-Sakes or Isaac’s sons and were part of the Scythians Circa 8 – 1 century BC. They had either been taken or fled the Assyrian captivity to the mountains of Afghanistan.
Parthian Empire
From 64BC until 225AD the Parthian Empire became a second world power to that of Rome. It arose shortly after and in an adjacent location as the Scythian Empire collapsed giving rise to the idea that they were mostly the same people –the sons of Isaac.
Lost Tribes in Afghanistan, Pakistan & Kashmir
The Pashtuns of Afghanistan and Pakistan and most of the Kashmiris reckon themselves to be descended from the Lost Tribes Israel. They know they were Parthians. They are predominantly Muslim today.
Supporting the Malay Theory of the Book of Mormon
The Book of Mormon's name Helam is translated in Hebrew as "stronghold", or "place of abundance". The areas were the Chinkukis live, mostly in Myanmar, are abundant in all types of fruits because it lies in a tropical area. Moreover, one of their clans is called Halam, which in Hebrew phonetics is the same as Helam. They both have the consonants HLM. Helaman is another Book of Mormon name with the root "Helam". Since in the Book of Mormon the most important Helaman was an army member, perhaps the meaning of Helaman had a more belic connotation & the meaning stronghold was the one applied plus the suffix an.
The Malay Theory
This theory says it would have been much easier for Nephi to travel a 4000 mile journey to the Malay Peninsula than a 16000 mile journey in open seas to the Americas, and the Malay Peninsula is a better description of the Narrow Neck of Land.
So, what if the Book of Mormon is true, but we’re digging in the wrong place? I decided to look at one of the radically different geography theories-the Malay theory.
Ralph Olsen is a retired chemistry professor at Montana State University, with research interests in plants, soils, and microbes. I asked him why he picked Malay as a possible Book of Mormon location, and he cited several reasons:
(1) The peninsula is north-south, unlike Sorenson’s east-west orientation (2) The problems with animals go away. Elephants, sheep, horses, etc. all date to the proper time period (3) The civilization dates to the proper time period, and had chariots, iron, silk, etc (4) There were dark-skinned people pre-existing on the peninsula. If they intermarried with the Lamanites, (while the Nephites did not intermarry) that might explain the “dark and loathsome” peoples in the Book of Mormon
(5) The shorter 4000 mile oceanic travel makes more sense than a 16000 mile journey. Even the FAIR produced DVD called Journey of Faith, (which shows many Old World evidences of the Book of Mormon), indicates Nephi would have hugged the coastline, and the path goes right by the Malay Peninsula. (6) Alma 63: 5 And it came to pass that Hagoth, he being an exceedingly curious man, therefore he went forth and built him an exceedingly large ship, on the borders of the land Bountiful, by the land Desolation, and launched it forth into the west sea, by the narrow neck which led into the land northward. a) Traditional Mormon scholars seem to support the idea that Hagoth traveled eastward and populated the Pacific Islands (such as Hawaii, Tonga, etc), b) Scholarly consensus indicates that Native Americans came from Asia, and came along one of two routes. (1) the Bering Strait, or (2) they hopped across the Pacific Islands (such as Hawaii, Tonga, etc), before arriving in the Americas. Olsen’s migratory theory seems to be backed up by more scientists. (7) DNA evidence seems to be better. While not endorsing the Malay Theory, Simon Southerton even commented on my blog that “I’m not aware of any DNA evidence from South East Asia linking populations there with the Middle East. South East Asia has been heavily populated for tens of thousands of years, with large civilizations. It is possible that Jewish sailors colonized parts of Asia though.”
Bali-Acintya-God-Mayan-Stele-Prana-Hand-yoga
Unrelated to this theory, a Jewish documentary filmmaker named Simcha Jacobovici has made the claim that the tribe of Manasseh may be located in the Malay Peninsula in his film “Quest for the Lost Tribes” , which I blogged about previously. Jacobovici maintains that when Babylon invaded Israel and scattered them in 600 BC, that some of the tribes were taken across land to Malay. This could seemingly explain how the Mulekites got there, and why the Nephites (who traveled by boat) couldn’t understand them.
There is also a legend in Malay stating that some shipwrecked Jewish people landed there, possibly indicating the Nephites landing there. As we know from the Book of Mormon, Nephi and Lehi were from the tribe of Manasseh. Jacobovici states in his film that some of the local citizens in Malay claim to be from the Tribe of Manasseh.
Bali-Goa-Gajah-Temple-Pyramid-of-the-Magicians
Olsen has written a short book called “A More Promising Land of Promise”, which is available for purchase on his own website. He encourages people to critique his work, so if you have problems with his theories, be kind, but please express them. I told him I was going to post on his theory, and he may or may not stop by. (He is not technologically savvy.)
My biggest problems with the theory are:
(1) How did the plates get to New York? Olsen admits that he doesn’t know. But he also points out that Sorenson doesn’t adequately explain how the 200 lb plates moved from Guatemala 3,000 miles north to NY without a wheeled vehicle.
Bali-Maya-Chakana-Cross-Parallels
(2) Joseph Smith History 1:34 “[Moroni] said there was a book deposited, written upon gold plates, giving an account of the former inhabitants of this continent, and the source from whence they sprang.” a.) Olsen’s argument emphasizes this scripture differently, instead emphasizing “and the source from whence they sprang.” He says the source is the Malay Peninsula, and that is how to overcome this apparent discrepancy. I can see his point, but I know that is not a traditional understanding of that scripture, and I’m not sure I buy it.
For those of you who want more information, the longer version of this post can be found here. And if you really want to see this theory, Ralph Olsen has given me permission to make his unpublished manuscript available. It can be found here. Patience is a virtue…It’s 300 pages and 20 MB is size!
What’s the significance of the “White Westerner” taking the gold book away?
Bali-Mayan-Serpent-Statues
Would that be Moroni taking it out of the area and to the new world? Or referring to JS in a less literal sense?
There are a number of possible ways to interpret the legend, but first we need to understand that there is no iron-clad connection between the Karen legends and the Book of Mormon. The similarities are intriguing, though, and here are some proposed ways to parse them:
1. The ‘younger brother’ could represent the Nephites (or the covenant people), and the ‘elder brother’ might represent the Lamanites. This seems to correspond to the BoM descriptions that Lamanites were the non-believers, just as the Karen ‘elder brothers’ “obtained all the words of God, they did not believe all the words of God.”
2. The ‘foreigner’ or ‘westerner’ could reasonably be interpreted as the Gentiles. 1 Nephi 13:25 says: “Wherefore, these things go forth from the Jews in purity unto the Gentiles, according to the truth which is in God.” This sits pretty well with the transfer of the divine words to the foreigner described in the Karen verse: “Our book of gold that Y’wa gave, Our book of silver that he gave, The elders did not obey. Lost, it wandered to the foreigner.” (1 Nephi 13 as a whole describes this extensively.)
3. Moroni could be categorized in the archetype of the ‘younger brother’ who left with the Book of Gold.
Balinese-Mayan-Gods-Howler-Monkey-God-Mayan
4. Joseph Smith, and more broadly, the ‘Gentiles’ of the latter-days, could be considered the ‘white westerners.’ Mormon, in Mormon 7:8 speaks to the remnant Lamanites and says that the Book of Mormon (‘this record’) “shall come from the Gentiles unto you.” This corresponds to the legend saying that “the youngest brother will come back and give the [golden] book.” (See also 2 Nephi 30:3, 3 Nephi 21:5, 3 Nephi 26:8, and Mormon 5:15).
Again, none of these connections are bullet-proof, but these Book of Mormon elements line up with the Karen legends with far greater precision than anything in the Bible does.
Regarding the Karens: I believe the Karen Apostle was Moroni and the Karens are Nephites. After the final battles, Moroni and others fled north into the hills of Burma to get away. Moroni had some inscribed gold plates. There are places in Burma with Book of Mormon names. And gold plates with rings have been found in that area.
Bali-Third-Eye-Mayan-Third-Eye
Many people will doubt the authenticity of the Book of Mormon until the Land of Promise is located. Many well informed individuals have commented that the location has not yet been found (I refer to some of them on pg 16). According to Nibley “Everything written so far by anthropologists or archeologists about the Book of Mormon (geography) must be discounted… not because it did not exist, but because it has not yet been found.”
Some place names: “These place names include: Leh (Lehi), Sai-rai (Sariah), Canaine (Canaan), and Lamaing (Laman). On nearby Sumatra, one finds a Lammeula (Lemuel). As mentioned in the body of the article, on the Comoros Islands (off the shore of Madagascar), which were settled by people from the Malay Peninsula, there is a city of Moroni.” There are others in his article.
The islands of Indonesia, and eventually all of polynesia were settled by people from in and near this area in SE Asia. The “isles of the sea” are definitively connected with this area.
´ Besakih-temple-El-Castillo-Mayans-Balinese
When you say “parallels mean nothing,” you are wrong. The Meso supporters have been searching for YEARS and have not found any names that are remotely similar to the BofM in Meso. They recently found the letters NHM (in the desert in the Arabian Peninsula) and it stands for Nahom.
Favorite remarks of critics of the Malay Hypothesis:
1. The geography of the BofM is of no importance. (Maybe so to some, but to others, geography is of vital importance).
2. It doesn’t matter if many of the objects named in the BofM are found only in the Old World; the names could have been changed. (NO! The BofM is claimed to be the most accurate book we have!)
3. We shouldn’t expect to find BofM artifacts in MesoAmerica, it was all destroyed at the time of the great destruction at the time of the crucifixtion. (NO! Native American authors (from very early times) refer to only minor destruction and no loss of lives during that time. Also, the Nephite civilization lasted for about 400 years after the crucification.)
4. A man thought to have been Columbus came to the Land of Promise. (Well, Columbus never did land in MesoAmerica, and the Malay Hypothesis proposes that BofM people went to many Lands of Promise after leaving Southeast Asia in small groups.)
5. Joseph Smith thought that ALL Native Americans were decendants of BofM people. (The evidence of science indicates that many people from Northeastern Asia were in America thousands of years before BofM times.)
Joseph Smith
6. The Hill Cumorah (Ramah to Jaredites) was in New York, so the Land of Promise must have been in New England. (NO! Colleagues of Joseph Smith assumed the hill in NY was the Hill Cumorah. In Southern Burma near the narrow neck of land near a city of Manoron (Moron?) and Tenasserim (Teancum?) and Lenya (Lemuel?) and Marang (Moroni?) there is a Hill Maw (Ramah?) The BofM does not say that that Moroni placed his plates in the Hill Cumorah. Mormon 6:6 says that Mormon buried His plates in the Hill Cumorah and Moroni left (escaped) with some of the plates and travelled elsewhere.)
7. Polynesians are descendants of Book of Mormon people and they migrated to the islands of the Pacific as small groups going westward from America {NO! Some probably are descendants of BofM people, but quite a bit of scientific evidence indicates they migrated eastward across the Pacific from Southeast Asia.)
Goa-Gajah-temple-Elephant-Cave-Mayans-Pyramid-of-Uxmal-Magicians
Moroni had over 30 years to bury the record wherever it needed to be. The Book of Mormon says it was over 30 years between the final battle and when Moroni wrote his last words and buried the plates. That is an incredible thing, in and of itself, and it gets ignored in almost every discussion I’ve read.
The final battle could have happened anywhere in the world without there being ANY difficulty in the plates being buried in New York. Even if Moroni had walked as close to the entire distance as is possible, perhaps building a canoe to cross from continent to continent at the Bering Strait (a distance of only 58 miles), 30+ years is plenty of time to do so.
***In fact, the greater the distance traveled, the more plausible the time frame of his time alone becomes.***
I had previously read about this theory, which I find quite interesting. I had also read about a landing of the Lehi party to the Comores islands after the storm.. This is all very interesting. But I can’t help thinking that, in the parable of the olive tree (1 Nephi 15), it is said that the Lord hid several shoots of the original tree in several remote and hidden places. Therefore, couldn’t it be that both Malay and America are two of these places. Since God works in an orderly way, similitudes in the various stories would then seem rather normal and to be expected to me. Moreover, gold has been known in the whole world as an unalterable metal, ideal to preserve memories and information, which various people actually did. This is not meant as an answer or criticism to the Malay theory, just some fuel for further discussion. Congratulations for the research, in any case.
No cities with BOM names? How abuout the city of Lamanai, a Maya city in Belize?
Maya-Bali-Elephants-Old-World-New-World-Elephants
I have been wondering about Comoros and Moroni for years, ever since coming across them in my perusal of an atlas.
The distances match very well in Malaysia–over MesoAmerica. And the directions are better. The climate is subtropical matching the BofM and the medicinal plants match better in Malaysia over Meso. Early explorers found there were an amazing number of healing plants along the Malay Peninsula. And as for cataclysmic volcanic explosions, even in recent times there have been huge explosions in the Malay area: Krakatoa & Tambora. None have been recorded in Meso America… just volcanic lava flow… not explosive volcanos. A Mexican author describes an earthquake in Mexico about the time of Christ, but it was a small one and no one was killed. There was a recent tsunami in the Malaysian area. That is a serious weather condition. The Pacific fault line goes right by the Malay Peninsula. The BofM said there was a large amount of thunder. It was probably part of the volcanic explosions that caused that noise. The BofM said there were huge east winds that they were afraid of. There are huge typhoons that blow across Malaysia from the South China Sea. MesoAmerica is protectred from east winds by the Yucatan Peninsula and winds are attenuated (slowed down) when passing over land.
As Meso fits better than the Great Lakes theory, Malay fits extremely better than Meso. And there are 180 more reasons Malay is better.
Moroni didn’t call the hill in NY Cumorah. He said the plates are in the hill. Moroni didn’t put his plates in Cumorah, his father Mormon did and Moroni left with his. Science has proven that A group of people left Malaysia about the time of the last battles (400AD) and traveled to the islands near Madagascar and named islands Comoros and a city Moroni. They brought plants, animals, beliefs, etc with them. That is how they proved that they went there from Malaysia. It is possible that Moroni sailed from there to NY. It is more probable than carrying them to NY from MesoAmerica with no beasts of burden and no wheeled carts of any kind.
Ubud-Bali-Corbel-Arch-Mayan-Corbel-Arch
I am LDS in Thailand and found this idea worthy of a few hours of research. I did study the maps and find support for the Mala theory. In Burma you can find a city with the name Teincun (Teancum?). It is not far north of the modern-day city of Manoron (Moron?) and Maw hill (Ramah?) in the Lenya hills of Burma. You can see all these in Google maps.
But perhaps the most interesting parallels are with the local tribes that inhabit these hills. The Karen people claim that there was once a family of seven brothers in their land. This family later divided into three tribes which were led by three brothers. The older two brothers with darker skin represent the Karen people and the Burmese people respectively. The younger brother was somehow white.
All seven brothers were given a golden book of life containing the wisdom of the God Y’wa. The older brothers were preoccupied with mundane affairs and neglected the books, so the pale-skinned younger brother took the last golden book and sailed off to the West. The Karen people still wait for their fair-skinned younger brother to bring back the golden book.
Many prophet cults such as the Lehkai based on these legends still thrive in these hills, and still await the return of the white brother and the golden book from the West. It is said that this event will restore prosperity and freedom to their land and will lead to the return of their savior Y’wa.
I would say that these parallels merit consideration, especially when considering that the Malay Theory also resolves all Book of Mormon anachronisms (i.e. elephants, horses, chariots, metallurgy etc.) as well as DNA, linguistic and geographical inconsistencies. If all this was found anywhere in the Americas there would surely be interest. So why would we ignore it just because its all found in Burma?
Proof that Hinduism is a set of collective wisdoms instead of invented religion is obvious in the fact that no one ever founded Hinduism, compared to Sanatan Dharma, believed as a set of laws given by God since the very beginning of the world.
Mayan-Balinese-Face-Above-Doorway-Monster
One might agree that all eternal cults must be called Islam, Shalom, Selem, Syahom or Salam coming from The One God or Sang Hyang Widi Wasa (All in One God), or Eli — compared to Yahweh or Jehova being influenced by the idea of Hindu’s Syiwa and Wisnu deities, or compared to similarities found in Jesus or Jeshua (Joshua) with Syiwa or Christ with Krishna.
Ibrahim, Abraham or Brahma might not be the creator of monotheistic beliefs, but he is the one who initially declared the islamic terminology ‘SLM’ which is used today by Mohammedans (Islam), Jews (Shalom) and Christians (Syalom or Salem) under guidance of a mysterious spirtual guru namely Melchizedek (Maliku’s Sidik) who emerged as king of a country called Selem.
Or what relates the Indians with Indonesia’s Bali Island in ‘Baliyatra’ tradition, which comes first?. Or, another question such as do Phoenicians really speak ancient Indonesian language as found in ‘Mata Ki Te Rangi’ (Eyes Looking at the Sky) of the Easter Island sculptures in the Pacific?
Pura-Besakih-Mayans-Ossuary
Do you think that Hebrew mystical Kabalah is more superior to Javanese Kejawen’s ‘kebal’ (resistant) or otherwise? Which architecture that suits Tower of Babel (in Babylonian mithology); Tibetan palace, Chinese rooftops, Japanese temple or Balinese ‘pura?’
Every ship captains who brought their sails from West to East or vice versa must anchor at the known ports in ancient India including that of in Sri Lanka that made the island become one of the marine hubs for their global voyages in circumnavigating the Earth.
All wisdoms and knowledge from the then-known worlds must be shared and distributed from this way in forms of oral stories, scriptures and literary works written by ancient scholars who later called themselves as Indians (Chanakya), Malays (Candra), Laos (Chekia), Chinese (Shang Ti) or Minangkabauans (cadiak, Chaniago, santiang) to Sunda Javanese (Sakti) who all were combined from multiracial groups, ethnics and religions from time to time.
Mayan-Balinese-Triptychs-1
Thus it’s understandable why Sanskrit becomes the world’s most complete language which provides many to hundred synonyms for a single term. It has answer for every word puzzle. It’s like a deposit or central bank of languages.
Also, there must be a strong reason behind the Minangkabauan use of word ‘janiah’ (Indonesian ‘jernih’) compared to Persian ‘zarnikh,’ Greek ‘arsenikum to English ‘arson’ and Egyptian ‘asem,’ in describing what today is identified as bright precious metal or Indonesian ’emas’ (gold) while Minangkabauans maintain the use of ‘sapuah’ (silver) for gold-platting or gilding.
The mysterious Ophir (King Solomon’s mines) has been identified in my previous work, the Minangkabau Hebrew glossary, as the Ring of Fire or volcano islands derived from words such as api, aphar, fire, pharo, rapha, meropids, marapi, merapi, para, parahu, perehu, pharaoh, pariangan, parahiyangan, etc. in describing volcanic islands ranging from Nusantara (Indonesian) archipelago, Philippine, Japan as far to the ‘pacifique’ America.
There is an area in Burma called Teincun in precisely the place where Teancum would be in Dr. Olsen’s mapping. The area is in the map above.
I’ve read Dr. Olsen’s Book. His Malay Hypothesis is ingenious!! There is so much physical evidence on the Malay Peninsula that matches with what is recorded in the Book of Mormon, that it is amazing!! (the animals, plants, metalurgy, mining, metal plates, chariots, beasts of burden, silks, linen, beliefs & practices, on a north/south penninsula with a genuine narrow neck of land, destructive east winds, leprosy, etc, etc!! -see the book for many other suporting evidences!!) Thank you KC for your interest and discussions involving the topic.
Pyramid in Mesoamerica
Kuki, Chin, Mizo-Hmar’s Israelite Origin
There is often a confabulation on whether the Hmars did originally have Jewish roots. Some of the Hmar’s oral sources appear to indicate their Jewish origin and on the basis of these sources, some writers even go to the extent of saying that Hmars and their brethren, Kukis and Mizos could perhaps be one of the ten lost tribes of ancient Israel. Let us try to highlight these particular oral traditions and examine them critically.
According to L Hranglien Songate (Hmar History: 1956), the first known ancestor of Hmars was Manmasi (Manasia) who occupied a very sacred and important place in the lives and beliefs of Hmars. His name was uttered in prayers and ceremonial sacrifices. Whenever they were to make any new settlement or to undertake an adventurous exploits, they had to invoke Manmasi’s name.
In times of great calamities like earthquake, they used to shout,” Be kind, be kind; we, the descendants of Manmasi are here!” As for the origin of this name, it is argued that it is derived from Mannaseh, the older son of Joseph, the eleventh and favorite son of Jacob in the Old Testament. To support this theory, the B’Nei Yisrael, North East India, Imphal has quoted one folk song as follows: Mannaseh, you came crossing sea and rivers, You came through hills and mountains; You came all the way victorious through hostile countries, Just to have the good portion of meat; Let the liver and the heart be yours, Mannaseh.
Another Hmar pre-Christian legend also mentions about an unusual flood which covered the whole earth except one hill-lock where all living beings fled to their safety. Surprisingly enough, the Chorei tribe who once lived with the Hmars at Ruonglevaisuo (Tipaimukh) for several decades and who are now found mostly in Cachar district of Assam also mentions in one of their folklores thus: “Muolsang rengpa rakuong tuk” (muolsang=hill, rengpa=chief, rakuong=boat or ship, tuk= construction).
Obviously, this could be taken to refer to the construction of Noah’s ark as found in the Old Testament. One of Hmar legends also refers to what is known as Tawngsemzawl literally meaning the valley of distribution of languages resulting from an unsuccessful attempt to build an exceptionally tall building beyond the reach of any flood and subsequent providential intervention leading to the confusion of the languages of the people involving in it. This is again very similar to what is written in the Old Testament (Genesis 11: 1-9)
To further support the theory of the Jewish connection, it is again argued that the Hmars like the Jews used to observe three important festivals in a year, such as the Chapchar Kut (in April); Mim Kut (in September) and Pawl Kut (in December). In pre-Christian era, whenever the forefathers of Hmars performed sacrificial rites, the priest used to construct an altar having four corners and sprinkled animal’s blood on the floor which was spread on the platform of an altar. These religious practices tend to suggest that the ancestors of Hmars and the Jews might perhaps live together at one point of time in the past.
Most often quoted in this connection is the Hmar Sikpui Festival which was celebrated from time immemorial. When they celebrated the festival, they performed the Sikpui dance with Khuongpu (drummer) and Khuongpuzailak (chanter) sitting in the middle on a raised flat stone especially erected for the occasion and the dancers making two rows-old men against old women, married men against married women, young men against young women and so on and so forth.
The song of this festival makes a vivid reference to the Israelites at the time of their liberation from the Egyptian bondage under the leadership of Moses and to the events that followed after they crossed the Red Sea. The song both in original Hmar dialect and its English rendering is as given below:
Sikpui inthang kan ur laia, Changtuipui aw sen mah rili kangintan. While we are preparing for the Sikpui festival, The big red sea becomes divided. Ke ralawna ka leido aw, Suna sum ang, zanah mei lawn invak e. As we are marching forward fighting our foes, We are being led by cloud during day and by fire during night. An tur an sa tlua ruol aw, In phawsiel le in ralfeite zuong thaw ro. Our enemies, Ye Folk, are thick with fury, Come out with your shields and spears. Sun razula ka leido aw,
Ke ralawna mei sum invak e. Fighting our foes all day, We march along as cloud-fire goes afore. Sun razuala ka leido aw, Laimi sa ang changtuipuiin lem zova e. The enemies we fight all day, The big sea swallowed them like beast. A va ruol aw la ta che, Suonglung chunga tui zuong put kha la t ache. Collect the quails, And fetch the water that springs out of the rock.
The song is self-revealing. It speaks about the incident as referred to the Exodus (Old Testament), Chapter 14: 1-31. On the significance of the song, L.Keivom, IFS (Retd) illuminatingly comments thus: “This popular song occupies such a sacred place that the Sikpui festival can start only after the participants sing it with rapt attention. This fact may, therefore, suggest that the incident referred to in the song might have been an unusual happening of great consequence in the pages of their national history. Otherwise they could not have attached such importance to it.”
Assuming that the Hmars and Kuki-Mizo people originally came from ancient Israel, what routes and which countries did they pass through to reach their present habitats? Hranglien Songate again simply stated that the Hmars entered China from the north after having passed through Afghanistan and Baluchistan. It is argued that some of the ten lost tribes were taken as captives by the king of Assyria in 722 B.C. and some of them lived in Persia following their exile there in 457 B.C. during the reign of Darius and Ahashveresh.
In 331 B.C. when Alexander the Great conquered Persia, Afghanistan and India, some of the lost tribes were exiled to Afghanistan and to other countries. On their onward migration, it is said:” From Afghanistan, their migration continued eastward through Hindukush until they reached the Tibetan region and the Chinese border. From there they continued into China, following the Wei River until they reached the central region. A settlement was established at Kaifeng in 231 B.C.
As a result of the cruel behavior of the Chinese towards them, they were forced to serve like slaves to the Chinese. Thus began the process of assimilation which crept into the tribes as a result of Chinese influences.” Citing Chao Enti’s version, Hranglien Songate contends that the forefathers of Hmars had already settled in China by the time Shi Huang-ti (209-207 B.C.) established his suzerainty over the greater part of the Chinese empire. He further argues that the Chin dynasty had absorbed many of the tribes that settled in China and those who refused to be assimilated were pushed out and the forefathers of Hmar-Kuki-Mizo could perhaps be one of them.
The Gopinath Temple, Ningthoukhong, Manipur, India. This is a Hindu Vaishnava temple. This is a beautiful white temple with no idols, unlike most Hinduist temples. The two only statues, opposite to each other, look more like guardians, like the angel in the Tabernacle of ancient Israel. Perhaps the Israelite origin of most Manipuris has influenced. This temple is Vaisnva Hindu. Vaisnavas believe Vishnu is the highest god. They are regardered as monotheistic. People consider Vaisnavas & Druzes (a people living between Israel, Lebanon & Syria mostly) at least related, if not as one & the same. Both sects recognize their believes to be alike. Many Druzes also regard themselves as descendents of Israelites.
Mainly on the basis of these oral traditions which point to the historical connection between the Shinlung people and the Israelites, some sections of Kuki and Mizo in Manipur and Mizoram have now already in the Judaising process. As a matter of fact, as many as 700 Kuki-Mizo have been settled in the territories in Judea, Samaria and Gaza in Israel on the initiative of Eliyahu Avichail, a soft-spoken, grey-bearded Jerusalem Rabbinical scholar.
Whether one agrees with the theory of the Jewish origin, we can no longer ignore the fact that it has now gained topicality and urgency both among the local writers in North East India and the Rabbinical scholars and intellectuals in Israel. Accompanying Rabbi Avichail in his extensive tour of East Asia and South East Asia including North East India in search of lost tribe of Israel several times, Hillel Halkin, an Israeli veteran journalist, has just published a very thought provoking and illuminating book entitled Across the Sabbath River: In Search of a Lost Tribe of Israel.
Keila is a Yiddish name derived from the Hebrew word "Keli," which means "vessel." A talented person is often referred to as "Keli" – a complete vessel, capable of performing great things. It is modern-day Kila , a site with ruins, on the lower road from Beit Jibria to Hebron. KafarKila (Arabic: كفركلا , also, Kfarkila, Kfarkela, Kafarkela) is a small village in Southern Lebanon. Kafarkila name means "The village of the pasturage", so Kila means pasturage in modern Lebanese Arabic. Perhaps derives from the Hebrew word qala' in the sense of inclosing; citadel. According to others Keilah is Hebrew in origin and it's meaning is fortress or citadel.
Keilah (Citadel) was a city in the lowlands of Judah (Joshua 15:44). In 1 Samuel, David rescued it from the attack of the Philistines (1 Samuel 23:1-8) but the inhabitants proved unfaithful to him, in that they sought to deliver him up to Saul (23:12). He and his men "departed from Keilah, and went whithersoever they could go.” They fled first to Hareth Hill, about 3 miles to the east, and thence through Hebron to Ziph. "And David was in the wilderness of Ziph, in a wood" (1 Samuel 23:15). Here Jonathan sought him out, "and strengthened his hand in God." This was the last interview between David and Jonathan (1 Samuel 23:16-18).
Benjamin of Tudela identified Kâkôn (Qaqun) as ancient Keilah in 1160. Others believe it to be modern Qila, 11 km (7 mi) northwest of Hebron. Still others identify it with Khuweilfeh, between Beit Jibrin (Eleutheropolis) and Beersheba, mentioned in the Amarna tablets.
The "name" Garmite occurs only once in the Bible. It's the cognomen of Keilah of Judah, the cousin (?) of Eshtemoa "the Maacathite" (1 Chronicles 4:19). How these two cousins fit into the Judean family tree is unclear, but see our article on the name Hodiah for a discussion of this conundrum.
KEILAH
ke-i'-la (qe`ilah; Keeilam):
(1) A city of the Shephelah mentioned (Joshua 15:44) along with Nezib, Aehzib and Mareshah. Among those who repaired the walls of Jerusalem was "Hashabiah, the ruler of half the district of Keilah, for his district. After him repaired their brethren, Bavvai the son of Henadad, the ruler of half the district of Keilah" (Nehemiah 3:17, 18).
1. David and Keilah:
It is, however, from the story of the wandering of David that we have most information regarding this place. It was a city with gates and bars (1 Samuel 23:7). The Philistines came against it and commenced robbing the threshing-floors. David, after twice inquiring of Yahweh, went down with his 600 men (1 Samuel 23:13) and "fought with the Philistines, and brought away their cattle, and slew them with great slaughter." Saul hearing that David and his men were within a fortified town "summoned all the people to war, to go down to Keilah, to besiege David and his men" (1 Samuel 23:8). Then David asked Abiathar the priest to bring him an ephod, and he inquired of Yahweh whether, if Saul came, the men of Keilah would surrender him to save that city; hearing from Yahweh, "They will deliver thee up," he and all his men escaped from Keilah and went into the wilderness. The reputed strength of Keilah is confirmed by its mention in 5 tablets in the Tell el-Amarna Letters under the name of Kilts (qilti, Petrie) with Gedor, Gath, Rabbah and Gezer.
2. Identification:
Although other identifications were proposed by the older topographers, there is now a general consensus of opinion that the site of this city is Khurbet Kila (Josephus, Ant, VI, xiii, 1, in his account of David's adventure calls the place "Killa"). It is a hill covered with ruins in the higher part of Wady es Sur, 1,575 ft. above sea-level, whose terraced sides are covered with grainfields. The Eusebius, Onomasticon (Latin text) states that it was 8 miles from Eleutheropolis, which is about the distance of Khurbet Kila from Beit Jibrin. Beit Nusib (Nezib) is a couple of miles away, and Tell Sandahannah (Mareshah) but 7 miles to the West (Joshua 15:44). An early Christian tradition states that the prophet Habakkuk was buried at Keilah.
(2) The Garmite (which see), 1 Chronicles 4:19; see PEF, 314, Sh XXI.
Supporting the Malay Theory of the Book of Mormon
The Book of Mormon's name Helam is translated in Hebrew as "stronghold", or "place of abundance". The areas were the Chinkukis live, mostly in Myanmar, are abundant in all types of fruits because it lies in a tropical area. Moreover, one of their clans is called Halam, which in Hebrew phonetics is the same as Helam. They both have the consonants HLM. Helaman is another Book of Mormon name with the root "Helam". Since in the Book of Mormon the most important Helaman was an army member, perhaps the meaning of Helaman had a more belic connotation & the meaning stronghold was the one applied plus the suffix an.
Zoram (a.k.a. Zogam) is the traditional home of the Zomi in Burma, India and Bangladesh. This is the very name of one of the founding fathers of the Book of Mormon people. Not by chance the Zomis, Chins, Kukis...claim to descend from Manasha. And Manashah is the very Israelite tribe from which Lehites claim to descend. Some genes of this Asian people have been detected to have Middle Eastern origin. miZoram is the very name were part of this people live, so it could also derive from Zoram. Moreover, the Chinkukis say they're descendants of Zo (a short form of Zoram?).
The Malay Theory
This theory says it would have been much easier for Nephi to travel a 4000 mile journey to the Malay Peninsula than a 16000 mile journey in open seas to the Americas, and the Malay Peninsula is a better description of the Narrow Neck of Land.
So, what if the Book of Mormon is true, but we’re digging in the wrong place? I decided to look at one of the radically different geography theories-the Malay theory.
(1) The peninsula is north-south, unlike Sorenson’s east-west orientation (2) The problems with animals go away. Elephants, sheep, horses, etc. all date to the proper time period (3) The civilization dates to the proper time period, and had chariots, iron, silk, etc (4) There were dark-skinned people pre-existing on the peninsula. If they intermarried with the Lamanites, (while the Nephites did not intermarry) that might explain the “dark and loathsome” peoples in the Book of Mormon
(5) The shorter 4000 mile oceanic travel makes more sense than a 16000 mile journey. Even the FAIR produced DVD called Journey of Faith, (which shows many Old World evidences of the Book of Mormon), indicates Nephi would have hugged the coastline, and the path goes right by the Malay Peninsula. (6) Alma 63: 5 And it came to pass that Hagoth, he being an exceedingly curious man, therefore he went forth and built him an exceedingly large ship, on the borders of the land Bountiful, by the land Desolation, and launched it forth into the west sea, by the narrow neck which led into the land northward. a) Traditional Mormon scholars seem to support the idea that Hagoth traveled eastward and populated the Pacific Islands (such as Hawaii, Tonga, etc), b) Scholarly consensus indicates that Native Americans came from Asia, and came along one of two routes. (1) the Bering Strait, or (2) they hopped across the Pacific Islands (such as Hawaii, Tonga, etc), before arriving in the Americas. Olsen’s migratory theory seems to be backed up by more scientists. (7) DNA evidence seems to be better. While not endorsing the Malay Theory, Simon Southerton even commented on my blog that “I’m not aware of any DNA evidence from South East Asia linking populations there with the Middle East. South East Asia has been heavily populated for tens of thousands of years, with large civilizations. It is possible that Jewish sailors colonized parts of Asia though.”
Unrelated to this theory, a Jewish documentary filmmaker named Simcha Jacobovici has made the claim that the tribe of Manasseh may be located in the Malay Peninsula in his film “Quest for the Lost Tribes” , which I blogged about previously. Jacobovici maintains that when Babylon invaded Israel and scattered them in 600 BC, that some of the tribes were taken across land to Malay. This could seemingly explain how the Mulekites got there, and why the Nephites (who traveled by boat) couldn’t understand them.
There is also a legend in Malay stating that some shipwrecked Jewish people landed there, possibly indicating the Nephites landing there. As we know from the Book of Mormon, Nephi and Lehi were from the tribe of Manasseh. Jacobovici states in his film that some of the local citizens in Malay claim to be from the Tribe of Manasseh.
Olsen has written a short book called “A More Promising Land of Promise”, which is available for purchase on his own website. He encourages people to critique his work, so if you have problems with his theories, be kind, but please express them. I told him I was going to post on his theory, and he may or may not stop by. (He is not technologically savvy.)
My biggest problems with the theory are:
(1) How did the plates get to New York? Olsen admits that he doesn’t know. But he also points out that Sorenson doesn’t adequately explain how the 200 lb plates moved from Guatemala 3,000 miles north to NY without a wheeled vehicle.
(2) Joseph Smith History 1:34 “[Moroni] said there was a book deposited, written upon gold plates, giving an account of the former inhabitants of this continent, and the source from whence they sprang.” a.) Olsen’s argument emphasizes this scripture differently, instead emphasizing “and the source from whence they sprang.” He says the source is the Malay Peninsula, and that is how to overcome this apparent discrepancy. I can see his point, but I know that is not a traditional understanding of that scripture, and I’m not sure I buy it.
For those of you who want more information, the longer version of this post can be found here. And if you really want to see this theory, Ralph Olsen has given me permission to make his unpublished manuscript available. It can be found here. Patience is a virtue…It’s 300 pages and 20 MB is size!
What’s the significance of the “White Westerner” taking the gold book away?
Would that be Moroni taking it out of the area and to the new world? Or referring to JS in a less literal sense?
There are a number of possible ways to interpret the legend, but first we need to understand that there is no iron-clad connection between the Karen legends and the Book of Mormon. The similarities are intriguing, though, and here are some proposed ways to parse them:
1. The ‘younger brother’ could represent the Nephites (or the covenant people), and the ‘elder brother’ might represent the Lamanites. This seems to correspond to the BoM descriptions that Lamanites were the non-believers, just as the Karen ‘elder brothers’ “obtained all the words of God, they did not believe all the words of God.”
2. The ‘foreigner’ or ‘westerner’ could reasonably be interpreted as the Gentiles. 1 Nephi 13:25 says: “Wherefore, these things go forth from the Jews in purity unto the Gentiles, according to the truth which is in God.” This sits pretty well with the transfer of the divine words to the foreigner described in the Karen verse: “Our book of gold that Y’wa gave, Our book of silver that he gave, The elders did not obey. Lost, it wandered to the foreigner.” (1 Nephi 13 as a whole describes this extensively.)
3. Moroni could be categorized in the archetype of the ‘younger brother’ who left with the Book of Gold.
4. Joseph Smith, and more broadly, the ‘Gentiles’ of the latter-days, could be considered the ‘white westerners.’ Mormon, in Mormon 7:8 speaks to the remnant Lamanites and says that the Book of Mormon (‘this record’) “shall come from the Gentiles unto you.” This corresponds to the legend saying that “the youngest brother will come back and give the [golden] book.” (See also 2 Nephi 30:3, 3 Nephi 21:5, 3 Nephi 26:8, and Mormon 5:15).
Again, none of these connections are bullet-proof, but these Book of Mormon elements line up with the Karen legends with far greater precision than anything in the Bible does.
Regarding the Karens: I believe the Karen Apostle was Moroni and the Karens are Nephites. After the final battles, Moroni and others fled north into the hills of Burma to get away. Moroni had some inscribed gold plates. There are places in Burma with Book of Mormon names. And gold plates with rings have been found in that area.
Many people will doubt the authenticity of the Book of Mormon until the Land of Promise is located. Many well informed individuals have commented that the location has not yet been found (I refer to some of them on pg 16). According to Nibley “Everything written so far by anthropologists or archeologists about the Book of Mormon (geography) must be discounted… not because it did not exist, but because it has not yet been found.”
Some place names: “These place names include: Leh (Lehi), Sai-rai (Sariah), Canaine (Canaan), and Lamaing (Laman). On nearby Sumatra, one finds a Lammeula (Lemuel). As mentioned in the body of the article, on the Comoros Islands (off the shore of Madagascar), which were settled by people from the Malay Peninsula, there is a city of Moroni.” There are others in his article.
The islands of Indonesia, and eventually all of polynesia were settled by people from in and near this area in SE Asia. The “isles of the sea” are definitively connected with this area.
When you say “parallels mean nothing,” you are wrong. The Meso supporters have been searching for YEARS and have not found any names that are remotely similar to the BofM in Meso. They recently found the letters NHM (in the desert in the Arabian Peninsula) and it stands for Nahom.
Favorite remarks of critics of the Malay Hypothesis:
1. The geography of the BofM is of no importance. (Maybe so to some, but to others, geography is of vital importance).
2. It doesn’t matter if many of the objects named in the BofM are found only in the Old World; the names could have been changed. (NO! The BofM is claimed to be the most accurate book we have!)
3. We shouldn’t expect to find BofM artifacts in MesoAmerica, it was all destroyed at the time of the great destruction at the time of the crucifixtion. (NO! Native American authors (from very early times) refer to only minor destruction and no loss of lives during that time. Also, the Nephite civilization lasted for about 400 years after the crucification.)
4. A man thought to have been Columbus came to the Land of Promise. (Well, Columbus never did land in MesoAmerica, and the Malay Hypothesis proposes that BofM people went to many Lands of Promise after leaving Southeast Asia in small groups.)
5. Joseph Smith thought that ALL Native Americans were decendants of BofM people. (The evidence of science indicates that many people from Northeastern Asia were in America thousands of years before BofM times.)
Joseph Smith
6. The Hill Cumorah (Ramah to Jaredites) was in New York, so the Land of Promise must have been in New England. (NO! Colleagues of Joseph Smith assumed the hill in NY was the Hill Cumorah. In Southern Burma near the narrow neck of land near a city of Manoron (Moron?) and Tenasserim (Teancum?) and Lenya (Lemuel?) and Marang (Moroni?) there is a Hill Maw (Ramah?) The BofM does not say that that Moroni placed his plates in the Hill Cumorah. Mormon 6:6 says that Mormon buried His plates in the Hill Cumorah and Moroni left (escaped) with some of the plates and travelled elsewhere.)
7. Polynesians are descendants of Book of Mormon people and they migrated to the islands of the Pacific as small groups going westward from America {NO! Some probably are descendants of BofM people, but quite a bit of scientific evidence indicates they migrated eastward across the Pacific from Southeast Asia.)
Moroni had over 30 years to bury the record wherever it needed to be. The Book of Mormon says it was over 30 years between the final battle and when Moroni wrote his last words and buried the plates. That is an incredible thing, in and of itself, and it gets ignored in almost every discussion I’ve read.
The final battle could have happened anywhere in the world without there being ANY difficulty in the plates being buried in New York. Even if Moroni had walked as close to the entire distance as is possible, perhaps building a canoe to cross from continent to continent at the Bering Strait (a distance of only 58 miles), 30+ years is plenty of time to do so.
***In fact, the greater the distance traveled, the more plausible the time frame of his time alone becomes.***
I had previously read about this theory, which I find quite interesting. I had also read about a landing of the Lehi party to the Comores islands after the storm.. This is all very interesting. But I can’t help thinking that, in the parable of the olive tree (1 Nephi 15), it is said that the Lord hid several shoots of the original tree in several remote and hidden places. Therefore, couldn’t it be that both Malay and America are two of these places. Since God works in an orderly way, similitudes in the various stories would then seem rather normal and to be expected to me. Moreover, gold has been known in the whole world as an unalterable metal, ideal to preserve memories and information, which various people actually did. This is not meant as an answer or criticism to the Malay theory, just some fuel for further discussion. Congratulations for the research, in any case.
No cities with BOM names? How abuout the city of Lamanai, a Maya city in Belize?
I have been wondering about Comoros and Moroni for years, ever since coming across them in my perusal of an atlas.
The distances match very well in Malaysia–over MesoAmerica. And the directions are better. The climate is subtropical matching the BofM and the medicinal plants match better in Malaysia over Meso. Early explorers found there were an amazing number of healing plants along the Malay Peninsula. And as for cataclysmic volcanic explosions, even in recent times there have been huge explosions in the Malay area: Krakatoa & Tambora. None have been recorded in Meso America… just volcanic lava flow… not explosive volcanos. A Mexican author describes an earthquake in Mexico about the time of Christ, but it was a small one and no one was killed. There was a recent tsunami in the Malaysian area. That is a serious weather condition. The Pacific fault line goes right by the Malay Peninsula. The BofM said there was a large amount of thunder. It was probably part of the volcanic explosions that caused that noise. The BofM said there were huge east winds that they were afraid of. There are huge typhoons that blow across Malaysia from the South China Sea. MesoAmerica is protectred from east winds by the Yucatan Peninsula and winds are attenuated (slowed down) when passing over land.
As Meso fits better than the Great Lakes theory, Malay fits extremely better than Meso. And there are 180 more reasons Malay is better.
Moroni didn’t call the hill in NY Cumorah. He said the plates are in the hill. Moroni didn’t put his plates in Cumorah, his father Mormon did and Moroni left with his. Science has proven that A group of people left Malaysia about the time of the last battles (400AD) and traveled to the islands near Madagascar and named islands Comoros and a city Moroni. They brought plants, animals, beliefs, etc with them. That is how they proved that they went there from Malaysia. It is possible that Moroni sailed from there to NY. It is more probable than carrying them to NY from MesoAmerica with no beasts of burden and no wheeled carts of any kind.
I am LDS in Thailand and found this idea worthy of a few hours of research. I did study the maps and find support for the Mala theory. In Burma you can find a city with the name Teincun (Teancum?). It is not far north of the modern-day city of Manoron (Moron?) and Maw hill (Ramah?) in the Lenya hills of Burma. You can see all these in Google maps.
But perhaps the most interesting parallels are with the local tribes that inhabit these hills. The Karen people claim that there was once a family of seven brothers in their land. This family later divided into three tribes which were led by three brothers. The older two brothers with darker skin represent the Karen people and the Burmese people respectively. The younger brother was somehow white.
All seven brothers were given a golden book of life containing the wisdom of the God Y’wa. The older brothers were preoccupied with mundane affairs and neglected the books, so the pale-skinned younger brother took the last golden book and sailed off to the West. The Karen people still wait for their fair-skinned younger brother to bring back the golden book.
I would say that these parallels merit consideration, especially when considering that the Malay Theory also resolves all Book of Mormon anachronisms (i.e. elephants, horses, chariots, metallurgy etc.) as well as DNA, linguistic and geographical inconsistencies. If all this was found anywhere in the Americas there would surely be interest. So why would we ignore it just because its all found in Burma?
Proof that Hinduism is a set of collective wisdoms instead of invented religion is obvious in the fact that no one ever founded Hinduism, compared to Sanatan Dharma, believed as a set of laws given by God since the very beginning of the world.
One might agree that all eternal cults must be called Islam, Shalom, Selem, Syahom or Salam coming from The One God or Sang Hyang Widi Wasa (All in One God), or Eli — compared to Yahweh or Jehova being influenced by the idea of Hindu’s Syiwa and Wisnu deities, or compared to similarities found in Jesus or Jeshua (Joshua) with Syiwa or Christ with Krishna.
Ibrahim, Abraham or Brahma might not be the creator of monotheistic beliefs, but he is the one who initially declared the islamic terminology ‘SLM’ which is used today by Mohammedans (Islam), Jews (Shalom) and Christians (Syalom or Salem) under guidance of a mysterious spirtual guru namely Melchizedek (Maliku’s Sidik) who emerged as king of a country called Selem.
Or what relates the Indians with Indonesia’s Bali Island in ‘Baliyatra’ tradition, which comes first?. Or, another question such as do Phoenicians really speak ancient Indonesian language as found in ‘Mata Ki Te Rangi’ (Eyes Looking at the Sky) of the Easter Island sculptures in the Pacific?
Do you think that Hebrew mystical Kabalah is more superior to Javanese Kejawen’s ‘kebal’ (resistant) or otherwise? Which architecture that suits Tower of Babel (in Babylonian mithology); Tibetan palace, Chinese rooftops, Japanese temple or Balinese ‘pura?’
Every ship captains who brought their sails from West to East or vice versa must anchor at the known ports in ancient India including that of in Sri Lanka that made the island become one of the marine hubs for their global voyages in circumnavigating the Earth.
All wisdoms and knowledge from the then-known worlds must be shared and distributed from this way in forms of oral stories, scriptures and literary works written by ancient scholars who later called themselves as Indians (Chanakya), Malays (Candra), Laos (Chekia), Chinese (Shang Ti) or Minangkabauans (cadiak, Chaniago, santiang) to Sunda Javanese (Sakti) who all were combined from multiracial groups, ethnics and religions from time to time.
Mayan-Balinese-Triptychs-1Thus it’s understandable why Sanskrit becomes the world’s most complete language which provides many to hundred synonyms for a single term. It has answer for every word puzzle. It’s like a deposit or central bank of languages.
Also, there must be a strong reason behind the Minangkabauan use of word ‘janiah’ (Indonesian ‘jernih’) compared to Persian ‘zarnikh,’ Greek ‘arsenikum to English ‘arson’ and Egyptian ‘asem,’ in describing what today is identified as bright precious metal or Indonesian ’emas’ (gold) while Minangkabauans maintain the use of ‘sapuah’ (silver) for gold-platting or gilding.
The mysterious Ophir (King Solomon’s mines) has been identified in my previous work, the Minangkabau Hebrew glossary, as the Ring of Fire or volcano islands derived from words such as api, aphar, fire, pharo, rapha, meropids, marapi, merapi, para, parahu, perehu, pharaoh, pariangan, parahiyangan, etc. in describing volcanic islands ranging from Nusantara (Indonesian) archipelago, Philippine, Japan as far to the ‘pacifique’ America.
The comment made by Joseph Smith about the Book of Mormon being a record of the inhabitants of this continent “AND THE SOURCE FROM WHENCE THEY CAME” is a KEY clue!! Dr. Olsen’s theory still fits with what Joseph Smith said!!!! The people could have ended up in America, just a little later than what we originally thought, as their descendants slowly spread out across the earth and oceans!!!! Two thirds of the Bk of Mormon was not translated, but kept sealed. A lot of information is hidden in those sealed plates. The story doesn’t just end at the end of our current copy of the Book! It goes on!! We don’t know what it says, but when a scientist who has trained all his life to look for evidence in the earth finds so many pieces to the puzzle that fit so well, I think we ought to at least go look!!! What can it hurt? The hill “Maw” on the peninsula may contain the greatest treasure on earth and I’m not just talking about the gold, I mean the MESSAGES recorded thereon. They are worth far more than the gold!! It would be the most incredible find in the history of the world!!! It would be a powerful missionary tool for the billions of people in Asia!!! If it turns out to be true, it would not make Joseph Smith look like a false prophet, but the contrary, even more of a prophet!!! For he did not read the sealed portion either, and how could he have ever made up “AND THE SOURCE FROM WHENCE THEY CAME.”
Hill “Maw” on the Malay Penninsula is 4000 feet high–big enough for the thousands of soldiers and people who fought the final Book of Mormon Battles! The Hill Cumorah in New York is only a small hill where they perform the pagent every year. It is not large enough to be the sight of the described battle.
Thanks to all of you who are contributing in an open minded way, and not being afraid to think for yourself, as we are taught by church our leaders. I do not think we should just pass this idea off until it is thoroughly investigated with a metal detector and underground sonar!! It is so exciting to think that we may have, at long last, found the true Book of Mormon Lands!!! Dr. Olsen you are a GENIOUS!!!
It appears that readers of the BofM aren’t understanding that the terms use by the Nephite authors of the BofM, such as land northward, land southward, east wilderness, west sea, etc., are RELATIVE terms; not ABSOLUTE terms.
As I see it, every reference to an east sea (or other relative feature) must be studied to determine to what it is being referenced. If it is an east sea relative to the land of Nephi, it may not be the same body of water which is east relative to the narrow neck of land.
This, of course, can greatly complicate things; especially when attempting to construct an internal map. For example, the Hill Cumorah it thought to reside in the land northward. But, once the concept of a relative-referencing-system is embraced, then having the Hill Cumorah south of the narrow neck of land is not a problem, because it is still in the land northward RELATIVE to the land of Zarahemla (which is where the term land northward is most often referenced). Saying that the destruction of the Jaredites occurred in the land northward simply means northward RELATIVE to the land of Zarahemla. And both lands, Bountiful and Desolation, are northward relative to Zarahemla.
Mayan Pyramid
Pretending the terms were changed is not reasonable in the most nearly correct book on earth! In order to qualify as a Land of Promise, a site must have had: cattle (beef?), oxen, cows (milk?), sheep, swine, goats, horses, asses, elephants and other work animals (cureloms and cumons) (Eth 9:19). The Malay Peninsula qualifies (water buffalo may be cureloms or cumons). Sites in America fail completely. In addition: None of the important animals (large and small) in ancient America are mentioned in the BofM. The middle of the Malay Peninsula has an area that has an east, west, north, and south sea because on the irregularity of the land. A current day map has a Hill Ma in the land northward. Yes Tanah Mera (Zarehemla?) is north of the land southward even though it is south of Hill Ma… Always keep in mind that the BofM is the most correct book. Do not try to change the words to fit something else. Thanks to all who have open minds!
More On the Malay Theory
As somebody affirmed that according to the Malay theory some Lehites could have gone to the Comoras islands, I would include Madagascar in this trip. Many different tribes in Madagascar claim having Jewish ancestry coming from Arabia & from Arabia came the Hebrew party of Lehi.
Christ-Quetzalcoatl
There's another interesting point about Madagascar. Some of the local tribes, for example the Anakara, descend from the Antemoro Jewish tribe that came from Arabia. What's interesting is that the Antemoro's ancient name was Antemoroni. In the Book of Mormon we read of a group called Antinephilehi, so there's a base to create the name Antemoroni.
Is Jareh from the Bible the same as Jared from Book of Mormon? Khmer people believe they come from sons of Joktan, Jareh and brother Ophir. This people are named MonKhmer which sounds like Moriancumer or maybe Moriankhmer. Also they are Kumara people which sounds like Cumorah. Is the Book of Jared a book for this people? They are looking for their book.
Evidence that the Book of Mormon happened in Southeast Asia is in the genetic and linguistic record of Cambodia, Malaysia, Burma, and Thailand. This model starts from the "source from whence they sprang" and goes east. It will never fit to start with the Mayans and go backwards against the flow of genetic and linguistic evidence. Start with the Malay (21% Mediterranean DNA) and follow the Austronesian migrations across the isles of the sea to the New World.
Spencer W. Kimball often spoke of the Lamanites by referencing the "isles of the sea" first.
As I looked into the future, I saw the Lamanites from the isles of the sea and the Americas rise to a great destiny. - Spencer W. Kimball
Our kinsmen of the isles of the sea and the Americas. Millions of you have blood relatively unmixed with gentile nations...There are probably sixty million of you [Polynesians and Austronesians] on the two continents and on the Pacific Islands, all related by blood ties. The Lord calls you “Lamanites". - Spencer W. Kimball, The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, p. 596
Here let me say again, according to the Book of Mormon, many of those great islands that are found in the Indian Ocean, also in the great Pacific Sea, have been planted with colonies of Israelites. Do they not resemble each other? ... Who are they? According to the Book of Mormon, Israelites were scattered forth from time to time, and colonies planted on these islands of the ocean. - Orson Pratt, Journal of Discourses 14:333
In Genesis, Jareh (Jared) and his brother Ophir (Moriancumer) went east to the hills of Asia.
Josephus (Ant. viii. 6, 4) states unhesitatingly that Ophir was in his day called “The Golden Chersonesus,” which is the Malay peninsula. The Khmer (Cumer) kingdom of Zhenla (Zarahemla) north of the Malay Peninsula originated with a foreign merchant who received a "divine bow" and was guided by God to be the ruler. The Lamanite remnant scattered east towards the New World. I've put together a map (below) showing that the Malay Peninsula matches the Book of Mormon lands near perfectly.
Symbols-feathered-serpent-god, Aztec god identified as Jesus Christ
Josephus (Ant. viii. 6, 4) states unhesitatingly that Ophir was in his day called “The Golden Chersonesus,” which is the Malay peninsula. The Khmer (Cumer) kingdom of Zhenla (Zarahemla) north of the Malay Peninsula originated with a foreign merchant who received a "divine bow" and was guided by God to be the ruler. The Lamanite remnant scattered east towards the New World. I've put together a map (below) showing that the Malay Peninsula matches the Book of Mormon lands near perfectly.
The remnant of Jacob could be the tribes living in the hills of Burma in a land they still call Zoram, a land they declared independent as Burma embraced Communism. They are led by a guy named Zoramthanga. Some in this tribe have DNA linking them to Manasseh. The have been officially recognized as a lost tribe and 3000 of them have already completed aliyah, a return to Israel.
There is a another group in the hills of Burma called the Lehkai (Lehi?). They have rejected the State, Buddhism and Protestant missionaries. They live independently as they wait for the return of their lost golden book and the their messiah, the son of God. I've been to their church (founded in the 1830s after a man in a white robe visited them) and the only way I can describe it is a form of "proto-Mormonism". Starting with a prophet at the top down to three counselors voted in by each individual congregation and anointed in front of witnesses. They meet every Saturday (Sabbath) and sit at altars with their wives to learn their holy scriptures.
David being anointed
The "Five Cities" (Sundun) refer to the lines of defense on the east and west. Mon-Khmer cluster their cities in groups of five (mantjapat). The location marked as the Lehite landing has iron furnaces and stone boxes that have been dated back exactly to 500BC.
Drawing of the original Karen Copper Plate with some Hebrew characters
If there were copper plates, why not gold plates or brass plates?
The Lost Tribes of Burma & the Book of Mormon
As manifested by the oral traditions of the North & South American native tribes, ample evidence exists that Jesus Christ visited the Nephites and Lamanites. However, do we have any evidence that Christ visited the “other sheep” that were not in the Americas or Jerusalem? (3 Nephi 16:1-3) Perhaps.
Since Christ told those He visited in the Americas about the people in Jerusalem, we could speculate that He would also have told the “other sheep” outside those two geographical areas about His “sheep” both in Jerusalem and in the Americas.
The following are direct quotaitons from Parfitt’s book:
“Western missionaries active in the country [Burma, now Myanmar] had formed the view that the Karen ethnic group was itself of Jewish extraction. This view is still held by some people and, as will be shown, has a bearing on the claims to Jewishness of many thousands of people on the Burmese-Indian border, some of whom have already emigrated to Israel. (p. 123)
“The Karens’ account of their origins— that they were from River of Running Sand—no doubt served as a springboard for all sorts of speculation. This was a people with a mysterious past. Quite clearly there were striking and seductive similarities between their legends and those of the Jewish scriptures: an example was the Karen story of creation which ‘was almost parallel to the Mosaic account in Genesis’ (p. 124-5).
“Francis Mason of the American Baptist Foreign Mission Society arrived in Burma in 1814 and in time became convinced that the Karen were part of the Lost Tribes of Israel. He had certainly reached this conclusion by 1833: on 6 December of that year he announced from his headquarters in the ‘head waters of the Tenesserim’ to Mr. Maingy the British Civil Commissioner, who had requested a report on the Karen, ‘the discovery of a fragment of the descendants of the Hebrews’. ‘I sit down in the midst of the Karen jungle,’ he wrote, ‘to redeem my pledge and give you some account of the traditions existing among the Tayoy Karens.’ In a passionate letter Mason listed the traits that proved their distinguished lineage: the nature of their god Pu or Yuwah, their belief in angels and Satan, the fall of man, the dispersion of Babel, the future destruction of the world, their love of God, their tradition of being a wandering people, their freedom from idolatry and so on. ‘There can scarcely be a rational doubt that the Yuwah of the Karens is the Jehovah of the Hebrews---from the foregoing I am constrained to believe the Karens to be descendents of the Hebrews. Look at them, sir; is not the Jew written in their countenance?’ (p. 125)
“Above all, it was the cult of the high god Yuwah or Ywa, reminiscent of the Hebrew YHWH, which excited Christians and later Jews and inspired them with the certainty that here must be some long-lost relic of the ancient religion of the Hebrews--- According to Father Plaisant, the early Baptist missionaries had got it about right: Yuwah created the earth, he made man and all living creatures, he was omniscient, omnipotent, perfect and eternal. According to the priest, in the days after the creation Yuwah set aside the ‘book of gold’ for the Karen, who failed to come and get it. It was therefore entrusted to his younger ‘white brother’. ‘Therefore---the latter obligingly built a boat for Ywa and transported him across the ocean, whence Ywa ascended to heaven. In their sacred songs, the Karen look forward to the return of the White Brother and their book, as well as to the advent of Ywa.”
If there were copper plates, why not gold plates or brass plates?
In 1872, Alonzo Bunker published a brief report “On a Karen Inscription-Plate” in the Journal of the American Oriental Society10 (1872 – 1880): 172-176, in which he included the following drawings of the inscriptions on the front and back of the copper plate. The inscription could not be read, but was thought to recount the founding of the Karen nation of northeast India or to establish the claims to power of its king.
Karen Copper Plate
In 1872, Alonzo Bunker published a brief report “On a Karen Inscription-Plate” in the Journal of the American Oriental Society 10 (1872 – 1880): 172-176, in which he included the following drawings of the inscriptions on the front and back of the copper plate. The inscription could not be read, but was thought to recount the founding of the Karen nation of northeast India or to establish the claims to power of its king.
Karen Copper Plate
There is often a confabulation on whether the Hmars did originally have Jewish roots. Some of the Hmar’s oral sources appear to indicate their Jewish origin and on the basis of these sources, some writers even go to the extent of saying that Hmars and their brethren, Kukis and Mizos could perhaps be one of the ten lost tribes of ancient Israel. Let us try to highlight these particular oral traditions and examine them critically.
According to L Hranglien Songate (Hmar History: 1956), the first known ancestor of Hmars was Manmasi (Manasia) who occupied a very sacred and important place in the lives and beliefs of Hmars. His name was uttered in prayers and ceremonial sacrifices. Whenever they were to make any new settlement or to undertake an adventurous exploits, they had to invoke Manmasi’s name.
Bird eye view of Imphal Valley as seen from top of Cheiraoching in August 2014.
Another Hmar pre-Christian legend also mentions about an unusual flood which covered the whole earth except one hill-lock where all living beings fled to their safety. Surprisingly enough, the Chorei tribe who once lived with the Hmars at Ruonglevaisuo (Tipaimukh) for several decades and who are now found mostly in Cachar district of Assam also mentions in one of their folklores thus: “Muolsang rengpa rakuong tuk” (muolsang=hill, rengpa=chief, rakuong=boat or ship, tuk= construction).
To further support the theory of the Jewish connection, it is again argued that the Hmars like the Jews used to observe three important festivals in a year, such as the Chapchar Kut (in April); Mim Kut (in September) and Pawl Kut (in December). In pre-Christian era, whenever the forefathers of Hmars performed sacrificial rites, the priest used to construct an altar having four corners and sprinkled animal’s blood on the floor which was spread on the platform of an altar. These religious practices tend to suggest that the ancestors of Hmars and the Jews might perhaps live together at one point of time in the past.
Most often quoted in this connection is the Hmar Sikpui Festival which was celebrated from time immemorial. When they celebrated the festival, they performed the Sikpui dance with Khuongpu (drummer) and Khuongpuzailak (chanter) sitting in the middle on a raised flat stone especially erected for the occasion and the dancers making two rows-old men against old women, married men against married women, young men against young women and so on and so forth.
The song of this festival makes a vivid reference to the Israelites at the time of their liberation from the Egyptian bondage under the leadership of Moses and to the events that followed after they crossed the Red Sea. The song both in original Hmar dialect and its English rendering is as given below:
Sikpui inthang kan ur laia, Changtuipui aw sen mah rili kangintan. While we are preparing for the Sikpui festival, The big red sea becomes divided. Ke ralawna ka leido aw, Suna sum ang, zanah mei lawn invak e. As we are marching forward fighting our foes, We are being led by cloud during day and by fire during night. An tur an sa tlua ruol aw, In phawsiel le in ralfeite zuong thaw ro. Our enemies, Ye Folk, are thick with fury, Come out with your shields and spears. Sun razula ka leido aw,
Ke ralawna mei sum invak e. Fighting our foes all day, We march along as cloud-fire goes afore. Sun razuala ka leido aw, Laimi sa ang changtuipuiin lem zova e. The enemies we fight all day, The big sea swallowed them like beast. A va ruol aw la ta che, Suonglung chunga tui zuong put kha la t ache. Collect the quails, And fetch the water that springs out of the rock.
The song is self-revealing. It speaks about the incident as referred to the Exodus (Old Testament), Chapter 14: 1-31. On the significance of the song, L.Keivom, IFS (Retd) illuminatingly comments thus: “This popular song occupies such a sacred place that the Sikpui festival can start only after the participants sing it with rapt attention. This fact may, therefore, suggest that the incident referred to in the song might have been an unusual happening of great consequence in the pages of their national history. Otherwise they could not have attached such importance to it.”
Assuming that the Hmars and Kuki-Mizo people originally came from ancient Israel, what routes and which countries did they pass through to reach their present habitats? Hranglien Songate again simply stated that the Hmars entered China from the north after having passed through Afghanistan and Baluchistan. It is argued that some of the ten lost tribes were taken as captives by the king of Assyria in 722 B.C. and some of them lived in Persia following their exile there in 457 B.C. during the reign of Darius and Ahashveresh.
In 331 B.C. when Alexander the Great conquered Persia, Afghanistan and India, some of the lost tribes were exiled to Afghanistan and to other countries. On their onward migration, it is said:” From Afghanistan, their migration continued eastward through Hindukush until they reached the Tibetan region and the Chinese border. From there they continued into China, following the Wei River until they reached the central region. A settlement was established at Kaifeng in 231 B.C.
As a result of the cruel behavior of the Chinese towards them, they were forced to serve like slaves to the Chinese. Thus began the process of assimilation which crept into the tribes as a result of Chinese influences.” Citing Chao Enti’s version, Hranglien Songate contends that the forefathers of Hmars had already settled in China by the time Shi Huang-ti (209-207 B.C.) established his suzerainty over the greater part of the Chinese empire. He further argues that the Chin dynasty had absorbed many of the tribes that settled in China and those who refused to be assimilated were pushed out and the forefathers of Hmar-Kuki-Mizo could perhaps be one of them.
Mainly on the basis of these oral traditions which point to the historical connection between the Shinlung people and the Israelites, some sections of Kuki and Mizo in Manipur and Mizoram have now already in the Judaising process. As a matter of fact, as many as 700 Kuki-Mizo have been settled in the territories in Judea, Samaria and Gaza in Israel on the initiative of Eliyahu Avichail, a soft-spoken, grey-bearded Jerusalem Rabbinical scholar.
Whether one agrees with the theory of the Jewish origin, we can no longer ignore the fact that it has now gained topicality and urgency both among the local writers in North East India and the Rabbinical scholars and intellectuals in Israel. Accompanying Rabbi Avichail in his extensive tour of East Asia and South East Asia including North East India in search of lost tribe of Israel several times, Hillel Halkin, an Israeli veteran journalist, has just published a very thought provoking and illuminating book entitled Across the Sabbath River: In Search of a Lost Tribe of Israel.
Keila
Keila is a Yiddish name derived from the Hebrew word "Keli," which means "vessel." A talented person is often referred to as "Keli" – a complete vessel, capable of performing great things. It is modern-day Kila , a site with ruins, on the lower road from Beit Jibria to Hebron. KafarKila (Arabic: كفركلا , also, Kfarkila, Kfarkela, Kafarkela) is a small village in Southern Lebanon. Kafarkila name means "The village of the pasturage", so Kila means pasturage in modern Lebanese Arabic. Perhaps derives from the Hebrew word qala' in the sense of inclosing; citadel. According to others Keilah is Hebrew in origin and it's meaning is fortress or citadel.
Keilah (Citadel) was a city in the lowlands of Judah (Joshua 15:44). In 1 Samuel, David rescued it from the attack of the Philistines (1 Samuel 23:1-8) but the inhabitants proved unfaithful to him, in that they sought to deliver him up to Saul (23:12). He and his men "departed from Keilah, and went whithersoever they could go.” They fled first to Hareth Hill, about 3 miles to the east, and thence through Hebron to Ziph. "And David was in the wilderness of Ziph, in a wood" (1 Samuel 23:15). Here Jonathan sought him out, "and strengthened his hand in God." This was the last interview between David and Jonathan (1 Samuel 23:16-18).
Benjamin of Tudela identified Kâkôn (Qaqun) as ancient Keilah in 1160. Others believe it to be modern Qila, 11 km (7 mi) northwest of Hebron. Still others identify it with Khuweilfeh, between Beit Jibrin (Eleutheropolis) and Beersheba, mentioned in the Amarna tablets.
The "name" Garmite occurs only once in the Bible. It's the cognomen of Keilah of Judah, the cousin (?) of Eshtemoa "the Maacathite" (1 Chronicles 4:19). How these two cousins fit into the Judean family tree is unclear, but see our article on the name Hodiah for a discussion of this conundrum.
KEILAH
ke-i'-la (qe`ilah; Keeilam):
(1) A city of the Shephelah mentioned (Joshua 15:44) along with Nezib, Aehzib and Mareshah. Among those who repaired the walls of Jerusalem was "Hashabiah, the ruler of half the district of Keilah, for his district. After him repaired their brethren, Bavvai the son of Henadad, the ruler of half the district of Keilah" (Nehemiah 3:17, 18).
1. David and Keilah:
It is, however, from the story of the wandering of David that we have most information regarding this place. It was a city with gates and bars (1 Samuel 23:7). The Philistines came against it and commenced robbing the threshing-floors. David, after twice inquiring of Yahweh, went down with his 600 men (1 Samuel 23:13) and "fought with the Philistines, and brought away their cattle, and slew them with great slaughter." Saul hearing that David and his men were within a fortified town "summoned all the people to war, to go down to Keilah, to besiege David and his men" (1 Samuel 23:8). Then David asked Abiathar the priest to bring him an ephod, and he inquired of Yahweh whether, if Saul came, the men of Keilah would surrender him to save that city; hearing from Yahweh, "They will deliver thee up," he and all his men escaped from Keilah and went into the wilderness. The reputed strength of Keilah is confirmed by its mention in 5 tablets in the Tell el-Amarna Letters under the name of Kilts (qilti, Petrie) with Gedor, Gath, Rabbah and Gezer.
2. Identification:
Although other identifications were proposed by the older topographers, there is now a general consensus of opinion that the site of this city is Khurbet Kila (Josephus, Ant, VI, xiii, 1, in his account of David's adventure calls the place "Killa"). It is a hill covered with ruins in the higher part of Wady es Sur, 1,575 ft. above sea-level, whose terraced sides are covered with grainfields. The Eusebius, Onomasticon (Latin text) states that it was 8 miles from Eleutheropolis, which is about the distance of Khurbet Kila from Beit Jibrin. Beit Nusib (Nezib) is a couple of miles away, and Tell Sandahannah (Mareshah) but 7 miles to the West (Joshua 15:44). An early Christian tradition states that the prophet Habakkuk was buried at Keilah.
(2) The Garmite (which see), 1 Chronicles 4:19; see PEF, 314, Sh XXI.
