In Yingjiang, Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture, a small county on Yunnan’s border with Myanmar, an ethnic minority village released a regulation in early September that locals must not convert to Christianity, otherwise the offenders will be punished.
On August 24, the regulation named “Supplement to Regulations of Huangfei Village” was published and circulated on the Internet. One of the online pages gives four rules concerning the punishment for conversions and helping others to have religious convictions.
The village committee ruled that villagers are not permitted to convert to Christianity since it is their tradition to believe in Theravada Buddhism. Anyone who violates the regulation must turn over a certain number of pigs, rice wine, children, and rice which will be used for a custom Buddhistic ritual named Xizhaizi. The convert will be forced to renounce his Christian faith.
“Xizhaizi” is a local ritual sacrifice that punishes people that go against Dai’s ethical principles and religious taboos. Normally an offender walks around the village on a specific day, carrying tribute (live pigs or children) while blaming himself aloud. After the walk, he should cook tribute food for all the people in the whole village. The offender needs to pay the total expense by himse. The activity is very intimidating, offering the severest punishment in dignity and property to the offender.
The paper also reads, “If any child or relative of the offender continues to believe other religions, all of his fields will be be taken and credited to the village.”
Meanwhile, the fourth article says that nobody should assist others to follow other religions. A local pastor said, “The village sets rules that no Dai people should believe in Christianity.” In 2016, he told Dai converts not to announce that they had converted as some broke with their families. The severity of the consequences was not less than the danger of Muslims converting to follow other religions.
A Christian netizen commented, “The rules are ineffective because it violates our constitution that promises freedom of religion.” Another said, “It goes against the national regulations on religious affairs.”
Compared to Yingjiang, the church in Yunnan’s Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture faces a more tolerant political landscape. There are open churches.
Scholars estimate that there are about 6,000 Christians, scattered in Xinping, Yuanjiang, Wuding, Yuanmou, Puer, Baoshan, and other cities. As many as 2,000 Christians live in Xishuangbanna Prefecture and 500 in Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture.
It is said the difference between Christianity and the culture of Dai triggers family and social conflicts. For example, a Christian woman in Yingjiang County was married in 2007. The wedding was held in a Christian manner, presided over by a believer. When the believer hosted the ceremony, he had to sit in the only chair in the main hall, forcing the highly respected elderly person who should lead the wedding leave. Later, her village opposed adopting the Christian style when her family was about to hold another wedding. If she insisted, she would offend the village god and need to offer “xizhaizi.” Eventually, the wedding was conducted in the traditional way of the Dai people. Since then, the village has stipulated that weddings shall not be held according to Christian traditions.
With a square area of about 724 acres and a border length of 195 miles, Yingjiang has a population of 320,000. The nationalities of the residents include Han, Dai, Jingpo, Lisu, Palaung, and Achang. In 2016 the county had 34,000 Christians, 240 churches, and other places of worship. Seven ordained pastors and more than 50 pastors served there.
There is one registered church in the county seat where more than 500 people gather in three Sunday services. There are more than 200 churches and gathering points, whose congregations are half Jingpo and half Lisu people.
- Translated by Karen Luo
云南傣族某村寨规定村民不得改信基督教 违规者将受罚
盈江是云南边境的一个小县城，9月初，某地发布的一纸“寨规”引发了基督徒们的关注和热议，因它禁止当地村民改信基督教，违者将受罚。
互联网上传开的这个寨规名为《黄费寨子”寨规制度“补充条约》，据了解它于8月24日在当地村寨公布，被曝出的那页谈到了宗教文化信仰问题，一共四条，涉及对于改信、教唆他人信仰之村民的惩罚，并告知村民不得违反。
村委会规定，因所在村寨居民多为傣族，一贯推从信奉佛教（具体来说是南传佛教），因此不允许私自改信基督教，违者将受罚，上交一定数量的猪只、米酒、鸡、大米等，之后进行当地所称的“洗寨子”活动，并责令退出。
“洗寨子”是当地的一种宗教祭神活动，一般用于违背傣族伦理道德和触犯宗教禁忌的事情，主要内容是让触犯禁忌的人在选定的日子里抬着贡品（通常为猪、鸡等活禽）周游村寨，一边周游一边还要大声地自我责备。游寨之后要将祭祀用的猪、鸡杀好煮熟以供全寨老小吃饭，而“洗寨子”的费用全部由个人承担。“洗寨子”从尊严、财产两方面给予犯错者最严厉的处罚，具有很大威慑力。
“对子女、亲属继续跟信其他教派的，寨子一律回收全部水田，归寨子所有。”
同时也规定，不允许教唆他人跟从信教，“国有国法，村有村规，寨有寨子制度，每家每户都要认真遵守执行，任何人都不得违反。”第四条写到。
笔者在看到此寨规后联系了盈江县教会的一位传道人，他曾带我在当地走访，并多次叮嘱傣族人改信基督的事不宜宣扬，有的信徒因为此事已经和家人决裂了，此事的严重程度不亚于伊斯兰教信徒改信其他宗教。
他证实了寨规信息，告诉笔者：“这边从村寨里规定，傣族不能信仰基督教！”
笔者曾于2016年跟着这位传道人，走进傣族村寨，穿过田地和小桥，看到了傣族特色的教会，整体印象来说非常整洁干净，还和一位信徒交流了许久。当然，对方讲的是少数民族语言，我只能听翻译。
其他基督徒网友也评论，有的认为这属于个别行为，有的直接说“宪法规定宗教信仰自由，这违背了宪法，是无效的。”“违反国家宗教事务条例”。
对比云南西双版纳傣族自治州，教会的生存环境就相对宽松，当地不仅有公开的傣族教堂，还有州基督教协会和基督教三自爱国运动委员会。
有学者估计，目前云南全省大约有傣族基督徒6000人，除分布在新平、元江、武定、元谋以及普洱、临沧、保山等地之外，西双版纳州约有2000人，德宏州约有500人。
基督教和傣族文化之间存在差异，由此引发的家庭矛盾和社会冲突，笔者曾有听说。举个例子，2007年，盈江县某村的某户人家女儿出嫁，当时是按照基督教的仪式举行婚礼，还邀请了教会人员主持。婚礼举行的时候，村里的老人坐在新娘家的正堂，而教会的人也要坐在那里主持，老人被迫让位，这引起了不满。之后，她家再次办喜事，村寨中就不同意再采用基督教的仪式了，如果坚持就要罚款，还说她得罪了寨神，要“洗寨子”。最后，这婚礼采用了傣族的仪式。此后，村寨中就有了不许按照基督教仪式举行婚礼的规定。
这种现象如何处理，笔者认为，这是跨文化宣教者不得不面对和处理的。
翻开中国地图可知，盈江地处中国西南边陲，与缅甸接壤山水相连，是一个边疆少数民族口岸县，属于云南省德宏傣族景颇族自治州。总面积4400平方公里，边境线长314.6公里，总人口三十二万人。其中有汉族、傣族、景颇族、傈僳族、德昂族、阿昌族。
根据2016年笔者了解到的数据，盈江共有基督徒三万四千人，堂点240个，信徒有景颇族、傈僳族、傣族、汉族、德昂族、阿昌族。当时盈江教会有7位牧师，50余位传道人。县城目前只有一个教堂，平时有500多人聚会，分三场礼拜，满足汉族、景颇族和傈僳族信徒的不同聚会需要。乡镇教会有200余个堂点，景颇族和傈僳族信徒差不多各占一半。
福音传入盈江傈僳族超过百年，于1916年由英国传教士富能仁牧师传入盈江县傈傈族中间，1918年后景颇族也开始信仰基督教。当年，富能仁牧师等人不仅带去了福音、建立了教会，还创制了傈僳文并将圣经和赞美诗歌翻译为该民族语言。2106年4月初，盈江县苏典傈僳族乡邦别教会举行了福音入邦别一百周年暨傈僳文字创制100周年纪念活动，上万人参加。
傈僳族和景颇族人多数居住在偏远地区的寨子里，受教育程度有限，很多人信主都是因着家族传承，真正能理解圣经并将信仰个人化的信徒比较有限。如何提升信徒属灵生命，如何将福音传给下一代，如何能拓展福音事工，是当地教会面临的挑战。
In Yingjiang, Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture, a small county on Yunnan’s border with Myanmar, an ethnic minority village released a regulation in early September that locals must not convert to Christianity, otherwise the offenders will be punished.
On August 24, the regulation named “Supplement to Regulations of Huangfei Village” was published and circulated on the Internet. One of the online pages gives four rules concerning the punishment for conversions and helping others to have religious convictions.
The village committee ruled that villagers are not permitted to convert to Christianity since it is their tradition to believe in Theravada Buddhism. Anyone who violates the regulation must turn over a certain number of pigs, rice wine, children, and rice which will be used for a custom Buddhistic ritual named Xizhaizi. The convert will be forced to renounce his Christian faith.
“Xizhaizi” is a local ritual sacrifice that punishes people that go against Dai’s ethical principles and religious taboos. Normally an offender walks around the village on a specific day, carrying tribute (live pigs or children) while blaming himself aloud. After the walk, he should cook tribute food for all the people in the whole village. The offender needs to pay the total expense by himse. The activity is very intimidating, offering the severest punishment in dignity and property to the offender.
The paper also reads, “If any child or relative of the offender continues to believe other religions, all of his fields will be be taken and credited to the village.”
Meanwhile, the fourth article says that nobody should assist others to follow other religions. A local pastor said, “The village sets rules that no Dai people should believe in Christianity.” In 2016, he told Dai converts not to announce that they had converted as some broke with their families. The severity of the consequences was not less than the danger of Muslims converting to follow other religions.
A Christian netizen commented, “The rules are ineffective because it violates our constitution that promises freedom of religion.” Another said, “It goes against the national regulations on religious affairs.”
Compared to Yingjiang, the church in Yunnan’s Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture faces a more tolerant political landscape. There are open churches.
Scholars estimate that there are about 6,000 Christians, scattered in Xinping, Yuanjiang, Wuding, Yuanmou, Puer, Baoshan, and other cities. As many as 2,000 Christians live in Xishuangbanna Prefecture and 500 in Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture.
It is said the difference between Christianity and the culture of Dai triggers family and social conflicts. For example, a Christian woman in Yingjiang County was married in 2007. The wedding was held in a Christian manner, presided over by a believer. When the believer hosted the ceremony, he had to sit in the only chair in the main hall, forcing the highly respected elderly person who should lead the wedding leave. Later, her village opposed adopting the Christian style when her family was about to hold another wedding. If she insisted, she would offend the village god and need to offer “xizhaizi.” Eventually, the wedding was conducted in the traditional way of the Dai people. Since then, the village has stipulated that weddings shall not be held according to Christian traditions.
With a square area of about 724 acres and a border length of 195 miles, Yingjiang has a population of 320,000. The nationalities of the residents include Han, Dai, Jingpo, Lisu, Palaung, and Achang. In 2016 the county had 34,000 Christians, 240 churches, and other places of worship. Seven ordained pastors and more than 50 pastors served there.
There is one registered church in the county seat where more than 500 people gather in three Sunday services. There are more than 200 churches and gathering points, whose congregations are half Jingpo and half Lisu people.
- Translated by Karen Luo
Yunnan Dai Ethnic Minority Village Banned from Converting to Christianity
