Ge People :: Profile
Population: approximately 80,000
Location: small villages throughout southeastern Guizhou (Southwest China)
Religion: ancestor worship and/or participation in animistic/cultic practices
Never heard the gospel: 75%
Have heard but have not received: 24%
Have accepted the gospel: 1%
Reported Believers: 50 believers
Gospel Materials in Ge Language: God’s Story, Jesus Film
The Ge have adopted an eclectic melting pot of Daosim, Buddhism, Animism, and Ancestor Worship. The tribal animism of the past sees the spiritual world as one full of unseen ghosts, dragons, demons, angels, and spirits, representing the afterlife of one’s ancestors or the unseen spirits of trees, animals, bridges, rivers, mountains, heavenly bodies, wells, stones, and valleys. The Ge believe that guardian spirits dwell over their households and protect while evil spirits meddle in their lives. The people claim the need for a shaman for intervention. They feel the need to satisfy and appease evil spirits in order to prevent disease, tragedy, death, and also ensure a plentiful harvest.
The “Cult” (as in the ha-tsung renewal ceremony) is said to be at the core of the Ge culture. Ha-tsung in local Ge language refers to a community renewal ritual process ended by an ancestor worship ceremony. The last one was in 1993 and spanned and entire year. The ceremony includes chanting, singing, and bamboo pipe blowing around the drum. Specific knowledge on the practices surrounding the ceremony are only familiar to the Ge ritual and religious experts. Women are excluded from these ceremonies, so the men always play women’s roles to the sounds of monotonous music.
Presently, there is only one known church among the Ge. Most believers are scattered throughout many villages and do not meet regularly, if at all, for fellowship. Recently, church planters have found the chronological Bible storytelling method to be very effective among the Ge people. Many recent converts have come to faith simply by hearing the stories spoken. Many of the new believers are young and leave home to make money for their families. Thus, the church planting teams are faced with the challenge of finding individuals that have a burden for their people and will commit to taking the Gospel to them.
An additional challenge among the Ge is that the government has recently broadcast on loudspeakers and posted signs in the Ge area banning people from watching God’s Story and the Jesus Film. The government has also warned people to not even tell Bible stories, or they will face imprisonment. In the past, the Ge people have been quite open to the stories. Now when Bible stories are told to the people, they are afraid and refuse to listen. In addition, the Ge translators of God’s Story and the Jesus Film have been blacklisted and have been threatened to be arrested the next time they return home.
Location: small villages throughout southeastern Guizhou (Southwest China)
Religion: ancestor worship and/or participation in animistic/cultic practices
Never heard the gospel: 75%
Have heard but have not received: 24%
Have accepted the gospel: 1%
Reported Believers: 50 believers
Gospel Materials in Ge Language: God’s Story, Jesus Film
The Ge have adopted an eclectic melting pot of Daosim, Buddhism, Animism, and Ancestor Worship. The tribal animism of the past sees the spiritual world as one full of unseen ghosts, dragons, demons, angels, and spirits, representing the afterlife of one’s ancestors or the unseen spirits of trees, animals, bridges, rivers, mountains, heavenly bodies, wells, stones, and valleys. The Ge believe that guardian spirits dwell over their households and protect while evil spirits meddle in their lives. The people claim the need for a shaman for intervention. They feel the need to satisfy and appease evil spirits in order to prevent disease, tragedy, death, and also ensure a plentiful harvest.
The “Cult” (as in the ha-tsung renewal ceremony) is said to be at the core of the Ge culture. Ha-tsung in local Ge language refers to a community renewal ritual process ended by an ancestor worship ceremony. The last one was in 1993 and spanned and entire year. The ceremony includes chanting, singing, and bamboo pipe blowing around the drum. Specific knowledge on the practices surrounding the ceremony are only familiar to the Ge ritual and religious experts. Women are excluded from these ceremonies, so the men always play women’s roles to the sounds of monotonous music.
Presently, there is only one known church among the Ge. Most believers are scattered throughout many villages and do not meet regularly, if at all, for fellowship. Recently, church planters have found the chronological Bible storytelling method to be very effective among the Ge people. Many recent converts have come to faith simply by hearing the stories spoken. Many of the new believers are young and leave home to make money for their families. Thus, the church planting teams are faced with the challenge of finding individuals that have a burden for their people and will commit to taking the Gospel to them.
An additional challenge among the Ge is that the government has recently broadcast on loudspeakers and posted signs in the Ge area banning people from watching God’s Story and the Jesus Film. The government has also warned people to not even tell Bible stories, or they will face imprisonment. In the past, the Ge people have been quite open to the stories. Now when Bible stories are told to the people, they are afraid and refuse to listen. In addition, the Ge translators of God’s Story and the Jesus Film have been blacklisted and have been threatened to be arrested the next time they return home.