Golog in China

The Golog have only been reported in China
Population
Main Language
Largest Religion
Christian
Evangelical
Progress
Progress Gauge

Introduction / History

The Golog are the descendants of Tibetan warriors sent to guard the northern borders. "In the seventh century AD, the Tibetan king dispatched his fiercest warriors, ancestors of the present-day Gologs and neighboring Khampas, to guard the country's mountainous northern frontier against Chinese invasion. When the Tibetan kingdom eventually collapsed, the Gologs stayed in their mountain retreat, defiant of outside authority." A Chinese historian states, "Tibetan tribes from the Upper, Middle and Lower Golog all can trace their roots to Baima. Baima County is situated on the southeast tip of Qinghai and borders on Sichuan."

According to one source, Golog means "those with heads on backwards." This name comes from their reputation for being an extremely stubborn and rebellious people.

The Golog language is "largely unintelligible to most Tibetans." There are numerous dialects and local varieties spoken by dozens of different Golog tribes and clans.


What Are Their Lives Like?

The nomadic Golog wear greasy sheepskins, yak-hide boots, and felt bowler hats, a lasting legacy of the British invasion of Tibet in the early 1900s. Many wild animals inhabit the Golog region, including "blue sheep, gazelles, bears, wolves, and deer."


What Are Their Beliefs?

All Gologs are Tibetan Buddhists. Many Golog women have 108 braids of hair, considered an auspicious number by Tibetan Buddhists.

Few Golog have ever heard of Jesus Christ or his offer of salvation. They have been separated from all outside influence, including Christianity, for centuries. "[Gologs] live here, and other tribes of Tibetans, with whom they quarrel and fight. Yet of these local wars, not even an echo ever reaches the outside world." In the early part of the twentieth century, some missionaries passed through the Golog area and distributed gospel literature, receiving an interested response from one Golog Head Lama. In recent years at least one mission agency has expressed interest in reaching the Gologs.


What Are Their Needs?

Without the guidance of Christ, these people will be lost in this life and the life to come. They need someone to go to them as Christ-bearers.


Prayer Points

Pray for the Lord to intervene in their families, calling people to his side.

Pray for loving, anointed workers.

Pray for their hearts to be drawn to the Lord of lords.

Pray for a church planting movement to thrive in their communities.


Scripture Prayers for the Golog in China.


References

Operation China, Asia Harvest, Copyrighted © Used with permission

Groma in China
https://joshuaproject.net/people_groups/11946/CH


Profile Source:   Joshua Project  

The Amdo Tibetans

Source:  Asia Harvest      Download

People Name General Golog
People Name in Country Golog
Pronunciation Gor-lok
Alternate Names Amchok; Butsang; Gatse; Ggolo; Golok; Jassa; Jazza; Kanggan; Kangsar; Lhardi; Mgolog; Ngawa; Ngolok; Ngura; Rimong; RimongKangsar; Shahrang; Tsokhar
Population this Country 167,000
Population all Countries 167,000
Total Countries 1
Indigenous Yes
Progress Scale 1
Unreached Yes
Frontier People Group Yes
Pioneer Workers Needed 3
People ID 18467
ROP3 Code 114071
ROP25 Code 302752
ROP25 Name Golog
Country China
Region Asia, Northeast
Continent Asia
10/40 Window Yes
National Bible Society Website
Persecution Rank 19  (Open Doors top 50 rank, 1 = highest persecution ranking)
Location in Country The February 1982 National Geographic listed a figure of between 80,000 and 90,000 Gologs, living in six counties of the remote Golog Tibetan Prefecture in Qinghai Province. A total of 100,343 people lived in the prefecture in 1953, but by 1964 the population had diminished to only 56,071. Thousands of Golog migrated from the area. Thousands more were either killed in battle or starved to death by the Chinese army. The Golog region is virtually still outside Chinese control. Its extreme isolation was described by a visitor in the late 1920s: "A miserable land it is, of poverty and incredible filth; a land cut off from the modern world, a region which, for uncounted centuries, has had its own forms of government, of religion and social customs; yet a region which knows no railway, no motor car, no radio, or aught of all that science and invention have given the world since Marco Polo's day."   Source:  Operation China, 2000
Country China
Region Asia, Northeast
Continent Asia
10/40 Window Yes
National Bible Society Website
Persecution Rank 19  (Open Doors top 50 rank, 1 = highest persecution ranking)
Location in Country The February 1982 National Geographic listed a figure of between 80,000 and 90,000 Gologs, living in six counties of the remote Golog Tibetan Prefecture in Qinghai Province. A total of 100,343 people lived in the prefecture in 1953, but by 1964 the population had diminished to only 56,071. Thousands of Golog migrated from the area. Thousands more were either killed in battle or starved to death by the Chinese army. The Golog region is virtually still outside Chinese control. Its extreme isolation was described by a visitor in the late 1920s: "A miserable land it is, of poverty and incredible filth; a land cut off from the modern world, a region which, for uncounted centuries, has had its own forms of government, of religion and social customs; yet a region which knows no railway, no motor car, no radio, or aught of all that science and invention have given the world since Marco Polo's day.".   Source:  Operation China, 2000

No people group map currently available. Use the above button to submit a map.


Ethnolinguistic map or other map

Primary Religion: Buddhism
Religion Subdivision: Tibetan
Major Religion Percent
Buddhism
96.00 %
Christianity  (Evangelical 0.01 %)
0.02 %
Ethnic Religions
2.00 %
Hinduism
0.00 %
Islam
0.00 %
Non-Religious
1.98 %
Other / Small
0.00 %
Unknown
0.00 %
Primary Language Tibetan, Amdo (167,000 speakers)
Language Code adx   Ethnologue Listing
Primary Dialect Golog
Dialect Code 22373   Global Recordings Listing
Language Written Yes   ScriptSource Listing
Total Languages 1
Primary Language Tibetan, Amdo (167,000 speakers)
Language Code adx   Ethnologue Listing
Primary Dialect Golog
Dialect Code 22373   Global Recordings Listing
Total Languages 1
People Groups Speaking Tibetan, Amdo
Photo Source Anonymous 
Video Source Asia Harvest
Profile Source Joshua Project 
Data Sources Data is compiled from various sources. Learn more.



Joshua Project logo    Joshua Project    Copyright © 2024