Religion

Home Idols. The main entrance of each home is accompanied by a basket of bran with several joss or incense sticks in honor of a buffalo deity (Chiec Vung) who is the protector of cattle. The entire house is seen as representing the buffalo deity. The four main pillars symbolize the four legs, the rafters represent the ribs and the roof is viewed as the backbone. One of the two corners is a nook for the altar to the family ancestors, regarded as the holiest section by each family. This altar is near a roof support pole. Each house often has an altar to the Jade Emperor, or some other deity, as the family chooses.

Spirit Worship. San Chay communities and families are divided into various lineages, each clan having unique customs and each worshiping their own protective spirit. Spirit worship is a major part of the life of this people. Some worship the spirit of the river, others spirits of the trees, the crops, and other aspects of nature. Ancestor worship is tied closely to ancient animism. They hold elaborate festivals which include playing of various musical instruments. The San Chay have no written language of their own. The few that can read often use the Chinese script, and that is mostly associated with Taoism. Others can read Vietnamese, Hmong and Dao. Animism is a form of bondage that usually involves a dread of the spirits and great efforts are made to avoid offending them, and placating them if they fear that the spirits are angry.

Funerals. Funerals involve burying the dead in coffins, accompanied with coins. The funeral shows the influence of various religious beliefs, including Taoism, Confucianism and even Buddhism. During the ceremony, prayers are offered to various deities, and elaborate paper votive offerings are burned.

Christian Witness. The San Chay, thankfully, can no longer be considered an unreached people group. About 6,000 have come to believe in Jesus Christ since 1999. There are no scriptures, Jesus film, Christian broadcasts, or Gospel recordings in their native tongue. They have been evangelised mostly by Christians from surrounding minority groups. San Chay leaders are being trained, and written literature as well as cassette recordings are being made available. Even though these resources are all in other languages, they are reaching at least some San Chay with the good news of Jesus Christ. Several hundred San Chay (Man Cao Lan) believers are active church members in China.