Bai Han Lou - Tibetan-Catholic Community in Isolation

In Baihanlou, an isolated village in the Nu River Valley, located in the northwest corner of Yunnan Province, lies an isolated Tibetan-Catholic community and their long, lasting blend og religions. It is interesting to note that how this Tibetan-Catholic community has survive for so long unmolested. One could only wonder if this was a miracle worked by means unknown.

During the 1800s, French missionaries came and converted a small part of the pop in Tibet to Christianity. Baihanlou is a beautiful mountain village nestled in the foothills of the Tibetan plateau. At night, one can hear the river faintly in the distance. In this part of the world, nature and people seem uninterrupted.

Entering the centre of the village, a 130-year-old Catholic Church stood stark white from the back and sides, but the front is Chinese Pagoda style with a wooden winged tips on either side of the building darkly painted in blues and fadings reds. The Entire Village is involved in the church from birth till death - when they are not farming for their livelihood, they are praying in unison. When they are not praying, they are farming.

Entering the humble church, bare wood beams make up the basic structure of the interior. Three exposed light bulbs provides all the light needed. On the left hand side of the church are pictures of Jesus carrying his cross with Roman soldiers whipping him, to the right there are three large windows facing west. Each pillar of wood extends from the floor to the ceiling and has various carvings, some inscriptions read, "We will follow you Jesus." At the front of the church is a small and humble altar, decorated with artificial flowers in bright reds and pinks, beside it is a life-size marble statute of Virgin Mary.

Attending mass, one can notice directly how devoted the villagers are. Prayers continue almost uninterrupted, as if a perfect routine is already in place. The minister doesn't speak to or direct his flock in any way. Their prayers are in their bones, from the small children to the weather-beaten faces of the elderly, the community moves and prays together as one. They do not participate in the Vatican's strict Catholicism, but rather their own religion that part of the this community's traditions that has been passed on for generations - it is their way of life.

The villagers called themselves Catholic, but as they sit and kneel in prayer, there is nothing typically Catholic about them. The chanting, or praying, is deeply moving and incredibly unique and is combined with a small head bobbing. Every once in a while there is prostration where everyone kneels and touches their head to the ground. There are hints of Buddhism, Islam and Catholicism all wrapped up into one single mass.

And then suddenly, it all stopped.

In an orderly manner, everyone rises from the low wooden benches and exits the church. No words have been exchanged, the community seems to live in silence after they are through chanting their prayers.

A small, poor Tibetan community chanting Catholic prayers before and after a long day of farming. How had Catholicism lasted so long in such an isolated environment? But that was just it, isolation is the answer.


reading materials:
China's Catholics: Tragedy and Hope in an Emerging Civil Society
Religion and Biography in China and Tibet