Sherpa in India


Population
Main Language
Largest Religion
Christian
Evangelical
Progress
Progress Gauge
* From latest India census data.
Current Christian values may substantially differ.

Subgroups: 2

Subgroup Name Population
Solu-Khambuwan 1,600
Yukpa 1,600

Introduction / History

The Sherpa are a Himalayan people living primarily in eastern Nepal. A few, however, live in the mountains of the bordering Indian state of Sikkim and in the larger hill towns of the state of West Bengal. The Sherpa language is a dialect of Tibetan, thus it is a part of the Tibeto-Burman language family. Sherpa has no writing system, but many Sherpa are literate in Tibetan, Nepali, Hindi, or English.

The Sherpa are descendants of a small group of Tibetan families who emigrated from the Khams region of Tibet under the leadership of a great lama, or Tibetan Buddhist monk. They gained worldwide attention in 1953, when a Sherpa, Tenzing Norgay, became one of the first two people to scale Mount Everest, the highest peak in the world. Since then, they have won fame as porters in the high Himalayas. Tourism and mountaineering have become their major industries, dominating the Sherpa economy.


What Are Their Lives Like?

Other than tourism, the most important industry for the Sherpa is farming. Since its introduction to the region in the nineteenth century, the Irish potato has become the staple crop, with barley, wheat, and corn also being grown. Various vegetables are grown in home gardens, including radishes the size of turnips and cucumbers the size of watermelons. All farming is done using animals and hand implements, and plowing is accomplished with a single-bladed plow pulled by oxen. Since the Sherpa are Buddhists and generally do not eat meat, livestock is not used for consumption, but for dairy products. Many herdsmen have large amounts of extra butter and trade it for food and various commodities. Imported tea mixed with butter and salt is a popular drink, along with a local beer, chang.

Trade is another important source of income for the Sherpa. Men frequently go off on trading expeditions for several months at a time, leaving the women at home to supervise the household.

Sherpa marriages are exogamous (marry outside the immediate and brother clans). Weddings were traditionally arranged by the families of the young people involved, but today that tradition is beginning to change. Marriage is a long process involving many stages of betrothal and gift exchange. Divorce is very frequent, occurring in nearly one-third of all marriages. Fathers treat their children well, but due to their frequent trading trips, they are often gone from home for long periods. As a result, child rearing is carried out mainly by the mother and older sisters.

The major Sherpa celebrations include Dumje, a spring first-fruits festival, and Cham, a monastic masked dancing ritual that is held in the fall or winter. Smaller celebrations include village exorcisms and cleansing rites that often parallel life cycle events such as birth, death, and initiation into adulthood.


What Are Their Beliefs?

The great majority of the Sherpa follow the Tibetan Buddhist religion, which is an offshoot of the Mahayana branch of Buddhism. Followers of Buddhism embrace the doctrine of reincarnation, or the belief that after death, a soul is reborn into another body. The Sherpa believe that souls are reincarnated innumerable times until they are able to transcend this world and enter a state of bliss called nirvana. However, in order to enter nirvana, a person is required to conquer his own worldly desires and habits-a goal that is attained by observing Buddhist commands. Tibetan Buddhism shares basic beliefs with mainstream Buddhism; however, it also contains many non-Buddhist elements, such as the belief in many gods, demons, and spirits who influence human lives.

In the twentieth century, many Sherpa men have become Buddhist monks, or lamas, a practice that was imported from Tibet. These lamas live celibate lives in cloistered lamaseries (Tibetan-Buddhist monasteries), isolated from ordinary life.


What Are Their Needs?

Like the majority of people in India, the Sherpa live difficult lives. Their physical needs are numerous. However, their spiritual needs far outweigh their physical ones. Very few are Christians.


Prayer Points

Ask the Lord of the harvest to send forth laborers to live and work among the Sherpa.
Ask God to raise up prayer teams who will break up the spiritual soil through worship and intercession.
Ask God to strengthen, encourage, and protect the small number of Sherpa Christians.
Ask the Holy Spirit to complete the work begun in the hearts of the Sherpa believers through adequate discipleship.


Scripture Prayers for the Sherpa in India.


Profile Source:   Bethany World Prayer Center  

People Name General Sherpa
People Name in Country Sherpa
Pronunciation Sher-pah
Alternate Names Bhotia; Drukpa; Khambuwan; Manang; Serwa; Sharpa; Sharpa Bhotia; Sherdukpen; Solu; Solu-Khambuwan; Toto; Xiaerba; Xiarba; Yelmo; शेरपा
Population this Country 46,000
Population all Countries 190,000
Total Countries 5
Indigenous Yes
Progress Scale 2
Unreached No
Frontier People Group No
GSEC 3  (per PeopleGroups.org)
Pioneer Workers Needed
People ID 14906
ROP3 Code 108938
ROP25 Code 307461
ROP25 Name Sherpa
Country India
Region Asia, South
Continent Asia
10/40 Window Yes
National Bible Society Website
Persecution Rank 11  (Open Doors top 50 rank, 1 = highest persecution ranking)
Location in Country They inhabit both sides of the Himalayan Range. The majority live in India, primarily in the Darjeeling District of West Bengal and in the states of Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh. Quite a number live in Nepal, especially in the Solu Khumbu District and around the town of Namche Bazaar. A relative few live in Bhutan, while a very few inhabit Tibet, in Dinggye, Tingri and Zhangmu counties.   Source:  Peoples of the Buddhist World, 2004
Total States on file 17
Largest States
(only 15 largest shown)
West Bengal
32,000
Sikkim
8,500
Assam
3,300
Himachal Pradesh
1,100
Arunachal Pradesh
300
Uttarakhand
200
Manipur
200
Meghalaya
100
Uttar Pradesh
100
Tripura
90
Maharashtra
40
Chandigarh
40
Madhya Pradesh
30
Jharkhand
20
Gujarat
10
Districts Interactive map, listing and data download
Specialized Website South Asia Peoples
Country India
Region Asia, South
Continent Asia
10/40 Window Yes
National Bible Society Website
Persecution Rank 11  (Open Doors top 50 rank, 1 = highest persecution ranking)
Location in Country They inhabit both sides of the Himalayan Range. The majority live in India, primarily in the Darjeeling District of West Bengal and in the states of Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh. Quite a number live in Nepal, especially in the Solu Khumbu District and around the town of Namche Bazaar. A relative few live in Bhutan, while a very few inhabit Tibet, in Dinggye, Tingri and Zhangmu counties..   Source:  Peoples of the Buddhist World, 2004
Total States 17
  West Bengal 32,000
  Sikkim 8,500
  Assam 3,300
  Himachal Pradesh 1,100
  Arunachal Pradesh 300
  Uttarakhand 200
  Manipur 200
  Meghalaya 100
  Uttar Pradesh 100
  Tripura 90
  Maharashtra 40
  Chandigarh 40
  Madhya Pradesh 30
  Jharkhand 20
  Gujarat 10
Website South Asia Peoples
Primary Religion: Buddhism
Major Religion Percent *
Buddhism
65.67 %
Christianity  (Evangelical Unknown)
15.76 %
Ethnic Religions
0.00 %
Hinduism
18.47 %
Islam
0.00 %
Non-Religious
0.00 %
Other / Small
0.00 %
Unknown
0.09 %
* From latest India census data.
Current Christian values may substantially differ.
Primary Language Nepali (26,000 speakers)
Language Code npi   Ethnologue Listing
Language Written Yes   ScriptSource Listing
Total Languages 4
Secondary Languages
Sherpa
13,000
Bengali
300
Toto
80
Primary Language Nepali (26,000 speakers)
Language Code npi   Ethnologue Listing
Total Languages 4
Secondary Languages
  Sherpa 13,000
  Bengali 300
  Toto 80
People Groups Speaking Nepali

Primary Language:  Nepali

Bible Translation Status  (Years)
Bible-Portions Yes  (1850-1961)
Bible-New Testament Yes  (1821-2010)
Bible-Complete Yes  (1914-2012)
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Photo Source COMIBAM / Sepal 
Map Source People Group data: Omid. Map geography: UNESCO / GMI. Map Design: Joshua Project.  
Profile Source Bethany World Prayer Center 
Data Sources Data is compiled from various sources. Learn more.



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