The Bellara are a community of basket weavers, most of whom live in India's southern state of Karnataka. At home they speak their own dialect of Kannada, the language of this state. Publically they speak standard Kannada. They eat pork, which is rare for Hindus. Some of them have received cultivable land from the Indian government for farming, but most of them remain basket weavers.
Their form of Hinduism focuses on spirit worship. They also worship village and regional deities. Their priests are sometimes chosen from their own community, though they also rely on the Brahmins to perform priestly duties. There are few if any from the 2,500 Bellara people who follow the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. There are many good Christian resources in the Kannada language, but the Bellara suffer from illiteracy.
* Scripture Prayers for the Bellara in India.
Pray for audio materials to be made widely available in Bellara communities.
Pray for Indian believers who speak Kannada to produce skits and stories about Jesus for this Hindu community.
Pray that soon there will be a strong fellowship of Bellara believers.
Some information from "The Scheduled Castes" K. S. Singh, ed. Oxford University Press, USA (1994)
Profile Source: Global Prayer Digest |
People Name General | Bellara |
People Name in Country | Bellara |
Population this Country | 1,800 |
Population all Countries | 1,800 |
Total Countries | 1 |
Indigenous | Yes |
Progress Scale | 1 ● |
Unreached | Yes |
Frontier People Group | Yes |
GSEC | 1 (per PeopleGroups.org) |
Pioneer Workers Needed | 1 |
Alternate Names | बेल्लारा |
People ID | 16377 |
ROP3 Code | 111519 |
Country | India | ||||||
Region | Asia, South | ||||||
Continent | Asia | ||||||
10/40 Window | Yes | ||||||
National Bible Society | Website | ||||||
Persecution Rank | 10 (Open Doors top 50 rank, 1 = highest persecution ranking) | ||||||
Total States on file | 5 | ||||||
Largest States |
|
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Specialized Website | South Asia Peoples |
Country | India |
Region | Asia, South |
Continent | Asia |
10/40 Window | Yes |
National Bible Society | Website |
Persecution Rank | 10 (Open Doors top 50 rank, 1 = highest persecution ranking) |
Total States | 5 |
Karnataka 1,400 | |
Kerala 200 | |
Goa 90 | |
Andhra Pradesh 70 | |
Tamil Nadu 30 | |
Website | South Asia Peoples |
Primary Language | Kannada (1,000 speakers) | |||
Language Code | kan Ethnologue Listing | |||
Language Written | Yes ScriptSource Listing | |||
Total Languages | 3 | |||
Secondary Languages |
|
Primary Language | Kannada (1,000 speakers) |
Language Code | kan Ethnologue Listing |
Total Languages | 3 |
Secondary Languages | |
Konkani, Goan 500 | |
Malayalam 70 | |
People Groups | Speaking Kannada |
Primary Language: Kannada
Bible Translation ▲ | Status (Years) |
---|---|
Bible-Portions | Yes (1812-1988) |
Bible-New Testament | Yes (1823-1995) |
Bible-Complete | Yes (1827-2019) |
Bible-NT Audio | Online |
Bible-NT Text | Online |
Possible Print Bibles | |
---|---|
Amazon | |
World Bibles | |
Forum Bible Agencies | |
National Bible Societies | |
World Bible Finder | |
Virtual Storehouse |
Resource Type ▲ | Resource Name |
---|---|
Audio Recordings | Audio Bible teaching |
Audio Recordings | Love letter to you from scripture |
Audio Recordings | Online New Testament |
Audio Recordings | Online New Testament |
Audio Recordings | Online New Testament |
Audio Recordings | Online New Testament |
Audio Recordings | Online Scripture / Bible |
Audio Recordings | Oral Bible stories |
Audio Recordings | Oral Bible Stories |
Audio Recordings | Story of Jesus audio |
Film / Video | Following Jesus video |
Film / Video | God's Story video |
Film / Video | Jesus Film: view in Kannada |
Film / Video | LUMO film of Gospels |
Film / Video | Magdalena video |
Film / Video | My Last Day video, anime |
Film / Video | Story of Jesus for Children |
General | Biblical answers to your questions |
General | Four Spiritual Laws |
General | Gospel resources links |
Primary Religion: | Hinduism |
Major Religion ▲ | Percent * |
---|---|
Buddhism |
0.00 %
|
Christianity (Evangelical 0.00 %) |
0.00 %
|
Ethnic Religions |
0.00 %
|
Hinduism |
100.00 %
|
Islam |
0.00 %
|
Non-Religious |
0.00 %
|
Other / Small |
0.00 %
|
Unknown |
0.00 %
|
* From latest India census data. Current Christian values may substantially differ. |
Map Source | People Group data: Omid. Map geography: UNESCO / GMI. Map Design: Joshua Project |
Profile Source | Global Prayer Digest |
Data Sources | Data is compiled from various sources. Read more |