The Bhathiara are a Muslim people who live in Pakistan. Their name comes from a word for "boiled rice." The Bhathiara claim to be descendants of the last Pathan ruler of the Suri Empire of the 16th century. The traditional occupation of the Bhathiara was that of innkeeper. They would house and feed Muslims along the trade routes of north India and Pakistan. The Bhathiara would provide a mat and a place to sleep for a modest price. They would provide rice, curry, kabobs and water for Muslims travelers. During the Mughal period they were provided with royal patronage. Many Bhathiara left India and migrated to Pakistan during the Partition of 1947.
The job of being innkeepers has declined among the Bhathiara in modern times.
Now they work in agriculture, factories and in small businesses. Some Bhathiara have taken advantage of Pakistan's educational system and become professionals in medicine, law, engineering and computer science.
Lack of education is a problem among the Bhathiara. The literacy rate among their women is only 62%.
The primary language of the Bhathiara is western Punjabi. They also speak Saraiki, Urdu and other region languages.
Most Bhathiara live in the Pakistani states of Punjab and Kyber-Pakhtunkhwa. Others live in Sindh and Islamabad.
The Bhathiara often live in their own sections of the cities and villages in Punjab and Kyber-Pakhtunkhwa. They are strictly endogamous, that is, they marry within their caste and clan. Families arrange marriages with the consent of the young people. Sons inherit their father's property. Newly married couples frequently live with or near the groom's parents. Muslim priests officiate at important life events like births, weddings and funerals. The Bhathiara bury their dead.
The Bhathiara are not vegetarians. They eat meet except for pork. Their main foods are wheat, rice, lentils, vegetables and dairy products.
Caste councils promote their interests and settle legal disputes.
The Bhathiara need to hear and understand the life-changing message of Isa or Jesus. They need to see the love and mercy of Christ lived out in practical ways before them by Christians. They would benefit by job training skills and help in educating their women and children. They need to see that Jesus is not a merely prophet, but that He is the Lord and Savior of the world.
* Scripture Prayers for the Bhathiara (Muslim traditions) in Pakistan.
Pray for Bhathiara families to be drawn to Jesus and to the Bible to find out more about this man, Jesus.
Pray for Bhathiara families and communities to discover and embrace the free gift of life found by trusting Christ and his finished work.
Pray that the Bhathiara would be open to the gospel and that the Lord would raise up Bible-believing churches among them.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhathiara
http://indpaedia.com/ind/index.php/Bhatiara
Profile Source: David Kugel |
Global Prayer Digest: 2020-10-22 |
People Name General | Bhathiara (Muslim traditions) |
People Name in Country | Bhathiara (Muslim traditions) |
Population this Country | 171,000 |
Population all Countries | 389,000 |
Total Countries | 2 |
Indigenous | Yes |
Progress Scale | 1 ● |
Unreached | Yes |
Frontier People Group | Yes |
Pioneer Workers Needed | 3 |
Alternate Names | Bhartari; Bhathiyara; Bhatiara; Bhatiyara; Bhattiyara; Farooqi; Faruqi; Razzaqi; भाठियारा (मुस्लिम ट्रेडिशन्स) |
People ID | 16442 |
ROP3 Code | 111595 |
Country | Pakistan | ||||||
Region | Asia, South | ||||||
Continent | Asia | ||||||
10/40 Window | Yes | ||||||
National Bible Society | Website | ||||||
Persecution Rank | 8 (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 | Pakistan |
Region | Asia, South |
Continent | Asia |
10/40 Window | Yes |
National Bible Society | Website |
Persecution Rank | 8 (Open Doors top 50 rank, 1 = highest persecution ranking) |
Total States | 5 |
Punjab 118,000 | |
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa 29,000 | |
Sindh 21,000 | |
Islamabad 3,700 | |
Balochistan 40 | |
Website | South Asia Peoples |
Primary Language | Saraiki (94,000 speakers) | ||||||||||||
Language Code | skr Ethnologue Listing | ||||||||||||
Language Written | Yes ScriptSource Listing | ||||||||||||
Total Languages | 12 | ||||||||||||
Secondary Languages |
|
Primary Language | Saraiki (94,000 speakers) |
Language Code | skr Ethnologue Listing |
Total Languages | 12 |
Secondary Languages | |
Punjabi, Western 22,000 | |
Urdu 15,000 | |
Sindhi 14,000 | |
Hindko, Northern 10,000 | |
Pashto, Northern 7,400 | |
Marwari 4,200 | |
Pahari-Potwari 3,900 | |
Hindko, Southern 3,100 | |
Pashto, Central 900 | |
Dhatki 300 | |
Kacchi 200 | |
People Groups | Speaking Saraiki |
Primary Language: Saraiki
Bible Translation ▲ | Status (Years) |
---|---|
Bible-Portions | Yes (1888-2009) |
Bible-New Testament | No |
Bible-Complete | No |
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 | Story of Jesus audio |
Film / Video | Jesus Film: view in Saraiki |
General | Biblical answers to your questions |
General | Gospel resources links |
Text / Printed Matter | Literacy primer for Saraiki |
Primary Religion: | Islam |
Major Religion ▲ | Percent * |
---|---|
Buddhism |
0.00 %
|
Christianity (Evangelical 0.00 %) |
0.00 %
|
Ethnic Religions |
0.00 %
|
Hinduism |
0.00 %
|
Islam |
100.00 %
|
Non-Religious |
0.00 %
|
Other / Small |
0.00 %
|
Unknown |
0.00 %
|
* From latest Pakistan census data. Current Christian values may substantially differ. |