Kharia in Bangladesh


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

Introduction / History

The Kharia have gotras (clans) such as Shendilya, Kashyap and Bharadwaj. They are also known as Lewa Patil. They speak the Marathi and Telegu languages and use the Devanagari script. A few of them also speak Hindi. The Kharia (Lewa Kunbi) people live in the Western Vidarbha region of Maharashtra. A smaller number are in Bangladesh.


What Are Their Lives Like?

The Kharia men are non-vegetarian, but their women are vegetarian. Jowar is their staple cereal, and they eat rice occasionally. The economy of the Lewa Kunbi is mainly based on agriculture. They either cultivate their own land or work for others on a share-cropping basis. They participate in the local weekly markets. The problem of alcoholism is prevalent among the men. Five percent of the Kharia population is color blind. The Kharia usually have monogamous marriages, between one man and one woman. The women contribute to the family economy as wage earners and take part in socio-religious activities. During weddings, the perform rituals at the bride and groom's residences. These marriage rituals include the thread wearing ceremony, the exchange of garlands and circumambulating the sacred fire seven times. The Kharia have an association which looks after the socio-economic development of the community.


What Are Their Beliefs?

The Kharia worship both family and village deities. The Brahmin officiates as a priest at their rituals. Their traditional customs prevent them from exchanging water and cooked food with certain communities. They worship their ancestors. They love to celebrate the Hindu festival, Diwali. They cremate the dead and observe death pollution for ten days.


What Are Their Needs?

The Kharia people need to address the issue of alcoholism, especially among the men. This problem drains families of needed resources and greatly harms the father's role as breadwinner and head of the household.


Prayer Points

For the salvation of the Kharia people and that God may send several disciplers to work among them and meet their spiritual and physical needs. Pray that the Kharia people may be freed from alcoholism, ancestors' worship, color-blindness, and be able to accept all the communities without caste prejudice. Pray for the Lord to send dreams to their elders, opening their community to the transforming work of Jesus.


Scripture Prayers for the Kharia in Bangladesh.


Profile Source:   Joshua Project  

People Name General Kharia
People Name in Country Kharia
Alternate Names Haria; Khaire Kunbi; Kharvi; Kulu; Kunbi; खारिया
Population this Country 23,000
Population all Countries 921,000
Total Countries 2
Indigenous Yes
Progress Scale 1
Unreached Yes
Frontier People Group No
Pioneer Workers Needed 1
People ID 17153
ROP3 Code 112503
ROP25 Code 303943
ROP25 Name Kharia
Country Bangladesh
Region Asia, South
Continent Asia
10/40 Window Yes
National Bible Society Website
Persecution Rank 26  (Open Doors top 50 rank, 1 = highest persecution ranking)
Total States on file 6
Largest States
Sylhet
16,000
Chittagong
4,000
Rangpur
3,000
Dhaka
100
Rajshahi
100
Barisal
40
Country Bangladesh
Region Asia, South
Continent Asia
10/40 Window Yes
National Bible Society Website
Persecution Rank 26  (Open Doors top 50 rank, 1 = highest persecution ranking)
Total States 6
  Sylhet 16,000
  Chittagong 4,000
  Rangpur 3,000
  Dhaka 100
  Rajshahi 100
  Barisal 40
Website South Asia Peoples
Primary Religion: Hinduism
Major Religion Percent *
Buddhism
0.00 %
Christianity  (Evangelical Unknown)
1.17 %
Ethnic Religions
0.00 %
Hinduism
97.37 %
Islam
0.22 %
Non-Religious
0.00 %
Other / Small
0.00 %
Unknown
1.24 %
* From latest Bangladesh census data.
Current Christian values may substantially differ.
Primary Language Sylheti (14,000 speakers)
Language Code syl   Ethnologue Listing
Language Written Yes   ScriptSource Listing
Total Languages 3
Secondary Languages
Bengali
6,000
Chittagonian
300
Primary Language Sylheti (14,000 speakers)
Language Code syl   Ethnologue Listing
Total Languages 3
Secondary Languages
  Bengali 6,000
  Chittagonian 300
People Groups Speaking Sylheti
Photo Source Ramesh Lalwani - Flickr  Creative Commons 
Map Source People Group data: Omid. Map geography: UNESCO / GMI. Map Design: Joshua Project.  
Profile Source Joshua Project 
Data Sources Data is compiled from various sources. Learn more.



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