The Koch of Bangladesh live in a small pocket of land along the Indian border in northwestern Dhaka division. These Koch speak a Tibeto-Burman language, and this distinguishes them from a much larger group of Koch (sometimes spelled Cooch) who speak an Indo-Aryan language. Within Bangladesh the Tibeto- Burman Koch generally continue to follow their traditional "Sonaton" religion, though some say they are Hindu. Most of the Indo-Aryan Koch speakers in Bangladesh have embraced Islam.
Among the Tibeto-Burman Koch there are two groups in Bangladesh: the Tintekiya and the Chapra. The Titekiya, whose name means "three pieces of clothing" and comes from their traditional dress, live in about 19 villages. The Chapra live in only three villages, and in each they are the minority.
Both the Tintekiya and the Chapra Koch are primarily farmers, with some farming their own land and most working as hired day laborers for neighboring Bengalis. They continue to live primarily in Koch villages in simple homes with mud walls and floors and thatched or corrugated tin roofs.
There are also some Koch living in Gazipur near Dhaka. These people's ancestors apparently spoke a Tibeto-Burman variety of Koch, but today these people speak Bangla as their mother tongue. They have little or no communication with the Koch living in northwesterern Dhaka division, but they do still share some cultural traits. Most of these Koch, too, are Sonaton, but possibly one or two families say they are Christian.
The Koch are poor and uneducated. A Christian education and/or community development organization could possibly be a real blessing to the Koch. At the same time, it seems the Koch tend to equate Christianity with opportunities for education and health care and are in great need of someone to share true Christianity with them.
Scripture Prayers for the Koch (Hindu traditions) in India.
Profile Source: Anonymous |
Expanded PDF Profile |
People Name General | Koch (Hindu traditions) |
People Name in Country | Koch (Hindu traditions) |
Population this Country | 59,000 |
Population all Countries | 95,000 |
Total Countries | 3 |
Indigenous | Yes |
Progress Scale | 1 ● |
Unreached | Yes |
Frontier People Group | No |
GSEC | 1 (per PeopleGroups.org) |
Pioneer Workers Needed | 1 |
Alternate Names | Bashgaria; Koch; Magan; Sanga; कोच (हिंदू ट्रेडिशन्स) |
People ID | 20018 |
ROP3 Code | 105069 |
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 | 11 | ||||||||||||
Largest States |
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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 | 10 (Open Doors top 50 rank, 1 = highest persecution ranking) |
Total States | 11 |
Meghalaya 32,000 | |
West Bengal 14,000 | |
Bihar 9,100 | |
Assam 1,400 | |
Tripura 1,000 | |
Maharashtra 300 | |
Andaman and Nicobar 200 | |
Odisha 200 | |
Jharkhand 200 | |
Delhi 200 | |
Uttar Pradesh 40 | |
Website | South Asia Peoples |
Primary Language | Koch (29,000 speakers) | ||||||||||||
Language Code | kdq Ethnologue Listing | ||||||||||||
Language Written | Yes ScriptSource Listing | ||||||||||||
Total Languages | 13 | ||||||||||||
Secondary Languages |
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Primary Language: Koch
Bible Translation ▲ | Status (Years) |
---|---|
Bible-Portions | Yes (2012) |
Bible-New Testament | No |
Bible-Complete | No |
Bible-NT Audio | Online |
Possible Print Bibles | |
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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 | Online New Testament |
Primary Religion: | Hinduism |
Major Religion ▲ | Percent * |
---|---|
Buddhism |
0.04 %
|
Christianity (Evangelical Unknown) |
0.58 %
|
Ethnic Religions |
0.00 %
|
Hinduism |
98.82 %
|
Islam |
0.01 %
|
Non-Religious |
0.00 %
|
Other / Small |
0.00 %
|
Unknown |
0.56 %
|
* From latest India census data. Current Christian values may substantially differ. |