Guria in India

The Guria have only been reported in India
Population
Main Language
Largest Religion
Christian
Evangelical
Progress
Progress Gauge
* From latest India census data.
Current Christian values may substantially differ.

Introduction / History

The Guria are a subset of the larger Halwai Indian caste. The Guria live in east central India and specialize in making candy and sweets. "Gur" means unrefined sugar. Most Guria make confections and sell the sweets in shops they own. They would fit into the Indian middle class. Some Guria produce candy in factories and would be thought of as wealthy. Candies and sweets play a big part in Hindu births, weddings and holidays. All Hindus will purchase and eat candy made by the Guria, even the Brahmin highest caste.

The Guria encourage higher education in both their sons and daughters. Some Guria have left their traditional occupation of making candy and work in public service jobs, as merchants and in agriculture. University graduates work in professions like medicine, law, in engineering and in computer science.

The primary language of the Guria is Odia. They also speak Hindi and other regional languages. College educated Guria speak English.


Where Are they Located?

The vast majority of the Guria live in the east Indian state of Odisha. Smaller groups of Guria live throughout the nation of India.


What Are Their Lives Like?

The Guria are proud of their Hindu heritage and their profession of making candy and sweets. They are endogamous, that is, they marry within their caste. Parents arrange marriages with the consent of the young people. The newly married couple lives with or near the groom's family. This practice is changing as young people often move to urban areas to start their own businesses.

The Guria pay Brahmin priests to officiate at their important life ceremonies. Sons inherit property when the father dies. The eldest son takes the family home and becomes responsible for his mother and younger siblings. Their dead are cremated and the ashes scattered in a holy river.

The Guria are not vegetarians. As Hindus, they will not eat beef. Their main foods are rice, wheat, lentils, dairy products and seasonal vegetables and fruit. The use of alcohol is frowned upon.


What Are Their Beliefs?

Almost all Guria practice Hinduism, the ancient religion of India. They worship and serve the gods of the Hindu pantheon including Shiva, the destroyer god and his wife Durga, the mother-warrior goddess. The Guria also worship the god of good fortune and wisdom, Ganesha. The Guria visit Hindu temples to offer prayers, incense, flowers and foods to their gods. The Guria perform rituals and good works in an attempt to break from the endless cycle of birth, death and rebirth.

The Guria participate in the yearly Hindu holidays like Holi, the spring festival of colors, Diwali, the festival of lights, Ramnavmi, Rama's birthday and Janamashtami, Krishna's birthday.


What Are Their Needs?

The Guria need to hear the life-changing message of Jesus Christ in a way they can understand. They need to see the love of Christ practiced by his followers. The Guria need to see that true wealth is found only in Jesus Christ not in their financial assets.


Prayer Points

Pray for Guria families to be drawn to Jesus and to the Bible to find out more about this man, Jesus.
Pray the Lord will open the hearts of the Guria people to desire God's blessings through a movement of family-based discovery Bible studies.
Pray that many of the Guria people will come to love God with their whole being and will walk in His ways.


Scripture Prayers for the Guria in India.


References

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kashyap_(caste)
peoplegroupsindia.com/profiles/halwai/


Profile Source:   David Kugel  

People Name General Guria
People Name in Country Guria
Pronunciation GOO-ree-uh
Alternate Names Gudia; Gudiya; Halwai; Maira; Mithaihas; गुरिया
Population this Country 872,000
Population all Countries 872,000
Total Countries 1
Indigenous Yes
Progress Scale 1
Unreached Yes
Frontier People Group Yes
GSEC 1  (per PeopleGroups.org)
Pioneer Workers Needed 17
People ID 16886
ROP3 Code 112172
ROP25 Code 302885
ROP25 Name Guria
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)
Total States on file 16
Largest States
(only 15 largest shown)
Odisha
853,000
Jharkhand
5,600
Assam
3,600
West Bengal
2,800
Andhra Pradesh
2,800
Chhattisgarh
2,700
Manipur
700
Delhi
600
Maharashtra
200
Nagaland
200
Tripura
100
Gujarat
70
Rajasthan
70
Madhya Pradesh
40
Bihar
40
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)
Total States 16
  Odisha 853,000
  Jharkhand 5,600
  Assam 3,600
  West Bengal 2,800
  Andhra Pradesh 2,800
  Chhattisgarh 2,700
  Manipur 700
  Delhi 600
  Maharashtra 200
  Nagaland 200
  Tripura 100
  Gujarat 70
  Rajasthan 70
  Madhya Pradesh 40
  Bihar 40
Website South Asia Peoples
Primary Religion: Hinduism
Major Religion Percent *
Buddhism
0.00 %
Christianity  (Evangelical Unknown)
0.07 %
Ethnic Religions
0.00 %
Hinduism
99.93 %
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.
Primary Language Odia (681,000 speakers)
Language Code ory   Ethnologue Listing
Language Written Yes   ScriptSource Listing
Total Languages 19
Secondary Languages
(only 15 largest shown)
Hindi
24,000
Bengali
14,000
Chhattisgarhi
5,200
Kui (India)
1,900
Assamese
1,800
Pengo
1,300
Mundari
1,100
Santhali
1,100
Telugu
600
Juang
500
Kurux
500
Kuvi
400
Ho
300
Munda
200
Powari
80
Primary Language Odia (681,000 speakers)
Language Code ory   Ethnologue Listing
Total Languages 19
Secondary Languages (only 15 largest shown)
  Hindi 24,000
  Bengali 14,000
  Chhattisgarhi 5,200
  Kui (India) 1,900
  Assamese 1,800
  Pengo 1,300
  Mundari 1,100
  Santhali 1,100
  Telugu 600
  Juang 500
  Kurux 500
  Kuvi 400
  Ho 300
  Munda 200
  Powari 80
People Groups Speaking Odia

Primary Language:  Odia

Bible Translation Status  (Years)
Bible-Portions Yes  (1811-1956)
Bible-New Testament Yes  (1809-2000)
Bible-Complete Yes  (1815-2021)
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YouVersion NT (www.bible.com) Online
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Audio Recordings Oral Bible stories One Story
Audio Recordings Story of Jesus audio Jesus Film Project
Film / Video Following Jesus video Jesus Film Project
Film / Video God's Story video God's Story
Film / Video Jesus Film: view in Odia Jesus Film Project
Film / Video LUMO film of Gospels Bible Media Group/LUMO
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General Gospel resources links Scripture Earth
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General Gospel website in this language General / Other
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General YouVersion Bible versions in text and/or audio YouVersion Bibles
General Zume Training Zume Project
Photo Source Copyrighted © 2024  Henk Sebregts  All rights reserved.  Used with permission
Map Source People Group Location: Omid. Other geography / data: GMI. Map Design: Joshua Project  
Profile Source David Kugel 
Data Sources Data is compiled from various sources. Learn more.



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