The Bharia Bhumia is a forest-dwelling scheduled tribe of Madhya Pradesh. They have various clans which regulate marriage alliances. Some of these clans are Bhardia, Bijaria, Amelia, Bagothia, Pachalia, Thakaria, and Mehania.
The Bharia are wage-earners, as most are landless. A part of their livelihood is derived from collecting and selling firewood. Some work as laborers for contractors, while a few work as rickshaw-pullers and errand boys. Some are engaged as sharecroppers. Their literacy rate is very low.
They worship deities like Hanuman. They also worship most of the Gond deities like Baradeo, Buradeo, and Nagbaba. Their important festivals are Holi, Diwali, Bhujalia, Akhati, Shivratri, and Rakhi.
Jesus needs to be presented to them as more than just another deity in their pantheon of gods. A low literacy rate suggests that printed presentations of the gospel will be inadequate for the Bharia community. They very much need to raise the literacy rate in their community, and they need to acquire skills to make them employable. Stories from scripture, recordings, and videos will all be needed and useful.
Pray God's people will relate the story of the one who is above all.
Pray for love and Holy Spirit anointing to define the lives of the few Bharia Christian believers.
Please pray for teachers to be sent to these people, to help them become firmly established as followers of Jesus.
Pray for the Bharia to see the importance of providing a good education for their children.
Scripture Prayers for the Bharia Bhumia in India.
Profile Source: Joshua Project |
People Name General | Bharia Bhumia |
People Name in Country | Bharia Bhumia |
Alternate Names | Bharia; Bhuinhar; Bhuinhar Bhumia; Bhumia; Paliha; Pando'; भारिया भूमिया |
Population this Country | 383,000 |
Population all Countries | 383,000 |
Total Countries | 1 |
Indigenous | Yes |
Progress Scale | 1 ● |
Unreached | Yes |
Frontier People Group | Yes |
GSEC | 1 (per PeopleGroups.org) |
Pioneer Workers Needed | 8 |
People ID | 16352 |
ROP3 Code | 111491 |
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 | 4 | ||||||
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 | 11 (Open Doors top 50 rank, 1 = highest persecution ranking) |
Total States | 4 |
Madhya Pradesh 227,000 | |
Chhattisgarh 136,000 | |
Odisha 13,000 | |
Maharashtra 1,600 | |
Website | South Asia Peoples |
Primary Religion: | Hinduism |
Major Religion ▲ | Percent * |
---|---|
Buddhism |
0.01 %
|
Christianity (Evangelical Unknown) |
0.07 %
|
Ethnic Religions |
0.00 %
|
Hinduism |
99.04 %
|
Islam |
0.14 %
|
Non-Religious |
0.00 %
|
Other / Small |
0.01 %
|
Unknown |
0.73 %
|
* From latest India census data. Current Christian values may substantially differ. |
Primary Language | Hindi (159,000 speakers) | |||||||||||||||
Language Code | hin Ethnologue Listing | |||||||||||||||
Language Written | Yes ScriptSource Listing | |||||||||||||||
Total Languages | 20 | |||||||||||||||
Secondary Languages (only 15 largest shown) |
|
Primary Language | Hindi (159,000 speakers) |
Language Code | hin Ethnologue Listing |
Total Languages | 20 |
Secondary Languages (only 15 largest shown) | |
Bharia 127,000 | |
Chhattisgarhi 14,000 | |
Odia 13,000 | |
Sadri 2,000 | |
Bundeli 1,900 | |
Marathi 1,100 | |
Gondi, Northern 800 | |
Gujarati 400 | |
Halbi 400 | |
Bengali 300 | |
Kurux 300 | |
Santhali 300 | |
Punjabi, Eastern 200 | |
Bagheli 200 | |
Bhili 200 | |
People Groups | Speaking Hindi |
Primary Language: Hindi
Bible Translation ▲ | Status (Years) |
---|---|
Bible-Portions | Yes (1806-1962) |
Bible-New Testament | Yes (1811-1998) |
Bible-Complete | Yes (1818-2022) |
Bible-NT Audio | Online |
Possible Print Bibles | |
---|---|
Amazon | |
World Bibles | |
Forum Bible Agencies | |
National Bible Societies | |
World Bible Finder | |
Virtual Storehouse |
Photo Source |
(Representative photo) Copyrighted © 2023 Isudas All rights reserved. Used with permission |
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. |