The Baria are a community primarily in Gujarat but are also in other states of India. A very small number are in Pakistan. They have always been a landowning community, so they have good status among Hindus, both in India and Pakistan.
They still own land and make sure it is cultivated and productive. They have a caste council to enforce social control. As for inheritance, the sons equally divide the property, but the youngest son gets the family home. Baria women work in the fields and forests, and as laborers in road construction, they work to supplement the family income. Women wear a golden armlet (kada) and apply spangle (tikki) on their forehead as marriage symbols.
Baria worship clan deities on important occasions. They visit shrines and temples of Hindu gods and goddesses and celebrate Janmashtami, Holi, Dhuleti, Raksha Bandhan, Diwasa, Dussehra, Diwali, etc.
As an unreached people group in Pakistan, they need the chance to hear that Jesus offers them an abundant life, and He is the only way to eternal salvation.
There are probably no followers of Jesus today among the Baria, so pray for the Lord to begin to stir the hearts of many in this community to know the creator God. Pray the Baria will soon be set completely free from the worship of created things. Spiritual matters are spiritually understood, therefore, pray for the Lord's Spirit to grant understanding. Pray for a movement to Christ among the Barias and other Hindu communities in Muslim Pakistan.
Scripture Prayers for the Baria (Hindu traditions) in Pakistan.
| Profile Source: Joshua Project |
