The Dhobis of South Asia are a fairly large people group of approximately 15 million who live in South Central Asia. The majority of Dhobis are Hindus. Smaller groups are Muslims and Sikhs. The Hindu Dhobis live in five nations including Sri Lanka. Traditionally, the Dhobis have been washers of clothes. As more and more upper caste South Asians purshase washing machines, the Dhobis’ livelihood is disappearing. Until recently the Dhobis have been classified as untouchables or Dalits. Upper caste Hindus look down on the Dhobis. In the rigid Hindu caste system, young Dhobis could only follow in the occupation of their parents. Most Dhobis are unable to read and write. Today, as the Dhobis are becoming more educated, they are gaining new job skills so they can begin to escape their cycle of poverty.
The main language of the Sri Lankan Dhobis is Tamil. Many Christian resources, including the whole Bible, are available in Tamil. Only a tiny fraction of the Sri Lankan Dhobis is Christians.
The vast majority of Hindu Dhobis live in India, Bangladesh and Nepal. A small fraction of the Hindu Dhobis lives in Sri Lanka. Most of the Dhobis reside in the Central, Uva and Sabaragamuva states of Sri Lanka.
The vast majority of the Sri Lankan Dhobis live at the poverty level. The small amount of money they receive for washing and ironing clothes provides barely enough money for them to buy rice and vegetables. They are not vegetarians but can buy meat only for special occasions. As Hindus, they will not eat beef.
When a Dhobi girl marries, her dowry usually contains just a few items, but almost always an iron for her to iron clothes. After the men wash the customers' clothes, the women iron them and keep the money they earn to pay for household expenses. Mothers teach the girls to iron at an early age, and boys help their fathers by washing the smaller articles of clothing and by delivering packages of clean clothes to their owners. Families arrange marriages. Sons inherit what little property the Dhobi father has.
Most of the Dhobis are Hindus, the ancient and dominant religion of the Indian subcontinent. The Dhobis mix their Hinduism with folk religion. The Dhobis wear charms to protect themselves from evil spirits. Each morning the Dhobi man bows and says a prayer to the washing stone he uses on the riverbank where he washes clothes. The Dalit Dhobis are frequently denied entrance to Hindu temples so they have their own shrines and priests. Hindus believe that by performing rituals and good works that they will attain moksha or freedom from the endless cycle of birth, death and rebirth. The Dhobis visit shrines and offer prayers, food, flowers and incense to their gods. There are many forms of Hinduism, each with its own deities and beliefs.
The main yearly holidays of the Dhobis people are Holi, the festival of colors, Diwali, the festival of lights, Navratri, the celebration of autumn and Rama Navami, Rama’s birthday.
The Dhobis of Sri Lanka have tremendous spiritual and physical needs. Their children need to learn how to read and write. The adults need to learn new job skills. The Dhobis need access to modern medical care and modern conveniences like electricity and indoor plumbing. Most of all, they need to hear and understand the life-changing message or Jesus Christ. Only Jesus can set the Dhobis free from their sins and give them hope of eternal life.
* Scripture Prayers for the Dhobi (Hindu traditions) in Sri Lanka.
* Pray for the Holy Spirit to give the Hindu Dhobi people teachable and understanding hearts.
* Pray that a strong movement of the Holy Spirit will bring entire Dhobi families into a rich experience of God’s blessing.
* Pray for believers to reach out and share the good news of Christ with the Dhobis.
* Pray for teams of believers to do sustained, focused prayer for the Lord to open the hearts of Dhobi family leaders to experience God’s blessing through a movement of family-based discovery Bible studies.
https://joshuaproject.net/people_groups/16709/CE
https://joshuaproject.net/people_groups/16709/IN
http://www.globalprayerdigest.org/issue/day/Dhobi-People-in-Sri-Lanka/
https://peoplegroupsindia.com/profiles/dhobi/
https://ipfs.io/ipfs/QmXoypizjW3WknFiJnKLwHCnL72vedxjQkDDP1mXWo6uco/wiki/Dhobi.html
Profile Source: Keith Carey |
Global Prayer Digest: 2010-09-24 |
People Name General | Dhobi (Hindu traditions) |
People Name in Country | Dhobi (Hindu traditions) |
Pronunciation | DOH-bee |
Population this Country | 11,000 |
Population all Countries | 12,223,000 |
Total Countries | 5 |
Indigenous | Yes |
Progress Scale | 1 ● |
Unreached | Yes |
Frontier People Group | No |
Pioneer Workers Needed | 1 |
Alternate Names | Agasa; Agasaru; Agheria; Bana; Batham; Bhai; Chakala; Chakali; Chakka; Chandbar; Charhoya; Chasa; Chasa Dhoba; Chauhan-Bhatti; Chawla; Chhimba; Darhi; Dharhiadu; Dharhiannan; Dharhiannari; Dhob; Dhoba; Dhobi; Dhopa; Dhopi; Dhupi; Hawari; Jada; Khurdanai; Madivala; Madiwal; Madiyal; Madiyali; Madvali; Madwai; Modiyal; Monson; Nurang; Oddelu; Oddollu; Oriya Chakali; Oriyavallu; Pak; Parit; Prasad Dhobi; Qasab; Raipal; Rajak; Rajaka; Rajakha; Rajpar; Rajput Dhobi; Rajukula; Ram Dhobi; Ramdu; Ranghi; Rathor; Sabhasundar; Sakala; SakalaDarhi; Sakalavadu; Sat-Chasi; Shaheri; Sharma; Sheheri Hindu; Shuklabaidya; Shukladas; Sukladas; Suklavaidya; Tanwar; Tasha; Togata; Tsakala; Vadde Chakali; Vannan; Vannari; Varetha; Varitha; Vattakkadan; Warathi; Watts; धोबी (हिंदू ट्रेडिशन्स) |
People ID | 16709 |
ROP3 Code | 111944 |
Country | Sri Lanka | |||||||||
Region | Asia, South | |||||||||
Continent | Asia | |||||||||
10/40 Window | Yes | |||||||||
National Bible Society | Website | |||||||||
Persecution Rank | 30 (Open Doors top 50 rank, 1 = highest persecution ranking) | |||||||||
Total States on file | 7 | |||||||||
Largest States |
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Specialized Website | South Asia Peoples |
Country | Sri Lanka |
Region | Asia, South |
Continent | Asia |
10/40 Window | Yes |
National Bible Society | Website |
Persecution Rank | 30 (Open Doors top 50 rank, 1 = highest persecution ranking) |
Total States | 7 |
Central 6,300 | |
Uva 2,300 | |
Sabaragamuwa 1,200 | |
Western 300 | |
Southern 200 | |
Eastern 70 | |
Northern 30 | |
Website | South Asia Peoples |
Primary Language | Tamil (11,000 speakers) |
Language Code | tam Ethnologue Listing |
Language Written | Yes ScriptSource Listing |
Total Languages | 1 |
Primary Language | Tamil (11,000 speakers) |
Language Code | tam Ethnologue Listing |
Total Languages | 1 |
People Groups | Speaking Tamil |
Primary Language: Tamil
Bible Translation ▲ | Status (Years) |
---|---|
Bible-Portions | Yes (1714-1956) |
Bible-New Testament | Yes (1715-1998) |
Bible-Complete | Yes (1727-2016) |
Bible-NT Audio | Online |
Bible-NT Text | Online |
Possible Print Bibles | |
---|---|
Amazon | |
World Bibles | |
Forum Bible Agencies | |
National Bible Societies | |
World Bible Finder | |
Virtual Storehouse |
Resource Type ▲ | Resource Name |
---|---|
Audio Recordings | Audio Bible teaching (GRN) |
Audio Recordings | Father's Love Letter |
Audio Recordings | General Ministry Resources |
Audio Recordings | Online New Testament (FCBH) |
Audio Recordings | Online Scripture (Talking Bibles) |
Audio Recordings | Oral Bible |
Audio Recordings | Story of Jesus audio (Jesus Film Project) |
Film / Video | Finding Peace |
Film / Video | Following Jesus (India, JF Project) |
Film / Video | God's Story Video |
Film / Video | Indigitube.tv Video / Animation |
Film / Video | Jesus Film: view in Tamil |
Film / Video | Magdalena (Jesus Film Project) |
Film / Video | My Last Day (Jesus Film Project Anime) |
Film / Video | Story of Jesus for Children (JF Project) |
Film / Video | The Prophets' Story |
General | Bible Visuals |
General | Comprehensive list of Tamil Resources |
General | God's Simple Plan |
General | Gospel website in this language |
Primary Religion: | Hinduism |
Major Religion ▲ | Percent * |
---|---|
Buddhism |
0.00 %
|
Christianity (Evangelical Unknown) |
1.22 %
|
Ethnic Religions |
0.00 %
|
Hinduism |
98.78 %
|
Islam |
0.00 %
|
Non-Religious |
0.00 %
|
Other / Small |
0.00 %
|
Unknown |
0.00 %
|
* From latest Sri Lanka census data. Current Christian values may substantially differ. |