The Kharia (Lewa Kunbi) people live in the Western Vidarbha region of Maharashtra. They have gotras such as Shendilya, Kashyap and Bharadwaj. They are known as Lewa Patil.
They speak the Marathi and Telegu languages and use the Devanagari script. A few of them also speak Hindi. The incidence of colour-blindness is reported in 5 percent of the Kharia population.
The Kharia men are non-vegetarian but their women are vegetarian. Jowar is their staple cereal and they eat rice occasionally. The economy of the Lewa Kunbi is mainly based on agriculture. They either cultivate their own land or work for others on a share-cropping basis. They participate in the local weekly markets. The problem of alcoholism is prevalent among the men.
The Kharia generally follow monogamy. The women contribute to the family economy as wage earners and take part in socio-religious activities. In a marriage a series of rituals are performed simultaneously at the bride and groom's residences. Marriage rituals include the thread wearing ceremony, the exchange of garlands and circumambulating the sacred fire seven times.
The Kharia have an association, which looks after the socio-economic development of the community. They cremate the dead and observe death pollution for ten days.
The Kharia worship both family and village deities. The Brahmin officiates as a priest at their rituals. Their traditional customs prevent them from exchanging water and cooked food with certain communities, such as, the Bhangi, Chamar and Mahar. Ancestor worship is also prevalent among them. Diwali is the main festival celebrated by the Lewa Kunbi.
Alternate names: Kunbi Khaire, Kunbi Lonari, Kunbi Tirole, Kunbi Hindre.
For the salvation of the Kharia people and that God may send several Christian workers to work among them and meet their spiritual and physical needs.
That the LKharia people may be freed from alcoholism, ancestors' worship, colour-blindness and be able to accept all the communities without caste prejudice.
Scripture Prayers for the Kharia in India.
Profile Source: India Missions Association - Edited by Philipose Vaidyar Copyrighted © Used with permission |
People Name General | Kharia |
People Name in Country | Kharia |
Alternate Names | Haria; Khaire Kunbi; Kharvi; Kulu; Kunbi; खारिया |
Population this Country | 902,000 |
Population all Countries | 926,000 |
Total Countries | 3 |
Indigenous | Yes |
Progress Scale | 2 ● |
Unreached | No |
Frontier People Group | No |
GSEC | 6 (per PeopleGroups.org) |
Pioneer Workers Needed | |
People ID | 17153 |
ROP3 Code | 112503 |
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 | 21 | |||||||||||||||
Largest States (only 15 largest shown) |
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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 | 21 (only 20 largest shown) |
Odisha 263,000 | |
Assam 238,000 | |
Jharkhand 231,000 | |
West Bengal 71,000 | |
Chhattisgarh 58,000 | |
Bihar 14,000 | |
Arunachal Pradesh 3,800 | |
Madhya Pradesh 3,000 | |
Andaman and Nicobar 2,300 | |
Tripura 1,700 | |
Maharashtra 1,200 | |
Nagaland 800 | |
Delhi 200 | |
Meghalaya 200 | |
Manipur 200 | |
Website | South Asia Peoples |
Primary Religion: | Hinduism |
Major Religion ▲ | Percent * |
---|---|
Buddhism |
0.06 %
|
Christianity (Evangelical Unknown) |
31.44 %
|
Ethnic Religions |
0.00 %
|
Hinduism |
63.71 %
|
Islam |
0.17 %
|
Non-Religious |
0.00 %
|
Other / Small |
0.01 %
|
Unknown |
4.60 %
|
* From latest India census data. Current Christian values may substantially differ. |
Primary Language | Kharia (310,000 speakers) | |||||||||||||||
Language Code | khr Ethnologue Listing | |||||||||||||||
Language Written | Yes ScriptSource Listing | |||||||||||||||
Total Languages | 35 | |||||||||||||||
Secondary Languages (only 15 largest shown) |
|
Primary Language | Kharia (310,000 speakers) |
Language Code | khr Ethnologue Listing |
Total Languages | 35 |
Secondary Languages (only 15 largest shown) | |
Assamese 144,000 | |
Odia 108,000 | |
Bengali 79,000 | |
Hindi 76,000 | |
Chhattisgarhi 21,000 | |
Marathi 3,900 | |
Santhali 2,800 | |
Mundari 2,100 | |
Kurux 2,100 | |
Koda 1,800 | |
Sadri 1,400 | |
Bhojpuri 1,100 | |
Munda 800 | |
Ho 700 | |
Punjabi, Eastern 500 | |
People Groups | Speaking Kharia |
Primary Language: Kharia
Bible Translation ▲ | Status (Years) |
---|---|
Bible-Portions | Yes (1951) |
Bible-New Testament | Yes (1992) |
Bible-Complete | No |
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 | Source |
---|---|---|
Audio Recordings | Audio Bible teaching | Global Recordings Network |
Film / Video | Jesus Film: view in Kharia | Jesus Film Project |
General | Gospel resources links | Scripture Earth |
Text / Printed Matter | Topical Scripture booklets and Bible studies | World Missionary Press |
Photo Source | Ramesh Lalwani - Flickr Creative Commons |
Map Source | People Group data: Omid. Map geography: UNESCO / GMI. Map Design: Joshua Project. |
Profile Source | India Missions Association - Edited by Philipose Vaidyar Copyrighted © Used with permission |
Data Sources | Data is compiled from various sources. Learn more. |