The Father of Modern Mission, William Carey, was a cobbler, or shoe repairman. He might have come across members of the Sarki people, who make and repair shoes. In the Hindu worldview, working with leather, means working with "dead" material, which is very demeaning. To make matters worse, shoes also involve the bottom of the feet, the most disgusting part of the body. For this reason, the Sarki people are among the least prestigious people in the Hindu world. A few of them have moved to Buddhist Bhutan where they are not limited by Hindu thinking.
The Sarki people live in India's state of West Bengal and a couple of India's northeastern states. Many live in Nepal. A few live in Bhutan where as Hindus they are a religious minority.
The traditional and primary occupation of the Sarki was shoe-making, but nowadays only a few among them are occupied as leather-workers or cobblers. This means that they are in a desperate situation to learn new trades so they can make an honest living.
These Hindus have family deities and a village deity. Some of their deities are Santala Devi, Maidevta and Dat Kali. Their witchdoctor is called lama or jhankri.
The Sarki people need training as the modern world offers few jobs in shoe-making. More than that, they need protection for their women who are vulnerable to human trafficking.
Pray for the Lord to protect the Sarki people from human trafficking.
Pray for them to find full employment outside of the dying art of making shoes by hand.
Pray the Sarki community will hunger to know the creator God and his son who came to give them life more abundantly.
Pray for believers in South Asia to make the effort to disciple these shoe-makers in the ways of Jesus Christ, resulting in transformed Sarki communities.
Scripture Prayers for the Sarki in Bhutan.
https://joshuaproject.net/people_groups/18035/IN
https://joshuaproject.net/people_groups/18035/NP
http://www.globalprayerdigest.org/index.php/issue/day/Sarki-People-in-Nepal/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarki_(ethnic_group)
Profile Source: Keith Carey |
People Name General | Sarki |
People Name in Country | Sarki |
Pronunciation |
SARR-kee
|
Alternate Names | Chamar; Cobbier; Karighar; Karikar; Mistri; Sarkar; Tapa; Tapoli; Thapa; सर्की |
Population this Country | 1,600 |
Population all Countries | 469,000 |
Total Countries | 3 |
Indigenous | No |
Progress Scale | 1 ● |
Unreached | Yes |
Frontier People Group | Yes |
Pioneer Workers Needed | 1 |
People ID | 18035 |
ROP3 Code | 113530 |
Country | Bhutan | |||
Region | Asia, South | |||
Continent | Asia | |||
10/40 Window | Yes | |||
Persecution Rank | 40 (Open Doors top 50 rank, 1 = highest persecution ranking) | |||
Total States on file | 2 | |||
Largest States |
|
Country | Bhutan |
Region | Asia, South |
Continent | Asia |
10/40 Window | Yes |
Persecution Rank | 40 (Open Doors top 50 rank, 1 = highest persecution ranking) |
Total States | 2 |
Western 1,300 | |
Eastern 300 | |
Website | South Asia Peoples |
Primary Religion: | Hinduism |
Major Religion ▲ | Percent * |
---|---|
Buddhism |
10.96 %
|
Christianity (Evangelical 0.00 %) |
0.00 %
|
Ethnic Religions |
0.00 %
|
Hinduism |
89.04 %
|
Islam |
0.00 %
|
Non-Religious |
0.00 %
|
Other / Small |
0.00 %
|
Unknown |
0.00 %
|
* From latest Bhutan census data. Current Christian values may substantially differ. |
Primary Language | Nepali (1,600 speakers) |
Language Code | npi Ethnologue Listing |
Language Written | Yes ScriptSource Listing |
Total Languages | 1 |
Primary Language | Nepali (1,600 speakers) |
Language Code | npi Ethnologue Listing |
Total Languages | 1 |
People Groups | Speaking Nepali |
Primary Language: Nepali
Bible Translation ▲ | Status (Years) |
---|---|
Bible-Portions | Yes (1850-1961) |
Bible-New Testament | Yes (1821-2010) |
Bible-Complete | Yes (1914-2012) |
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 Anonymous All rights reserved. Used with permission |
Map Source | People Group data: Omid. Map geography: UNESCO / GMI. Map Design: Joshua Project. |
Profile Source | Keith Carey |
Data Sources | Data is compiled from various sources. Learn more. |