Traditionally the Dhobi people were the ones who washed laundry in the Hindu world. One of their subgroups are the Kathiya. This subgroup lives in central and northern Indian states such as Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.
When a Dhobi girl marries, her dowry usually contains just a few items, but almost always an iron. 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. Today many of them own businesses or work in government jobs.
Most of the Dhobis follow popular Hinduism and worship local gods as well as the washing stones. The vast majority remain Hindu, but they have contact with other communities. Hindus have a pragmatic view of the spirit world. Therefore, the Dhobi people often worship whatever spiritual force they believe will help them in practical ways.
Since many of their customers are starting to use washing machines, many Kathiya Dhobi are facing unemployment. They need job security and job training.
Pray that the Dhobi people will hear the gospel and discover that only Jesus Christ can wash away their sins.
Pray for workers to go to the Kathiya Dhobi people in India.
Pray that the Holy Spirit will give the Kathiya Dhobi people such spiritual hunger that they will not be satisfied until they taste and see that the Lord is good.
Pray for a disciple making movement among the Kathiya Dhobi people in both India and Nepal.
Scripture Prayers for the Dhobi Kathiya in India.
Profile Source: Joshua Project |
People Name General | Dhobi Kathiya |
People Name in Country | Dhobi Kathiya |
Natural Name | Kathiya Dhobi |
Alternate Names | |
Population this Country | 125,000 |
Population all Countries | 125,000 |
Total Countries | 1 |
Indigenous | Yes |
Progress Scale | 1 ● |
Unreached | Yes |
Frontier People Group | Yes |
Pioneer Workers Needed | 2 |
People ID | 21712 |
ROP3 Code | 118500 |
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 | 6 | ||||||
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 | 6 |
Uttar Pradesh 30,000 | |
Bihar 30,000 | |
Madhya Pradesh 23,000 | |
Chhattisgarh 20,000 | |
Jharkhand 11,000 | |
Delhi 8,300 | |
Website | South Asia Peoples |
Primary Religion: | Hinduism |
Major Religion ▲ | Percent * |
---|---|
Buddhism |
0.00 %
|
Christianity (Evangelical 0.00 %) |
0.00 %
|
Ethnic Religions |
0.00 %
|
Hinduism |
100.00 %
|
Islam |
0.00 %
|
Non-Religious |
0.00 %
|
Other / Small |
0.00 %
|
Unknown |
0.00 %
|
* From latest India census data. Current Christian values may substantially differ. |
Primary Language | Hindi (74,000 speakers) | ||||||||||||
Language Code | hin Ethnologue Listing | ||||||||||||
Language Written | Yes ScriptSource Listing | ||||||||||||
Total Languages | 13 | ||||||||||||
Secondary Languages |
|
Primary Language | Hindi (74,000 speakers) |
Language Code | hin Ethnologue Listing |
Total Languages | 13 |
Secondary Languages | |
Bhojpuri 12,000 | |
Chhattisgarhi 11,000 | |
Maithili 2,900 | |
Kanauji 1,200 | |
Magahi 1,200 | |
Awadhi 500 | |
Punjabi, Eastern 300 | |
Bundeli 300 | |
Bengali 200 | |
Angika 100 | |
Nimadi 100 | |
Malvi 90 | |
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 |
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. |