Jaunsari in India

Introduction / History

The Jaunsari homeland was first conquered by the British in 1814. They now live primarily in India’s northern state of Uttarakhand. The term "Pahari" can refer to any mountain-dwelling people, but in North India, it generally refers to the Indo-European-speaking peoples of the Himalayas. The different Paharia groups can be distinguished by region, religion and caste.

The Jaunsari have a caste system with three categories: landowners, servants (those involved in a service occupation or art) and Brahmins (Hindu priests). One's "assignment" to a caste is determined by birth.

What Are Their Lives Like?

Most Jaunsari are farmers. They cultivate terraces on hillsides which produce only meager crops twice a year. Their principal crops are potatoes and rice, and various other vegetables are also grown. They use fertilizer and a system of plot rotation in which the ground is allowed to lie fallow. They grow wet rice during the monsoon season and dry rice, maize, millet and wheat during the summer and winter months. Most farmers raise buffalo and goats for meat and cows for milk. The villagers live on a simple diet of milk, lentils, a few vegetables, a little fruit and occasionally meat.

The Jaunsari live in extended families in villages that consist of loosely grouped homes surrounded by farmland. The villages are generally situated near rivers or springs, and the homes are connected by footpaths. Sometimes the paths meet near a large tree that is used as a meeting place for the villagers as well as a resting place for travelers.

The houses are rectangular with stone and mortar walls. The roofs are made of slate, wood or thatch. Doors, windows and door frames are often ornately carved and painted. The houses usually have two or more stories, with the people living on the second floor and the animals roaming freely on the ground floor.

Like most Hindus, the Jaunsari are required to marry within the same caste. Children, whether born to landowners or servants, are generally treated well. Breastfeeding may continue until a child is two or three years old. There are many rites of passage for children, such as the first rice feeding and the first haircut. Also, girls go through puberty rites and boys go through initiations known as sacred thread ceremonies. When they are about eight years old, the children begin doing domestic chores. Girls help care for the younger children, haul water and carry food for the animals. Boys usually tend the animals.

Among the landowners, both the men and women share farming duties. Men use the animals to plow and sow seeds while the women prepare manure for fertilizer and sift and grind the grain. They also care for the children, cook, keep the house and tend to the animals while their husbands are responsible for building the homes, as well as trading goods outside the villages. In families of the lower caste, the men work at a specified occupation.

The Jaunsari people are going through changes. Children are leaving their homeland for urban life and adopting popular culture. The Jaunsari culture will probably change considerably in the coming decades.

What Are Their Beliefs?

Virtually all Jaunsari are Hindus; however, they are not strict in their religious beliefs. They believe in ghosts and demons that haunt the crossroads and rivers and regularly try to appease them with offerings. The Brahmins (Hindu scholars and priests) perform important domestic rituals and teachings for the people. They have their own deities which they call Devtas.

What Are Their Needs?

How does one find their way to the cross when there are no Christ followers in your midst? The Jaunsari live in a part of India where only about one in 1,000 follow Christ. They need workers from other places.

Prayer Points

Ask the Lord to anoint and send workers to share Christ with the Jaunsari.
Pray for receptive hearts among the Jaunsari people in India.
Ask God to give Jaunsari Christians the boldness to share the gospel with their people.
Pray for the Jaunsari homeland in northern India to be flooded with the gospel.

Text Source:   Joshua Project