Lohra in Bangladesh

People Name:	Lohra
Country:	Bangladesh
10/40 Window:	Yes
Population:	30,000
World Population:	338,000
Primary Language:	Sylheti
Primary Religion:	Hinduism
Christian Adherents:	0.66 %
Evangelicals:	0.00 %
Scripture:	New Testament
Online Audio NT:	Yes
Jesus Film:	Yes
Audio Recordings:	Yes
People Cluster:	South Asia Hindu - other
Affinity Bloc:	South Asian Peoples
Progress Level:

Introduction / History

The Lohara of India are a respected tribe who are prominent in the state of West Bengal. They are similar in culture and tradition to the other tribes who live near them. They take part in festivals, dancing, music and rituals and are good at art work.

As well as being in West Bengal, some of the Lohara live in parts of the regions in the state of Jharkhand like Singhbhum, Hazaribag, Palamu, Ranchi and Santhal Pargana. They are skilled in the craft of making iron.

The Lohara are involved in several types of work in which they earn a living. Some are shepherds, and many raise cattle. Others weave baskets. They make first class iron products. They have special tools for carving. Some of them cultivate. The houses they live in are very artistic in design.

They sing and dance too. The men and women of the Lohara dance wearing their regular traditional clothes and sing along at the same time. They do their art work from handloom weaving tools. They do wall paintings too which are put on show at festival times. They speak in the same language as other tribes in their region and their clothing is similar to the other local tribes also.

What Are Their Beliefs?

The Lohara have many festivals. Some are performed at home and others are performed in the community. In the festivals they worship folk gods. They worship them to please them and to be blessed. (They need to discover that blessings come through Jesus Christ). They have many social ceremonies and rituals. The rituals are mainly to do with nature conservation and booties to help them earn a living.