The Goriya of India

The Goriya of India, numbering approximately 791,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are described as an Uttar Pradesh community historically classified as a Mallah subcaste but now recognized as independent, traditionally engaged in fishing and boating. Many are now settled cultivators, traders, or agricultural laborers They are an Indigenous people, with Goriya as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Hindi people cluster of the South Asian Peoples. Their primary religion is Folk Hinduism. They primarily speak Awadhi.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite: Goriya

Fast Facts*:

Affinity Group: South Asian Peoples
Country: India
People Cluster: Hindi
Primary Language(s): Awadhi (awa)
Primary Religion(s): Folk Hinduism
Population: 791,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG041453
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Goriya of India

Join others around the world in praying for the lost to be saved, the gospel to advance, the global Church to grow, and for laborers to be sent out and sustained in the harvest.

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Folk Hinduism
Religious Affiliation: Hinduism

99%
%
Folk Hinduism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Awadhi
Language Family: Indo-European

100%
%
Awadhi Speakers

Media Resources in Awadhi:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film

3 films

Bible Resources in Awadhi:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Easy-to-Read Version

1 entry

Or check out the Awadhi bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Goriya are Engaged yet Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations but there are sustained efforts at establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Next steps for the Goriya:
Continue prayer and fasting for this group
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Begin training up local leaders to lead and develop strategies to reach their own people

Pray specifically for the Goriya of India

Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him?
readJames 2:5

Pray for those living in despair to experience the riches of God's love and the hope of eternal life through faith in Christ.

Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; bring an offering, and come into his courts!
readPsalm 96:8

Pray for people here to humbly give God the glory due His name.

For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
read2 Corinthians 12:10

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will embrace their weaknesses, hardships, and difficulties, having hope because Christ's power is made perfect in their weakness.

So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God who has mercy.
readRomans 9:16

Ask God to raise up people who will trust in His sovereignty as they share the gospel, knowing that it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God who has mercy.

Goriya, Hindu Across Countries (ROP3 - 112143) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

*Peoplegroups.org relies on updates from the field and other organizations for much of our data, so if you have any updates, please contact us. We use various international naming standards. For a list of these standards and fields, visit our Data Standards section.

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