The Didayi of India

The Didayi of India, numbering approximately 26,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a small, traditionally forest‑dwelling tribal people of eastern India, with their own language, clan system, and nature‑centered culture, living mainly in the remote hill regions of Odisha. They mostly adhere to Hinduism and Odia is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: South Asian Peoples
Country: India
People Cluster: Munda-Santal
Primary Language(s): Odia (ory)
Primary Religion(s): Hinduism
Population: 26,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG049034
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Didayi 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: Hinduism
Religious Affiliation: Hinduism

100%
%
Hinduism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Odia
Language Family: Indo-European

97%
%
Odia Speakers

Media Resources in Odia:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film

2 films

Bible Resources in Odia:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
1997 Bible League International✓✓
Easy to Read Version✓

2 entries

Or check out the Odia bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Didayi 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 Didayi:
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 Didayi of India

And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
readMatthew 24:14

Pray that the message of hope will reach those who are wandering in darkness, offering them a path to eternal life.

And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, "In you shall all the nations be blessed"
readGalatians 3:8

Ask the Lord to fulfill His promise to Abraham that all nations would be blessed by advancing the gospel to every people group who has yet to receive it.

And God is able to make all grace about to you, so that having sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.
read2 Corinthians 9:8

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will see that God provides for their needs and be content in His provision so that they may excel in every good work.

And the King will answer them, "Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me."
readMatthew 25:40

Ask God to raise up and send believers who will serve "the least of these" with compassion and energy because they know that in serving those in need, they are serving Christ.

Didayi Across Countries (ROP3 - 111958) 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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