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Amharic - አማርኛ | Arabic - عربي
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Chinese (Traditional) - 中文（繁體) | French - Français
German - Deutsch | Gujarati - ગુજરાતી
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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Bantawa Rai of Nepal

The Bantawa Rai of Nepal, numbering approximately 488,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a people of Nepal, Bhojpur District, Koshi Zone; western Dhankuta District, Khotang District They are an Indigenous people, in the South Himalayan people cluster of the Himalayan Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Ethnoreligion - Animism. They primarily speak Bantawa.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: South Asian Peoples
Country: Nepal
People Cluster: South Himalayan
Primary Language(s): Bantawa (bap)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion - Animism
Population: 488,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, Concentrated CP Activity
People Group ID: PG006174
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Pray for the Bantawa Rai of Nepal

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Ethnoreligion - Animism
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

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Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Bantawa
Language Family: Sino-Tibetan

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Media Resources in Bantawa:

Films:

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Provided by the Jesus Film Project

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Bible Resources in Bantawa:

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Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Bantawa bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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Next steps for the Bantawa Rai

The Bantawa Rai are Unengaged and Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations among which there are no known efforts focused on establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Begin signifcant prayer and fasting for this group
Send cross-cultural teams to discover and research this people group
Begin gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group

Next steps for the Bantawa Rai

The Bantawa Rai 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.

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

Next steps for the Bantawa Rai

The Bantawa Rai are No Longer Unreached, which means there are more than 2% evangelical Christian populations and there are churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice. There is still more to be done among them.

Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Bantawa Rai of Nepal

For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.
readPsalm 1:6

As many look for hope in worldly pleasures, pray they will hear and accept salvation through Christ, turn from destruction, and experience joy in the way of righteousness.

The people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned.
readMatthew 4:16

Pray that those who dwell in darkness and live in the land of the shadow of death may be drawn out of darkness into His marvelous light.

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
readPsalm 119:105

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will meditate daily on the Word of God so that, through it, they might have wisdom for the big and small decisions they face every day.

"For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you."
readActs 17:23

Pray that believers God sends to cross cultures will be sensitive to the spiritual needs of the people they serve, and will proclaim the truth of Christ to them in creative ways that they will understand.

Rai, Bantawa (ROP3 - 101014) reported in the following countries:

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 Definitions page.

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