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The Thulunge Rai of Nepal

The Thulunge Rai of Nepal, numbering approximately 36,500 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Kirati Rai subgroup of Nepal's Solukhumbu district in the eastern Himalaya, whose traditional Mundum religion venerating ancestors Sumnima and Paruhang persists alongside Hindu identity. They mostly adhere to Hinduism and Thulung is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Himalayan Peoples
Country: Nepal
People Cluster: South Himalayan
Primary Language(s): Thulung (tdh)
Primary Religion(s): Hinduism
Population: 36,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG006305
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Pray for the Thulunge Rai of Nepal

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.

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Hinduism
Religious Affiliation: Hinduism

99%
%
Hinduism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Thulung
Language Family: Sino-Tibetan

100%
%
Thulung Speakers

Media Resources in Thulung:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Thulung:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Thulung bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Thulunge 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.

Next steps for the Thulunge Rai:
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 Thulunge Rai of Nepal

When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
readMatthew 9:36

Pray that those who have no hope and are in need of a Savior will be comforted by the Good Shepherd, who seeks to gather the lost and weary into His care.

And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us.
readActs 17:26-27

Pray that the lost will seek God and find Him, for He is not far from each one of us. Pray that they will have opportunities to access the gospel, learn God's purpose for their lives, and believe in Him.

You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance.
readPsalm 32:7

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will remember that God is their hiding place and that He will preserve them in the midst of trials.

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.
readActs 1:8

Pray that God will raise up believers who are willing to cross cultures and boldly share the good news of Jesus with the lost in this people group and from every nation.

Thulunge Rai Across Countries (ROP3 - 110029) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguage ▲Religion
Thulunge RaiPG006305Thulunge RaiNepal36,500Engaged yet UnreachedThulungHinduism

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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