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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Nissi of India

The Nissi of India, numbering approximately 115,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a Scheduled Tribe of Arunachal Pradesh once called Dafla by plains people, a name now considered derogatory, tracing origin near the source of the Brahmaputra. Shifting cultivation remains primary, supplemented by horticulture. They mostly adhere to Ethnoreligion and Nyishi is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: South Asian Peoples
Country: India
People Cluster: South Asian Tribal
Primary Language(s): Nyishi (njz)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion
Population: 115,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 10% or Greater Evangelical
People Group ID: PG041760
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Pray for the Nissi 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.

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Ethnoreligion
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

—
%
Ethnoreligion Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Nyishi
Language Family: Sino-Tibetan

100%
%
Nyishi Speakers

Media Resources in Nyishi:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Nyishi:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Nyishi bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Nissi 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.

Next steps for the Nissi:
Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Nissi of India

And Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the command of the Lord your God, with which he commanded you."
read1 Samuel 13:13a

Pray that those who are walking in disobedience will recognize their sin and to turn to God.

Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
readMatthew 6:10

Pray that God's will be done on earth as it is in heaven, and that people will seek His kingdom and righteousness above all else, trusting in His provision.

My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?
readPsalm 42:2

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will thirst for God and be satisfied when they abide in Him.

For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; he is to be feared above all gods.
readPsalm 96:4

Pray that God will raise up believers to declare His glory among the lost, so that they may know that He is great and greatly to be praised, that He is exalted above all gods.

Nissi Across Countries (ROP3 - 113247) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress Index ▼LanguageReligion
NissiPG041760NissiIndia115,000No Longer UnreachedNyishiEthnoreligion

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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