Download the People Group List (16 languages .csv)

Amharic - አማርኛ | Arabic - عربي
Bengali - বাংলা | Chinese (Simplified) - 中文（简体）
Chinese (Traditional) - 中文（繁體) | French - Français
German - Deutsch | Gujarati - ગુજરાતી
Hindi - हिन्दी | Indonesian - Bahasa Indonesia
Korean - 한국어 | Nepali - नेपाली
Portuguese - Português | Russian - Русский
Spanish - Español | Tagalog / Filipino
Be sure to use the data import function in your favorite app for working with data.
If you'd like to help improve these translations, Contact Us.

The Sauntia of India

The Sauntia of India, numbering approximately 57,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Scheduled Caste of Ganjam district, Odisha, their name recalling the gathering of scattered things, traditionally agricultural laborers and firewood sellers. Agriculture and wage labor remain their main occupations today. They mostly adhere to Ethnoreligion and Chhattisgarhi is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: South Asian Peoples
Country: India
People Cluster: Hindi
Primary Language(s): Chhattisgarhi (hne)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion
Population: 57,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG041895
View on Joshua Project

Print Profile
Submit Updates

Pray for the Sauntia 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.

Pray Now!
Download Prayer Guide

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Ethnoreligion
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

50%
%
Ethnoreligion Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Chhattisgarhi
Language Family: Indo-European

50%
%
Chhattisgarhi Speakers

Media Resources in Chhattisgarhi:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film

2 films

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Chhattisgarhi:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
2012 Bharatiya General Conference Mennonite Church✓✓
Bible Society of India✓

2 entries

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Chhattisgarhi bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Sauntia 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 Sauntia:
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 Sauntia of India

Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God's kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off.
readRomans 11:22

Pray that God will transform those who persist in unbelief and, in His everlasting kindness, graft them into His family.

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
readMatthew 11:28-29

Please pray for them to lift their eyes to Jesus and find rest for their souls, lasting peace, and hope in Him.

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 as people place their faith in Christ, they will have a deep desire to know God more fully and to make Him known in creative ways to others who are still searching for truth.

And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues.
read2 Corinthians 12:28

Ask God to raise up believers who will faithfully proclaim the good news and equip others to do the same.

Sauntia Across Countries (ROP3 - 113537) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountry ▼PopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
SauntiaPG041895SauntiaIndia57,000Engaged yet UnreachedChhattisgarhiEthnoreligion

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.

Scroll to Top