The Dewar of India

The Dewar of India, numbering approximately 390,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are described as a Scheduled Caste of Madhya Pradesh formed from excommunicated members of Chhattisgarh tribes, traditionally nomadic entertainers subsisting as snake-charmers, monkey-show performers, and pig-rearers They are an Indigenous people, with Dewar as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Odia people cluster of the South Asian Peoples. Their primary religion is Ethnoreligion. They primarily speak Chhattisgarhi.

Photo courtesy of Joshua Project. Photo Source: Xandrieth Xs - Wikimedia Xandrieth Xs - Wikimedia Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: South Asian Peoples
Country: India
People Cluster: Odia
Primary Language(s): Chhattisgarhi (hne)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion
Population: 390,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG042080
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Dewar 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: Ethnoreligion
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

100%
%

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Chhattisgarhi
Language Family: Indo-European

50%
%

Media Resources in Chhattisgarhi:

Films:

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Bible Resources in Chhattisgarhi:

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Or check out the Chhattisgarhi bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

Explore Lostness and Next Steps

Unengaged and Unreached

Strategic Priority Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached (SPI: 2), 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.
Lostness Priority Index (LPI): Marginally Reached People Group, (LPI: 4), 3% to 6% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical (GSEC: 4), this people group is greater than or equal to 2% evangelical

Next steps for the Dewar:
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

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Dewar 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 Dewar:
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

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Dewar 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 Dewar:
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 Dewar of India

"And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
readJohn 8:32

Pray for those who live enslaved to sin to hear and receive the truth of the gospel and be set free.

Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God.
readMark 10:14b

Praise Jesus for the way He loves children, asking that many will learn the truth about Him and come to Him unhindered.

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.
readEphesians 6:10-11

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will grow strong in His power, putting on the full armor of God, which will enable them to stand against the devil’s lies.

Let them praise his name with dancing, making melody to him with tambourine and lyre!
readPsalm 149:3

Pray that God will send His people across cultures to share the gospel so that those who don't yet know the truth about Him might praise His name and share the hope of Christ with others.

Dewar Across Countries (ROP3 - 111923) 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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