The Chaptegar of India

The Chaptegar of India, numbering approximately 8,300 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are a Konkani-speaking artisan community of carpenters, traditionally skilled in woodwork and boat-building, concentrated in Dakshina Kannada in Karnataka and in Kasaragod, Kerala. Their name derives from chapta, meaning bark of a tree. They mostly adhere to Hinduism and Konkani (individual language) is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: South Asian Peoples
Country: India
People Cluster: Marathi-Konkani
Primary Language(s): Konkani (individual language) (knn)
Primary Religion(s): Hinduism
Population: 8,300
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG049728
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Pray for the Chaptegar of India

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Hinduism
Religious Affiliation: Hinduism

99%
%
Hinduism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Konkani (individual language)
Language Family: Indo-European

100%
%
Konkani Speakers

Media Resources in Konkani (individual language):

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Bible Resources in Konkani (individual language):

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Or check out the Konkani (individual language) bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

Explore Lostness and Next Steps

Unengaged and Unreached

Strategic Priority Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached (SPI: 0), 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): Frontier Unreached People Group, (LPI: 0), < 0.1% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity (GSEC: 1), this people group is less than 2% evangelical, some evangelical resources are available, but there has been no active church planting among them within the past two years

Next steps for the Chaptegar:
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

Pray specifically for the Chaptegar of India

For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.
readRomans 5:10

Pray that any who may be enemies of God will grasp the depth of God's love demonstrated through Christ's death for the ungodly, and be reconciled to Him.

All the earth worships you and sings praises to you; they sing praises to your name.
readPsalm 66:4

Pray that the good news of Jesus will advance here and that many will bow down and sing praises to His name.

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
readRomans 12:1

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will offer their bodies as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God, knowing that this is their spiritual worship.

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
readJohn 1:5

Pray that when discouraging days come, those who cross cultures for the sake of the gospel will be comforted as they remember that the light of Christ is stronger than the darkness that surrounds them.

Chaptegar Across Countries (ROP3 - 111818) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

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