Badhi (Hindu traditions) in Nepal
Photo Source:
Anonymous
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Map Source:
People Group data: Omid. Map geography: UNESCO / GMI. Map Design: Joshua Project
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| People Name: | Badhi (Hindu traditions) |
| Country: | Nepal |
| 10/40 Window: | Yes |
| Population: | 44,000 |
| World Population: | 135,000 |
| Primary Language: | Nepali |
| Primary Religion: | Hinduism |
| Christian Adherents: | 0.00 % |
| Evangelicals: | 0.00 % |
| Scripture: | Complete Bible |
| Ministry Resources: | Yes |
| Jesus Film: | Yes |
| Audio Recordings: | Yes |
| People Cluster: | South Asia Hindu - other |
| Affinity Bloc: | South Asian Peoples |
| Progress Level: |
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Introduction / History
This vegetarian Hindu people group lives in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh. Almost a third of them are in Nepal. Different sources give different answers to what their traditional occupation has been. Some say that they were once jugglers, and that those in rural areas made stone grinders. Another source says that they were traditionally basket-weavers.
What Are Their Lives Like?
Today some work as carpenters, day laborers or farmers, along with their traditional occupations. There are those who have taken to begging for alms. The Badhi people are very poor.
The Badhis follow traditional Hindu practices when it comes to marriage. Families negotiate their marriages, and parents pay a dowry. After the Hindu marriage rituals are performed, the couple is officially married. Tragically, the Badhi people suffer a higher-than-average divorce rate. Either spouse can seek a divorce. If the wife opts for the divorce, then the bride price must be returned to the groom's family. Divorcees above 30 years of age are not permitted to remarry.
What Are Their Beliefs?
The Badhi people are Hindu and focus much of their worship on clan and village deities, especially their patron god, Kalimata. Hinduism is a catch-all phrase for the local religions of South Asia, so it is very diverse. At the popular level, Hindus worshi
What Are Their Needs?
The Hindu Badhi are very poor. They need better educational opportunities so the next generation can earn a better living. They would be truly blessed if Christians were to go to them and lovingly teach them the education and skills they need. Even more i
Prayer Points
Pray for the Lord to send Christians to the Badhi people, who will treat them with dignity and respect and share the gospel with them.
Pray the Badhi people will soon forsake false gods and give their full allegiance to Jesus Christ.
Pray the Lord would provide educational opportunities for the Badhi people so that they might escape from poverty.
Pray that God would restore Badhi marriages and that people would respond in worship of Him.