Little is known of the history of the Dafers. Some believe their ancestors were the Huns who came from Central Asia in the pre-medieval era to plunder Sindh.

The Dafer tribe lives in Gujarat, a state in western India.

Dafer men (mostly) are known to steal and rob to get what their families need. are careful to assign part of their plunder to community services for elderly, disabled, and needy among them. Yet, they also make excellent security guards who will protect their assigned responsibility with their lives if needed. Their women produce beautiful needlework, sold by the men for a pittance.

The Dafer people are Sunni, the largest branch of Islam. They believe that the One, Supreme God, Allah, spoken through his prophet, Mohammed, and taught mankind how to live a righteous life through the Koran and the Hadith. To live a righteous life, you must utter the Shahada (a statement of faith), pray five times a day facing Mecca, fast from sunup to sundown during the month of Ramadan, give alms to the poor, and make a pilgrimage to Mecca if you have the means. Muslims are prohibited from drinking alcohol, eating pork, gambling, stealing, slandering, and making idols. They gather for corporate prayer on Friday afternoons at a mosque, their place of worship.

The two main holidays for Sunni Muslims are Eid al Fitr, the breaking of the monthly fast and Eid al Adha, the celebration of Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son to Allah.

In most of the Muslim world, peoples like the Dafer people depend on the spirit world for their daily needs since they regard Allah as too distant. Allah may determine their eternal salvation, but the spirits determine how well we live in our daily lives. For that reason, they must appease the spirits. The often use charms and amulets to help them with spiritual forces.

The Dafer people need to be given a chance to break out of their reputation as criminals. Although audio, visual, and written Bible resources are available in Kacchi, their spoken language, they remain unreached and unengaged with the truth of the gospel. Their greatest need is to understand the infinite love of Almighty God for them, and his provisional payment of the penalty for their sins.

* Scripture Prayers for the Dafer in India.

* Pray for God's blessing, strengthening and healing of families and communities within the Dafer people group through the abundant life Jesus offers to all who call on His name.
* Pray for God's blessing on the leaders in the Dafer people group, along with their families, and for their communities to welcome and enjoy God's blessing.
* Pray for the Lord to multiply the reception and influence of His Word among the Dafer people, leading them to love Him with their whole being.
* Pray for the Lord to raise up a strong disciple making movement to saturate the hearts and minds of the Dafer people.

https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/offtrack/story/19970430-many-of-gujarats-dafer-criminal-tribe-want-to-quit-but-too-caged-in-to-try-831332-1997-04-30
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dafer