Kalu in Bangladesh


Population
Main Language
Largest Religion
Christian
Evangelical
Progress
Progress Gauge
* From latest Bangladesh census data.
Current Christian values may substantially differ.

Introduction / History

The Kalu people derive their name from the Hindi word khalu. Stories tell of the legendary Lord Shiva and how the first Kalu man came from the sweat off of Lord Shiva's arm while bathing in oil. The Kalu have a long tradition of being sellers of oil and of being oil-pressers, a similar occupation to that of the Teli people.

The Kalu live in India and Bangladesh. They speak Bengali in both countries.


What Are Their Lives Like?

They can be landowners as well as farmers or plantation laborers. They eat fish and other meats as well as wheat and ria and biri kalai. Their married women wear shell and iron bangles. The Kalu have both extended and nuclear families.


What Are Their Beliefs?

In Bangladesh the Kalu people are Sunni Muslims who believe that the supreme God, Allah, spoke 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.

Sunni religious practices are staid and simple. They believe that Allah has pre-determined our fates; they minimize free will.

In most of the Muslim world, 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. They often use charms and amulets to help them with spiritual forces.


What Are Their Needs?

Agricultural initiatives could be a good platform for workers to bless the Kalu and share the knowledge of Jesus Christ.

There is no record of even one believer among the group. They need the Holy Spirit to lead them to Jesus Christ.


Prayer Points

Pray for a spiritual hunger that will lead them to the cross and the empty grave, the only hope of mankind.

Pray for the Lord to raise up Kalu Christian believers who will disciple others who will disciple others.

Pray for the Lord to abundantly bless their crops this year as a testimony of his power and love.


Scripture Prayers for the Kalu in Bangladesh.


Profile Source:   Joshua Project  

People Name General Kalu
People Name in Country Kalu
Alternate Names Garai; Garai Sidai; Kulu; Sidai; Teli; कालू
Population this Country 129,000
Population all Countries 435,000
Total Countries 2
Indigenous Yes
Progress Scale 1
Unreached Yes
Frontier People Group Yes
Pioneer Workers Needed 3
People ID 17060
ROP3 Code 112398
ROP25 Code 303560
ROP25 Name Kalu
Country Bangladesh
Region Asia, South
Continent Asia
10/40 Window Yes
National Bible Society Website
Persecution Rank 26  (Open Doors top 50 rank, 1 = highest persecution ranking)
Total States on file 5
Largest States
Dhaka
72,000
Khulna
33,000
Rajshahi
19,000
Rangpur
3,800
Chittagong
1,600
Country Bangladesh
Region Asia, South
Continent Asia
10/40 Window Yes
National Bible Society Website
Persecution Rank 26  (Open Doors top 50 rank, 1 = highest persecution ranking)
Total States 5
  Dhaka 72,000
  Khulna 33,000
  Rajshahi 19,000
  Rangpur 3,800
  Chittagong 1,600
Website South Asia Peoples
Primary Religion: Islam
Major Religion Percent *
Buddhism
0.00 %
Christianity  (Evangelical 0.00 %)
0.00 %
Ethnic Religions
0.00 %
Hinduism
0.00 %
Islam
100.00 %
Non-Religious
0.00 %
Other / Small
0.00 %
Unknown
0.00 %
* From latest Bangladesh census data.
Current Christian values may substantially differ.
Primary Language Bengali (126,000 speakers)
Language Code ben   Ethnologue Listing
Language Written Yes   ScriptSource Listing
Total Languages 3
Secondary Languages
Chittagonian
1,400
Sylheti
1,000
Primary Language Bengali (126,000 speakers)
Language Code ben   Ethnologue Listing
Total Languages 3
Secondary Languages
  Chittagonian 1,400
  Sylheti 1,000
People Groups Speaking Bengali

Primary Language:  Bengali

Bible Translation Status  (Years)
Bible-Portions Yes  (1800-1980)
Bible-New Testament Yes  (1801-1984)
Bible-Complete Yes  (1809-2022)
FCBH NT (www.bible.is) Online
YouVersion NT (www.bible.com) Online
Possible Print Bibles
Amazon
World Bibles
Forum Bible Agencies
National Bible Societies
World Bible Finder
Virtual Storehouse
Resource Type Resource Name Source
Audio Recordings Audio Bible teaching Global Recordings Network
Audio Recordings Online Audio Scripture Talking Bibles
Audio Recordings Oral Bible stories One Story
Audio Recordings Story of Jesus audio Jesus Film Project
Film / Video Following Jesus video Jesus Film Project
Film / Video God's Love Story General / Other
Film / Video God's Story video God's Story
Film / Video Indigitube.tv Video / Animation Create International
Film / Video Jesus Film: view in Bengali Jesus Film Project
Film / Video LUMO film of Gospels Bible Media Group/LUMO
Film / Video Magdalena video Jesus Film Project
Film / Video My Last Day video, anime Jesus Film Project
Film / Video Rivka video Jesus Film Project
Film / Video Story of Jesus for Children Jesus Film Project
Film / Video World Christian Videos World Christian Videos
General Bible for Children Bible for Children
General Biblical answers to your questions Got Questions Ministry
General Faith Comes By Hearing - Bible in text or audio or video Faith Comes by Hearing
General Faith Comes By Hearing - Bible in text or audio or video Faith Comes by Hearing
General Faith Comes By Hearing - Bible in text or audio or video Faith Comes by Hearing
General Faith Comes By Hearing - Bible in text or audio or video Faith Comes by Hearing
General Faith Comes By Hearing - Bible in text or audio or video Faith Comes by Hearing
General Faith Comes By Hearing - Bible in text or audio or video Faith Comes by Hearing
General Faith Comes By Hearing - Bible in text or audio or video Faith Comes by Hearing
General Faith Comes By Hearing - Bible in text or audio or video Faith Comes by Hearing
Photo Source (Representative photo)
Copyrighted © 2024  Isudas  All rights reserved.  Used with permission
Map Source People Group data: Omid. Map geography: UNESCO / GMI. Map Design: Joshua Project.  
Profile Source Joshua Project 
Data Sources Data is compiled from various sources. Learn more.



Joshua Project logo    Joshua Project    Copyright © 2024