Kolowar in India

The Kolowar have only been reported in India
Population
Main Language
Largest Religion
Christian
Evangelical
Progress
Progress Gauge
* Data can be from various sources including official census, agencies, and local research. Data from these sources can sometimes differ even by orders of magnitude. Joshua Project attempts to present a conservative, balanced estimate.

Introduction

Kola means bamboo or stick. The Kolowar are a scheduled tribe that speaks Kolami. Scheduled tribes have low status in Hindu India. Though most live in eastern Maharashtra, some of the Kolowar live in Telangana and other nearby states. The Kolowar people mostly work in cultivation and as day laborers. The women help with agriculture. The Kolowar people make baskets and bamboo products. They are monogamous, meaning that marriage is between one man and one woman. Normally a son takes over as the family head after the father dies, but the Kolowar are starting to change this by allowing the mother to take over as leader. Unlike most Hindu communities they bury their dead. They have a community council to look after their interests. They prefer herbal medicine over modern medicine. They have a low literacy level, so the gospel will need to be presented in oral forms.


Ministry Obstacles

There are very few Christ followers among this scheduled tribe. Tribal peoples are usually open to the gospel. Therefore, it’s clear there are strong spiritual impediments to the gospel. However, the JESUS Film and gospel recordings exist in the Kolowars’ Northwestern Kolami language.


Outreach Ideas


Prayer Focus

Pray for the Kolowar to know that though lowly in their society, they can be children of the King. Pray that the community council leaders would come to Jesus Christ and lead their people into a movement to Christ. Pray that gospel recordings and the JESUS Film would be used by the Lord to begin home-based fellowships. Pray for Kolowar disciples to make more disciples.


Scripture Prayers for the Kolowar in India.


Profile Source:   Joshua Project  

People Name General Kolowar
People Name in Country Kolowar
Alternate Names Kolam; Kolavar; Kolawar; Mannewar; Pujari; कोलोवर
Population this Country 275,000
Population all Countries 275,000
Total Countries 1
Indigenous Yes
Progress Scale 1
Unreached Yes
Frontier People Group Yes
GSEC 1  (per PeopleGroups.org)
Pioneer Workers Needed 6
People ID 17240
ROP3 Code 112608
ROP25 Code 304129
ROP25 Name Kolam (ST)
Country India
Region Asia, South
Continent Asia
10/40 Window Yes
National Bible Society Website
Persecution Rank 11  (Open Doors top 50 rank, 1 = highest persecution ranking)
Total States on file 6
Largest States
Maharashtra
220,000
Telangana
54,000
Chhattisgarh
700
Madhya Pradesh
600
Andhra Pradesh
100
Goa
60
Districts Interactive map, listing and data download
Specialized Website South Asia Peoples
Country India
Region Asia, South
Continent Asia
10/40 Window Yes
National Bible Society Website
Persecution Rank 11  (Open Doors top 50 rank, 1 = highest persecution ranking)
Total States 6
  Maharashtra 220,000
  Telangana 54,000
  Chhattisgarh 700
  Madhya Pradesh 600
  Andhra Pradesh 100
  Goa 60
Website South Asia Peoples
Primary Religion: Hinduism
Major Religion Percent *
Buddhism
0.08 %
Christianity  (Evangelical Unknown)
0.07 %
Ethnic Religions
0.00 %
Hinduism
99.05 %
Islam
0.23 %
Non-Religious
0.00 %
Other / Small
0.03 %
Unknown
0.55 %
* From latest India census data.
Current Christian values may substantially differ.
Primary Language Kolami, Northwestern (157,000 speakers)
Language Code kfb   Ethnologue Listing
Language Written Yes   ScriptSource Listing
Total Languages 31
Secondary Languages
(only 15 largest shown)
Marathi
50,000
Telugu
28,000
Hindi
5,800
Kolami, Southeastern
1,300
Bhili
800
Gondi, Adilabad
600
Chhattisgarhi
400
Kannada
400
Gondi, Northern
300
Halbi
200
English
100
Korwa
100
Gondi, Aheri
100
Khandesi
70
Koya
60
Primary Language Kolami, Northwestern (157,000 speakers)
Language Code kfb   Ethnologue Listing
Total Languages 31
Secondary Languages (only 15 largest shown)
  Marathi 50,000
  Telugu 28,000
  Hindi 5,800
  Kolami, Southeastern 1,300
  Bhili 800
  Gondi, Adilabad 600
  Chhattisgarhi 400
  Kannada 400
  Gondi, Northern 300
  Halbi 200
  English 100
  Korwa 100
  Gondi, Aheri 100
  Khandesi 70
  Koya 60
People Groups Speaking Kolami, Northwestern
Photo Source Tekam Tulsiram - Wikimedia  Creative Commons 
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.



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