The Sherdukpen's oral history says that they originated from the marriage of a Tibetan prince with a princess of Assam, possibly of Kachari origin. Sherdukpen culture and language are strange in that they are distinct from the other Tibeto-Burman varieties in Arunachal Pradesh. This suggests they once migrated into the area from far away. Most of the Sherdukpen people live either in India's northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh or in Bhutan.
Most of the Sherdukpen people are farmers who supplement their diet through hunting and fishing. Some have livestock. They use simple tools for their work.
Visitors to their communities can easily identify the Sherdukpen because their dress is totally different from that of other nearby peoples. The men's dress consists of a shawl, waist belt, jacket and a cap made of yak's hair. The Sherdukpen women wear a white cotton or silk gown called a sinka.
The Sherdukpen language is part of the Kanauri branch of the Tibeto-Burman family. There are dialect differences between the Sherdukpen spoken in different villages.
Before a wedding can take place, a suitable bride price must be negotiated between the families of the bride and groom. The groom's family must come up with an acceptable form of payment to compensate the bride's family for all the years of expense and effort they spent in raising the girl. The most common form of marriage is a negotiated arranged one. The parents of both the boy and the girl arrange the marriage. The girl is ritually eloped by the boy's parents and their relatives. After the bride price has been settled, a Buddhist lama is called in to consult the horoscopes to determine the best time and day for the wedding to take place. These days love marriages are becoming more common.
Buddhism first came to the Sherdukpen in the mid-1700s. Almost every one of them identifies as Buddhist today.
The Buddhist lamas, known as chize, double as shaman priests among the Sherdukpen. They perform weddings and funerals and act as mediators between the spirit world and the community. Thus, the primary felt need of the Sherdukpen is about dealing with the spirit world, not following the teachings of Gautama Buddha.
For countless centuries the Sherdukpen people, few in number yet unique, lived and died without any knowledge of the gospel. There are only a handful of Christ's disciples among this people group.
Pray for the authority of Christ to bind hindering spiritual forces to lead them from darkness to light.
Pray for signs and wonders among them and for great breakthroughs with a rapid multiplication of disciples and house churches.
Pray for bold workers who are driven by the love of the Holy Spirit to go to them.
Pray for an unstoppable movement to Christ among them.
Scripture Prayers for the Sherdukpen in India.
Peoples of the Buddhist World, Asia Harvest, Copyrighted © Used with permission
Profile Source: Joshua Project |
People Name General | Sherdukpen |
People Name in Country | Sherdukpen |
Pronunciation |
sare-DOO-pen
|
Alternate Names | Jioaonpu; Ngnok; Sainji; Sajee; Thungjee; शेरदुकपें |
Population this Country | 4,200 |
Population all Countries | 4,500 |
Total Countries | 2 |
Indigenous | Yes |
Progress Scale | 1 ● |
Unreached | Yes |
Frontier People Group | No |
GSEC | 1 (per PeopleGroups.org) |
Pioneer Workers Needed | 1 |
People ID | 18087 |
ROP3 Code | 113588 |
ROP25 Code | 307394 |
ROP25 Name | Sherdukpen / Serdukpen |
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) | |||
Location in Country | They inhabit the Bomdila Subdivision of the West Kameng District of Arunachal Pradesh. The three main villages are Rupa, Shergaon and Jigaon. Source: Peoples of the Buddhist World, 2004 | |||
Total States on file | 2 | |||
Largest States |
|
|||
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) |
Location in Country | They inhabit the Bomdila Subdivision of the West Kameng District of Arunachal Pradesh. The three main villages are Rupa, Shergaon and Jigaon.. Source: Peoples of the Buddhist World, 2004 |
Total States | 2 |
Arunachal Pradesh 4,100 | |
Assam 70 | |
Website | South Asia Peoples |
Primary Religion: | Buddhism |
Major Religion ▲ | Percent * |
---|---|
Buddhism |
97.11 %
|
Christianity (Evangelical Unknown) |
0.74 %
|
Ethnic Religions |
0.00 %
|
Hinduism |
1.39 %
|
Islam |
0.11 %
|
Non-Religious |
0.00 %
|
Other / Small |
0.20 %
|
Unknown |
0.45 %
|
* From latest India census data. Current Christian values may substantially differ. |
Primary Language | Sherdukpen (3,200 speakers) | |||||||||
Language Code | sdp Ethnologue Listing | |||||||||
Language Written | Unknown | |||||||||
Total Languages | 9 | |||||||||
Secondary Languages |
|
Primary Language | Sherdukpen (3,200 speakers) |
Language Code | sdp Ethnologue Listing |
Total Languages | 9 |
Secondary Languages | |
Hindi 200 | |
Nyishi 80 | |
Sartang 20 | |
Assamese 20 | |
Naga, Wancho 10 | |
Nepali 0 | |
Adi 0 | |
Garo 0 | |
People Groups | Speaking Sherdukpen |
Primary Language: Sherdukpen
Bible Translation Status: Translation Started
Resource Type ▲ | Resource Name | Source |
---|---|---|
Audio Recordings | Audio Bible teaching | Global Recordings Network |
Photo Source | Copyrighted © 2023 Peoples of the Buddhist World, Asia Harvest 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. |