"Rishabh! Don't ever forget our past!" The old man called to his grandson as he lounged on the couch. "Let me tell you about the time our ancestors built the Adinath Temple. It was the year 961 AD by the time they even finished…" he began. He went on to describe the details of how they built the impressive Jain temple, despite many obstacles. The boy settled himself in to hear the story yet again.
The Porwal (also called Porvad or Porwad) are a community of Banias who, long ago, were great in number and in riches. They built many of the most famous Jain temples. Now other Jain communities are larger and wealthier than the Porwals. They are still a wealthy people, but their numbers have fallen when compared to the other Jain groups around them. Today they number less than four million out of India's more than 1,215,000,000 people.
Far smaller is the number of Christ followers among them. Their Jain beliefs offer them some good moral guidelines regarding the sanctity of life. But without a church or a Bible or any appropriate evangelistic tools, the Porwals remain without knowledge of a Savior who offers not only solid moral teachings about the importance of life, but also the chance to have a personal relationship with the God who created them.
* Scripture Prayers for the Bania Porwal in Sri Lanka.
Pray that the Porwal people will soon get to hear the good news that Jesus Christ died for their sins.
Some information from "The Scheduled Castes" K. S. Singh, ed. Oxford University Press, USA (1994)
Profile Source: Global Prayer Digest |
People Name General | Bania Porwal |
People Name in Country | Bania Porwal |
Natural Name | Porwal Bania |
Population this Country | 1,800 |
Population all Countries | 328,000 |
Total Countries | 2 |
Indigenous | Yes |
Progress Scale | 1 ● |
Unreached | Yes |
Frontier People Group | Yes |
Pioneer Workers Needed | 1 |
Alternate Names | Bania Seth; Jangada; Jangada Porwal; Marwadi; Parwar; Ponwar; Porwad; Porwal; Porwal Jain; Porwar; Purwar; बनिया, पोरवाल |
People ID | 19719 |
ROP3 Code | 115172 |
Country | Sri Lanka | ||
Region | Asia, South | ||
Continent | Asia | ||
10/40 Window | Yes | ||
National Bible Society | Website | ||
Persecution Rank | Not ranked | ||
Specialized Website | South Asia Peoples |
Country | Sri Lanka |
Region | Asia, South |
Continent | Asia |
10/40 Window | Yes |
National Bible Society | Website |
Persecution Rank | Not ranked |
Website | South Asia Peoples |
Primary Language | Marwari (1,800 speakers) |
Language Code | rwr Ethnologue Listing |
Language Written | Yes ScriptSource Listing |
Total Languages | 1 |
Primary Language | Marwari (1,800 speakers) |
Language Code | rwr Ethnologue Listing |
Total Languages | 1 |
People Groups | Speaking Marwari |
Primary Language: Marwari
Bible Translation ▲ | Status (Years) |
---|---|
Bible-Portions | Yes (1815-1867) |
Bible-New Testament | Yes (1820-1821) |
Bible-Complete | No |
Possible Print Bibles | |
---|---|
Amazon | |
World Bibles | |
Forum Bible Agencies | |
National Bible Societies | |
World Bible Finder | |
Virtual Storehouse |
Resource Type ▲ | Resource Name |
---|---|
Audio Recordings | Audio Bible teaching (GRN) |
Audio Recordings | Story of Jesus audio (Jesus Film Project) |
Film / Video | A Beautiful Hope |
Film / Video | A Beautiful Hope |
Film / Video | Coconuts |
Film / Video | God's Story Video |
Film / Video | Indigitube.tv Video / Animation |
Film / Video | Jesus Film: view in Marwari |
Film / Video | Story of Jesus for Children (JF Project) |
General | Gospel website in this language |
Text / Printed Matter | Online Bible text (Scripture Earth) |
Text / Printed Matter | World Missionary Press Booklets |
Primary Religion: | Hinduism |
Major Religion ▲ | Percent * |
---|---|
Buddhism |
0.00 %
|
Christianity (Evangelical 0.00 %) |
0.00 %
|
Ethnic Religions |
0.00 %
|
Hinduism |
100.00 %
|
Islam |
0.00 %
|
Non-Religious |
0.00 %
|
Other / Small |
0.00 %
|
Unknown |
0.00 %
|
* From latest Sri Lanka census data. Current Christian values may substantially differ. |
Photo Source | Anonymous |
Map Source | People Group Location: Omid. Other geography / data: GMI. Map Design: Joshua Project |
Profile Source | Global Prayer Digest |
Data Sources | Data is compiled from various sources. Read more |