Satnami in India

The Satnami have only been reported in India
Population
Main Language
Largest Religion
Christian
Evangelical
Progress
Progress Gauge
* From latest India census data.
Current Christian values may substantially differ.

Introduction / History

The Chamar people are also known as Bhambi, Asadaru, Khalpa, Machigar, Mochi, and Rohit. The origins of the name "chamar" come from their leather work. Like most major Hindu castes, the Chamar have subgroups. One of their subgroups is the Satnami.

The Satnamis were established by a Hindu guru by the name of Ghasidas who lived from 1756 to 1850. Satnami Chamars live mainly in Chandhgarh, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh.


What Are Their Lives Like?

In traditional Hinduism, those who deal with "dead" matter are among the low status communities. This is especially true for those who work with leather, which comes from cattle, which Hindus consider holy. The Satnami’s main occupation is manufacturing shoes and chappals from finished leather. Satnami Chamars are among the largest communities in the Hindu world and have very low status. This low status in Indian-Hindu tradition makes them undesirable and unworthy of any sort of consideration or provision by society. This translates into frequent joblessness, lack of education and lifelong poverty. Traditional upper caste members would avoid their shadow, though this would be rare today.

Some are engaged in daily-wage labor and petty business. Satnami women are also involved in agricultural work, animal husbandry and various economic activities.

The Satnami practice monogamy in marriage, meaning one man marries one woman. They allow remarriage for widowers but not for the widows. The dead body of a bachelor is buried lying on its back with the head facing the south, whereas others are cremated, and their mortal remains are immersed in sacred water. They offer rice balls to the dead and to ancestors on the tenth day after death.


What Are Their Beliefs?

The Satnami Chamar are Hindu. They follow the teachings of Ghasidas, a guru who taught that all communities are equal. Ghasidas emphasized truth and equality much like the Sikhs. He told his people to throw away their idols and listen to a white man who comes to them with a large book. For a time, they listened to Christian missionaries, but that movement has since fizzled out.


What Are Their Needs?

There is a slightly higher degree of responsiveness to the gospel among the Satnami Chamars than among other low castes. There is a church planting movement underway among Satnami in several districts across India, but they are far from unreached. It will take many workers to get the gospel to all Chamar communities throughout India.


Prayer Points

Pray for God to send hundreds of Christian workers among them and meet their spiritual and physical needs.
Pray for the Satnami people to break through the caste barrier and be accepted by other communities.
Pray that these Satnami believers will be salt and light to other communities throughout India.
Pray that church planting will multiply across all Chamar communities.


Scripture Prayers for the Satnami in India.


References

India Missions Association, Edited by Philipose Vaidyar. Copyrighted © Used with permission.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chamar
https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/chamars
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Chamar
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghasidas


Profile Source:   Joshua Project  

People Name General Satnami
People Name in Country Satnami
Alternate Names Chamar; Chambhar; Chamehar; Chhattis; Dhusia; Dohare; Jaiswar; Jatava; Jhusia; Kureel; Mochi; Moci; Ramdasia; Satnami; Shankhwar
Population this Country 2,103,000
Population all Countries 2,103,000
Total Countries 1
Indigenous Yes
Progress Scale 1
Unreached Yes
Frontier People Group No
Pioneer Workers Needed 42
People ID 21708
ROP3 Code 118496
ROP25 Code 301655
ROP25 Name Chamar
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 5
Largest States
Chhattisgarh
1,282,000
Uttar Pradesh
763,000
Maharashtra
39,000
Jharkhand
11,000
Madhya Pradesh
7,300
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 5
  Chhattisgarh 1,282,000
  Uttar Pradesh 763,000
  Maharashtra 39,000
  Jharkhand 11,000
  Madhya Pradesh 7,300
Website South Asia Peoples
Primary Religion: Hinduism
Major Religion Percent *
Buddhism
0.51 %
Christianity  (Evangelical Unknown)
1.69 %
Ethnic Religions
0.00 %
Hinduism
97.80 %
Islam
0.00 %
Non-Religious
0.00 %
Other / Small
0.00 %
Unknown
0.00 %
* From latest India census data.
Current Christian values may substantially differ.
Primary Language Hindi (937,000 speakers)
Language Code hin   Ethnologue Listing
Language Written Yes   ScriptSource Listing
Total Languages 13
Secondary Languages
Chhattisgarhi
733,000
Bhojpuri
37,000
Awadhi
23,000
Kanauji
18,000
Marathi
12,000
Odia
5,300
Bundeli
4,900
Konkani
1,600
Bengali
800
Braj Bhasha
600
Ahirani
200
Bhatri
30
Primary Language Hindi (937,000 speakers)
Language Code hin   Ethnologue Listing
Total Languages 13
Secondary Languages
  Chhattisgarhi 733,000
  Bhojpuri 37,000
  Awadhi 23,000
  Kanauji 18,000
  Marathi 12,000
  Odia 5,300
  Bundeli 4,900
  Konkani 1,600
  Bengali 800
  Braj Bhasha 600
  Ahirani 200
  Bhatri 30
People Groups Speaking Hindi

Primary Language:  Hindi

Bible Translation Status  (Years)
Bible-Portions Yes  (1806-1962)
Bible-New Testament Yes  (1811-1998)
Bible-Complete Yes  (1818-2022)
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YouVersion NT (www.bible.com) Online
Possible Print Bibles
Amazon
World Bibles
Forum Bible Agencies
National Bible Societies
World Bible Finder
Virtual Storehouse
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Audio Recordings Audio Bible teaching Global Recordings Network
Audio Recordings DAVAR Partners recording, Old Testament DAVAR Partners International
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 Story video God's Story
Film / Video Indigitube.tv Video / Animation Create International
Film / Video Jesus Film: view in Hindi Jesus Film Project
Film / Video Love letter to you from scripture Father's Love Letter
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 The Hope Video Mars Hill Media
Film / Video World Christian Videos World Christian Videos
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General Faith Comes By Hearing - Bible in text or audio or video Faith Comes by Hearing
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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 Amit Satnami - 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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