Namdagur in India

People Name:	Namdagur
Country:	India
10/40 Window:	Yes
Population:	1,300
World Population:	1,300
Primary Language:	Kashmiri
Primary Religion:	Islam
Christian Adherents:	0.00 %
Evangelicals:	0.00 %
Scripture:	Complete Bible
Online Audio NT:	No
Jesus Film:	Yes
Audio Recordings:	Yes
People Cluster:	South Asia Muslim - other
Affinity Bloc:	South Asian Peoples
Progress Level:

Introduction / History

The Namdagur people are among the small, sheep herding people who live in the high mountains of Kashmir. Though they are among the majority Muslim people in Kashmir, they still have low status among all other communities.

Where Are they Located?

The Namdagur people are a Kashmiri-speaking Muslim population living near Lake Dal in India's northern states of Jammu and Kashmir.

What Are Their Lives Like?

The Namdagur people have low literacy and low self-esteem and are looked down on by other communities. They raise sheep for its wool and for making felt.

Like most Indians, they love tea. Indeed, they drink salted tea twice a day, a practice that is popular in the high Himalayan Mountains.

What Are Their Beliefs?

The Namdagur people are Sunni, the largest branch of Islam. They believe that the One, Supreme God, Allah, spoken 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.

In most of the Muslim world, peoples like the Namdagur 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. The often use charms and amulets to help them deal with spiritual forces.

What Are Their Needs?

The Namdagur people need to have the chance to hear that Jesus Christ offers them forgiveness of sin and abundant life.

Prayer Points

Pray for gospel workers to catch a vision for reaching the Namdagur people for Jesus and that in God's sovereign timing their hearts would be open and ready to follow Him.
Pray for Jesus movements to bless extended Namdagur families so the gospel will spread rapidly among this people group.
Pray for the spiritual lives of the Namdagur people to become fruitful as they follow Christ.
Pray for the lives and culture of the Namdagur people to evidence the rule and reign of the Kingdom of God as they open to the gospel, and for the beauty of Jesus to be seen in them.