Vaddar (Muslim traditions) 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 / History

For most of their history the Vaddar (aka, Bovi) people wandered the subcontinent looking for jobs to support their families. The word Bhovi means "earth-digger". During the Partition of 1947, the Muslim Vaddars tended to move to Pakistan while the Hindu Vaddars remained in India. The large majority of the Vaddars (aka, Bhovi) are Hindus but there are also a sizable number of Muslims and a small group of Sikhs.


Where Are they Located?

The Muslim Vaddar people live in Gujarat, Haryana and Punjab, three states in northern India.


What Are Their Lives Like?

The traditional occupations of the Vaddars have been as stonecutters, diggers of wells and canals and as transporters of earth and stones. Many Vaddars now have settled in villages and work as farm laborers on other people's land. The primary language of the Muslim Vaddars in Pakistan is Oadki. Many also speak Punjabi and Urdu, which allow them to speak with others outside their group.

The Vaddars of Pakistan and India are endogamous, that is, they marry within their own community. The Vaddar women have a role in the economic, social and religious spheres of their community and contribute to the family income. Caste councils promote their interests and settle legal disputes.


What Are Their Beliefs?

The Vaddar 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 Vaddar 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 with spiritual forces.


What Are Their Needs?

The Vaddar people need to put their faith in Jesus Christ, the only one who can bless them with abundant life and eternal salvation from sin and death.


Prayer Points

Pray for the Holy Spirit to give the Vaddar people teachable and understanding hearts.
Pray that a strong movement of the Holy Spirit will bring entire Vaddar families into a rich experience of God's blessing.
Pray for Vaddar families to be drawn by the Holy Spirit to seek forgiveness, and to understand the adequacy of Christ's work on the cross.
Pray for teams of believers to do sustained, focused prayer for the Lord to open the hearts of Vaddar family leaders to experience God's blessing through a movement of family-based discovery Bible studies.


Scripture Prayers for the Vaddar (Muslim traditions) in India.


References

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waddar_language
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Digambar_Ghodke/publication/311922163_Language_and_Culture_of_the_Waddar_Community_in_Maharashtra/links/58628b2108aebf17d39556c2/Language-and-Culture-of-the-Waddar-Community-in-Maharashtra.pdf


Profile Source:   Keith Carey  

People Name General Vaddar (Muslim traditions)
People Name in Country Vaddar (Muslim traditions)
Pronunciation wah-DAR
Alternate Names Beldar Rajput; Bhovi; Bovi; Nungar; Od; Odde; Odh; Odhar; Orh; Othar; Udhano; Vadar; Vadi; Waddar; Wadde; Wadi; Warar; Wirar; वादडर (मुस्लिम ट्रेडिशन्स)
Population this Country 4,500
Population all Countries 132,000
Total Countries 2
Indigenous Yes
Progress Scale 1
Unreached Yes
Frontier People Group Yes
Pioneer Workers Needed 1
PeopleID3 17721
ROP3 Code 113171
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 3
Largest States
Haryana
4,300
Punjab
100
Gujarat
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 3
  Haryana 4,300
  Punjab 100
  Gujarat 60
Website South Asia Peoples
Primary Religion: Islam
Major Religion Percent *
Buddhism
0.00 %
Christianity  (Evangelical 0.00 %)
0.00 %
Ethnic Religions
0.00 %
Hinduism
0.00 %
Islam
100.00 %
Non-Religious
0.00 %
Other / Small
0.00 %
Unknown
0.00 %
* From latest India census data.
Current Christian values may substantially differ.
Primary Language Urdu (2,500 speakers)
Language Code urd   Ethnologue Listing
Language Written Yes   ScriptSource Listing
Total Languages 6
Secondary Languages
Punjabi, Eastern
1,000
Haryanvi
400
Marwari (India)
40
Oadki
20
Gujarati
20
Primary Language Urdu (2,500 speakers)
Language Code urd   Ethnologue Listing
Total Languages 6
Secondary Languages
  Punjabi, Eastern 1,000
  Haryanvi 400
  Marwari (India) 40
  Oadki 20
  Gujarati 20
People Groups Speaking Urdu

Primary Language:  Urdu

Bible Translation Status  (Years)
Bible-Portions Yes  (1747-1894)
Bible-New Testament Yes  (1758-2000)
Bible-Complete Yes  (1843-2022)
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Film / Video God's Love Story General / Other
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Film / Video Indigitube.tv Video / Animation Create International
Film / Video Jesus Film: view in Urdu Jesus Film Project
Film / Video LUMO film of Gospels Bible Media Group/LUMO
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Mobile App Android Bible app direct APK download SIL
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Mobile App Android Bible App: Urdu Devnagri Bible (उर्दू बाइबिल) Indian Revised Version (IRV) Operation Agape
Mobile App Android Bible app: Urdu Injeel Sharif General / Other
Mobile App Android Bible Radio app: Urdu Bible Radio Shalom Design S2dio
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Mobile App Download audio Bible app from Google Play Store Faith Comes by Hearing
Mobile App iOS Bible app: Urdu YouVersion Bibles
Text / Printed Matter Jesus Messiah comic book General / Other
Text / Printed Matter Literacy primer for Urdu Literacy & Evangelism International
Text / Printed Matter Love letter to you from scripture Father's Love Letter
Text / Printed Matter The Ancient Path Live Global
Text / Printed Matter Tools for faith conversations Cru
Text / Printed Matter Topical Scripture booklets and Bible studies World Missionary Press
Photo Source (Representative photo)
Copyrighted © 2024  OmMishra - Shutterstock  All rights reserved.  Used with permission
Map Source People Group data: Omid. Map geography: UNESCO / GMI. Map Design: Joshua Project  
Profile Source Keith Carey 
Data Sources Data is compiled from various sources. Learn more.


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