Varli 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.

Subgroups: 1

Subgroup Name Population
Davar 4,800

Introduction / History

Varli of India are a scheduled tribe. Varli people are also called Warli, which means, "a field or piece of land."


Where Are they Located?

Varli people live mostly in the Nashik region, the Thane region, and the Dhule region in the state of Maharashtra. Some also live in the state of Gujarat, and in Indian Union territories in the west of India.

Varli speak in an unwritten language that is from the southern zone of the Indo Aryan tribal languages. They also speak Hindi, Tamil, and Urdu, which have Bible resources completed.


What Are Their Lives Like?

They people primarily work in agriculture.

They enthusiastically celebrate festivals of lights, adding to their culture. They have contributed muchto tribal art through Varli paintings influenced by nature. Common scenes show farming, hunting, fishing, festivals, animals and other forms of nature. They only use white for their paintings. Wall paintings are only exihibited during harvests and weddings.


What Are Their Beliefs?

Varli people celebrate many festivals worshiping folk gods. Some are observed at home, and others in the community. They have many social ceremonies and rituals regarding nature. They worship to please, and to be blessed by their gods whom they fear.


What Are Their Needs?

These creative people need to ask the questions, "Who ceated what we see and worship?" and "What was the origin of our creativity?"

Someone needs to reach out to Varli people with Bible resources in Hindi, Tamil, and Urdu languages which they understand.


Prayer Points

Pray the day will come when they celebrate Jesus Christ with enthusiasm and worship presently given to false gods.
Pray that spiritual barriers will be broken, and that they will turn their hearts to Jesus.
Pray that God's people will make long-lasting, intentional contact with Varli people that will result in many disciples reaching their own people.


Scripture Prayers for the Varli in India.


Profile Source:   Karen Hightower  

People Name General Varli
People Name in Country Varli
Alternate Names Warli; वरली
Population this Country 1,403,000
Population all Countries 1,409,000
Total Countries 2
Indigenous Yes
Progress Scale 1
Unreached Yes
Frontier People Group No
GSEC 2  (per PeopleGroups.org)
Pioneer Workers Needed 28
PeopleID3 18299
ROP3 Code 113844
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 17
Largest States
(only 15 largest shown)
Maharashtra
898,000
Gujarat
370,000
Dadra and Nagar Have
126,000
Madhya Pradesh
2,500
Tamil Nadu
1,700
Daman and Diu
1,300
Rajasthan
700
Delhi
500
Telangana
300
West Bengal
300
Chhattisgarh
300
Jharkhand
200
Goa
100
Karnataka
70
Uttar Pradesh
70
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 17
  Maharashtra 898,000
  Gujarat 370,000
  Dadra and Nagar Have 126,000
  Madhya Pradesh 2,500
  Tamil Nadu 1,700
  Daman and Diu 1,300
  Rajasthan 700
  Delhi 500
  Telangana 300
  West Bengal 300
  Chhattisgarh 300
  Jharkhand 200
  Goa 100
  Karnataka 70
  Uttar Pradesh 70
Website South Asia Peoples
Primary Religion: Hinduism
Major Religion Percent *
Buddhism
0.02 %
Christianity  (Evangelical Unknown)
1.42 %
Ethnic Religions
0.00 %
Hinduism
98.07 %
Islam
0.14 %
Non-Religious
0.00 %
Other / Small
0.02 %
Unknown
0.34 %
* From latest India census data.
Current Christian values may substantially differ.
Primary Language Varli (775,000 speakers)
Language Code vav   Ethnologue Listing
Language Written Yes   ScriptSource Listing
Total Languages 25
Secondary Languages
(only 15 largest shown)
Marathi
369,000
Gujarati
43,000
Konkani
23,000
Dangi
21,000
Bhili
7,900
Hindi
1,700
Kannada
1,100
Sourashtra
900
Telugu
500
Khandesi
100
Urdu
90
Odia
50
Nimadi
40
Wagdi
30
Punjabi, Eastern
30
Primary Language Varli (775,000 speakers)
Language Code vav   Ethnologue Listing
Total Languages 25
Secondary Languages (only 15 largest shown)
  Marathi 369,000
  Gujarati 43,000
  Konkani 23,000
  Dangi 21,000
  Bhili 7,900
  Hindi 1,700
  Kannada 1,100
  Sourashtra 900
  Telugu 500
  Khandesi 100
  Urdu 90
  Odia 50
  Nimadi 40
  Wagdi 30
  Punjabi, Eastern 30
People Groups Speaking Varli

Primary Language:  Varli

Bible Translation Status  (Years)
Bible-Portions Yes  (2009)
Bible-New Testament Yes  (2011-2023)
Bible-Complete No
FCBH NT (www.bible.is) Online
Possible Print Bibles
Amazon
World Bibles
Forum Bible Agencies
National Bible Societies
World Bible Finder
Virtual Storehouse
Resource Type Resource Name Source
Audio Recordings Audio Bible teaching Global Recordings Network
Film / Video Jesus Film: view in Varli Jesus Film Project
Film / Video World Christian Videos World Christian Videos
General Bible for Children Bible for Children
General Bible in text or audio or video South Asia Bibles
General Faith Comes By Hearing - Bible in text or audio or video Faith Comes by Hearing
General Scripture Earth Gospel resources links Scripture Earth
Photo Source (Representative photo)
Copyrighted © 2024  Isudas  All rights reserved.  Used with permission
Map Source People Group data: Omid. Map geography: UNESCO / GMI. Map Design: Joshua Project.  
Profile Source Karen Hightower 
Data Sources Data is compiled from various sources. Learn more.


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