Jingar in India

Introduction / History

The 50,000 Jingar people obtained their name from the word jins, meaning "saddle." This is a reference to their traditional occupation of making saddles for horses and camels. According to their oral tradition, these scheduled caste members were once part of one of the Rajput (Kshatriya) communities until an avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu tried to rid the world of this community.

Where Are they Located?

The Jingars live primarily in India's western states of Rajasthan, Karnataka, and Maharashtra.

What Are Their Lives Like?

The Jingars speak Marwari, a Rajasthani Hindi dialect. They still make saddles, but many of them also make embroidered shoes. A few of them also work in agriculture. They sell their goods in the market. Often their children work. They would like to save money to get ahead, but they seldom can make ends meet financially.

They obtain their mates through family negotiations. Their marriages are monogamous unless the wife is barren. They can live in either join or nuclear families.

What Are Their Beliefs?

This people group is 100 percent Hindu. They worship Hindu gods as their patron deities. They go to shamans from other communities to be "treated" for ailments and sicknesses.

What Are Their Needs?

Christ's ambassadors can help them develop their economy so they don't have to live in dire poverty. There are plenty of Christian materials in Marwari that can be distributed to them. However, Rajasthan, where most of them live, is a very difficult place even for Indian missionaries to go.

Prayer Points

Pray for Christ's ambassadors to find their way into many Jingar communities with Marwari materials.
Pray for Jingar elders and decision makers to have dreams and visions of the sovereign Christ.
Pray for spiritual openness to the things of Christ.
Pray for Christ to heal them in such a way that they no longer put their faith in shamans.

Text Source:   Global Prayer Digest