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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Bantawa Rai of Nepal

The Bantawa Rai of Nepal, numbering approximately 488,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a people of Nepal, Bhojpur District, Koshi Zone; western Dhankuta District, Khotang District. They are an Indigenous people, in the South Himalayan people cluster of the Himalayan Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Ethnoreligion - Animism. They primarily speak Bantawa.

Bantawa Rai in Nepal photo
Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash: Bantawa Rai

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: South Asian Peoples
Country: Nepal
People Cluster: South Himalayan
Primary Language(s): Bantawa (bap)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion - Animism
Population: 488,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, Concentrated CP Activity
People Group ID: PG006174
View on Joshua Project

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Pray for the Bantawa Rai of Nepal

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Ethnoreligion - Animism
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

%
Ethnoreligion - Animism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Bantawa
Language Family: Sino-Tibetan

%
Bantawa Speakers

Media Resources in Bantawa:

Films:

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

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Bible Resources in Bantawa:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Bantawa bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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Next steps for the Bantawa Rai

The Bantawa Rai are Unengaged and Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations among which there are no known efforts focused on establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Begin signifcant prayer and fasting for this group
Send cross-cultural teams to discover and research this people group
Begin gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group

Next steps for the Bantawa Rai

The Bantawa Rai are Engaged yet Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations but there are sustained efforts at establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Continue prayer and fasting for this group
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Begin training up local leaders to lead and develop strategies to reach their own people

Next steps for the Bantawa Rai

The Bantawa Rai are No Longer Unreached, which means there are more than 2% evangelical Christian populations and there are churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice. There is still more to be done among them.

Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Bantawa Rai of Nepal

Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.
readPsalm 51:1

Give thanks to God that He is able to forgive all the sins people might commit, and pray that many who don't yet know this will hear the good news and turn to Him for mercy.

The LORD watches over the sojourners; he upholds the widow and the fatherless, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.
readPsalm 146:9

Pray for God to watch over people, wherever they are, and cause them to meet believers who will share the gospel with them clearly and lovingly.

Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.
readPsalm 127:1

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will build their homes in the Lord and raise their children to know and honor Him.

After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
readRevelation 7:9-10

Pray that the promise in Revelation 7:9-10 will encourage believers from among them or from nearby people groups to share the gospel with people who have never learned it.

Rai, Bantawa (ROP3 - 101014) reported in the following countries:

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

Peoplegroups.org relies on updates from the field and other organizations for much of our data, so if you have any updates, please contact us. We use various international naming standards. For a list of these standards and fields, visit our Definitions page.

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