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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Sunwar of Nepal

The Sunwar of Nepal, numbering approximately 122,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Kirati tribe of Nepal and some areas of India: West Bengal and Sikkim) and can also be known as Sonowal, Sunuwar, Sonowar, Mukhiya, Sunbar, Sunwari, Kwoico Lo. They are an Indigenous people, in the South Himalayan people cluster of the Tibetan / Himalayan Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Hinduism. They primarily speak Sunwar.

Sunuwar in India photo
Photo courtesy of Joshua Project. Photo Source: Dskoich - Wikimedia Dskoich - Wikimedia Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: South Asian Peoples
Country: Nepal
People Cluster: South Himalayan
Primary Language(s): Sunwar (suz)
Primary Religion(s): Hinduism
Population: 122,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, Concentrated CP Activity
People Group ID: PG006297

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Hinduism
Religious Affiliation: Hinduism

%
Hinduism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Sunwar
Language Family: Sino-Tibetan

%
Sunwar Speakers

Media Resources in Sunwar:

Films:

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Sunwar:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Sunwar bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

Next steps for the Sunwar

The Sunwar 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 Sunwar

The Sunwar 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 Sunwar

The Sunwar 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 Sunwar of Nepal

Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.
readPsalm 20:7

Pray for those who trust in anything other than the Lord to be convicted of their sin and learn about what Jesus did for them so that they can choose to trust in Him.

Worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness; tremble before him, all the earth!
readPsalm 96:9

Pray that many who do not yet know Jesus will come to know Him and worship Him in the splendor of His holiness.

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.
readJames 1:5

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will ask God for wisdom when they lack it, trusting that He will generously give it to them.

And thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else's foundation, but as it is written, "Those who have never been told of him will see, and those who have never heard will understand."
readRomans 15:20-21

Pray that God will send believers to cross cultures and proclaim the gospel where Christ has not been named, so that the nations might glorify God for His mercy.

Sunuwar (ROP3 - 109614) 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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