Dewar

The origin of the Dewar goes back to Madhya Pradesh, from where the people migrated to the territory that today corresponds to Chhattisgarh and Odisha. There are accounts that they arose as a group excluded from more established tribes of the region, forming over time an identity of their own around fishing and other itinerant trades.

While they still led a nomadic life, the Dewar carried the images of their deities in baskets on their heads with every move, a custom that testifies to how faith always traveled along with the people. Over time, most of the community settled in the villages of Odisha, but kept this heritage of displacement alive in the traditions passed on to new generations.

Many Dewar live from fishing, selling fish and fish products in local markets, while others support their families by raising pigs, tattooing or performing door to door with songs and trained monkey shows. These are occupations that pay little, and poverty limits the children’s access to a better education, something many families wish for their children.

Family life is organized along patrilineal lines, and marriage carries a striking custom: the groom must force open the bride’s hand to place the ring on it. Even though most of the people today live settled, the memory of the time when they moved from place to place remains alive in Dewar identity.

Dewar faith is Hindu and centers on devotion to Andhimata and her twenty one sisters, deities worshiped to protect the family and ensure abundance in fishing and in daily life. It is believed that Andhimata takes offense when a family stops growing, which reinforces the value placed on large families even amid poverty.

This devotion is interwoven with caste identity: honoring Andhimata is part of being Dewar, and the rituals surrounding her mark the important moments of communal life, from birth to marriage. It is a folk religiosity, lived at home and in village festivals more than in the temples of the great Hindu traditions, and for that very reason deeply woven into the everyday life of every Dewar family.

The complete Bible has existed in Odia for more than two centuries, with a recent revision of the translation, and the language has apps, audio and videos available. But the distance between Scripture existing in the language and reaching Dewar families remains enormous: there are few accounts of the people having direct contact with this text, and devotion to Andhimata and her sisters fills the spiritual space of daily life.

Dewar identity is deeply tied to caste and to the folk Hinduism centered on Andhimata: to leave this devotion is to break with the community itself and its network of social protection. As a scheduled caste, the people face stigma and exclusion that also make it harder for outsiders with a different message to reach them. Social isolation, combined with the near total absence of Christians among them, makes faith in Jesus something practically unknown in Dewar families.

Poverty limits Dewar families to low income trades and makes it harder for children to access a better education, something many parents desire but cannot afford. There is also a need for dignity in the face of the stigma that still surrounds their status as a scheduled caste.

In the spiritual realm, the deepest need is for a genuine encounter with the gospel: almost no one among the Dewar has yet clearly heard the message of Jesus, and the people lack voices that reach them with respect, patience and lasting presence.