Nepal Prayer Guide

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Day 10 - The Raute Nationality 

Continually roam throughout far Western Nepal 

Population: Language: Religion:
3,000 Raute Animism

The Raute are a small group of nomadic hunters that roam in the jungles of far western Nepal. They have no permanent settlements and never remain in one place for more than 3 weeks. They migrate to the hot plains and warm valleys during the winter season and to the hills for the summer. 

The men are well-known for their ability to hunt monkeys. They spread a net, hide themselves, and then make a strange sound. When the monkeys hear this sound, they come towards the net crying and get caught. They also use these nets to carry all of their belongings in when moving from place to place. The women are skilled in making wooden furniture and bowls which they sell to the local people for food grain. They also gather fruits and dig roots from the forest. 

Besides eating monkey meat, the Raute also eat mutton, birds, rice, green vegetables, fruits, and wild roots. The Raute worship the forest god and another goddess when they arrive at the source of a stream or a particular tree. They also worship 4 other deities named Masto, Bhuinyan, Bandevi, and Nagraja. 

The main dance among the Raute is performed only by the man and is called Raute Nach. They color their faces with red paint and keep very angry facial expressions while performing reenactments of hunts. 

There are no believers amongst the Raute at this time. They are not open to outsiders, even other Nepalis, and generally do not even associate with people from outside of their tribe.

Key Prayer Points:

  • Pray for wisdom to know God's strategy to reach these people with the gospel message.
  • Pray that the Raute will become more open to outsiders so that someone would be able to share Christ with them.
  • Pray that God would raise up someone to target this group and bring them the message of salvation.
  • Pray for God to prepare the hearts of the people so that when they hear about Jesus, their hearts will be open and ready to receive Him.
  • They are looked down upon by other groups and have very low self- esteem. Pray for God to give them a sense of dignity and worth. 
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