The Pasir are the original inhabitants of Pasir Regency in East Kalimantan Province. Based o­n their living areas, the Pasir are divided into five groups. The Pasir Telake, The Pasir Adang, The Pasir Kendilo, The Labuan and The Pasir Tanjung Aru. The Pasir live side by side with groups of Banjar, Bugis and Jawa peoples. They speak the Pasir language, which has 12 dialects: Pematung, Telake, Tukos, Adang, Pias, Toyo, Lerengan, Nyowo, Tajur, Penuhan, Leburan and Megi. Besides Pasir and the national Indonesian language, they also use the Banjar and Bugis languages.

Some of the Pasir live in villages along the sides of rivers, and some others live in remote places in the middle of jungles. River transportation or jungle paths interconnect the villages. The Pasir lineage of descent is ambilineal (some traced through the father and others traced through the mother). Some of them practice migratory agriculture (shifting from o­ne field to another), mainly because they cannot maintain the soil?s fertility. As farmers, they grow rice, corn, cassava, sweet potatoes, lentils and vegetables. They also make their living from coconut oil (kelapa sawit) and rubber plantations. Moreover, they have started to grow coffee, cloves, chocolate and pepper. Some of the Pasir work as collectors of resin, rattan, gaharu wood, honey and walet bird nests. Others make their living as brown sugar producers.

Generally, the Pasir are Muslims. However, in some cases, they still follow their ancestors? beliefs, such as in the field of medicine, and their belief in Sang Hiyang (god of fertility). At harvest time, the Pasir have to give an offering to Sang Hiyang. The food sacrifice will normally be accompanied by the chanting of spells. They also perform Besoyong, which is a prayer ceremony in which the Pasir ask the spirits of their ancestors to guard their safety at home and in the field.

The rich natural resources and fertile lands of the Pasir do not automatically make their life better. The income they earn is sufficient o­nly for their own daily needs. o­ne reason for this is that transportation infrastructure is limited. This makes it difficult to distribute their products to the markets. Other than this, a lack of capital hampers their opportunities in business

PRAYER POINTS

• Ask the Lord of the harvest to call those who are willing to go and share Christ with the Pasir of Indonesia. Pray for group of missionaries, church planters or laborers who are willing to live w/ the Pasir and even learn their language and their way of living and be able to help meet the needs of the Pasir people. 
• Pray that Christian radio broadcasts, evangelical literature, and the Jesus film will soon be made available to the Pasir.
• Pray that God will reveal Himself to the Pasir through dreams and visions.
• Pray that God will use Indonesian believers to share Christ with the Pasir.
• Ask the Lord to save key leaders among the Pasir who will boldly proclaim the Gospel.
• Take authority over the spiritual principalities and powers that are keeping the Pasir bound.
• Ask God to raise up a mighty army of intercessors to stand in the gap for the Pasir.
• Pray that strong local churches will be raised up among the Pasir.

links to related information: www.1040window.org , www.joshuaproject.net