Ayyanavar in India

The Ayyanavar have only been reported in India
Population
Main Language
Largest Religion
Christian
Evangelical
Progress
Progress Gauge
* Data can be from various sources including official census, agencies, and local research. Data from these sources can sometimes differ even by orders of magnitude. Joshua Project attempts to present a conservative, balanced estimate.

Introduction / History

The Ayyanavar is a caste formed by migration. It is said that the ancestor of Ayyanavar was the Eyinar clan who worshipped the goddess Kali. The Chera Dynasty arose from this clan. After successive settlements in different parts of south India they are supposed to have migrated to south Travancore. After the migration to south Travancore the name Ayyanar was changed to Ayyanavar. Today they are found mostly in Tamil Nadu and Kerala, India's southernmost states. They speak the languages of these two states: Tamil and Malayalam.


What Are Their Lives Like?

Most of them work as casual wage laborers in plantation and agricultural sectors. Animal husbandry is a subsidiary occupation. A few who own land cultivate it themselves. Some of them have found employment in government and private sectors—entrepreneurs, scholars, teachers, administrators, other white-collar workers, and defense personnel. They are non-vegetarians. They consume all available vegetables, pulses and tuber crops. Fish and meat are popular non-vegetarian items. The Ayyanavar have nuclear families. After the death of the father, the eldest son succeeds as the head of the family. The head looks after the other members. The norms governing the members of the family are love and respect. The main causes of conflict and confrontation are disputes regarding property and violation of their approved norms. Women and men have equal status. Cruelty, adultery and maladjustments etc. are the grounds for divorce. Marriage proposals are initiated from the bridegroom's side and thali is the symbol of married women. The wedding ceremony is simple. When the bride receives the pudava or mundu (loin cloth) from the bridegroom she becomes the wife of the bridegroom. They observe puberty rites, pre-delivery rituals and post–delivery pollutions. They have a naming ceremony for newborns on the 28th day after the birth. The dead body is either buried or cremated which is unusual for Hindu people groups.


What Are Their Beliefs?

The Hindus worship Lord Siva, Badrakali, Madan, Krishna, Ayyapan and Subramonian. Christians among them can be either Catholic or Protestant. The Protestant denominations are Church of South India (CSI), Salvation Army, Evangelical Lutherans, Seventh Day Adventists, Pentecostal Church, Jehovah's Witness, Church of God and Marthoma.


What Are Their Needs?

The Ayyanavar people need to submit to Jesus Christ so they can experience the abundant life He offers them in John 10:10.


Prayer Points

Pray that the Ayyanavar people will have a spiritual hunger that will open their hearts to the King of kings. Pray for workers who are driven by the love and boldness of the Holy Spirit to go to them. Pray for a Disciple Making Movement among them to begin this decade.


Scripture Prayers for the Ayyanavar in India.


Profile Source:   Joshua Project  

People Name General Ayyanavar
People Name in Country Ayyanavar
Alternate Names Aryan; Ayawar; Ayri; Ayyavar; Ayyaviar; Ayyawar; Chatada; Chathada; Chattada; Chattada Srivaishnava; Dasa Namibi; Eiyanar; Kovil Padagar; Kovil Thurayar; Purohitar; S; Satanaiah; Satani; Satani Wayisnawa; Sathada Srivaishnava; Sathadaveer; Sathani; Sathani Vaishnava; Sathata Iyer; Sathata Iyyar; Vaishnava; Vira; अय्यनवर
Population this Country 18,000
Population all Countries 18,000
Total Countries 1
Indigenous Yes
Progress Scale 1
Unreached Yes
Frontier People Group No
GSEC 1  (per PeopleGroups.org)
Pioneer Workers Needed 1
PeopleID3 16267
ROP3 Code 111392
Country India
Region Asia, South
Continent Asia
10/40 Window Yes
National Bible Society Website
Persecution Rank 11  (Open Doors top 50 rank, 1 = highest persecution ranking)
Total States on file 7
Largest States
Kerala
13,000
Tamil Nadu
2,800
Maharashtra
1,100
Telangana
200
Andhra Pradesh
200
Karnataka
200
Puducherry
70
Districts Interactive map, listing and data download
Specialized Website South Asia Peoples
Country India
Region Asia, South
Continent Asia
10/40 Window Yes
National Bible Society Website
Persecution Rank 11  (Open Doors top 50 rank, 1 = highest persecution ranking)
Total States 7
  Kerala 13,000
  Tamil Nadu 2,800
  Maharashtra 1,100
  Telangana 200
  Andhra Pradesh 200
  Karnataka 200
  Puducherry 70
Website South Asia Peoples
Primary Religion: Hinduism
Major Religion Percent *
Buddhism
0.00 %
Christianity  (Evangelical Unknown)
2.69 %
Ethnic Religions
0.00 %
Hinduism
97.31 %
Islam
0.00 %
Non-Religious
0.00 %
Other / Small
0.00 %
Unknown
0.00 %
* From latest India census data.
Current Christian values may substantially differ.
Primary Language Malayalam (12,000 speakers)
Language Code mal   Ethnologue Listing
Language Written Yes   ScriptSource Listing
Total Languages 4
Secondary Languages
Tamil
2,800
Telugu
1,100
Kannada
100
Primary Language Malayalam (12,000 speakers)
Language Code mal   Ethnologue Listing
Total Languages 4
Secondary Languages
  Tamil 2,800
  Telugu 1,100
  Kannada 100
People Groups Speaking Malayalam

Primary Language:  Malayalam

Bible Translation Status  (Years)
Bible-Portions Yes  (1811-1968)
Bible-New Testament Yes  (1829-1995)
Bible-Complete Yes  (1841-2022)
FCBH NT (www.bible.is) Online
YouVersion NT (www.bible.com) Online
Possible Print Bibles
Amazon
World Bibles
Forum Bible Agencies
National Bible Societies
World Bible Finder
Virtual Storehouse
Resource Type Resource Name Source
Audio Recordings Audio Bible teaching Global Recordings Network
Audio Recordings Love letter to you from scripture Father's Love Letter
Audio Recordings Online Audio Scripture Talking Bibles
Audio Recordings Story of Jesus audio Jesus Film Project
Film / Video Following Jesus video Jesus Film Project
Film / Video God's Story video God's Story
Film / Video Indigitube.tv Video / Animation Create International
Film / Video Jesus Film: view in Malayalam Jesus Film Project
Film / Video LUMO film of Gospels Bible Media Group/LUMO
Film / Video Magdalena video Jesus Film Project
Film / Video My Last Day video, anime Jesus Film Project
Film / Video Rock International: King of Glory Rock International
Film / Video Story of Jesus for Children Jesus Film Project
Film / Video World Christian Videos World Christian Videos
General Bible and Resources in text or audio or video Internet Publishing Sevice
General Bible and Resources in text or audio or video Internet Publishing Sevice
General Bible for Children Bible for Children
General Bible in text or audio or video Internet Publishing Sevice
General Bible in text or audio or video Internet Publishing Sevice
General Bible in text or audio or video South Asia Bibles
General Bible in text or audio or video South Asia Bibles
General Bible in text or audio or video South Asia Bibles
General Bible in text or audio or video South Asia Bibles
General Biblical answers to your questions Got Questions Ministry
General Faith Comes By Hearing - Bible in text or audio or video Faith Comes by Hearing
Photo Source Anonymous 
Map Source People Group data: Omid. Map geography: UNESCO / GMI. Map Design: Joshua Project  
Profile Source Joshua Project 
Data Sources Data is compiled from various sources. Learn more.


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