The Malai Arayan and the Arayan peoples of Kerala in the southern tip of the Indian subcontinent are not to be confused. They are not the same people; nor do they live in the same parts of Kerala. One lives on the coast, the other in the mountains.
The Malai Arayan people live in the mountainous area of Kerala, in the Ghat Mountains. They are a Scheduled Tribe, listed on a government tribal list; and are indigenous to the area. Their earliest record is found in the Travancore Census in the early twentieth century. Otherwise, they are known only from the archaeological record.
The Malai Arayan live in small hamlets surrounded by palm trees. They experience land alienation and problems with logging, hence a lack of forest environment. Health care and education are limited. Their lives are precarious. As a result, youths tend to migrate to towns and cities for education and economic opportunity. Agriculture is a primary occupation.
Although they are described as Hindu, they are animists. They venerate ancestors and local deities. Unlike Hindus, they do not cremate their dead. Rather, they bury them. They then make small receptacles for ancestral sprits, to whom they provide offerings.
There are a few Christians among them, although we know little about them.
They need economic stability, health care, and land security. They need better educational opportunity. The Christians among them need discipling. They need to live out and speak forth the gospel. The Malai Arayan also need to learn Malayalam to better interact with the outside world.
Pray for increased health care and land security.
Pray for economic wisdom and for better ways to earn a living.
Pray for Christian doctors, educators, and legal advocates for this people.
Pray for Christians to be discipled to make more disciples.
Pray for discipleship materials in their language.
Pray that Christians will reach out to non-Christians with the gospel in a winsome way.
References
Scripture Prayers for the Malai Arayan in India.
| Profile Source: Joshua Project |
