Introduction / History

The Kotia or Benatho Oriya are a Scheduled Tribe of India who were originally from Orissa and went to live in Andhra Pradesh in the nineteenth century. They speak Oriya and Telugu and are not vegetarians. They eat rice as their main cereal.

They are endogamous (they avoid marrying outside their group) and are mostly monogamous. The bereaved and divorcees can marry again. On the death of the father, property goes to the sons with the oldest son getting the largest amount of it and becoming in charge of the home. The dead are cremated.

The Benatho Oriya work in agriculture and as laborers. The community council judges in disputes. They are Hindus by religion. They believe in education and use modern and traditional medicines as well as family planning.

Prayer Points

* Pray that God will give them dreams and visions leading them to Jesus Christ.
* Pray that gospel materials and the internet websites that are Christian will lead them to salvation.

References

Singh, K. S., ed. "India's Communities A-Z", Oxford University Press, USA 1999