Introduction / History

The name of this people group comes from the word nayattu, meaning "hunting." Once skilled hunters and trappers, modern Nayadis are known as scavengers and beggars. Residing in the Indian states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka, the Nayadis spend their days searching for water and firewood, making ropes, and gathering herbs for sale. Many are reduced to panhandling on city streets.

As members of the Dalit communities, they may accept assistance from higher classes, but cannot return the favor. They are not accepted by caste Hindus. Until fairly recently, the Nayadis were not even allowed to walk the same streets as Brahmins.

Even as they are socially oppressed, they find themselves spiritually oppressed by their belief in the pantheon of Hindu gods. The Nayadis also worship "regional deities" such as Mallan, Malavarhy and Parakutty.

According to the Joshua Project, there are no Christian believers among the Nayadis, nor has there been any active church planting work in the past two years. They are rightly categorized as one of the world's least-reached people groups.

Prayer Points

* Pray for laborers to be sent to preach and demonstrate God's love to the Nayadis.
* Ask Him to pour out His Spirit, softening hearts and opening eyes that have been blinded by the enemy.
* Pray for the God of all comfort to provide relief, meeting their needs for food and clean water.
* Ask Him to create in them a hunger for His Bread of Life, a thirst for His Living Water.