Introduction / History

The Nayaka live in India. In Gujarat they are also called Naikda. Nayaka means governor. Most of them speak Gujarati. They are not vegetarians and they eat rice and bajra.

The Nayaka practice monogamy. The women are involved in social and religious matters. Many Nayaka work as farm laborers. They are Hindus by religion. They have community councils who settle local disagreements. The deceased are buried. There is a low literacy level among them which means the gospel message will need to be given in oral form too. They use traditional and modern family planning.

In Maharashtra, the Nayaka are also called Katkari which means animal skin. They speak in Naikad. There are different clans among them. Agriculture is the main work and the women work in agriculture too. Some of the Nayaka are woodcutters. They have cross-cousin marriages and they prefer to use traditional medicines.

The Nayaka also live in Rajasthan and in other parts of India.

Prayer Points

* Pray that the community leaders will come to Jesus Christ and lead others of the Nayaka to Salvation too.
* Pray that God will give the Nayaka dreams and visions leading them to Jesus Christ.

References

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