The Vellalan or Vellalar of south India have a long and proud history. They served as the landed aristocracy and as military officers and court officials in the three great Tamil dynasties. They were patrons of literature and the arts. The Vellalars made up the majority of government leaders and administrators in south India during the British period. Lower castes began calling themselves Vellalars and acting like them in order to gain their high status.
Today the Vellalars continue to be agricultural landowners, military officers, businesspersons, Tamil scholars and temple patrons. They are considered by the Indian government to be a forward or more successful caste so they are not eligible for special places in education and public service. The primary language of the Vellalars is Tamil. They also speak other regional languages such as Malayalam, Telugu and Kannada.
All Vellalars originally came from the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Some migrated to other south Indian states such as Kerala and Karnataka. Some have moved to the island nation of Sri Lanka.
The Vellalars live at the highest levels of south Indian society. They are leaders in business, education and agricultural affairs. They take pride in their ancient Tamil heritage and are leading scholars in Tamil historical studies.
The Vellalars are endogamous, that is they marry within their families and clans. Cousin marriages are common. Sons inherit property from their parents. Many prefer to use their own priests rather than Brahmins in important life ceremonies.
Many Vellalars are vegetarians. Others eat meat but refrain from beef.
Their dead are either cremated or buried.
The vast majority of Vellalars are Hindus. They worship and serve the gods of the Hindu pantheon. Many follow a branch of Hinduism called Saiva Siddhantam. In this Hindu order adherents desire to be enlightened by Lord Shiva or Siva, one of the three main gods of Hinduism. Some Vellalars join monasteries and propagate the teachings of Shiva.
A tiny minority of Vellalars are Christians.
The Vellalars need to hear the life-changing message of Jesus Christ in a way they can understand. They need to see themselves as sinners in need of the Savior. They need to see Christianity lived out in a real way before them. They need to realize that Shiva will not meet their spiritual needs but Lord Jesus will.
Pray the Christian Vellalars would grow in the faith and reach out to their brothers and sisters with the gospel.
Pray that God would create a spiritual hunger in the Vellalars that can only be met by the God of the Bible.
Pray that many Vellalars would come humbly to our Savior and that growing churches would be planted in the Vellalar community.
Scripture Prayers for the Vellalan unspecified in India.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vellalar
http://www.everyculture.com/South-Asia/Vellala-Orientation.html
Profile Source: David Kugel |
Global Prayer Digest: 2015-09-27 |
People Name General | Vellalan |
People Name in Country | Vellalan unspecified |
Alternate Names | Agamudiya; Agamudiyar; Aiyer; Annachi; Ayyangar; Bhuvaisya; Erudanti; Gangeddulu; Gangireddulavandlu; Gangiredlavaru; Isai Vellalar; Iyengar; Iyer; Karalan; Karganta; Karkatha; Karlatja Vellalar; Kattai; Kerrakarar; Kodikalarar; Kongadi; Kongu Vellala Gounder; Kongu Vellalar; Melakkaran; Mudali; Mudaliar; Mudaliyar; Mudaliyar Naicker; Mudliar; Nandiwale; Nanijil Mudali; Nanjanattu Pillai; Natt; Nokkar; Perumal Erudukkaran; Perumal Madukkaran; Perumal Mattukkaran; Pillai; Pille; Puja Gollalu; Puluvan; Punu Gollalu; Saya Pillaimar; Sozhia Vellalar; Telangalu; Tuluva; Vatrilaikaran; Vellala; Vellalar; Vipravinodulu; Virakodi Vellalar; वेल्लालन |
Population this Country | 1,800,000 |
Population all Countries | 1,831,000 |
Total Countries | 2 |
Indigenous | Yes |
Progress Scale | 1 ● |
Unreached | Yes |
Frontier People Group | No |
GSEC | 5 (per PeopleGroups.org) |
Pioneer Workers Needed | 36 |
People ID | 18317 |
ROP3 Code | 113864 |
Affinity Bloc | South Asian Peoples |
People Cluster | South Asia Forward Caste - other |
People Group | Vellalan |
Ethnic Code | CNN25 |
Affinity Bloc | South Asian Peoples |
People Cluster | South Asia Forward Caste - other |
People Group | Vellalan |
Ethnic Code | CNN25 |
Total Subgroups | 17 (only 15 largest shown) |
Pandya 110,000 | |
Pillai 89,000 | |
Kaniyala 59,000 | |
Karalar 47,000 | |
Podikkara 33,000 | |
Achakara 32,000 | |
Omanallur 15,000 | |
Arunattu 14,000 | |
Agamudaiyar 6,300 | |
Tuluva 6,200 |
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 | 23 | |||||||||||||||
Largest States (only 15 largest shown) |
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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 | 23 (only 20 largest shown) |
Tamil Nadu 1,770,000 | |
Kerala 378,000 | |
Karnataka 331,000 | |
Puducherry 19,000 | |
Maharashtra 12,000 | |
Andhra Pradesh 6,300 | |
Telangana 5,100 | |
Delhi 2,200 | |
Andaman and Nicobar 900 | |
West Bengal 600 | |
Chhattisgarh 600 | |
Madhya Pradesh 500 | |
Uttar Pradesh 400 | |
Odisha 300 | |
Jharkhand 300 | |
Website | South Asia Peoples |
Primary Religion: | Hinduism |
Major Religion ▲ | Percent * |
---|---|
Buddhism |
0.00 %
|
Christianity (Evangelical Unknown) |
3.07 %
|
Ethnic Religions |
0.00 %
|
Hinduism |
96.93 %
|
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 | Tamil (2,160,000 speakers) | ||||||
Language Code | tam Ethnologue Listing | ||||||
Language Written | Yes ScriptSource Listing | ||||||
Total Languages | 6 | ||||||
Secondary Languages |
|
Primary Language | Tamil (2,160,000 speakers) |
Language Code | tam Ethnologue Listing |
Total Languages | 6 |
Secondary Languages | |
Malayalam 320,000 | |
Telugu 71,000 | |
Kannada 35,000 | |
English 1,100 | |
Konkani 300 | |
People Groups | Speaking Tamil |
Primary Language: Tamil
Bible Translation ▲ | Status (Years) |
---|---|
Bible-Portions | Yes (1714-1956) |
Bible-New Testament | Yes (1715-1998) |
Bible-Complete | Yes (1727-2021) |
Bible-NT Audio | Online |
Possible Print Bibles | |
---|---|
Amazon | |
World Bibles | |
Forum Bible Agencies | |
National Bible Societies | |
World Bible Finder | |
Virtual Storehouse |
Photo Source | Anonymous |
Map Source | People Group data: Omid. Map geography: UNESCO / GMI. Map Design: Joshua Project. |
Profile Source | David Kugel |
Data Sources | Data is compiled from various sources. Learn more. |