Tamil Brahmin in India

The Tamil Brahmin have only been reported in India
Population
Main Language
Largest Religion
Christian
Evangelical
Progress
Progress Gauge
* From latest India census data.
Current Christian values may substantially differ.

Introduction / History

The Brahmin Tamils have been the highest caste of priests and Hindu scholars in the southern Indian region of Tamil Nadu for nearly two thousand years. They have been accused of racism by the lower caste Tamils by saying that they came for the creator Brahman's mouth while the other castes from other parts of the creator's body. They claim to be true Aryans while the rest of the Tamil peoples are Dravidians. Until recent times they have dominated the Hindu temples in Tamil lands, denying entrance to those from a low caste and others who they deem to be unworthy.

In addition to being the chief Hindu temple priests, they made up the large majority of the administrators and governmental officials during the British period. As a result, the Brahmin Tamils are often despised by many of the lower Tamil castes.

Today the Brahmin Tamils continue to serve as government leaders, university professors, jurists and scientists. Due to their high education level, they speak Tamil, English, Hindi and other regional Indian languages. They are patrons of Indian arts, literature and science.

Many famous Indian people are Brahmin Tamils including the mathematician Ramanujan, US Vice President Kamala Harris, three Nobel laureates, world chess champion Viswanathan Anand and filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan.


Where Are they Located?

Like their name suggests, most Brahmin Tamils live in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Some have left their ancestral home and now live in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and other areas of India.


What Are Their Lives Like?

The lives of Brahmin Tamils are filled with the rituals and good works of Hinduism.
Every morning they must take a purifying bath. They are generally vegetarians with rice, lentils, bean curds and ghee, a type of butter, being their main foods. Food is to be consumed only after making an offering to the deities. They abstain from alcohol and tobacco.

The Brahmin Tamils are strictly endogamous, meaning they only marry within their group. Families arrange marriages with the consent of the young people. Sons inherit their father's property with the eldest son gaining the family home and father's titles.


What Are Their Beliefs?

The Brahmin Tamils are devout Hindus. Some worships Shiva as the supreme deity while other worship Vishnu are the supreme god. Another group, the Iyers, follow the religious philosophy of the guru Adi Sahnkara. All these Hindu sects believe that Moksha or freedom comes from performing rituals and good deeds.

The Brahmin Tamils participate and frequently lead the Hindu holidays in Tamil Nadu such as Diwali, the festival of lights, Vinayake Chathurthi, the festival dedicated to Ganesha, the god of good fortune and wisdom and Navratri, the nine-day festival in autumn.


What Are Their Needs?

The Brahmin Tamils need to be humble enough to see themselves as sinners in need of the true Savior, Jesus Christ. They need to see the love, grace and mercy of Christ lived out before them. They must see that heir Hindu rituals and good deeds will not save them from their sins.


Prayer Points

Pray for the eyes of Brahman Tamils hearts to be open to Jesus Christ.
Pray for Christ to reveal Himself to Brahman Tamil leaders through dreams, visions, and the Bible.
Pray for Holy Spirit directed Christ followers to go to Brahman communities.
Pray for a disciple making movement to emerge among every Brahman Tamil community.


Scripture Prayers for the Brahmin Tamil in India.


References

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brahmin_Tamil
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamil_Brahmin
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iyer


Profile Source:   David Kugel  

People Name General Brahmin Tamil
People Name in Country Brahmin Tamil
Natural Name Tamil Brahmin
Pronunciation TAH-mill BRAH-min
Alternate Names ब्रामिन, तमिल
Population this Country 596,000
Population all Countries 596,000
Total Countries 1
Indigenous Yes
Progress Scale 1
Unreached Yes
Frontier People Group Yes
GSEC 1  (per PeopleGroups.org)
Pioneer Workers Needed 12
People ID 19982
ROP3 Code 115764
ROP25 Code 301405
ROP25 Name Brahmin
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)
Tamil Nadu
462,000
Karnataka
43,000
Andhra Pradesh
43,000
Kerala
16,000
Maharashtra
12,000
Puducherry
7,100
Telangana
5,300
Delhi
2,900
Andaman and Nicobar
1,100
West Bengal
1,000
Madhya Pradesh
800
Uttar Pradesh
400
Gujarat
400
Jharkhand
400
Odisha
200
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 462,000
  Karnataka 43,000
  Andhra Pradesh 43,000
  Kerala 16,000
  Maharashtra 12,000
  Puducherry 7,100
  Telangana 5,300
  Delhi 2,900
  Andaman and Nicobar 1,100
  West Bengal 1,000
  Madhya Pradesh 800
  Uttar Pradesh 400
  Gujarat 400
  Jharkhand 400
  Odisha 200
Website South Asia Peoples
Primary Religion: Hinduism
Major Religion Percent *
Buddhism
0.00 %
Christianity  (Evangelical 0.00 %)
0.00 %
Ethnic Religions
0.00 %
Hinduism
99.99 %
Islam
0.00 %
Non-Religious
0.00 %
Other / Small
0.01 %
Unknown
0.00 %
* From latest India census data.
Current Christian values may substantially differ.
Primary Language Tamil (596,000 speakers)
Language Code tam   Ethnologue Listing
Language Written Yes   ScriptSource Listing
Total Languages 1
Primary Language Tamil (596,000 speakers)
Language Code tam   Ethnologue Listing
Total Languages 1
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)
FCBH NT (www.bible.is) Online
YouVersion NT (www.bible.com) Online
Possible Print Bibles
Amazon
World Bibles
Forum Bible Agencies
National Bible Societies
World Bible Finder
Virtual Storehouse
Resource Type Resource Name Source
Audio Recordings Audio Bible teaching Global Recordings Network
Audio Recordings General Ministry Resources General / Other
Audio Recordings Love letter to you from scripture Father's Love Letter
Audio Recordings Online Audio Scripture Talking Bibles
Audio Recordings Recorded oral Bible Oral Bibles
Audio Recordings Story of Jesus audio Jesus Film Project
Film / Video Following Jesus video Jesus Film Project
Film / Video God's Story video God's Story
Film / Video Indigitube.tv Video / Animation Create International
Film / Video Jesus Film: view in Tamil Jesus Film Project
Film / Video LUMO film of Gospels Bible Media Group/LUMO
Film / Video Magdalena video Jesus Film Project
Film / Video My Last Day video, anime Jesus Film Project
Film / Video Rivka video Jesus Film Project
Film / Video Story of Jesus for Children Jesus Film Project
Film / Video World Christian Videos World Christian Videos
General Bible for Children Bible for Children
General Biblical answers to your questions Got Questions Ministry
General Comprehensive list of Tamil Resources General / Other
General Faith Comes By Hearing - Bible in text or audio or video Faith Comes by Hearing
General Faith Comes By Hearing - Bible in text or audio or video Faith Comes by Hearing
General Faith Comes By Hearing - Bible in text or audio or video Faith Comes by Hearing
General Faith Comes By Hearing - Bible in text or audio or video Faith Comes by Hearing
General Faith Comes By Hearing - Bible in text or audio or video Faith Comes by Hearing
General Faith Comes By Hearing - Bible in text or audio or video Faith Comes by Hearing
Photo Source Abdullah Al Ameriki - Wikimedia  Creative Commons 
Map Source People Group Location: Omid. Other geography / data: GMI. Map Design: Joshua Project  
Profile Source David Kugel 
Data Sources Data is compiled from various sources. Learn more.



Joshua Project logo    Joshua Project    Copyright © 2024