Mahali in India

The Mahali 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 word Mahli means bamboo. The Mahli are a scheduled tribe.

They live in Odisha, Bihar and West Bengal. They speak Hindi or Bengali.


What Are Their Lives Like?

They mainly do basket work for a living. Some of them work in agriculture. The Mahli of Bihar speak Sadri and read and write in Devanagari. They are not vegetarians and eat rice, maize and wheat as cereals. They have a community council to look after their needs. Their literacy level is low so the gospel will need to be given in oral form.


What Are Their Beliefs?

The Mahali people practice Hinduism, the ancient religion of India. Hinduism is a catch-all phrase for the local religions of South Asia, so it is very diverse. At the popular level, Hindus worship and serve the gods of the Hindu pantheon. They visit Hindu temples and offer prayers, food, flowers, and incense to their gods in hopes of gaining protection and benefits. They do not have a personal or familial relationship with their gods like Christians or Jews. There are other Hindus who are much more philosophical, especially among the Brahmins.

Almost all Hindus participate in yearly celebrations like Holi, the festival of colors and the start of spring / Diwali, the festival of lights / Navratri, the celebration of autumn / and Rama Navami, Rama's birthday.


What Are Their Needs?

The Mahali people need a John 10:10 blessing: The abundant life Jesus offers those who are willing to submit to his lordship.


Prayer Points

Pray that the the council leaders come to Jesus Christ and lead others to Him.

Pray that gospel recordings will lead them to salvation.


Scripture Prayers for the Mahali in India.


Profile Source:   Joshua Project  

People Name General Mahali
People Name in Country Mahali
Alternate Names महाली
Population this Country 98,000
Population all Countries 98,000
Total Countries 1
Indigenous Yes
Progress Scale 1
Unreached Yes
Frontier People Group No
Pioneer Workers Needed 2
People ID 20711
ROP3 Code 117139
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)
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 1
  West Bengal 96,000
Website South Asia Peoples
Primary Religion: Hinduism
Major Religion Percent *
Buddhism
0.03 %
Christianity  (Evangelical Unknown)
3.34 %
Ethnic Religions
0.00 %
Hinduism
93.54 %
Islam
0.20 %
Non-Religious
0.00 %
Other / Small
0.02 %
Unknown
2.87 %
* From latest India census data.
Current Christian values may substantially differ.
Primary Language Bengali (44,000 speakers)
Language Code ben   Ethnologue Listing
Language Written Yes   ScriptSource Listing
Total Languages 16
Secondary Languages
(only 15 largest shown)
Hindi
19,000
Mahali
8,100
Santhali
7,800
Munda
1,200
Kurux
400
Nepali
400
Marathi
300
Odia
100
Punjabi, Eastern
100
Adi
100
Koda
70
Mundari
60
Boro
60
Telugu
50
Sora
40
Primary Language Bengali (44,000 speakers)
Language Code ben   Ethnologue Listing
Total Languages 16
Secondary Languages (only 15 largest shown)
  Hindi 19,000
  Mahali 8,100
  Santhali 7,800
  Munda 1,200
  Kurux 400
  Nepali 400
  Marathi 300
  Odia 100
  Punjabi, Eastern 100
  Adi 100
  Koda 70
  Mundari 60
  Boro 60
  Telugu 50
  Sora 40
People Groups Speaking Bengali

Primary Language:  Bengali

Bible Translation Status  (Years)
Bible-Portions Yes  (1800-1980)
Bible-New Testament Yes  (1801-1984)
Bible-Complete Yes  (1809-2022)
Bible-NT Audio 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 Online Audio Scripture Talking Bibles
Audio Recordings Oral Bible stories One Story
Audio Recordings Story of Jesus audio Jesus Film Project
Film / Video Following Jesus video Jesus Film Project
Film / Video God's Love Story General / Other
Film / Video God's Story video God's Story
Film / Video Indigitube.tv Video / Animation Create International
Film / Video Jesus Film: view in Bengali 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 Faith Comes By Hearing - Bible in text, audio, video Faith Comes by Hearing
General Faith Comes By Hearing - Bible in text, audio, video Faith Comes by Hearing
General Faith Comes By Hearing - Bible in text, audio, video Faith Comes by Hearing
General Four Spiritual Laws Campus Crusade for Christ
General Gospel resources links Scripture Earth
General Walk with the Prophets and meet the Messiah Al Massira
General YouVersion Bible versions in text and/or audio YouVersion Bibles
General Zume Resources Zume Project
Photo Source Anonymous 
Map Source People Group data: Omid. Map geography: UNESCO / GMI. Map Design: Joshua Project  
Profile Source Joshua Project 
Data Sources Data is compiled from various sources. Learn more.