Divehi in India


Population
Main Language
Largest Religion
Christian
Evangelical
Progress
Progress Gauge
* Data can be from various sources including official census, agencies, and local research. Data from these sources can sometimes differ even by orders of magnitude. Joshua Project attempts to present a conservative, balanced estimate.

Introduction / History

Divehi is the language of the Maldive Islands, which is a sovereign nation southwest of India in the Indian Ocean. Often Maldivians are called Divehi because of their language. Though most live in the Maldive Islands, some are making their living in Sri Lanka and India.


Where Are they Located?

Most Divehi people live in the stunningly beautiful Maldive Islands, but there is a sizable diaspora. Some live in Sri Lanka or India. Those in India usually live in various parts of Kerala in the southwest, or India's Lakshadweep Islands.


What Are Their Lives Like?

Divorce is a major problem in Divehi families no matter where they live. Such a situation causes tragic results for everyone in the family, especially the children.


What Are Their Beliefs?

Maldivian Divehi speakers are noted for being staunch, dogmatic Muslims. However, their loyalties are not to orthodox Islam, but to quirky forms of folk Islam. This means that they blend their Islam with various animistic beliefs. They have a fear of the "evil eye" (curses caused by a fixed gaze) and of evil spirits. They also fear jinnis, which are-according to Muslim legend-spirits capable of assuming human or animal form and exercising supernatural influence over people. Most houses keep a lamp burning all night and have no windows in order to keep out the jinnis.

To satisfy their spiritual hunger, many Maldivians consult fanditas ("learned people") who conduct rituals for healing, solving problems, and becoming successful. The fanditas make their occupations valid by using Islamic terms and chanting Arabic-sounding chants.


What Are Their Needs?

Believers can show these people, who almost all suffer the ill effects of divorce, what a Christian marriage can be like. They also need to be shown the way to the Savior who allows us to live in freedom from fear.


Prayer Points

Pray for a "Book of Acts" type of movement to Christ among the Divehi speakers in India, Sri Lanka and the Maldive Islands.
Pray for the Divehi people to understand and embrace that Jesus wants to bless their families and neighborhoods.
Pray for Holy Spirit anointed believers from the Divehi people to change their society from within.
Pray for a movement in which the Holy Spirit leads and empowers Divehi disciples to make more disciples.
Pray for a movement of Jesus to heal and strengthen Divehi communities.


Scripture Prayers for the Divehi in India.


References

https://joshuaproject.net/people_groups/13450/MV
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maldivians_in_India
https://joshuaproject.net/people_groups/17427/IN
https://joshuaproject.net/people_groups/17427/CE


Profile Source:   Keith Carey  

People Name General Divehi
People Name in Country Divehi
Pronunciation dee-VAY-hee
Alternate Names Mahl; Maldivian; Malki; डिवेः, मालदीवियन
Population this Country 1,400
Population all Countries 3,400
Total Countries 2
Indigenous Yes
Progress Scale 1
Unreached Yes
Frontier People Group Yes
GSEC 1  (per PeopleGroups.org)
Pioneer Workers Needed 1
PeopleID3 17427
ROP3 Code 112829
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)
Location in Country Minicoy Island in the Laccadive Islands in India; Kerala, Trivandrum.   Source:  Ethnologue 2007
Total States on file 5
Largest States
Kerala
800
Maharashtra
300
Tamil Nadu
200
Karnataka
100
Puducherry
20
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)
Location in Country Minicoy Island in the Laccadive Islands in India; Kerala, Trivandrum..   Source:  Ethnologue 2007
Total States 5
  Kerala 800
  Maharashtra 300
  Tamil Nadu 200
  Karnataka 100
  Puducherry 20
Website South Asia Peoples
Primary Religion: Islam
Major Religion Percent *
Buddhism
0.00 %
Christianity  (Evangelical 0.00 %)
0.00 %
Ethnic Religions
0.00 %
Hinduism
0.00 %
Islam
100.00 %
Non-Religious
0.00 %
Other / Small
0.00 %
Unknown
0.00 %
* From latest India census data.
Current Christian values may substantially differ.
Primary Language Maldivian (1,400 speakers)
Language Code div   Ethnologue Listing
Language Written Yes   ScriptSource Listing
Total Languages 1
Primary Language Maldivian (1,400 speakers)
Language Code div   Ethnologue Listing
Total Languages 1
People Groups Speaking Maldivian
Photo Source (Representative photo)
Easa Shamih - Flickr  Creative Commons 
Map Source People Group data: Omid. Map geography: UNESCO / GMI. Map Design: Joshua Project  
Profile Source Keith Carey 
Data Sources Data is compiled from various sources. Learn more.


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