Marma (Magh) 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

Centuries ago, the most feared pirates and sailors in the Bay of Bengal terrorized communities along the seacoast and far up the river channels of what is now Bangladesh. People called them maghs, or pirates. This continues to be the popular name of this tribe, originally from the Arakan region of Myanmar.


The people themselves dislike the term "Magh" and prefer to be called Marmas, which means "Burmese." They are of Thai origin. They came through Arakan after their ancestors were driven out of China. They speak Arakanese, a Tibeto-Burman language, and regard Myanmar as the center of their cultural life. The Marma continue to write and dress in ways similar to Burmese culture.


Today, most live in the Chittagong Hills area of southeastern Bangladesh. There is a smaller group of them that borders that region in northeastern India.


What Are Their Lives Like?

Having left the seas long ago, the Marma are now valley farmers. Forced out of the plains and into the hills by more powerful groups, they have adopted the "slash and burn" method of agriculture. In their society, farmland is community property. After one year's use, the field must be left fallow for a sufficient time to let the land recover. After the fallow period, anyone and everyone can work in this field. No individual, family, or kinship group has prerogative rights to the land. Farming and other activities tie families to the community and the community to families.


According to their custom, marriages must be within the clan. Marma villages comprise 10 to 50 houses built on the banks of streams. The houses are flimsy structures constructed on bamboo piles. Often, a roofed platform at the end of the village street serves as a community house where men socialize, share stories and discuss village business.


They are folk Buddhists who believe in reincarnation, but also in spirits and ghosts who can make life miserable.
What Are Their Beliefs?

Although several religions are represented among the Marma, the most common religion is a blend of Buddhism and animism (belief that non-human objects have spirits). The theology of Buddhism alleges that man undergoes a cycle of separate existences and that all living things have individual souls. A devout Buddhist can progress toward his goal of nirvana—a state of eternal bliss—through the accumulation of merit-earning acts.


The animistic ingredient includes the worship and appeasement of local spirits, such as house spirits, village spirits, and territorial spirits, which rule over rice fields, forests, lakes, rivers, and other places. In order to avoid accidents, misfortune, and illnesses, one must try to manipulate and placate the spirits through rituals and offerings of food and flowers. Male and female mediums enter trances to communicate with the spirits so that they might discover future events.


What Are Their Needs?

The Marma people who live in northeastern India don't live far from vibrant believers. They need Christ followers to take the ways of the Savior to them. Perhaps someone who can help them get a higher yield for their crops can also reap a harvest among these Buddhists.


Prayer Points

Pray that God will send culturally sensitive missionaries who will show them the way to the cross.


Pray for a Christ-ward movement to flourish among the Marma people in the 2020s.


Pray for the Marma people to be blessed with peace, joy and spiritual prosperity as they follow Jesus Christ.


Pray for their leaders to have dreams and visions that will open their hearts to Jesus Christ and his ambassadors.


Scripture Prayers for the Marma (Magh) in India.


Profile Source:   Joshua Project  

Rakhine State

Source:  Asia Harvest      Download

People Name General Marma (Magh)
People Name in Country Marma (Magh)
Pronunciation MAR-mah
Alternate Names Mogh; Morma; Rakhine; मर्मा
Population this Country 52,000
Population all Countries 299,000
Total Countries 2
Indigenous Yes
Progress Scale 1
Unreached Yes
Frontier People Group No
Pioneer Workers Needed 1
PeopleID3 17671
ROP3 Code 113113
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 5
Largest States
Tripura
43,000
West Bengal
8,800
Mizoram
700
Assam
200
Meghalaya
10
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 5
  Tripura 43,000
  West Bengal 8,800
  Mizoram 700
  Assam 200
  Meghalaya 10
Website South Asia Peoples
Primary Religion: Buddhism
Major Religion Percent *
Buddhism
87.32 %
Christianity  (Evangelical Unknown)
0.39 %
Ethnic Religions
0.00 %
Hinduism
11.80 %
Islam
0.14 %
Non-Religious
0.00 %
Other / Small
0.29 %
Unknown
0.06 %
* From latest India census data.
Current Christian values may substantially differ.
Primary Language Rakhine (32,000 speakers)
Language Code rki   Ethnologue Listing
Language Written Yes   ScriptSource Listing
Total Languages 29
Secondary Languages
(only 15 largest shown)
Bengali
12,000
Kok Borok
1,300
Hindi
200
Sadri
100
Nepali
100
Assamese
40
Santhali
40
Garo
30
Maithili
30
Marma
20
Dogri Punjabi, Eastern
Wagdi Limbu Munda
Primary Language Rakhine (32,000 speakers)
Language Code rki   Ethnologue Listing
Total Languages 29
Secondary Languages (only 15 largest shown)
  Bengali 12,000
  Kok Borok 1,300
  Hindi 200
  Sadri 100
  Nepali 100
  Assamese 40
  Santhali 40
  Garo 30
  Maithili 30
  Marma 20
  Dogri 10
  Punjabi, Eastern 10
  Wagdi 10
  Limbu 10
  Munda 10
People Groups Speaking Rakhine
Photo Source Gerald Roberts 
Map Source People Group data: Omid. Map geography: UNESCO / GMI. Map Design: Joshua Project  
Video Source Asia Harvest
Profile Source Joshua Project 
Data Sources Data is compiled from various sources. Learn more.


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