Mukkaniyar Brahmin 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

There are several subgroups of the Brahmins, one of which is the Mukkaniyar, one of the Smartha Brahmin subgroups. The history of the Brahmins is associated with the Vedic religion of early India, usually referred to as Sanatana Dharma. Brahmins have their roots in the Vedic period, but how the modern caste system developed is a highly contested topic due to lack of clear data. Brahmins and kings became the dominant social and religious forces in many of the kingdoms that developed over pre-modern India. Discrimination became a feature of the caste system with Brahmins often being assigned blame for the system. Over time, Brahmins became a powerful and influential group in India and many discriminated against lower castes. Discerning opinions and heart attitudes is difficult, but it seems that only a small minority of today's Brahmins would uphold what was once considered Brahmin orthodoxy:that Brahmins are better by birth than all other peoples.


What Are Their Lives Like?

The Mukkaniyar Brahmins are priests, but many work for the government and some are self-employed. There are professionals and administration workers among them. Brahmins are generally among the well-to-do in India and place a high value on education. Thus an inordinate percentage of Brahmins are among the Hindus who have migrated to the West where they can easily be reached. Probably most still perform daily worship rituals, but the growing forces of secularization and globalization in India are strongest among the Brahmins. Most are vegetarian but some groups eat meat, particularly fish, and many individuals even from vegetarian Brahmin groups are now eating meat (rarely beef, and often meat eating is surreptitious). In modern India some Brahmins claim reverse discrimination due to affirmative action policies of the central and state governments that favor lower caste groups. This issue will probably be contested for decades to come.


What Are Their Beliefs?

Most modern Brahmins do not espouse a doctrine of their superiority by birth above other peoples. It was also noted that many are now secularists. But most Brahmins respect the ancient (and many not-so-ancient) traditions of their forefathers. Some work to synthesize modern science and Hindu beliefs and practices. There are hundreds of "denominations" of Hinduism and Brahmins have a presence in many; so it is not easy to generalize on what Brahmins believe. Smartha Brahmins like the Mukkaniyar community give more weight to the Smriti Corpus rather than other sets of ancient writings. Some of them follow gurus. Few today have seriously studied, let alone memorized, the ancient Vedas; but one is more likely to find a person knowledgeable about the Vedas and other Hindu texts and teachings among Brahmins than among any non-Brahmin caste group.


What Are Their Needs?

The Mukkaniyar Brahmins need the blessings of a relationship with Jesus Christ.


Prayer Points

Brahmins are seen as knowledgeable and enlightened; pray for the light of the gospel to bring the knowledge of Christ to them, and pray wisdom for disciples of Jesus who befriend and share faith with Mukkaniyar Brahmins. Pray that the true God will reveal Himself to this community and use Brahmins to preach and teach about Jesus Christ. Pray for a disciple making movement among the Mukkaniyar Brahmins.


Scripture Prayers for the Brahmin Mukkaniyar in India.


Profile Source:   Keith Carey  

People Name General Brahmin Mukkaniyar
People Name in Country Brahmin Mukkaniyar
Natural Name Mukkaniyar Brahmin
Alternate Names Mukkaniyar Brahman; Senthil; Smartha Brahman; Tiruswatantinar
Population this Country 28,000
Population all Countries 28,000
Total Countries 1
Indigenous Yes
Progress Scale 1
Unreached Yes
Frontier People Group Yes
Pioneer Workers Needed 1
PeopleID3 21702
ROP3 Code 118490
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 3
Largest States
Tamil Nadu
17,000
Kerala
11,000
Puducherry
400
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 3
  Tamil Nadu 17,000
  Kerala 11,000
  Puducherry 400
Website South Asia Peoples
Primary Religion: Hinduism
Major Religion Percent *
Buddhism
0.00 %
Christianity  (Evangelical 0.00 %)
0.00 %
Ethnic Religions
0.00 %
Hinduism
100.00 %
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 (8,800 speakers)
Language Code tam   Ethnologue Listing
Language Written Yes   ScriptSource Listing
Total Languages 4
Secondary Languages
Kannada
7,700
Malayalam
6,300
Konkani
2,300
Primary Language Tamil (8,800 speakers)
Language Code tam   Ethnologue Listing
Total Languages 4
Secondary Languages
  Kannada 7,700
  Malayalam 6,300
  Konkani 2,300
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  (1727-2024)
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
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 Bible in text or audio or video Internet Publishing Sevice
General Bible in text or audio or video South Asia Bibles
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
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 Gospel website in this language General / Other
General Scripture Earth Gospel resources links Scripture Earth
General Voice of the Martyrs resources Voice of the Martyrs
General YouVersion Bible versions in text and/or audio YouVersion Bibles
General Zume Resources Zume Project
General Zume Training Zume Project
Mobile App Android Bible app: Pastors Study Bible Tamil Grace Ministries and Dusty Sandals
Mobile App Android Bible app: Tamil YouVersion Bibles
Mobile App Android Bible App: Tamil Bible (தமிழ் பைபிள்) Indian Revised Version (IRV) Operation Agape
Mobile App Android Bible app: Tamil Study Bible Grace Ministries and Dusty Sandals
Mobile App Android Bible Radio app: Tamil Bible Radio Shalom Design S2dio
Mobile App Download audio Bible app as APK file Faith Comes by Hearing
Mobile App Download audio Bible app as APK file Faith Comes by Hearing
Mobile App Download audio Bible app from Google Play Store Faith Comes by Hearing
Mobile App iOS Bible app: Tamil YouVersion Bibles
Mobile App iOS Bible Radio App: Tamil Bible Radio iOS Revive India
Text / Printed Matter Children and youth resources One Hope
Text / Printed Matter Literacy primer for Tamil Literacy & Evangelism International
Text / Printed Matter Tools for faith conversations Cru
Text / Printed Matter Topical Scripture booklets and Bible studies World Missionary Press
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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