Arwa Mala in India

The Arwa Mala have only been reported 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

Most of the Arwa Mala live in India's southeastern state of Tamil Nadu and they speak Tamil at home. Surprisingly, they are Hindu and eat beef, pork and mutton though their staples are rice and other grains. The most common job for the Arwa Mala is either selling bundles of wood or working on someone else's farm as a laborer. Many of their children are employed as cattle herders by the Reddy.


Ministry Obstacles

Though they speak Tamil, there are not enough Christian believers in their communities to spread the gospel to all their villages. This makes any real outreach extremely difficult.


Prayer Focus

Pray the Arwa Mala could see the value and enrichment that Jesus Christ would bring to their lives if they would let him.
Pray for the Lord to bless their families, calling people to his side and guiding them through his spirit.
There are thousands of Tamil-speaking Christian believers and all kinds of gospel materials in the Tamil language spoken. Pray for the Lord to use these to reach the Arwa Mala community.
Pray for the Arwa Mala to feel drawn to God’s word and for church-building efforts to grow among them.


Scripture Prayers for the Arwa Mala in India.


Profile Source:   Joshua Project  

People Name General Arwa Mala
People Name in Country Arwa Mala
Pronunciation AR-wah MAH-lah
Alternate Names Aravalu; Arwali; Arwamala; Dhed; Dher; Tamil Mala; अरवा माला
Population this Country 107,000
Population all Countries 107,000
Total Countries 1
Indigenous Yes
Progress Scale 1
Unreached Yes
Frontier People Group Yes
GSEC 4  (per PeopleGroups.org)
Pioneer Workers Needed 2
PeopleID3 16245
ROP3 Code 111367
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 7
Largest States
Tamil Nadu
91,000
Telangana
9,500
Andhra Pradesh
5,800
Maharashtra
600
Karnataka
300
Delhi
100
Goa
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 7
  Tamil Nadu 91,000
  Telangana 9,500
  Andhra Pradesh 5,800
  Maharashtra 600
  Karnataka 300
  Delhi 100
  Goa 10
Website South Asia Peoples
Primary Religion: Hinduism
Major Religion Percent *
Buddhism
0.03 %
Christianity  (Evangelical 0.00 %)
0.00 %
Ethnic Religions
0.00 %
Hinduism
99.97 %
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 (85,000 speakers)
Language Code tam   Ethnologue Listing
Language Written Yes   ScriptSource Listing
Total Languages 3
Secondary Languages
Telugu
10,000
Kannada
10
Primary Language Tamil (85,000 speakers)
Language Code tam   Ethnologue Listing
Total Languages 3
Secondary Languages
  Telugu 10,000
  Kannada 10
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 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 gospel conversations Cru
Text / Printed Matter Topical Scripture booklets and Bible studies World Missionary Press
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.