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The Kalavantulu of India

The Kalavantulu of India, numbering approximately 204,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a community of Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra, also called Devadasi or Bogamvallu Kalavantulu women were traditionally dedicated to temple service as dancers and singers. Reform movements ended this practice, and most now work other trades. They mostly adhere to Hinduism and Telugu is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite: Kalavantulu

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: South Asian Peoples
Country: India
People Cluster: Telugu
Primary Language(s): Telugu (tel)
Primary Religion(s): Hinduism
Population: 204,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG041641
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Pray for the Kalavantulu of India

Join others around the world in praying for the lost to be saved, the gospel to advance, the global Church to grow, and for laborers to be sent out and sustained in the harvest.

Pray Now!
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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Hinduism
Religious Affiliation: Hinduism

99%
%
Hinduism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Telugu
Language Family: Dravidian

100%
%
Telugu Speakers

Media Resources in Telugu:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film
The SaviorView Film

4 films

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Telugu:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Contemporary Version✓
Contemporary Version - LUMO Christmas Film✓
Contemporary Version - LUMO Easter Film✓
Easy to Read Version✓✓
Grace Ministries✓✓

5 entries

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Telugu bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Kalavantulu are Engaged yet Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations but there are sustained efforts at establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Next steps for the Kalavantulu:
Continue prayer and fasting for this group
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Begin training up local leaders to lead and develop strategies to reach their own people

Pray specifically for the Kalavantulu of India

Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
readJohn 14:6

Pray that those who don't know Jesus will recognize Him as the only way to the Father and follow Him in faith.

How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?
readRomans 10:14

Pray that the gospel will advance among those who don’t know the good news of salvation in Jesus so that they might believe and trust in Jesus.

Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak.
readExodus 4:12

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, God will equip them with the words and wisdom to proclaim His message effectively.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
readPsalm 23:6

Ask God to raise up believers who will share the hope that, for those who trust in Christ, goodness and love will follow them all the days of their lives, and they will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Kalavantulu Across Countries (ROP3 - 116251) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountry ▼PopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
KalavantuluPG041641KalavantuluIndia204,000Engaged yet UnreachedTeluguHinduism

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

Peoplegroups.org relies on updates from the field and other organizations for much of our data, so if you have any updates, please contact us. We use various international naming standards. For a list of these standards and fields, visit our Data Standards section.

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