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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Koliyan of India

The Koliyan of India, numbering approximately 10,500 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an occupational community of weavers in Tirunelveli, Chidambaranam, Kanyakumari and Ramanathapuram districts of Tamil Nadu who speak Tamil and practice Hinduism. They are an Indigenous people in the Tamil people cluster of the South Asian Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary language is Tamil and their primary religion is Hinduism.

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Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: South Asian Peoples
Country: India
People Cluster: Tamil
Primary Language(s): Tamil (tam)
Primary Religion(s): Hinduism
Population: 10,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG042144
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Pray for the Koliyan of India

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Hinduism
Religious Affiliation: Hinduism

99%
%
Hinduism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Tamil
Language Family: Dravidian

100%
%
Tamil Speakers

Media Resources in Tamil:

Films:

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Tamil:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Tamil bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

Explore Lostness and Next Steps

Unengaged and Unreached

Strategic Priority Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached (SPI: 1), which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations among which there are no known efforts focused on establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.
Lostness Priority Index (LPI): Pioneer Unreached People Group, (LPI: 1), 0.1% to 0.5% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity (GSEC: 1), this people group is less than 2% evangelical, some evangelical resources are available, but there has been no active church planting among them within the past two years

Next steps for the Koliyan:
Begin signifcant prayer and fasting for this group
Send cross-cultural teams to discover and research this people group
Begin gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Koliyan 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 Koliyan:
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

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Koliyan are No Longer Unreached, which means there are more than 2% evangelical Christian populations and there are churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice. There is still more to be done among them.

Next steps for the Koliyan:
Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Koliyan of India

The way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know over what they stumble.
readProverbs 4:19

Pray that lost people will accept salvation through Christ, turn from destruction, and experience joy in the way of righteousness.

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
readHebrews 4:12

Pray for God's Word to be accessible to everyone in this people group in a way they will resonate with so that many will engage with it, receive it, and share it with others.

Turn, O LORD, deliver my life; save me for the sake of your steadfast love.
readPsalm 6:4

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ and still struggle with the worries of this life, God will deliver them from worry for the sake of His steadfast love.

And the ransomed of the LORD shall return and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
readIsaiah 51:11

Pray that, as God sends people to cross cultures and share the good news of Jesus, many will turn to the Lord in repentance and faith and start a personal relationship with Him that will bring them everlasting joy.

Koliyan Across Countries (ROP3 - 112616) reported in the following countries:

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 Definitions page.

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