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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Kannaya Christian of India

The Kannaya Christian of India, numbering approximately 211,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a distinct, endogamous Christian ethnic community within the broader Saint Thomas Christian tradition of Kerala, India. They are also historically known as the Southists (Thekkumbhagar), in contrast to the Northist Saint Thomas Christians (Vadakkumbhagar). They mostly adhere to Protestantism and Malayalam is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: South Asian Peoples
Country: India
People Cluster: South Asian Christian
Primary Language(s): Malayalam (mal)
Primary Religion(s): Protestantism
Population: 211,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG049905

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Pray for the Kannaya Christian 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: Protestantism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

—
%
Protestantism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Malayalam
Language Family: Dravidian

100%
%
Malayalam Speakers

Media Resources in Malayalam:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film

2 films

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Malayalam:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Bible League International✓✓
Holy Bible, Malayalam Contemporary Version - LUMO Christmas Film✓
Holy Bible, Malayalam Contemporary Version - LUMO Easter Film✓
Holy Bible, Malayalam Contemporary Version ™✓

4 entries

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Malayalam bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Kannaya Christian 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 Kannaya Christian:
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 Kannaya Christian of India

But he said, "What is impossible with man is possible with God."
readLuke 18:27

Praise God that He is the God of impossible things and that He is able to save even those who seem beyond hope.

Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward.
readPsalm 127:3

Pray that God will bless this generation of children, that they will come to know Jesus early in life and follow Him always.

I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.
readJohn 10:28

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will have assurance of eternal life, knowing that no one can snatch them out of the loving hand of Jesus.

Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.
readIsaiah 43:19

Praise the God who is able to make a way forward, even when it seems impossible. Ask Him to do a new thing among this people group specifically and among the nations, raising up believers to go and share the gospel with individuals and places where it has not flourished before.

Kannaya Christian Across Countries (ROP3 - 118938) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress Index ▼LanguageReligion
Kannaya ChristianPG049905Kannaya ChristianIndia211,000Engaged yet UnreachedMalayalamProtestantism

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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