All Around India: Vaddar, Viswakarma, and Vakkaliga

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I could hardly believe what our Sunday School teacher told us this morning. Did you know there are more than 30 different people groups who live in India whose name starts with the letter V? V is a letter you don’t see every day. I mean, there are violins and victories, there are people named Victor or Victoria. But today I learned about three more words to add to that list—the Vaddar, the Viswakarma, and the Vakkaliga.

The Vaddar live in many different states of India. They work many different types of job, but all of the jobs are hard. They dig wells, cut stones, and do the jobs no one else wants to do. A lot of people don’t want to talk to the Vaddar or be around them. They treat them as untouchables.

The Viswakarma also live in lots of different states of India, but most of them live very differently from the Vaddar. Many of the Viswakarma are known for building things like temples or creating beautiful artwork by hand.

The Vakkaliga is another group that is spread out over India, but most of them live in Karnataka state. They are known for raising animals and growing things. But one thing that has been slow to grow among the Vakkaliga is the understanding of who Jesus is.

Even though they live in lots of different places and have many different jobs, there is one thing that the Vaddar, the Viswakarma, and the Vakkaliga all have in common. Very few of them know that Jesus loves them and that He died for them. I’m going to pray for all of them right now. Will you join me?

“Dear God, I just learned about many people who don’t know about You. I am glad that You already know every single one of them. You know all their names and where they live; You know what they do and what they need. Help each of them see that what they need most of all is You. Help them hear about Jesus and believe how much You love them. Thank You. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.”

If you’d like to read more about the people groups of India, with a parent’s permission, check out Joshua Project.

Download a FREE All Around India Notebooking Unit (Color) with questions for additional exploration.

Download a FREE All Around India Notebooking Unit (BW) with questions for additional exploration.