Manihar in India

Introduction / History

The Manihar have a name derived from two Sanskrit words, mana and kara. Mana meaning precious stone and kara meaning maker. Therefore, the Manihar have been known for their occupation of making and selling glass, lac or ivory bangles for many years. Over half of a million Manihar are spread over Pakistan, north India and Nepal. They can be found in nine different zones of Nepal.

What Are Their Lives Like?

The business of making and selling of bangles has long been the livelihood of Manihar communities. Due to the limited availability of elephant tusks for ivory, many bangles and beads are now manufactured in plastics. Today some Manihar take other jobs including tailoring. The literacy rate among the Manihar tends to be low. They speak primary Nepali and use Urdu and Bhojpuri in Nepal and mainly Urdu and Hindi in India. They are Sunni Muslims and traditionally do not allow marriage outside their community. Siddiqi can be a common surname.

What Are Their Beliefs?

The Manihar people are Sunni Muslims who believe that the supreme God, Allah, spoke through his prophet, Mohammed, and taught mankind how to live a righteous life through the Koran and the Hadith. To live a righteous life, you must utter the Shahada (a statement of faith), pray five times a day facing Mecca, fast from sunup to sundown during the month of Ramadan, give alms to the poor, and make a pilgrimage to Mecca if you have the means. Muslims are prohibited from drinking alcohol, eating pork, gambling, stealing, slandering, and making idols. They gather for corporate prayer on Friday afternoons at a mosque, their place of worship.

The two main holidays for Sunni Muslims are Eid al Fitr, the breaking of the monthly fast and Eid al Adha, the celebration of Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son to Allah.

Sunni religious practices are staid and simple. They believe that Allah has pre-determined our fates; they minimize free will.

In most of the Muslim world, people depend on the spirit world for their daily needs since they regard Allah as too distant. Allah may determine their eternal salvation, but the spirits determine how well we live in our daily lives. For that reason, they must appease the spirits. They often use charms and amulets to help them with spiritual forces.

What Are Their Needs?

These people need to put their hope and identity in the King of kings and Lord of lords.

Prayer Points

Pray for individuals with a Muslim background that can begin work among them in this Hindu background nation.

Pray for families of believers loving and serving others to grow reproducing churches.

Pray for a chain reaction of families reaching families that results in thousands of new believers who share their faith with others.

Pray for grace and truth expanding into their entire society as all believers learn to love others.

Text Source:   Joshua Project