Bhoi is the name of a caste of fishermen and boat people. Their alternate name is Kewat from the Sanskrit words ka, meaning "water," and vritti, meaning "occupation."
A landless and mostly illiterate people group, they are considered a low status people who have degrading occupations.
Though there are Hindus among the Bhoi, there is also a Muslim community among them in India. In South Asia, it’s common for Muslims to allow Hindu practices to seep into their spiritual lives.
The 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.
Muslim Bhoi people need to put their hope in the King of kings, realizing that he is the one who gives them worth and dignity.
Pray that God will release a spiritual yearning in the hearts of the Muslim Bhoi people that only Christ can fill.
Pray that their spirits will be opened to receive the words of life that can lift them into the heights of the Kingdom of God through faith in Christ.
Pray for the Lord to thrust out loving workers.
Scripture Prayers for the Bhoi (Muslim traditions) in India.
| Profile Source: Joshua Project |
