Introduction / History

The Gautam people live in Uttar Pradesh. They speak Bhojpuri and Hindi and read and write in Devanagari.

What Are Their Lives Like?

The Gautam are landowners and they work in cultivation. Some are self-employed. The women help with financial matters. The Gautam arrange marriages by family head discussion. They are monogamous. Divorcees cannot remarry but the bereaved can marry again. On the death of the father, the sons inherit the property with the oldest son becoming the new family head.

What Are Their Beliefs?

The Gautam people are Sunni Muslims who believe that the One, 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. 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. The often use charms and amulets to help them with spiritual forces.

What Are Their Needs?

The Gautam people need to seek and find the blessings of Jesus Christ who came to give life to the full.

Prayer Points

Pray that Indian believers lead them into a disciple making movement. Pray that gospel materials, Bible readings and the internet all provide them with abundant discipleship tools. Pray for spiritual openness. Pray for workers.

Scripture Prayers for the Rajput Gautam (Muslim traditions) in India.