The Kutchchi Memon peoples of India

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“Aiee Allah! What is happening? Is it a nuclear bomb?” Farha asked herself when the ground beneath her apartment began to move. It was 26 January 2001, a day the people of Kutchch district in India’s Gujarat State will never forget. Unofficial estimates suggest as many as 100,000 people died in this earthquake.

Among the 300,000 Muslims in this district lives the high priest of the Kutchchi Memon - an Islamic Sunni sect that is considered totally unreached. There is no known Christian witness to this community. In religion, the Memons are close to the Sunni Muslims of India and Pakistan, but in culture, language and vocation, they are closer to the Shiite Khojas and Bohras. The Memons are a prosperous business community but, unlike the Khojas and Bohras, a religious hierarchy does not control them. They are a more democratic community.

Kutchchi Memon, India - History and Culture

Although the origins of the Memons are obscured by history, one of the probable meanings of the word “Memon” is “safe” or “at peace”. However, the Kutchchi Memons are far from safety and peace. Following the earthquake of January 2001, as many as 80 per cent of the homes in some towns were destroyed. Even one year later little or no reconstruction work had been started in some places. In addition to the earthquake, some people have faced years of drought in their difficult land.

Memon men grow their beards, trimmed to 15cm or less, and wear their moustaches short. Kutchchi Memon women may blacken their eyelids and use henna to redden their palms, fingers, the soles of their feet and their toes. The Kutchchi are one of two Memon groups, the other being the Halai. The two groups are distinguishable physically, Halai Memon tending to be darker in hue and smaller than Kutchchi Memon. The two Memon groups do not intermarry.

Present-day Memons

Present-day Memons are the descendants of Muslim converts from Hinduism, a conversion that took place in the mid-15th century through the influence of Sayyid Eusuf ud-Din Kadri. From the Sind province in Pakistan, the Memons spread to areas of Gujarat in India, Thailand, Myanmar, Singapore, Indonesia and East Africa. In Pakistan they are located in Karachi and Hyderabad. In India, they are in greatest numbers in the cities of Jamnagar, Rajkot and Junagadh in Gujarat, and in Mumbai (Bombay) in Maharashtra State.

As a direct result of the earthquake, many people have become aware of those affected by it. Several organisations are poised and ready to work among the Kutchchi Memons in one area, but currently lack funds.

Prayer for the Muslim Memons in India:

* Pray for the Lord to open doors for ministry among this tightly knit society.

* Pray that funding becomes available to reach out to the Kutchchi Memons.

* Pray for opportunities to show the Jesus film and that there would be a positive response. Pray that God would greatly use this film.

* Ask that the Lord of the harvest would send workers to follow up among those responding to the Jesus film and to other evangelistic out-reaches.