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Amharic - አማርኛ | Arabic - عربي
Bengali - বাংলা | Chinese (Simplified) - 中文（简体）
Chinese (Traditional) - 中文（繁體) | French - Français
German - Deutsch | Gujarati - ગુજરાતી
Hindi - हिन्दी | Indonesian - Bahasa Indonesia
Korean - 한국어 | Nepali - नेपाली
Portuguese - Português | Russian - Русский
Spanish - Español | Tagalog / Filipino
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The Hamar of Ethiopia

The Hamar of Ethiopia, numbering approximately 76,500 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an Omotic-speaking agropastoral people of Ethiopia's Lower Omo Valley whose identity is rooted in cattle herding, mixed farming, clan-based social organization, and distinctive ceremonial and cultural traditions. They mostly adhere to Animism and Hamer-Banna is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite: Hamar

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Horn of Africa Peoples
Country: Ethiopia
People Cluster: Omotic
Primary Language(s): Hamer-Banna (amf)
Primary Religion(s): Animism
Population: 76,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG011539
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Pray for the Hamar of Ethiopia

Join others around the world in praying for the lost to be saved, the gospel to advance, the global Church to grow, and for laborers to be sent out and sustained in the harvest.

Pray Now!
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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Animism
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

85%
%
Animism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Hamer-Banna
Language Family: South Omotic

100%
%
Hamer-Banna Speakers

Media Resources in Hamer-Banna:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Hamer-Banna:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Ethiopian Kale Heywet Church / SIM, 2014 A.D.✓✓✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Hamer-Banna bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Hamar are Engaged yet Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations but there are sustained efforts at establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Next steps for the Hamar:
Continue prayer and fasting for this group
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Begin training up local leaders to lead and develop strategies to reach their own people

Pray specifically for the Hamar of Ethiopia

All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.
readRomans 3:12

Pray that those who are enslaved to sin will admit their need for a Savior, acknowledging that no one is righteous.

For my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples.
readLuke 2:30

Pray that the lost will see the salvation of God, and that they will trust in Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord.

The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.
read2 Corinthians 9:6

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will remember the principle of sowing and reaping, and be generous in their giving and serving, knowing that they will reap a generous harvest.

"For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you."
readActs 17:23

Pray that believers God sends to cross cultures will be sensitive to the spiritual needs of the people they serve, and will proclaim the truth of Christ to them in creative ways that they will understand.

Hamar Across Countries (ROP3 - 118346) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
HamarPG011539HamarEthiopia76,500Engaged yet UnreachedHamer-BannaAnimism

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

Peoplegroups.org relies on updates from the field and other organizations for much of our data, so if you have any updates, please contact us. We use various international naming standards. For a list of these standards and fields, visit our Data Standards section.

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