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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Tani of Papua New Guinea

The Tani of Papua New Guinea, numbering approximately 6,200 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are an indigenous ethnic group of Papua New Guinea. They are an Indigenous people in the New Guinea people cluster of the Pacific Islander Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary language is Maiani and their primary religion is Protestantism.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Tani

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Pacific Islander Peoples
Country: Papua New Guinea
People Cluster: New Guinea
Primary Language(s): Maiani (tnh)
Primary Religion(s): Protestantism
Population: 6,200
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 10% or Greater Evangelical
People Group ID: PG010506
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Pray for the Tani of Papua New Guinea

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Protestantism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

55%
%

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Maiani
Language Family: Nuclear Trans New Guinea

65%
%

Media Resources in Maiani:

Films:

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Provided by the Jesus Film Project

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Bible Resources in Maiani:

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Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Maiani bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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Explore Lostness and Next Steps

Unengaged and Unreached

Strategic Priority Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached (SPI: 2), which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations among which there are no known efforts focused on establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.
Lostness Priority Index (LPI): Significantly Reached People Group, (LPI: 6), > 20% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 10% or Greater Evangelical (GSEC: 6), this people group is greater than or equal to 10% evangelical

Next steps for the Tani:
Begin signifcant prayer and fasting for this group
Send cross-cultural teams to discover and research this people group
Begin gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Tani 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 Tani:
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

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Tani are No Longer Unreached, which means there are more than 2% evangelical Christian populations and there are churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice. There is still more to be done among them.

Next steps for the Tani:
Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Tani of Papua New Guinea

The people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned.
readMatthew 4:16

Pray that those living in darkness and the shadow of death will see a great light and turn to the Lord for salvation.

I sought the LORD, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears.
readPsalm 34:4

Pray for each who becomes a child of God to share the hope of eternity with family and friends.

You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.
readIsaiah 26:3

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, the Lord will keep them in perfect peace as they trust in Him.

Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together!
readPsalm 34:3

Pray that God will raise up believers who will go to those in this people group who do not yet follow Jesus, and that they will invite many to magnify the Lord with them so that His fame will spread to the ends of the earth.

Tani Across Countries (ROP3 - 109825) reported in the following countries:

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 Definitions page.

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