The Red Bobo of Mali

The Red Bobo of Mali, numbering approximately 771,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an ethnolinguistic community of Mali. They are an Indigenous people, in the Gur people cluster of the Sub-Saharan African Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Ethnoreligion - Animism. They primarily speak Bomu.

Red Bobo in Mali photo
Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Red Bobo

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Mali
People Cluster: Gur
Primary Language(s): Bomu (bmq)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion - Animism
Population: 771,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG013564
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Red Bobo of Mali

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.

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Ethnoreligion - Animism
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

%
Ethnoreligion - Animism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Bomu
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

%
Bomu Speakers

Bible Resources in Bomu:

Or check out the Bomu bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

Next steps for the Red Bobo

The Red Bobo are Unengaged and Unreached, 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.

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

Next steps for the Red Bobo

The Red Bobo 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.

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

Next steps for the Red Bobo

The Red Bobo 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.

Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Red Bobo of Mali

Abraham said, "God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son." So they went both of them together.
readGenesis 22:8

Pray that God will open the ears of those who are lost to understand and believe that only shed blood takes away sin and that, like Abraham, they will believe that God Himself provides the lamb for the burnt offering, who is Jesus the final, perfect sacrifice.

Behold, you shall call a nation that you do not know, and a nation that did not know you shall run to you, because of the LORD your God, and of the Holy One of Israel, for he has glorified you.
readIsaiah 55:5

Pray that those who do not know God will access the gospel, run to Him, and discover that He is the one their souls have been longing for.

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
readRomans 12:1

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will offer their bodies as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God, knowing that this is their spiritual worship.

May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, that your way may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations.
readPsalm 67:1-2

Pray that as God blesses believers from among this people group or from nearby cultures, He will raise them up to share His saving power among the nations.

Bwa (Bomu) (ROP3 - 101820) 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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