The Manyika of Mozambique

The Manyika of Mozambique, numbering approximately 291,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Shona-speaking people whose precolonial kingdom was founded around 1500 as a vassal state of the Mutapa Empire, renowned for gold mined in the Manicaland highlands and traded to Swahili coastal city-states. They mostly adhere to Animism and Manyika is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Mozambique
People Cluster: Bantu, Shona
Primary Language(s): Manyika (mxc)
Primary Religion(s): Animism
Population: 291,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG015397
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Manyika of Mozambique

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: Animism
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

57%
%
Animism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Manyika
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

100%
%
Manyika Speakers

Media Resources in Manyika:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Bible Resources in Manyika:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Or check out the Manyika bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Manyika 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 Manyika:
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 Manyika of Mozambique

"...And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold." As he said these things, he called out, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."
readLuke 8:8

Pray that the seeds of truth will take root in the hearts of those who are far from Jesus and that He will lead them from darkness to light.

Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
readMatthew 6:10

Pray that God's will be done on earth as it is in heaven, and that people will seek His kingdom and righteousness above all else, trusting in His provision.

Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time.
readColossians 4:5

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be wise in the way they walk with the lost and manage their time and other resources in a way that honors God.

And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. But if not, it will return to you.
readLuke 10:6

Pray that, as people come to faith in Christ and want to share it with others, they will be welcomed into homes and received well so that they can share message of hope with many people.

Manyika Across Countries (ROP3 - 106289) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

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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