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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
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Portugese - Português | Russian - Русский
Spanish - Espanol | Tagalong / Filipino
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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Wayana of French Guiana

The Wayana of French Guiana, numbering approximately 2,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Carib-speaking Amazonian people of the upper Maroni River basin descended from the merger of smaller groups including the Upului, Opagwana, and Kukuyana, never formally colonized due to the region's dense rainforest. They mostly adhere to Animism and Wayana is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Latin American and Caribbean Peoples
Country: French Guiana
People Cluster: South American Indigenous
Primary Language(s): Wayana (way)
Primary Religion(s): Animism
Population: 2,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG016344
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Pray for the Wayana of French Guiana

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Animism
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

91%
%
Animism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Wayana
Language Family: Cariban

100%
%
Wayana Speakers

Media Resources in Wayana:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Wayana:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
1979 World Team✓✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Wayana bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Wayana 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 Wayana:
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 Wayana of French Guiana

"...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.

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
readMatthew 11:28-29

Please pray for them to lift their eyes to Jesus and find rest for their souls, lasting peace, and hope in Him.

This God - his way is perfect; the word of the LORD proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.
readPsalm 18:30

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will have access to His Word and the ability to understand it, so that they can grow in their faith and find refuge in Him.

In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
readEphesians 1:13-14

Pray that God will work through believers near and far in bringing the lost to Himself, giving them what they need to do the task He has set before them, and helping them rest in Him because He has given them His Spirit.

Wayana Across Countries (ROP3 - 110731) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

3 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress Index ▼LanguageReligion
WayanaPG017184WayanaBrazil300No Longer UnreachedWayanaFolk Catholicism
WayanaPG016441WayanaSuriname650No Longer UnreachedWayanaProtestantism
WayanaPG016344WayanaFrench Guiana2,000Engaged yet UnreachedWayanaAnimism

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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