The Kapinawa of Brazil

The Kapinawa of Brazil, numbering approximately 2,500 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a people of Pernambuco's Serra do Macaco descended from the Prakio mission community founded in 1710, who rediscovered their Indigenous identity amid a 1970s land struggle and perform the Tore ceremony to invoke ancestors dwelling in rock caves. They mostly adhere to Ethnoreligion and Portuguese is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Latin American and Caribbean Peoples
Country: Brazil
People Cluster: South American Indigenous
Primary Language(s): Portuguese (por)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion
Population: 2,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG016944
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Pray for the Kapinawa of Brazil

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
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

70%
%
Ethnoreligion Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Portuguese
Language Family: Indo-European

100%
%
Portuguese Speakers

Media Resources in Portuguese:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film
MagdalenaView Film
The SaviorView Film

5 films

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Kapinawa 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 Kapinawa:
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 Kapinawa of Brazil

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
readMatthew 11:28

Pray for those who are tired, weary, and burdened by the weight of sin to encounter Jesus and experience the rest that only He can give.

Sing praises to God, sing praises! Sing praises to our King, sing praises!
readPsalm 47:6

Pray that believers will have a heart to invite others to trust in Christ alone so that they might sing praises to His name.

So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples."
readJohn 8:31

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will abide in Christ daily, depending on Him for every need.

And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town. Truly, I say to you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.
readMatthew 10:14-15

Pray for God to raise up and send out believers to share the gospel with those in this people group who do not yet follow Christ. Pray that they will be welcomed with open arms so that the people they share with will hear and receive the good news with joy.

Kapinawa Across Countries (ROP3 - 104614) 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.

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