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The Sanapana of Paraguay

The Sanapana of Paraguay, numbering approximately 1,900 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Maskoy people of the Paraguayan Chaco who call themselves Nenhlet, meaning the people, nomadic hunter-gatherers until the late 1800s who semi-settled at the La Esperanza mission after Mennonite colonists arrived in the 1930s. They mostly adhere to Ethnoreligion and Sanapaná is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Latin American and Caribbean Peoples
Country: Paraguay
People Cluster: South American Indigenous
Primary Language(s): Sanapaná (spn)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion
Population: 1,900
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG017277
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Pray for the Sanapana of Paraguay

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.

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Ethnoreligion
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

—
%
Ethnoreligion Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Sanapaná
Language Family: Lengua-Mascoy

77%
%
Sanapaná Speakers

Media Resources in Sanapaná:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Sanapaná:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Sanapaná bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Sanapana 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 Sanapana:
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 Sanapana of Paraguay

In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
readMatthew 5:16

Pray that those who are deceived about what brings peace will not settle for any lies they’ve heard about God and will diligently seek Him and be satisfied when they learn the truth about who He is and what He’s done.

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.

So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
readRomans 6:11

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will lay down all evil desires, dying to sin and living for Him alone.

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
readEphesians 6:12

Ask God to give those He sends to cross cultures the discernment they need to recognize the spiritual battle they are fighting. Pray God will protect their faith as they abide in Him.

Sanapana Across Countries (ROP3 - 108632) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
SanapanaPG017277SanapanaParaguay1,900Engaged yet UnreachedSanapanáEthnoreligion

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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