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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

For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another.
readTitus 3:3

Pray for those who seek worldly pleasures instead of God to flee from sin and choose God’s goodness and lovingkindness by placing their faith in Jesus.

And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.
read1 John 4:21

Pray that the good news of God's love will reach everyone in this people group, and that His love will compel them to love others as Christ has loved us.

Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind.
read1 Peter 3:8

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will live in harmony with one another, showing sympathy, love, compassion, and humility.

I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessing.
read1 Corinthians 9:23

Ask God to give believers a deep desire to share the gospel with those who don't know the truth about God's redemption plan, and to provide them with opportunities to do so cross-culturally.

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

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguage ▼Religion
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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