The Bekati of Indonesia

The Bekati of Indonesia, numbering approximately 6,600 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a Bidayuh-related Dayak people of Bengkayang and Sambas districts in West Kalimantan, tracing their origin to Bukit Bawang and once divided into three rival descent groups. They mostly adhere to Animism and Bekati' is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2025). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Bekati

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Malay Peoples
Country: Indonesia
People Cluster: Borneo-Kalimantan
Primary Language(s): Bekati' (bei)
Primary Religion(s): Animism
Population: 6,600
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 10% or Greater Evangelical
People Group ID: PG022551
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Bekati of Indonesia

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

60%
%
Animism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Bekati'
Language Family: Austronesian

76%
%
Bakati’ Speakers

Media Resources in Bekati':

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Bible Resources in Bekati':

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Or check out the Bekati' bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Bekati are No Longer Unreached, which means there are more than 2% evangelical Christian populations and there are churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice. There is still more to be done among them.

Next steps for the Bekati:
Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Bekati of Indonesia

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
readRomans 8:1

Pray that God will reassure those who may be struggling with the cost of following Jesus that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.
readRomans 5:10

Pray that God will remove obstacles to the gospel so that many will see the hope He offers through the death, burial, and resurrection of His Son, and be transformed from being enemies to being His friends.

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 Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven."
readMatthew 16:17

Pray that God who is in heaven will place believers in the lives of people who need to encounter the gospel and that He will reveal to them the truth of what they hear.

Bekati Across Countries (ROP3 - 101212) 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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