The Digil-Rahanweyn of Somalia

The Digil-Rahanweyn of Somalia, numbering approximately 1,055,000 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are one of the five major Somali clan‑families and a key agricultural society of southern Somalia. They are distinct within Somali society for their riverine homeland, Maay (Af‑Maay) language, and agro‑pastoral economy. and can also be known as Rahanweyn, Digil-Mirifle, Reewin. They are an Indigenous people, in the Somali people cluster of the Horn of Africa Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Sunni Islam. They primarily speak Maay.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash: Digil-Rahanweyn

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Northern African and Middle Eastern Peoples
Country: Somalia
People Cluster: Somali
Primary Language(s): Maay (ymm)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 1,055,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG011952
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Pray for the Digil-Rahanweyn of Somalia

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

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Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Maay
Language Family: Afro-Asiatic

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Media Resources in Maay:

Films:

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Bible Resources in Maay:

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Or check out the Maay bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

Next steps for the Digil-Rahanweyn

The Digil-Rahanweyn are Unengaged and Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations among which there are no known efforts focused on establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Begin signifcant prayer and fasting for this group
Send cross-cultural teams to discover and research this people group
Begin gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group

Next steps for the Digil-Rahanweyn

The Digil-Rahanweyn 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.

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

Next steps for the Digil-Rahanweyn

The Digil-Rahanweyn 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.

Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Digil-Rahanweyn of Somalia

For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
readRomans 5:7-8

Pray for the many who don't yet understand the hope of the gospel, and pray that God will reveal to them that while they were in darkness, Christ died for them.

For from the rising of the sun to its setting my name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense will be offered to my name, and a pure offering. For my name will be great among the nations, says the LORD of hosts.
readMalachi 1:11

Pray that they will worship God in spirit and truth, offering Him the sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving that He desires.

In God, whose word I praise, in the LORD, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?
readPsalm 56:10-11

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will trust in the Lord's promises, knowing that He will uphold them with His righteous right hand.

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.
read1 Corinthians 15:3-4

Pray that God will raise up believers to go to the lost and faithfully proclaim the good news of Jesus' death and resurrection so that all may have an opportunity to access and believe.

Rahanweyn (ROP3 - 105958) reported in the following countries:

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 Definitions page.

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