The Abaknon Sama of Philippines

The Abaknon Sama of Philippines, numbering approximately 33,500 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an indigenous Sama-Bajaw people centered on Capul Island in Northern Samar, whose Inabaknon language distinguishes them from neighboring Visayan-speaking peoples. They mostly adhere to Roman Catholicism and Inabaknon is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Malay Peoples
Country: Philippines
People Cluster: Filipino, Central
Primary Language(s): Inabaknon (abx)
Primary Religion(s): Roman Catholicism
Population: 33,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG007605
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Pray for the Abaknon Sama of Philippines

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: Roman Catholicism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

64%
%
Roman Catholicism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Inabaknon
Language Family: Austronesian

100%
%
Inabaknon Speakers

Media Resources in Inabaknon:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Bible Resources in Inabaknon:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Or check out the Inabaknon bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Abaknon Sama 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 Abaknon Sama:
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 Abaknon Sama of Philippines

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.

Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart, for I am called by your name, O LORD, God of host.
readJeremiah 15:16

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will find joy and delight in the Word of the Lord.

I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to you among the nations.
readPsalm 57:9

Pray that God will raise up believers among them who will boldly go and share the gospel with people nearby and with those far away.

Abaknon Sama Across Countries (ROP3 - 100006) 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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