Download the People Group List (16 languages .csv)

Amharic - አማርኛ | Arabic - عربي
Bengali - বাংলা | Chinese (Simplified) - 中文（简体）
Chinese (Traditional) - 中文（繁體) | French - Français
German - Deutsch | Gujarati - ગુજરાતી
Hindi - हिन्दी | Indonesian - Bahasa Indonesia
Korean - 한국어 | Nepali - नेपाली
Portugese - Português | Russian - Русский
Spanish - Espanol | Tagalong / Filipino
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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Warekena of Brazil

The Warekena of Brazil, numbering approximately 900 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a Rio Negro people who once spoke their own Arawakan language before shifting to Nheengatu, a Tupi lingua franca spread by Carmelite missionaries, suffering debt-slavery after contact in the early 1700s before some migrated to Venezuela and adopted Baniwa. They mostly adhere to Animism and Nhengatu is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Latin American and Caribbean Peoples
Country: Brazil
People Cluster: South American Indigenous
Primary Language(s): Nhengatu (yrl)
Primary Religion(s): Animism
Population: 900
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 5% or Greater but Less than 10% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG016857
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Pray for the Warekena of Brazil

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: Animism
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

80%
%
Animism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Nhengatu
Language Family: Tupian

100%
%
Nhengatu Speakers

Media Resources in Nhengatu:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Nhengatu:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Nhengatu bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Warekena 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 Warekena:
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 Warekena of Brazil

"...And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold." As he said these things, he called out, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."
readLuke 8:8

Pray that the seeds of truth will take root in the hearts of those who are far from Jesus and that He will lead them from darkness to light.

Worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness; tremble before him, all the earth!
readPsalm 96:9

Pray that many who do not yet know Jesus will come to know Him and worship Him in the splendor of His holiness.

For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one.
readHebrews 10:34

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will have compassion for those in prison, sympathize with those who are mistreated, and continue to do good and share the gospel with others.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
readJohn 3:16

Pray that God will send and sustain believers to cross cultures and share the gospel with the lost. Ask that He will give them His heart for the lost and that many will believe in Him and not perish but have eternal life.

Guarequena Across Countries (ROP3 - 103507) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

2 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
WarekenaPG016857WarekenaBrazil900No Longer UnreachedNhengatuAnimism
GuarequenaPG016470GuarequenaVenezuela450Engaged yet UnreachedSpanishEthnoreligion

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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