The Davaweno of Philippines

The Davaweno of Philippines, numbering approximately 190,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a Davawenyo ethnolinguistic community of the Davao Region in southeastern Mindanao, traditionally associated with the native Mansakan Davawenyo language, which has been strongly influenced by Cebuano and Tagalog. They mostly adhere to Roman Catholicism and Davawenyo is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash: Davaweno

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Malay Peoples
Country: Philippines
People Cluster: Filipino, Central
Primary Language(s): Davawenyo (daw)
Primary Religion(s): Roman Catholicism
Population: 190,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG007665
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Davaweno 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

67%
%
Roman Catholicism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Davawenyo
Language Family: Austronesian

100%
%
Davawenyo Speakers

Media Resources in Davawenyo:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Bible Resources in Davawenyo:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Or check out the Davawenyo bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Davaweno 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 Davaweno:
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 Davaweno of Philippines

When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
readMatthew 9:36

Pray that those who have no hope and are in need of a Savior will be comforted by the Good Shepherd, who seeks to gather the lost and weary into His care.

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
readJohn 3:14-15

Pray that the lost will look to Jesus lifted up on the cross and believe in Him, gaining eternal life with God.

And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
readPhilippians 1:6

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be assured that God will complete the good work He has begun in them until the day of Christ's return.

Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.
readIsaiah 43:19

Praise the God who is able to make a way forward, even when it seems impossible. Ask Him to do a new thing among this people group specifically and among the nations, raising up believers to go and share the gospel with individuals and places where it has not flourished before.

Davaweno Across Countries (ROP3 - 102477) 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.

Scroll to Top