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Amharic - አማርኛ | Arabic - عربي
Bengali - বাংলা | Chinese (Simplified) - 中文（简体）
Chinese (Traditional) - 中文（繁體) | French - Français
German - Deutsch | Gujarati - ગુજરાતી
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Portugese - Português | Russian - Русский
Spanish - Espanol | Tagalong / Filipino
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The Maha of Nigeria

The Maha of Nigeria, numbering approximately 22,000 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are a Chadic people of northeastern Nigeria whose homeland lies east of the Gongola River and whose distinct identity is rooted in the Maaka language, local clan traditions, and long interaction with neighboring Hausa, Fulani, and Kanuri communities. They mostly adhere to Folk Islam and Maaka is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Nigeria
People Cluster: Chadic
Primary Language(s): Maaka (mew)
Primary Religion(s): Folk Islam
Population: 22,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): No Evangelicals, Churches or Resources
People Group ID: PG013980
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Pray for the Maha of Nigeria

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: Folk Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

60%
%
Folk Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Maaka
Language Family: Afro-Asiatic

100%
%
Maaka Speakers

Media Resources in Maaka:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Maaka:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Maaka bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

Explore Lostness and Next Steps

Unengaged and Unreached

Strategic Priority Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached (SPI: 0), 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.
Lostness Priority Index (LPI): Frontier Unreached People Group, (LPI: 0), < 0.1% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): No Evangelicals, Churches or Resources (GSEC: 0), there are no evangelical Christians or churches among this people group and there is no access to evangelical print, audio, visual or human resources

Next steps for the Maha:
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

Pray specifically for the Maha of Nigeria

As it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God".
readRomans 3:10-11

Pray that God will have mercy on those living in broken relationship with Him, and that He will bring many to surrender and repentance at the throne of grace.

For my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples.
readLuke 2:30

Pray that the lost will see the salvation of God, and that they will trust in Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord.

He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken.
readPsalm 62:2

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be in awe of Jesus, remembering that He is their rock, their fortress, and their salvation.

In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
readEphesians 1:13-14

Pray that God will work through believers near and far in bringing the lost to Himself, giving them what they need to do the task He has set before them, and helping them rest in Him because He has given them His Spirit.

Maka Across Countries (ROP3 - 106022) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
MahaPG013980MahaNigeria22,000Unengaged and UnreachedMaakaFolk Islam

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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