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The Yungur of Nigeria

The Yungur of Nigeria, numbering approximately 215,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a people of Nigeria's eastern Gongola River valley, related to the Mboi, whose centuries-old tradition of carving wooden effigies of deceased chiefs to petition for rain and harvest survives in objects radiocarbon-dated to more than 500 years old. They mostly adhere to Animism and Bena (Nigeria) is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Nigeria
People Cluster: Adamawa-Ubangi
Primary Language(s): Bena (Nigeria) (yun)
Primary Religion(s): Animism
Population: 215,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG014199
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Pray for the Yungur 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: Animism
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

60%
%
Animism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Bena (Nigeria)
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

100%
%
Bena (Nigeria) Speakers

Media Resources in Bena (Nigeria):

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Bena (Nigeria):

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Bena (Nigeria) bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Yungur 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 Yungur:
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 Yungur of Nigeria

Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
readJohn 14:6

Pray that those who don't know Jesus will recognize Him as the only way to the Father and follow Him in faith.

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.
readMatthew 13: 45-46

Pray that they will recognize the treasure of knowing Christ Jesus and be willing to give up everything else to gain Him.

No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God.
readRomans 4:20

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will not waver but will grow strong in their belief, knowing that the Lord rewards those who seek Him.

Go on up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good news; lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good news; lift it up, fear not; say to the cities of Judah, "Behold your God!"
readIsaiah 40:9

Pray for God to send and sustain believers to go and herald the good news to the lost here.

Yungur Across Countries (ROP3 - 111122) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
YungurPG014199YungurNigeria215,000Engaged yet UnreachedBena (Nigeria)Animism

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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