The Yawalapiti of Brazil

The Yawalapiti of Brazil, numbering approximately 325 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are a small tropical forest tribe living near the headwaters of the Xingu River in central Brazil. They mostly adhere to Animism and Kamayurá is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Latin American and Caribbean Peoples
Country: Brazil
People Cluster: Amazon
Primary Language(s): Kamayurá (kay)
Primary Religion(s): Animism
Population: 325
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG017207
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Yawalapiti 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.

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Animism
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

70%
%
Animism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Kamayurá
Language Family: Tupian

100%
%
Kamayurá Speakers

Media Resources in Kamayurá:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Bible Resources in Kamayurá:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Alem Version✓✓✓

1 entry

Or check out the Kamayurá bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity (GSEC: 1), this people group is less than 2% evangelical, some evangelical resources are available, but there has been no active church planting among them within the past two years

Next steps for the Yawalapiti:
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 Yawalapiti of Brazil

I am the LORD; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols.
readIsaiah 42:8

Pray that lost people will turn from worthless idols to worship the one true God, recognizing that He alone is worthy of all glory and praise.

And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
readLuke 7:50

Pray for the good news of Jesus Christ to reach many so that they can place their faith in Him and have lasting hope.

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.
readJohn 10:27

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will hear God's voice and will have the great assurance that no one can snatch them from the Father’s hand.

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
readEphesians 6:12

Ask God to give those He sends to cross cultures the discernment they need to recognize the spiritual battle they are fighting. Pray God will protect their faith as they abide in Him.

Yawalapiti, Walapiti Across Countries (ROP3 - 111011) 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