The Ese Ejja of Peru

The Ese Ejja of Peru, numbering approximately 600 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are an Amazonian people, also known as Huarayo or Chama, whose name Ece'je simply means people, living along Peru's Tambopata and Heath rivers as part of a small transborder population shared with Bolivia and once entirely dependent on hunting and gathering. They mostly adhere to Animism and Ese Ejja is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Latin American and Caribbean Peoples
Country: Peru
People Cluster: Amazon
Primary Language(s): Ese Ejja (ese)
Primary Religion(s): Animism
Population: 600
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 10% or Greater Evangelical
People Group ID: PG017531
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Ese Ejja of Peru

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

60%
%
Animism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Ese Ejja
Language Family: Pano-Tacanan

100%
%
Ese Ejja Speakers

Media Resources in Ese Ejja:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Bible Resources in Ese Ejja:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
2006 New Tribes Bolivia✓✓

1 entry

Or check out the Ese Ejja bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Ese Ejja 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 Ese Ejja:
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 Ese Ejja of Peru

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.

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
readHebrews 4:12

Pray for God's Word to be accessible to everyone in this people group in a way they will resonate with so that many will engage with it, receive it, and share it with others.

He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.
readRevelation 21:4

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ and walk through challenges, they will find comfort in God's promise of a beautiful future when there is no pain or suffering for those who belong to Christ.

The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him.
readJohn 1:9-10

Pray for those God might send to share the gospel here. Ask that they will grow closer to Jesus and be compelled to share His good news with people who don't know it.

Ese Ejja Across Countries (ROP3 - 102948) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

2 people groups

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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