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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Ma'ya Salawati of Indonesia

The Ma'ya Salawati of Indonesia, numbering approximately 5,400 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are an indigenous ethnic group from Salawati Island, which is part of the Raja Ampat Islands in West Papua, Indonesia. They mostly adhere to Protestantism and Ma'ya is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3 Flash: Ma'ya

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Pacific Islander Peoples
Country: Indonesia
People Cluster: New Guinea
Primary Language(s): Ma'ya (slz)
Primary Religion(s): Protestantism
Population: 5,400
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 10% or Greater Evangelical
People Group ID: PG022464
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Pray for the Ma'ya Salawati of Indonesia

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: Protestantism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

30%
%
Protestantism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Ma'ya
Language Family: Austronesian

76%
%
Ma’ya Speakers

Media Resources in Ma'ya:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Ma'ya:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Ma'ya bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Ma'ya Salawati 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 Ma'ya Salawati:
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 Ma'ya Salawati of Indonesia

Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
readJohn 3:18

Pray for those who are living under the burden of their sin to believe in Jesus, the only Son of God, and receive freedom.

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
readMatthew 11:28-29

Please pray for them to lift their eyes to Jesus and find rest for their souls, lasting peace, and hope in Him.

And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues.
read2 Corinthians 12:28

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will grow in the spiritual gifts God has given them and use these gifts to glorify Him and build up the Church.

Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.
readEphesians 6:13

Pray that God will send believers to the lost of this people group and that, as they share the gospel, they will take up the whole armor of God so that they can stand firm when trials come.

Ma'ya Across Countries (ROP3 - 106437) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Ma'ya SalawatiPG022464Ma'ya SalawatiIndonesia5,400No Longer UnreachedMa'yaProtestantism

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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