Download the People Group List (16 languages .csv)

Amharic - አማርኛ | Arabic - عربي
Bengali - বাংলা | Chinese (Simplified) - 中文（简体）
Chinese (Traditional) - 中文（繁體) | French - Français
German - Deutsch | Gujarati - ગુજરાતી
Hindi - हिन्दी | Indonesian - Bahasa Indonesia
Korean - 한국어 | Nepali - नेपाली
Portugese - Português | Russian - Русский
Spanish - Espanol | Tagalong / Filipino
Be sure to use the data import function in your favorite app for working with data.
If you'd like to help improve these translations, Contact Us.

PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Southeastern Chinantec of Mexico

The Southeastern Chinantec of Mexico, numbering approximately 40,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a Chinantec people whose fifteenth-century founders from Chiltepec Viejo conquered Oaxaca's Choapam district and displaced resident Zapotec and Mixe communities, settling San Juan Lalana in Mexico's Papaloapan River basin. They mostly adhere to Folk Catholicism and Lalana Chinantec is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite: Chinantec, Southeastern

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Latin American and Caribbean Peoples
Country: Mexico
People Cluster: Zapotec
Primary Language(s): Lalana Chinantec (cnl)
Primary Religion(s): Folk Catholicism
Population: 40,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 5% or Greater but Less than 10% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG039057
View on Joshua Project

Print Profile
Submit Updates

Pray for the Southeastern Chinantec of Mexico

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.

Pray Now!
Download Prayer Guide

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Folk Catholicism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

73%
%
Folk Catholicism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Lalana Chinantec
Language Family: Otomanguean

86%
%
Chinantec, Lalana Speakers

Media Resources in Lalana Chinantec:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Lalana Chinantec:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
2012 Wycliffe Bible Translators, Inc.✓✓✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Lalana Chinantec bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Southeastern Chinantec 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 Southeastern Chinantec:
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 Southeastern Chinantec of Mexico

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
readJohn 3:17

Pray for those who are living under the burdens of man-made religion to learn about the freedom Jesus offers them and turn to Him in faith.

Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day.
readPsalm 119:97

Pray that the lost will have access to God's Word in their language and treasure it deeply, meditating on God's promises and precepts.

Praise the LORD! I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart, in the company of the upright, in the congregation.
readPsalm 111:1

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will praise the Lord with their whole heart in the assembly of the upright and in the congregation.

To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel.
readEphesians 6:18b-19

Ask God to give believers He sends to the lost of this people group the boldness and clarity to proclaim the mystery of the gospel in a way that people can understand.

Chinantec, Lalana Across Countries (ROP3 - 105601) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Southeastern ChinantecPG039057Southeastern ChinantecMexico40,000No Longer UnreachedLalana ChinantecFolk Catholicism

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