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The Central Tagbanwa of Philippines

The Central Tagbanwa of Philippines, numbering approximately 4,500 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are one of the Philippines' oldest indigenous peoples of Palawan, possibly descended from Tabon Man, whose own Central Tagbanwa language has given way among many speakers to Cuyonon, the trade tongue Cuyo Island settlers spread across the province. They mostly adhere to Animism and Cuyonon is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash: Central Tagbanwa

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Malay Peoples
Country: Philippines
People Cluster: Filipino Tribal
Primary Language(s): Cuyonon (cyo)
Primary Religion(s): Animism
Population: 4,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG007660
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Pray for the Central Tagbanwa of Philippines

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Animism
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

95%
%
Animism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Cuyonon
Language Family: Austronesian

100%
%
Cuyonon Speakers

Media Resources in Cuyonon:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Cuyonon:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Cuyonon bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Central Tagbanwa 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 Central Tagbanwa:
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 Central Tagbanwa of Philippines

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
readMatthew 5:6

Pray for those who are lost to desire righteousness and to be filled with the peace and purpose that only comes from following Jesus.

For your steadfast love is great to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds.
readPsalm 57:10

Pray that God will work, even in the hearts of hard-to-reach people, and that they will rejoice in His steadfast love and faithfulness.

We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
readRomans 6:4

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, God will lead those who might hesitate in getting baptized to trust Him as they obey His command, even when obedience is hard.

Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."
readMatthew 6:9b-10

Pray that God will raise up Christians who are driven by a desire to see God's name worshiped, His kingdom come, and His will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Ask Him to send them to the lost in this people group and sustain them.

Tagbanwa, Central Across Countries (ROP3 - 101937) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion ▲
Central TagbanwaPG007660Central TagbanwaPhilippines4,500Engaged yet UnreachedCuyononAnimism

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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