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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

And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.
readActs 4:12

Pray that those walking in darkness among them will come to know the name by which they must be saved, and call upon Him in faith.

Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth.
readPsalm 67:4

Pray that God will use ways from in-person witnesses to digital gospel resources to bring the joy of His salvation to everyone so that they can be glad in Him and sing for joy.

"...I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."
readMatthew 16:18b

Pray that God will build and grow His Church among this people.

The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
read2 Peter 3:9

Pray that those God sends to cross cultures will patiently endure hardships as they share the gospel, knowing that the Lord is not slow to fulfill His promise.

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

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguage ▼Religion
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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