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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

Jesus said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life"
readJohn 4:13-14

Pray that those who don't know Jesus will drink of the living water that only Christ can provide and never thirst again.

You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
readPsalm 16:11

Pray that God will make a way for His path of life to be revealed to many so that they may come into His presence and experience abundant joy and eternal pleasures at His right hand.

What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you?
readJames 4:1

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will turn from worldly passions and live in unity with one another.

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 ID ▼NameCountryPopulationStrategic 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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