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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Jama Mapun of Philippines

The Jama Mapun of Philippines, numbering approximately 49,500 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a people of the Philippines and can also be known as Kagayan Bajau. They are an Indigenous people, in the Filipino, Muslim people cluster of the Malay Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Islam - Sunni. They primarily speak Mapun.

Jama Mapun in Malaysia photo
Photo courtesy of Joshua Project. Photo Source: Copyrighted ©️ 2025 Peoples of the World Foundation Used with permission

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Asian Pacific Peoples
Country: Philippines
People Cluster: Filipino, Muslim
Primary Language(s): Mapun (sjm)
Primary Religion(s): Islam - Sunni
Population: 49,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG007699
View on Joshua Project

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Pray for the Jama Mapun of Philippines

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Islam - Sunni
Religious Affiliation: Islam

%
Islam - Sunni Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Mapun
Language Family: Austronesian

%
Mapun Speakers

Media Resources in Mapun:

Films:

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Mapun:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Mapun bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

Next steps for the Jama Mapun

The Jama Mapun are Unengaged and Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations among which there are no known efforts focused on establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Begin signifcant prayer and fasting for this group
Send cross-cultural teams to discover and research this people group
Begin gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group

Next steps for the Jama Mapun

The Jama Mapun 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.

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

Next steps for the Jama Mapun

The Jama Mapun 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.

Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Jama Mapun of Philippines

But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.
read1 Timothy 6:9

Pray for those, rich and poor, who have put their trust in worldly things, and ask that they will be honest with themselves, acknowledge their need for God and turn to Him.

Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples!
readPsalm 96:3

Pray for people to hear and believe the good news of Jesus and joyfully share it with their family and friends.

Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.
readLuke 18:17

Pray that as people trust in Christ, they will have simple, childlike confidence that He will provide for their needs.

You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.
read2 Corinthians 1:11

Pray that many people will join in praying for the spread of the gospel here, and that God will answer these prayers by drawing more people to Himself.

Jama Mapun, Bajau Kagayan (ROP3 - 100800) reported in the following countries:

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 Definitions page.

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