The Tigwa-Matig-Salug Manobo of Philippines

The Tigwa-Matig-Salug Manobo of Philippines, numbering approximately 58,500 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a Lumad people of the Davao River valley in central Mindanao whose name combines words for people and river, part of the Bagobo-Manobo classification and recently granted formal land rights across Davao City's Marilog District. They mostly adhere to Animism and Matigsalug Manobo is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash: Tigwa-Matig-Salug Manobo

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Malay Peoples
Country: Philippines
People Cluster: Filipino Tribal
Primary Language(s): Matigsalug Manobo (mbt)
Primary Religion(s): Animism
Population: 58,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 10% or Greater Evangelical
People Group ID: PG007791
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Pray for the Tigwa-Matig-Salug Manobo of Philippines

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.

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Animism
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

97%
%
Animism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Matigsalug Manobo
Language Family: Austronesian

100%
%
Manobo, Matigsalug Speakers

Media Resources in Matigsalug Manobo:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Bible Resources in Matigsalug Manobo:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
2010 Wycliffe Bible Translators, Inc.✓✓✓
SUMALCA✓

2 entries

Or check out the Matigsalug Manobo bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Tigwa-Matig-Salug Manobo 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 Tigwa-Matig-Salug Manobo:
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 Tigwa-Matig-Salug Manobo of Philippines

Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him?
readJames 2:5

Pray for those living in despair to experience the riches of God's love and the hope of eternal life through faith in Christ.

All the earth worships you and sings praises to you; they sing praises to your name.
readPsalm 66:4

Pray that the good news of Jesus will advance here and that many will bow down and sing praises to His name.

But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated.
readHebrews 10:32-33

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will remember the day of their salvation and persevere in their faith despite hardships and suffering.

May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, that your way may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations.
readPsalm 67:1-2

Pray that as God blesses believers from among this people group or from nearby cultures, He will raise them up to share His saving power among the nations.

Manobo, Tigwa-Matig-Salug Across Countries (ROP3 - 110052) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

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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