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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Butonese of Malaysia

The Butonese of Malaysia, numbering approximately 20,500 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are an Austronesian-speaking ethnolinguistic grup indigenous to Buton Island in Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia They are an Diaspora people, in the Tukangbesi of Sulawesi people cluster of the Malay Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Islam - Sunni. They primarily speak Wolio.

Wolio in Indonesia photo
Photo courtesy of Joshua Project. Photo Source: Copyrighted ©️ 2025 Anonymous Used with permission

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Asian Pacific Rim Peoples
Country: Malaysia
People Cluster: Tukangbesi of Sulawesi
Primary Language(s): Wolio (wlo)
Primary Religion(s): Islam - Sunni
Population: 20,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG009222
View on Joshua Project

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Pray for the Butonese of Malaysia

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Islam - Sunni
Religious Affiliation: Islam

%
Islam - Sunni Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Wolio
Language Family: Austronesian

%
Wolio Speakers

Media Resources in Wolio:

Films:

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Wolio:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Wolio bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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Next steps for the Butonese

The Butonese 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 Butonese

The Butonese 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 Butonese

The Butonese 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 Butonese of Malaysia

"For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God." Those who heard it said, "Then who can be saved?" But he said "What is impossible with man is possible with God."
readLuke 18:25-27

Pray that the lost who think they have everything they need will recognize their spiritual poverty apart from Jesus and turn to Him in faith.

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.
readRomans 3:23

Pray that the gospel will advance and many will acknowledge that all have sinned, fall short of God's glory, and need a Savior to reconcile them to God.

And he brought him outside and said, "Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be.”
readGenesis 15:5

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will trust God to keep His promises.

So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God who has mercy.
readRomans 9:16

Ask God to raise up people who will trust in His sovereignty as they share the gospel, knowing that it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God who has mercy.

Wolio (ROP3 - 110855) 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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