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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Begi-Mao of Ethiopia

The Begi-Mao of Ethiopia, numbering approximately 71,000 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are described as an ethnolinguistic community of Ethiopia They are an Indigenous people, with Begi-Mao (Hozo) as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Omotic people cluster of the Horn of Africa Peoples. Their primary religion is Sunni Islam. They primarily speak Hozo.

Photo by Google. (2025). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Begi-Mao

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Horn of Africa Peoples
Country: Ethiopia
People Cluster: Omotic
Primary Language(s): Hozo (hoz)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 71,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG011553
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Pray for the Begi-Mao of Ethiopia

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.

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

91%
%

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Hozo
Language Family: Blue Nile Mao

60%
%

Media Resources in Hozo:

Films:

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Provided by the Jesus Film Project

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Bible Resources in Hozo:

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Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Hozo bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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Explore Lostness and Next Steps

Unengaged and Unreached

Strategic Priority Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached (SPI: 0), 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.
Lostness Priority Index (LPI): Frontier Unreached People Group, (LPI: 0), < 0.1% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity (GSEC: 1), this people group is less than 2% evangelical, some evangelical resources are available, but there has been no active church planting among them within the past two years

Next steps for the Begi-Mao:
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

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Begi-Mao 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 Begi-Mao:
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

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Begi-Mao 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 Begi-Mao:
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 Begi-Mao of Ethiopia

"And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
readJohn 8:32

Pray for those who live enslaved to sin to hear and receive the truth of the gospel and be set free.

Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God.
readMark 10:14b

Praise Jesus for the way He loves children, asking that many will learn the truth about Him and come to Him unhindered.

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.
readJohn 14:3

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will have hope in trials because they know that Jesus will one day take them to be with Him forever.

But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed.
read2 Corinthians 3:16

Give thanks to God for believers around the world who are willing to cross cultures to share the gospel with those who are perishing. Pray that He will work through their witness to draw many to turn to Him.

Begi-Mao Across Countries (ROP3 - 101204) 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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