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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Digil-Rahanweyn of Somalia

The Digil-Rahanweyn of Somalia, numbering approximately 1,065,000 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are described as one of the five major Somali clan‑families and a key agricultural society of southern Somalia. They are distinct within Somali society for their riverine homeland, Maay (Af‑Maay) language, and agro‑pastoral economy and can also be known as Rahanweyn, Digil-Mirifle, Reewin. They are an Indigenous people, with Rahanweyn / Digil-Rahawiin as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Somali people cluster of the Horn of Africa Peoples. Their primary religion is Sunni Islam. They primarily speak Maay.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash: Digil-Rahanweyn

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Horn of Africa Peoples
Country: Somalia
People Cluster: Somali
Primary Language(s): Maay (ymm)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 1,065,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG011952
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Pray for the Digil-Rahanweyn of Somalia

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

99%
%

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Maay
Language Family: Afro-Asiatic

100%
%

Media Resources in Maay:

Films:

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Bible Resources in Maay:

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Or check out the Maay bible at Bible.com

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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 Digil-Rahanweyn:
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 Digil-Rahanweyn 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 Digil-Rahanweyn:
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 Digil-Rahanweyn 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 Digil-Rahanweyn:
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 Digil-Rahanweyn of Somalia

For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or?rulers?or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.
readColossians 1:16

Pray for those who are lost among them, that they will come to know the One who created all things and holds all things together.

The LORD watches over the sojourners; he upholds the widow and the fatherless, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.
readPsalm 146:9

Pray for God to watch over people, wherever they are, and cause them to meet believers who will share the gospel with them clearly and lovingly.

For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
readRomans 8:38-39

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will have confidence in their salvation, knowing that nothing can separate them from the One who conquered death and loves them as His children.

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
readJohn 1:5

Pray that when discouraging days come, those who cross cultures for the sake of the gospel will be comforted as they remember that the light of Christ is stronger than the darkness that surrounds them.

Rahanweyn Across Countries (ROP3 - 105958) 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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