The Digil-Rahanweyn of Somalia

The Digil-Rahanweyn of Somalia, numbering approximately 1,055,000 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are 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, in the Somali people cluster of the Horn of Africa Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Islam - Sunni. They primarily speak Maay.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Northern African and Middle Eastern Peoples
Country: Somalia
People Cluster: Somali
Primary Language(s): Maay (ymm)
Primary Religion(s): Islam - Sunni
Population: 1,055,000
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
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Digil-Rahanweyn of Somalia

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Islam - Sunni
Religious Affiliation: Islam

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Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Maay
Language Family: Afro-Asiatic

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Media Resources in Maay:

Films:

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Bible Resources in Maay:

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Or check out the Maay bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

Next steps for the Digil-Rahanweyn

The Digil-Rahanweyn 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 Digil-Rahanweyn

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.

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 Digil-Rahanweyn

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.

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 Digil-Rahanweyn of Somalia

But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.
readIsaiah 59:2

Pray that those who are separated from God will turn to Him in humility and repentance, seeking His forgiveness and the restoration of a right relationship with their Heavenly Father.

Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. And he said, ‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.’ In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.
readJob 1:20-22

Pray that those who mourn will worship God in the midst of their suffering and loss, recognizing He is the source of all good things and that He is worthy of their praise and trust.

For the LORD takes pleasure in his people; he adorns the humble with salvation.
readPsalm 149:4

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be encouraged and feel immeasurably loved as they meditate on the fact that God takes pleasure in them.

O LORD, who shall sojourn in your tent? Who shall dwell on your holy hill? He who walks blamelessly and does what is right and speaks truth in his heart.
readPsalm 15:1-2

Ask God to send believers who will go and, with integrity, walk blamelessly and do what is right, speaking truth about the Lord with those who need to learn about His redemption plan.

Rahanweyn (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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