The Dagaari of Burkina Faso

The Dagaari of Burkina Faso, numbering approximately 644,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Mole-Dagbani offshoot who migrated into the Sahel by the 14th century and further south by the 17th, known across the Ghana-Burkina Faso-Cote d'Ivoire border zone for the sacred gyil xylophone tradition passed from father to son through initiation. They mostly adhere to Animism and Northern Dagara is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Dagaari

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Burkina Faso
People Cluster: Gur
Primary Language(s): Northern Dagara (dgi)
Primary Religion(s): Animism
Population: 644,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG012388
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Dagaari of Burkina Faso

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

40%
%
Animism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Northern Dagara
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

100%
%
Dagara, Northern Speakers

Media Resources in Northern Dagara:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Bible Resources in Northern Dagara:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
2004 Bible Society of Burkina Faso✓✓✓
2017 Edition✓✓

2 entries

Or check out the Northern Dagara bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Dagaari 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 Dagaari:
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

Pray specifically for the Dagaari of Burkina Faso

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.

And what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.
read2 Timothy 2:2

Pray that the lost will come to faith in Christ and be discipled in the truth of the gospel, becoming faithful followers of Jesus who, in turn, make disciples themselves.

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.
readColossians 3:1

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.

For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.
read2 Corinthians 1:5

When any who might believe suffer for the sake of the gospel, ask God to deepen their understanding of His grace so that they may share it freely with those who have not received it.

Dagara, Northern Across Countries (ROP3 - 102365) 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.

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