The Mankanya of Guinea-Bissau

The Mankanya of Guinea-Bissau, numbering approximately 64,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a West African ethnic group indigenous to the Senegambian region. They mostly adhere to Animism and Mankanya is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Guinea-Bissau
People Cluster: Atlantic
Primary Language(s): Mankanya (knf)
Primary Religion(s): Animism
Population: 64,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG013468
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Mankanya of Guinea-Bissau

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

72%
%
Animism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Mankanya
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

100%
%
Mankanya Speakers

Media Resources in Mankanya:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Bible Resources in Mankanya:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
2014 Wycliffe Bible Translators, Inc.✓✓✓

1 entry

Or check out the Mankanya bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Mankanya 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 Mankanya:
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 Mankanya of Guinea-Bissau

Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.
readRevelation 3:20

Pray that those who have not opened their hearts to Jesus will hear His knock and invite Him in as their Savior and Lord.

Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears, let him hear.
readMatthew 13:8-9

Pray that they will have open hearts and minds to the Word of God, and that it will take root in their lives and bear fruit for His glory.

Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart, for I am called by your name, O LORD, God of host.
readJeremiah 15:16

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will find joy and delight in the Word of the Lord.

To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel.
readEphesians 6:18b-19

Ask God to give believers He sends to the lost of this people group the boldness and clarity to proclaim the mystery of the gospel in a way that people can understand.

Mankanya Across Countries (ROP3 - 106274) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

3 people groups

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

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