Download the People Group List (16 languages .csv)

Amharic - አማርኛ | Arabic - عربي
Bengali - বাংলা | Chinese (Simplified) - 中文（简体）
Chinese (Traditional) - 中文（繁體) | French - Français
German - Deutsch | Gujarati - ગુજરાતી
Hindi - हिन्दी | Indonesian - Bahasa Indonesia
Korean - 한국어 | Nepali - नेपाली
Portugese - Português | Russian - Русский
Spanish - Espanol | Tagalong / Filipino
Be sure to use the data import function in your favorite app for working with data.
If you'd like to help improve these translations, Contact Us.

PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Dafin of Mali

The Dafin of Mali, numbering approximately 66,500 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Manding people, also called Marka, descended from Soninke migrants of the Wagadu Empire who settled the middle Niger in the 11th-13th centuries, arriving in Mali-Burkina Faso mainly in the 1600s, later trading across the Sahara under Bambara rule. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Marka is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Mali
People Cluster: Malinke
Primary Language(s): Marka (rkm)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 66,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG013542
View on Joshua Project

Print Profile
Submit Updates

Pray for the Dafin of Mali

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.

Pray Now!
Download Prayer Guide

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

70%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Marka
Language Family: Mande

100%
%
Marka Speakers

Media Resources in Marka:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Marka:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Marka bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Dafin 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 Dafin:
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 Dafin of Mali

For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the LORD made the heavens.
read1 Chronicles 16:26

Pray that those among them who are lost and seeking after worthless idols will have the opportunity to hear and respond to the good news, seeing that Jesus is better than any idol.

“Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”
readRevelation 4:11

Pray that the good news will advance and people will recognize and worship the One who created all things by His will, giving glory and honor to Him alone.

For you are great and do wondrous things; you alone are God. Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name.
readPsalm 86:10-11

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will trust in the Lord with all their heart, knowing that He is the one true God and will teach them His ways.

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
readEphesians 6:12

Ask God to give those He sends to cross cultures the discernment they need to recognize the spiritual battle they are fighting. Pray God will protect their faith as they abide in Him.

Marka Across Countries (ROP3 - 106346) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

2 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
MarkaPG012426MarkaBurkina Faso511,000Engaged yet UnreachedMarkaAnimism
DafinPG013542DafinMali66,500Engaged yet UnreachedMarkaSunni Islam

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 Data Standards section.

Scroll to Top