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Amharic - አማርኛ | Arabic - عربي
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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Songhai of Mali

The Songhai of Mali, numbering approximately 1,360,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a West African ethnolinguistic group linked to te Songhai Empire that dominated the western Sahel in the 15th and 16th centuries. They are an Indigenous people, in the Songhai people cluster of the Sub-Saharan African Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Islam - Sunni. They primarily speak Songhay, Koyraboro Senni.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Mali
People Cluster: Songhai
Primary Language(s): Songhay, Koyraboro Senni (ses)
Primary Religion(s): Islam - Sunni
Population: 1,360,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG013568
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Pray for the Songhai of Mali

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Islam - Sunni
Religious Affiliation: Islam

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Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Songhay, Koyraboro Senni
Language Family: Songhay

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Media Resources in Songhay, Koyraboro Senni:

Films:

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Bible Resources in Songhay, Koyraboro Senni:

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Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Songhay, Koyraboro Senni bible resources at Bible.com

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Next steps for the Songhai

The Songhai 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 Songhai

The Songhai 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 Songhai

The Songhai 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 Songhai of Mali

The people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned.
readMatthew 4:16

Pray that those living in darkness and the shadow of death will see a great light and turn to the Lord for salvation.

Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness!
readPsalm 150:2

Pray for the gospel to advance among those who are living in darkness. Pray that they will come to know Jesus and praise Him for all that He has done.

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
readPsalm 119:105

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will meditate daily on the Word of God so that, through it, they might have wisdom for the big and small decisions they face every day.

For the needy shall not always be forgotten, and the hope of the poor shall not perish forever.
readPsalm 9:18

Pray that God will raise up believers who can help meet emotional and physical needs among this people group. Ask Him to open doors for them and give them the courage to walk into difficult situations and share the hope of the gospel boldly.

Songhai, Koyraboro Senni (ROP3 - 109404) 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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