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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Maninka of Sierra Leone

The Maninka of Sierra Leone, numbering approximately 185,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an indigenous community of Sierra Leone and can also be known as Madingo, Mande, Eastern Malinke, Southern Malinke, Kankan Maninka, Maninka-Mori, Maninka, Maninkaxan, Mandingo, Malinké, Mandingo, Maninga, Maninkakan. They are an Indigenous people, in the Malinke people cluster of the Sub-Saharan African affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Islam - Folk. They primarily speak Maninkakan, Eastern.

Maninka in Guinea photo
Photo courtesy of Joshua Project. Photo Source: Copyrighted ©️ 2025 International Mission Board-SBC Used with permission

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-saharan Africa Peoples
Country: Sierra Leone
People Cluster: Malinke
Primary Language(s): Maninkakan, Eastern (emk)
Primary Religion(s): Islam - Folk
Population: 185,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG014290
View on Joshua Project

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Pray for the Maninka of Sierra Leone

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Islam - Folk
Religious Affiliation: Islam

%
Islam - Folk Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Maninkakan, Eastern
Language Family: Niger-Congo

%
Maninkakan, Eastern Speakers

Media Resources in Maninkakan, Eastern:

Films:

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

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Bible Resources in Maninkakan, Eastern:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Maninkakan, Eastern bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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Next steps for the Maninka

The Maninka 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 Maninka

The Maninka 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 Maninka

The Maninka 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 Maninka of Sierra Leone

For at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light.
readEphesians 5:8

Pray that those who are lost will turn from the darkness they are walking in and embrace the light, becoming children of light who bear fruit in every good work.

I sought the LORD, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears.
readPsalm 34:4

Pray for each who becomes a child of God to share the hope of eternity with family and friends.

"...I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."
readMatthew 16:18b

Pray that God will build and grow His Church among this people.

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
readRomans 1:16

Pray that God will raise up sons and daughters who, like Paul, will be bold to share the gospel across cultural barriers so that many might receive salvation.

Maninka, Eastern (ROP3 - 106265) 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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