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The Kwaya of Tanzania

The Kwaya of Tanzania, numbering approximately 210,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Bantu fishing people of Lake Victoria's southeastern shore in Tanzania's Mara Region, descended from the Kwiregi, Kanadi, and North-Mara peoples, whose name derives from mukwaya, their word for the fish eagle, and who gave the town of Musoma its name. They mostly adhere to Animism and Kwaya is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Tanzania
People Cluster: Bantu, Central-Lakes
Primary Language(s): Kwaya (kya)
Primary Religion(s): Animism
Population: 210,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG014971
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Pray for the Kwaya of Tanzania

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.

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Animism
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

55%
%
Animism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Kwaya
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

80%
%
Kwaya Speakers

Media Resources in Kwaya:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Kwaya:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Kwaya bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Kwaya 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 Kwaya:
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 Kwaya of Tanzania

For with the LORD there is steadfast love, and with him is plentiful redemption.
readPsalm 130:7b

Pray for those who are unaware of God's steadfast love that is offered to them through Jesus Christ to learn the truth and experience His plentiful redemption.

Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you!
readPsalm 67:3

Pray that God will be working in people's hearts, give them opportunities to receive the gospel, and bring many to faith in Himself.

For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
read1 Peter 2:25

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will proclaim the good news and the lost will recognize their need for the Shepherd and turn to Jesus Christ in faith.

And Jesus said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men." And immediately they left their nets and followed him.
readMark 1:17-18

Pray that God will raise up believers from this place and/or other cultures nearby to proclaim the gospel to those who desperately need to encounter it.

Kwaya Across Countries (ROP3 - 105533) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group ID ▲NameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
KwayaPG014971KwayaTanzania210,000Engaged yet UnreachedKwayaAnimism

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.

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