The Xegwi of South Africa

The Xegwi of South Africa, numbering approximately 300 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a small San community whose ancestors migrated from western Lesotho through the Drakensberg mountains to settle near Lake Chrissie in Mpumalanga, remembered for a now-extinct click language and ancestral rock art traditions. They mostly adhere to Ethnoreligion and Afrikaans is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: South Africa
People Cluster: Khoisan
Primary Language(s): Afrikaans (afr)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion
Population: 300
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG015548

Pray for the Xegwi of South Africa

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: Ethnoreligion
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

—
%
Ethnoreligion Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Afrikaans
Language Family: Indo-European

100%
%
Afrikaans Speakers

Media Resources in Afrikaans:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film

2 films

Bible Resources in Afrikaans:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Die Bybel in Afrikaans 1983-vertaling✓

1 entry

Or check out the Afrikaans bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Xegwi 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 Xegwi:
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 Xegwi of South Africa

He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him
readLuke 10:34

Pray that the lost among them will experience the kind of compassion Jesus taught His followers to show others, and that they will trust in Him because He is the one who brings healing to the broken and lost.

All the earth worships you and sings praises to you; they sing praises to your name.
readPsalm 66:4

Pray that the good news of Jesus will advance here and that many will bow down and sing praises to His name.

Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time.
readColossians 4:5

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be wise in the way they walk with the lost and manage their time and other resources in a way that honors God.

In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
readEphesians 1:13-14

Pray that God will work through believers near and far in bringing the lost to Himself, giving them what they need to do the task He has set before them, and helping them rest in Him because He has given them His Spirit.

Xegwi Across Countries (ROP3 - 110890) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

2 people groups

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

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