Wayana of French Guiana (PGID: PG016344)

PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Wayana of French Guiana

The Wayana of French Guiana, numbering approximately 2,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Carib-speaking Amazonian people of the upper Maroni River basin descended from the merger of smaller groups including the Upului, Opagwana, and Kukuyana, never formally colonized due to the region's dense rainforest. They mostly adhere to Animism and Wayana is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Latin American and Caribbean Peoples
Country: French Guiana
People Cluster: South American Indigenous
Primary Language(s): Wayana (way)
Primary Religion(s): Animism
Population: 2,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG016344
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Pray for the Wayana of French Guiana

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Animism
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

91%

Animism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Wayana
Language Family: Cariban

100%

Wayana Speakers

Media Resources in Wayana:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Wayana:

Bible Name (Translation)	Video	Audio	Text
1979 World Team		✓	✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Wayana bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Wayana 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 Wayana:

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 Wayana of French Guiana

Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.
1 John 3:8

Pray for those living in darkness to recognize the destructive power of sin and the victory Christ has won over it.

The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
Lamentations 3:23-23

Pray that they will have hope in the Lord, knowing that His compassions never fails and that His mercies are new every morning.

And they all ate and were satisfied. And what was left over was picked up, twelve baskets of broken pieces.
Luke 9:17

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will meditate on the stories of Jesus' miracles, be in awe of Him, and trust Him for everything they need.

And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town. Truly, I say to you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.
Matthew 10:14-15

Pray for God to raise up and send out believers to share the gospel with those in this people group who do not yet follow Christ. Pray that they will be welcomed with open arms so that the people they share with will hear and receive the good news with joy.

Wayana Across Countries (ROP3 - 110731) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index

All

Engaged yet Unreached UUPG No Longer Unreached

CountryReligion

3 people groups

People Group ID	Name	Country	Population	Strategic Progress Index	Language ▼	Religion
PG016344	Wayana	French Guiana	2,000	Engaged yet Unreached	Wayana	Animism
PG016441	Wayana	Suriname	650	No Longer Unreached	Wayana	Protestantism
PG017184	Wayana	Brazil	300	No Longer Unreached	Wayana	Folk Catholicism

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

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