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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Sanuma of Venezuela

The Sanuma of Venezuela, numbering approximately 1,200 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are an ethnolinguistic community of Venezuela and can also be known as Tsanuma, Samatari, Sanima, Xamatari, Samatali, Sanema, Guaika, Chirichano. They are an Indigenous people, in the Amazon people cluster of the Latin-Caribbean Americans affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Ethnoreligion - Animism. They primarily speak Sanumá.

Photo courtesy of Joshua Project. Photo Source: Williams and Danalis

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: American Peoples
Country: Venezuela
People Cluster: Amazon
Primary Language(s): Sanumá (xsu)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion - Animism
Population: 1,200
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG016493

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Ethnoreligion - Animism
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

%
Ethnoreligion - Animism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Sanumá
Language Family: Yanomaman

%
Sanumá Speakers

Media Resources in Sanumá:

Films:

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

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Bible Resources in Sanumá:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

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Next steps for the Sanuma

The Sanuma 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 Sanuma

The Sanuma 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 Sanuma

The Sanuma 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 Sanuma of Venezuela

For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
readRomans 1:20

As God's creation declares His glory, pray that multitudes who don't know Him will see the works of His hands and desire to know more about the Creator.

So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.
readRomans 9:16

Pray that the merciful God who is at work in people's hearts will advance His gospel among them.

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
readPhilippians 2:5-7

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will imitate His humility in all they do.

"Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."
readJohn 7:38

Ask God to raise up believers and sustain them as they cross cultures to share hope with those who need it. Pray that many might come to know Christ and that streams of living water will flow from their hearts so they will never thirst again.

Sanuma, Guaika reported in the following countries (ROP3):

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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