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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Desana of Brazil

The Desana of Brazil, numbering approximately 1,800 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are an Indigenous people of the northwestern Amazon. They inhabit the middle Vaupés River and the Papurí River basin in northwestern Colombia, with smaller settlements along the Tiquié and Negro Rivers in Brazil's Amazonas and can also be known as Emëkóri mahsá, Oregu, Dessano, Wirã, Wina, Kusibi, Uina, Boleka, Desâna. They are an Indigenous people, in the South American Indigenous people cluster of the Latin-Caribbean Americans affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Ethnoreligion - Animism. They primarily speak Desano.

Desana in Brazil photo
Photo by Google. (2025). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Desana

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: American Peoples
Country: Brazil
People Cluster: South American Indigenous
Primary Language(s): Desano (des)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion - Animism
Population: 1,800
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG016820
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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Ethnoreligion - Animism
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

%
Ethnoreligion - Animism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Desano
Language Family: Tucanoan

%
Desano Speakers

Media Resources in Desano:

Films:

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Bible Resources in Desano:

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Or check out the Desano bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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Next steps for the Desana

The Desana 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 Desana

The Desana 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 Desana

The Desana 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 Desana of Brazil

The people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned.
readMatthew 4:16

Pray that those living in darkness and the shadow of death will see a great light and turn to the Lord for salvation.

And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us.
readActs 17:26-27

Pray that the lost will seek God and find Him, for He is not far from each one of us. Pray that they will have opportunities to access the gospel, learn God's purpose for their lives, and believe in Him.

For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you.
readActs 17:23

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will have a deep desire to know God more fully and to make Him known in creative ways to others who are still searching for truth.

The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!”
readJohn 1:35-36

Pray for those God sends to cross cultures to share the gospel, that they might faithfully share the good news of the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

Desano (ROP3 - 102530) 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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