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Amharic - አማርኛ | Arabic - عربي
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The Warekena of Brazil

The Warekena of Brazil, numbering approximately 900 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a Rio Negro people who once spoke their own Arawakan language before shifting to Nheengatu, a Tupi lingua franca spread by Carmelite missionaries, suffering debt-slavery after contact in the early 1700s before some migrated to Venezuela and adopted Baniwa. They mostly adhere to Animism and Nhengatu is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Latin American and Caribbean Peoples
Country: Brazil
People Cluster: South American Indigenous
Primary Language(s): Nhengatu (yrl)
Primary Religion(s): Animism
Population: 900
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 5% or Greater but Less than 10% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG016857
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Pray for the Warekena of Brazil

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

80%
%
Animism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Nhengatu
Language Family: Tupian

100%
%
Nhengatu Speakers

Media Resources in Nhengatu:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Nhengatu:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Nhengatu bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Warekena 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.

Next steps for the Warekena:
Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Warekena of Brazil

Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth.
readPsalm 67:4

Pray that those who are lost in darkness and confusion will come to understand God's ways, submit to His righteous rule, and experience the joy of His salvation.

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."
readJohn 8:12

Pray that many will come to know Jesus, the light of the world, and have the light of life instead of walking in darkness.

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
read1 Peter 2:9

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will embrace their identity as God's chosen people, royal priests, and holy nation, living out their faith with purity and devotion.

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
readMatthew 28:19-20

Ask God to bring people among this group to faith in Jesus who will be obedient to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them and teaching them to obey all that Christ has commanded.

Guarequena Across Countries (ROP3 - 103507) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

2 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountry ▲PopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
WarekenaPG016857WarekenaBrazil900No Longer UnreachedNhengatuAnimism
GuarequenaPG016470GuarequenaVenezuela450Engaged yet UnreachedSpanishEthnoreligion

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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