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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

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.
readRomans 1:18

Pray that God will have mercy and open the eyes of those who don't know Jesus, so that they can turn to the One who is able to save them from their sins.

As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.
readMatthew 13:23

Pray that their hearts will have good soil that receives the Word, understands it, and bears fruit for God's kingdom.

How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word.
readPsalm 119:9

Pray that as young men place their faith in Jesus, they will walk in purity and live according to God's Word.

And through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
readColossians 1:20

As believers cross cultures to tell others about Jesus, praise God for allowing them to be a part of His reconciling all things to Himself, asking Him to help them remember their role in His beautiful plan of salvation for others.

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

Strategic Progress Index
All

2 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguage ▼Religion
GuarequenaPG016470GuarequenaVenezuela450Engaged yet UnreachedSpanishEthnoreligion
WarekenaPG016857WarekenaBrazil900No Longer UnreachedNhengatuAnimism

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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