The Chamacocos of Paraguay

The Chamacocos of Paraguay, numbering approximately 850 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are an Indigenous people of the Gran Chaco of Paraguay and adjacent Brazil. They speak Chamacoco (Yshyr), a Zamucoan language, and traditionally practiced hunting, fishing, and gathering while maintaining distinctive spiritual and cultural traditions. They mostly adhere to Animism and Chamacoco is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2025). Image generated by Gemini 3 Flash: Camacoco

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Latin American and Caribbean Peoples
Country: Paraguay
People Cluster: South American Indigenous
Primary Language(s): Chamacoco (ceg)
Primary Religion(s): Animism
Population: 850
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 5% or Greater but Less than 10% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG017219
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Chamacocos of Paraguay

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.

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Animism
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

60%
%
Animism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Chamacoco
Language Family: Zamucoan

100%
%
Chamacoco Speakers

Media Resources in Chamacoco:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Bible Resources in Chamacoco:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
2000 New Tribes Mission Paraguay✓✓✓

1 entry

Or check out the Chamacoco bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Chamacocos 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 Chamacocos:
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 Chamacocos of Paraguay

Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.
readPsalm 20:7

Pray for those who trust in anything other than the Lord to be convicted of their sin and learn about what Jesus did for them so that they can choose to trust in Him.

For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.
read2 Timothy 4:3-4

Pray that the lost will be open to the truth of the gospel and turn from false teachings and myths to the sound doctrine of Christ in faith.

Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth; break forth, O mountains, into singing! For the LORD has comforted his people and will have compassion on his afflicted.
readIsaiah 49:13

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ and suffer for their faith, they will sing for joy and be glad in their hearts because the Lord has compassion on them.

And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”
readRomans 10:15

Pray that God will call many believers who will obediently go and share the gospel with those who desperately need it.

Chamacoco Across Countries (ROP3 - 101987) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

2 people groups

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.

Scroll to Top