The Amahuaca of Peru

The Amahuaca of Peru, numbering approximately 300 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are described as a Panoan people of the upper Ucayali River in eastern Peru near the Brazilian border, first contacted by Franciscan missionaries in 1686, later devastated by land seizure and forced labor during the Amazon rubber boom They are an Indigenous people, with Amahuaca (Amawaka) as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Amazon people cluster of the Latin American and Caribbean Peoples. They mostly adhere to Animism and Amahuaca is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2025). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Amahuaca

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Latin American and Caribbean Peoples
Country: Peru
People Cluster: Amazon
Primary Language(s): Amahuaca (amc)
Primary Religion(s): Animism
Population: 300
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG017493
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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Animism
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

95%
%
Animism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Amahuaca
Language Family: Pano-Tacanan

73%
%
Amahuaca Speakers

Media Resources in Amahuaca:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Bible Resources in Amahuaca:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Or check out the Amahuaca bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

Explore Lostness and Next Steps

Unengaged and Unreached

Strategic Priority Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached (SPI: 0), 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.
Lostness Priority Index (LPI): Expanding Unreached People Group, (LPI: 2), 0.5% or Greater but Less than 2% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity (GSEC: 1), this people group is less than 2% evangelical, some evangelical resources are available, but there has been no active church planting among them within the past two years

Next steps for the Amahuaca:
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

Pray specifically for the Amahuaca of Peru

Ah, Lord GOD! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.
readJerremiah 32:17

Pray that the God who made the heavens and the earth by the power of His outstretched arm, the One who is able to save those who are lost, will show His great love and mercy to those who are walking in darkness.

The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.
readIsaiah 40:8

Pray that everyone has access to God's Word and that those who hear the good news will turn from their sins and put their faith in Jesus the Messiah.

Remember your mercy, O LORD, and your steadfast love, for they have been from of old.
readPsalm 25:6

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will remember the merciful nature and steadfast love of God as they walk with Him daily.

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.

Amahuaca Across Countries (ROP3 - 100245) 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.

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