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The Chayahuita of Peru

The Chayahuita of Peru, numbering approximately 21,500 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a Cahuapanan people of Peru's Loreto region who call themselves Shawi, bounded historically by the Maranon, Huallaga, and Cahuapanas rivers, who shifted from inland forest dwelling to riverine settlement after Jesuit colonial contact. They mostly adhere to Animism and Chayahuita is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Latin American and Caribbean Peoples
Country: Peru
People Cluster: South American Indigenous
Primary Language(s): Chayahuita (cbt)
Primary Religion(s): Animism
Population: 21,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 5% or Greater but Less than 10% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG017520
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Pray for the Chayahuita of Peru

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

60%
%
Animism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Chayahuita
Language Family: Cahuapanan

65%
%
Shawi Speakers

Media Resources in Chayahuita:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Chayahuita:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
2011, Wycliffe Bible Translators, Inc.✓✓✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Chayahuita bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Chayahuita 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 Chayahuita:
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 Chayahuita of Peru

And the people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.
readExodus 14:22

Pray that the God who split the sea so that the Israelites might pass through would do another great work among these people, softening the hearts of those who remain lost to the good news and saving them from their sins.

...I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.
readPsalm 13:5

Ask God to bring many to trust in His unfailing love and cause their hearts to rejoice in His salvation.

You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance.
readPsalm 32:7

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will remember that God is their hiding place and that He will preserve them in the midst of trials.

Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.
readEphesians 6:11

Pray that those God sends to cross cultures will put on the full armor of God so that they will be able to stand against the schemes of the enemy.

Chayahuita Across Countries (ROP3 - 102055) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguage ▼Religion
ChayahuitaPG017520ChayahuitaPeru21,500No Longer UnreachedChayahuitaAnimism

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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