The Yaminahua of Peru

The Yaminahua of Peru, numbering approximately 600 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are a Pano-speaking people whose name means people of the axe, historically centered where the Purus, Tarauaca, and Jurua headwaters converge near Peru's border with Brazil and Bolivia, devastated by disease during the 1894-1920 rubber boom. They mostly adhere to Animism and Yaminahua is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Latin American and Caribbean Peoples
Country: Peru
People Cluster: South American Indigenous
Primary Language(s): Yaminahua (yaa)
Primary Religion(s): Animism
Population: 600
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG017604
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Pray for the Yaminahua of Peru

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Animism
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

60%
%
Animism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Yaminahua
Language Family: Pano-Tacanan

100%
%
Yaminahua Speakers

Media Resources in Yaminahua:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Bible Resources in Yaminahua:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
2003 La Liga Bíblica✓✓

1 entry

Or check out the Yaminahua 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): Pioneer Unreached People Group, (LPI: 1), 0.1% or Greater but Less than 0.5% 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 Yaminahua:
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 Yaminahua of Peru

I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.
readGenesis 3:15

Pray that those without Christ will hear the words of Genesis 1-3 in their own language, and desire to know their Creator and His provision of salvation.

I sought the LORD, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears.
readPsalm 34:4

Pray for each who becomes a child of God to share the hope of eternity with family and friends.

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
readPsalm 119:105

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will meditate daily on the Word of God so that, through it, they might have wisdom for the big and small decisions they face every day.

Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves.
readLuke 10:3

Ask God to raise up and send humble believers who will depend on Him as they go out like lambs among wolves to share the good news with those who need to hear it.

Yaminawa Across Countries (ROP3 - 110961) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

3 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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