The Tambunan Dusun of Malaysia

The Tambunan Dusun of Malaysia, numbering approximately 24,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are one of Sabah's largest Dusun subgroups, organized into seven sub-tribes including the Tuwawon and Tagahas, settled by explorers from Nunuk Ragang led by Gombunan, whose 1890s rivalry saw rebel leader Mat Salleh ally with the Tagahas against the Tuwawon. They mostly adhere to Protestantism and Kadazan Dusun is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Malay Peoples
Country: Malaysia
People Cluster: Borneo-Kalimantan
Primary Language(s): Kadazan Dusun (dtp)
Primary Religion(s): Protestantism
Population: 24,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 10% or Greater Evangelical
People Group ID: PG019283
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Pray for the Tambunan Dusun of Malaysia

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Protestantism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

40%
%
Protestantism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Kadazan Dusun
Language Family: Austronesian

70%
%
Kadazan Dusun Speakers

Media Resources in Kadazan Dusun:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Bible Resources in Kadazan Dusun:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Baibol Kadazan (Archdiocese of Kota Kinabalu Version)✓✓✓
Today's Dusun Version Revised✓✓✓

2 entries

Or check out the Kadazan Dusun bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Tambunan Dusun 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 Tambunan Dusun:
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 Tambunan Dusun of Malaysia

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
readMatthew 28:16-20

Pray that those who don't yet know Him will encounter the risen Savior and be transformed by the power of His resurrection, becoming disciples who make disciples.

Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?
readRomans 2:4

Pray that, in God's kindness and according to His nature, He will lead many to repentance.

For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
readRomans 8:38-39

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will have confidence in their salvation, knowing that nothing can separate them from the One who conquered death and loves them as His children.

And thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else's foundation, but as it is written, "Those who have never been told of him will see, and those who have never heard will understand."
readRomans 15:20-21

Pray that God will send believers to cross cultures and proclaim the gospel where Christ has not been named, so that the nations might glorify God for His mercy.

Dusun, Tambunan Across Countries (ROP3 - 102785) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

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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