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The Ma'ya Salawati of Indonesia

The Ma'ya Salawati of Indonesia, numbering approximately 5,400 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are an indigenous ethnic group from Salawati Island, which is part of the Raja Ampat Islands in West Papua, Indonesia. They mostly adhere to Protestantism and Ma'ya is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3 Flash: Ma'ya

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Pacific Islander Peoples
Country: Indonesia
People Cluster: New Guinea
Primary Language(s): Ma'ya (slz)
Primary Religion(s): Protestantism
Population: 5,400
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 10% or Greater Evangelical
People Group ID: PG022464
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Pray for the Ma'ya Salawati of Indonesia

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: Protestantism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

30%
%
Protestantism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Ma'ya
Language Family: Austronesian

76%
%
Ma’ya Speakers

Media Resources in Ma'ya:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Ma'ya:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Ma'ya bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Ma'ya Salawati 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 Ma'ya Salawati:
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 Ma'ya Salawati of Indonesia

"For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God." Those who heard it said, "Then who can be saved?" But he said "What is impossible with man is possible with God."
readLuke 18:25-27

Pray that the lost who think they have everything they need will recognize their spiritual poverty apart from Jesus and turn to Him in faith.

Worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness; tremble before him, all the earth!
readPsalm 96:9

Pray that many who do not yet know Jesus will come to know Him and worship Him in the splendor of His holiness.

This God - his way is perfect; the word of the LORD proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.
readPsalm 18:30

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will have access to His Word and the ability to understand it, so that they can grow in their faith and find refuge in Him.

Say among the nations, “The LORD reigns! Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved; he will judge the peoples with equity.”
readPsalm 96:10

Pray for God to put in the hearts of believers to go to the lost and testify about the Lord who reigns.

Ma'ya Across Countries (ROP3 - 106437) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group ID ▲NameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Ma'ya SalawatiPG022464Ma'ya SalawatiIndonesia5,400No Longer UnreachedMa'yaProtestantism

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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