The Rawas of Indonesia

The Rawas of Indonesia, numbering approximately 236,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Musi-related Malay people indigenous to the Rawas River region of South Sumatra whose identity is rooted in river-based settlement, agriculture, and longstanding cultural ties within the broader Musi community. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Musi is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite: Rawas

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Malay Peoples
Country: Indonesia
People Cluster: Musi of Sumatra
Primary Language(s): Musi (mui)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 236,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG022533
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Rawas 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.

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

90%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Musi
Language Family: Austronesian

100%
%
Musi Speakers

Media Resources in Musi:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Bible Resources in Musi:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Or check out the Musi bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Rawas are Engaged yet Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations but there are sustained efforts at establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Next steps for the Rawas:
Continue prayer and fasting for this group
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Begin training up local leaders to lead and develop strategies to reach their own people

Pray specifically for the Rawas of Indonesia

As it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God".
readRomans 3:10-11

Pray that God will have mercy on those living in broken relationship with Him, and that He will bring many to surrender and repentance at the throne of grace.

Sing to the LORD, bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day.
readPsalm 96:2

Pray that gospel resources will reach this generation so that they will receive the good news and sing to the LORD, bless His name, and tell of His salvation each day.

Praise the LORD! I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart, in the company of the upright, in the congregation.
readPsalm 111:1

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will praise the Lord with their whole heart in the assembly of the upright and in the congregation.

Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked. But others said, “We will hear you again about this.”
readActs 17:32

Ask God to give those He sends to cross cultures wisdom and discernment as they engage in spiritual conversations with those who are curious about the gospel.

Rawas Across Countries (ROP3 - 108327) 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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