The Buru of Indonesia

The Buru of Indonesia, numbering approximately 52,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are an indigenous people of Buru Island in Maluku, comprising groups including the Rana, Masarete, and Wae Sama and sharing the Buru language. They mostly adhere to Animism and Buru (Indonesia) is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Malay Peoples
Country: Indonesia
People Cluster: Maluku-Central
Primary Language(s): Buru (Indonesia) (mhs)
Primary Religion(s): Animism
Population: 52,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 5% or Greater but Less than 10% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG022638
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Buru 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: Animism
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

58%
%
Animism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Buru (Indonesia)
Language Family: Austronesian

76%
%
Buru (Indonesia) Speakers

Media Resources in Buru (Indonesia):

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Bible Resources in Buru (Indonesia):

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Or check out the Buru (Indonesia) bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Buru 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 Buru:
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 Buru of Indonesia

Only in the LORD, it shall be said of me, are righteousness and strength; to him shall come and be ashamed all who were incensed against him.
readIsaiah 45:24

Pray that those who are weary and burdened by their own righteousness will find rest in the righteousness that comes through faith in Christ alone.

But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.
readMark 4:20

Pray that those who have never encountered the gospel will have the opportunity to receive it, and that it will fall on good soil and bear much fruit.

The LORD bless you and keep you.
readNumbers 6:24

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be blessed with God's grace, trusting that He will never abandon them.

For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.
readRomans 12:4-5

Ask God to send believers to people in other cultures and to help them use their gifts in harmony with others so that the body of Christ may be built up.

Buruese Across Countries (ROP3 - 101779) 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.

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