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

For with the LORD there is steadfast love, and with him is plentiful redemption.
readPsalm 130:7b

Pray for those who are unaware of God's steadfast love that is offered to them through Jesus Christ to learn the truth and experience His plentiful redemption.

Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears, let him hear.
readMatthew 13:8-9

Pray that they will have open hearts and minds to the Word of God, and that it will take root in their lives and bear fruit for His glory.

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
readRomans 12:1

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will offer their bodies as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God, knowing that this is their spiritual worship.

Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."
readMatthew 6:9b-10

Pray that God will raise up Christians who are driven by a desire to see God's name worshiped, His kingdom come, and His will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Ask Him to send them to the lost in this people group and sustain them.

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.

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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