The Manya of Guinea

The Manya of Guinea, numbering approximately 107,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Maninka people of eastern Guinea's Kankan region, heartland of the 13th-century Mali Empire founded by Sundiata Keita, among the largest Mande-speaking peoples whose language and griot oral traditions spread across West Africa from that imperial core. They mostly adhere to Folk Islam and Manya is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Guinea
People Cluster: Malinke
Primary Language(s): Manya (mzj)
Primary Religion(s): Folk Islam
Population: 107,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG023165
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Manya of Guinea

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: Folk Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

99%
%
Folk Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Manya
Language Family: Mande

100%
%
Manya Speakers

Media Resources in Manya:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Bible Resources in Manya:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
2018 Edition✓✓✓

1 entry

Or check out the Manya bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Manya 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 Manya:
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 Manya of Guinea

For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it, for how should my name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another.
readIsaiah 48:11

Pray that those who have been living for their own glory will turn to the One who is worthy of all praise and find their true identity in Him.

...And that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
readLuke 24:47

Pray that the message of repentance and forgiveness through Jesus will reach everyone.

And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.
readActs 2:42

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will devote themselves to God's Word, to fellowship with each other, and to prayer.

But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed.
read2 Corinthians 3:16

Give thanks to God for believers around the world who are willing to cross cultures to share the gospel with those who are perishing. Pray that He will work through their witness to draw many to turn to Him.

Manya Across Countries (ROP3 - 111214) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

2 people groups

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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