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The Western Kanjobal of Guatemala

The Western Kanjobal of Guatemala, numbering approximately 72,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a Mayan people of Guatemala's Huehuetenango Department centered on San Miguel Acatan, whose Akateko language split from the Qanjobalan language group between 1400 and 1500 AD, later disrupted by displacement during the Guatemalan Civil War. They mostly adhere to Folk Catholicism and Western Kanjobal is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Latin American and Caribbean Peoples
Country: Guatemala
People Cluster: Maya
Primary Language(s): Western Kanjobal (knj)
Primary Religion(s): Folk Catholicism
Population: 72,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 10% or Greater Evangelical
People Group ID: PG024701
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Pray for the Western Kanjobal of Guatemala

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: Folk Catholicism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

70%
%
Folk Catholicism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Western Kanjobal
Language Family: Mayan

84%
%
Akateko Speakers

Media Resources in Western Kanjobal:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Western Kanjobal:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
2001 Wycliffe Bible Translators Inc.✓✓
2016 Asociación Educativa y Cultural Maya✓✓

2 entries

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Western Kanjobal bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Western Kanjobal 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 Western Kanjobal:
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 Western Kanjobal of Guatemala

And the people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.
readExodus 14:22

Pray that the God who split the sea so that the Israelites might pass through would do another great work among these people, softening the hearts of those who remain lost to the good news and saving them from their sins.

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.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
readHebrews 12:1-2

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will remember the testimony of those who went before them, resist sin, and run with perseverance the race set before them, fixing their eyes on Jesus.

Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.
readIsaiah 43:19

Praise the God who is able to make a way forward, even when it seems impossible. Ask Him to do a new thing among this people group specifically and among the nations, raising up believers to go and share the gospel with individuals and places where it has not flourished before.

Kanjobal, Western Across Countries (ROP3 - 110785) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

2 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguage ▲Religion
KanjobalPG039087KanjobalMexico10,000No Longer UnreachedSpanishFolk Catholicism
Western KanjobalPG024701Western KanjobalGuatemala72,000No Longer UnreachedWestern KanjobalFolk Catholicism

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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