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The Western Tarahumara of Mexico

The Western Tarahumara of Mexico, numbering approximately 25,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an Indigenous Rarámuri people of the Sierra Madre Occidental in Chihuahua, Mexico, distinguished by their use of the Western Tarahumara language variety. They mostly adhere to Folk Catholicism and Lowland Tarahumara is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash: Tarahumara, Western

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Latin American and Caribbean Peoples
Country: Mexico
People Cluster: Aztec
Primary Language(s): Lowland Tarahumara (tac)
Primary Religion(s): Folk Catholicism
Population: 25,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG024940
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Pray for the Western Tarahumara of Mexico

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.

Pray Now!
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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Folk Catholicism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

92%
%
Folk Catholicism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Lowland Tarahumara
Language Family: Uto-Aztecan

100%
%
Tarahumara, Western Speakers

Media Resources in Lowland Tarahumara:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Lowland Tarahumara:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
2008 The Bible League✓✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Lowland Tarahumara bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Western Tarahumara 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 Western Tarahumara:
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 Western Tarahumara of Mexico

For you, O LORD, are most high over all the earth; you are exalted far above all gods.
readPsalm 97:9

Pray that those who don't yet know Him will recognize the Lord as the Most High and turn from spiritual darkness to worship Him above all else.

Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. And he said, ‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.’ In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.
readJob 1:20-22

Pray that those who mourn will worship God in the midst of their suffering and loss, recognizing He is the source of all good things and that He is worthy of their praise and trust.

My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.
readJohn 10:29

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will rejoice as they remember that they can never lose their salvation

And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who will not receive many times more in this time, and in the age to come eternal life.”
readLuke 18:29-30

Pray that God will raise up people to go and share the gospel and help them trust His promise that anyone who has left those they treasure for the sake of the kingdom of God will receive many times more in this life and in the life to come.

Tarahumara, Baja Across Countries (ROP3 - 110804) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Western TarahumaraPG024940Western TarahumaraMexico25,000Engaged yet UnreachedLowland TarahumaraFolk 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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