The Tigwahanon Manobo of Philippines

The Tigwahanon Manobo of Philippines, numbering approximately 62,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a Lumad subgroup of Bukidnon's Tigwa River valley in Mindanao, tracing Manobo origin through oral tradition to the brothers Tabunaway and Mamalu, governed under traditional chieftains called Datus. They mostly adhere to Ethnoreligion and Matigsalug Manobo is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Malay Peoples
Country: Philippines
People Cluster: Filipino Tribal
Primary Language(s): Matigsalug Manobo (mbt)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion
Population: 62,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 5% or Greater but Less than 10% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG046614
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Tigwahanon Manobo of Philippines

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: Ethnoreligion
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

75%
%
Ethnoreligion Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Matigsalug Manobo
Language Family: Austronesian

100%
%
Manobo, Matigsalug Speakers

Media Resources in Matigsalug Manobo:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Bible Resources in Matigsalug Manobo:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
2010 Wycliffe Bible Translators, Inc.✓✓✓
SUMALCA✓

2 entries

Or check out the Matigsalug Manobo bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Tigwahanon Manobo 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 Tigwahanon Manobo:
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 Tigwahanon Manobo of Philippines

The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
readPsalm 19:1

Pray that those who are lost will look to the heavens and see the glory of God displayed, leading them to seek Him and know Him as their Creator and Savior.

And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.
readActs 6:7

Pray that the Word of God will be increasingly available to these people in ways they will resonate with so that all may have a chance to respond to the good news of Jesus Christ.

For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
read1 Peter 2:25

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will proclaim the good news and the lost will recognize their need for the Shepherd and turn to Jesus Christ in faith.

Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you, and that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men. For not all have faith. But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one.
read2 Thessalonians 3:1-3

Pray that the Word of God will spread throughout this people group and be honored. Ask God to establish His people and guard them from the evil one, testifying to this whole people group of His great faithfulness.

Manobo, Tigwahanon Across Countries (ROP3 - 115482) 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.

Scroll to Top