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The Gaviao of Maranhao of Brazil

The Gaviao of Maranhao of Brazil, numbering approximately 650 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an indigenous Timbira people of Maranhão in eastern Amazonian Brazil who speak Gavião, a Jê language. They preserve a distinct identity through communal festivals, kinship ties, traditional knowledge, and their relationship with the forest landscape. They mostly adhere to Ethnoreligion and Pará Gavião is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite: Gaviao of Maranhao

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Latin American and Caribbean Peoples
Country: Brazil
People Cluster: South American Indigenous
Primary Language(s): Pará Gavião (gvp)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion
Population: 650
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG046937
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Pray for the Gaviao of Maranhao of Brazil

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: Ethnoreligion
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

80%
%
Ethnoreligion Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Pará Gavião
Language Family: Nuclear-Macro-Je

75%
%
Gavião, Pará Speakers

Media Resources in Pará Gavião:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Pará Gavião:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Pará Gavião bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Gaviao of Maranhao 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 Gaviao of Maranhao:
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 Gaviao of Maranhao of Brazil

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.

For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.
read2 Timothy 4:3-4

Pray that the lost will be open to the truth of the gospel and turn from false teachings and myths to the sound doctrine of Christ in faith.

Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.
readPsalm 127:1

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will build their homes in the Lord and raise their children to know and honor Him.

Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father sends me, even so I am sending you."
readJohn 20:21

Ask God to raise up and send out believers cross-culturally who will go out in His authority and be sustained by His peace as they share the gospel with the lost.

Pykopje Across Countries (ROP3 - 115272) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress Index ▼LanguageReligion
Gaviao of MaranhaoPG046937Gaviao of MaranhaoBrazil650Engaged yet UnreachedPará GaviãoEthnoreligion

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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