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People group profile · PG015017

The Ongamo of Tanzania

The Ongamo of Tanzania, numbering about 8,700 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a Chagga subgroup of Tanzania.

They are an indigenous people in the Nilotic people cluster of the Sub-Saharan African Peoples. Their primary religion is Animism, and they primarily speak Mochi.

Pray for the OngamoPrint profile

AI-generated illustration representing the Ongamo people
AI-generated illustration, not a photograph. Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Ongamo

Fast facts

Country
Tanzania
Population
8,700
Affinity group
Sub-Saharan African Peoples
People cluster
Nilotic
Primary language
Mochi (old)
Primary religion
Animism
Strategic Progress Index ?
No Longer Unreached
Evangelical
2% or Greater but Less than 5%
GSEC ?
2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical
Lostness priority ?
Minimally Reached People Group
Region
Eastern Africa, Africa
Location
Kilimanjaro and Manyara regions: Chaga area

Where they live

Gospel status

The Ongamo are No Longer Unreached, which means 2% or more are evangelical Christians. In GSEC terms, this people group is greater than or equal to 2% evangelical.

  • Congregations exist Yes
  • Church planting in the last two years No Churches Planted

Next steps for the Ongamo

  • Pray for the churches among this group to grow in faithfulness and maturity
  • Equip believers to reach the unreached peoples around them
  • Send out laborers from this people to the nations

Primary religion

Animism · Ethnoreligion

95% adherents

Primary language

Mochi · Atlantic-Congo family

100% speak Mochi

Gospel resources in Mochi

  • Bible available, published 2016
  • JESUS Film available
  • Radio programs not available
  • Gospel recordings available
  • Audio resources available
  • Bible stories not available

Films

Bibles

Find more at the JESUS Film Project, Bible.com and Faith Comes by Hearing.

Pray for the Ongamo

  1. John 17:3. Pray that many will come to know the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom he has sent.
  2. Psalm 27:1. Pray that new believers will be strengthened in the face of persecution, with the Lord as their stronghold.
  3. Romans 12:4–5. Pray that believers from many cultures will work together as one body so that the church is built up.
  4. Revelation 7:9. Pray for the day when people from this group stand before the throne with every nation, tribe, people and language.

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