People group profile · PG016435
The Matawari of Suriname
The Matawari of Suriname, numbering about 1,700 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a Saramaccan-speaking Maroon people descended from African slaves who escaped Suriname's plantations, settling the Saramacca River as a branch of the Saramaka who won treaty-recognized freedom from the Dutch in 1762.
They are an indigenous people in the Other Hispanic American people cluster of the Latin American and Caribbean Peoples. Their primary religion is Animism, and they primarily speak Saramaccan.
Fast facts
- Country
- Suriname
- Population
- 1,700
- Affinity group
- American Peoples
- People cluster
- Other Hispanic American
- Primary language
- Saramaccan (srm)
- Primary religion
- Animism
- Strategic Progress Index
- No Longer Unreached
- Evangelical
- 5% or Greater but Less than 10%
- GSEC
- 5% or Greater but Less than 10% Evangelical
- Lostness priority
- Marginally Reached People Group
- Region
- South America, Americas
Where they live
Gospel status
The Matawari are No Longer Unreached, which means 2% or more are evangelical Christians. In GSEC terms, this people group is greater than or equal to 5% evangelical.
- Congregations exist Yes
- Church planting in the last two years No Churches Planted
Next steps for the Matawari
- 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
90% adherents
Primary language
Saramaccan · Indo-European family
100% speak Saramaccan
Gospel resources in Saramaccan
- Bible available, published 2009
- JESUS Film available
- Radio programs not available
- Gospel recordings available
- Audio resources available
- Bible stories not available
Bibles
- 1998 Wycliffe Bible Translators, Inc. · audio, text
Find more at the JESUS Film Project, Bible.com and Faith Comes by Hearing.
Pray for the Matawari
- Psalm 27:1. Pray that new believers will be strengthened in the face of persecution, with the Lord as their stronghold.
- Romans 12:4–5. Pray that believers from many cultures will work together as one body so that the church is built up.
- Revelation 7:9. Pray for the day when people from this group stand before the throne with every nation, tribe, people and language.
- John 17:3. Pray that many will come to know the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom he has sent.
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