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People group profile · PG016941

The Kanamari of Brazil

The Kanamari of Brazil, numbering about 3,700 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a Katukinan-speaking Amazonian people descended from groups of the upper Jurua River, now settled along the Itaquai, Javari, and Japura rivers within demarcated indigenous reservations, still relying on slash-and-burn farming, hunting, and fishing.

They are an indigenous people in the South American Indigenous people cluster of the Latin American and Caribbean Peoples. Their primary religion is Animism, and they primarily speak Kanamarí.

Pray for the KanamariPrint profile

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

Fast facts

Country
Brazil
Population
3,700
Affinity group
American Peoples
People cluster
South American Indigenous
Primary language
Kanamarí (knm)
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
South America, Americas
Location
Amazonas: Itaquai, Jurua, Jutai rivers’ upper regions

Where they live

Gospel status

The Kanamari 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 Kanamari

  • 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

70% adherents

Primary language

Kanamarí · Katukinan family

100% speak Kanamarí

Gospel resources in Kanamarí

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

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

Pray for the Kanamari

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

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