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People group profile · PG017051

The Pankararu of Brazil

The Pankararu of Brazil, numbering about 8,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a people of Pernambuco's sertao near the Sao Francisco River who split from a shared population at Curral dos Bois in the mid-1800s into the Pankararu and related Pankarare, their land rights recognized only in 1987 after generations of displacement.

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

Pray for the PankararuPrint profile

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

Fast facts

Country
Brazil
Population
8,000
Affinity group
American Peoples
People cluster
South American Indigenous
Primary language
Portuguese (por)
Primary religion
Ethnoreligion
Strategic Progress Index
Engaged yet Unreached
Evangelical
Less than 2%
GSEC
Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
Lostness priority
Expanding Unreached People Group
Region
South America, Americas

Where they live

Gospel status

The Pankararu are Engaged yet Unreached, which means fewer than 2% are evangelical Christians, but there are sustained efforts to establish self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice. In GSEC terms, this people group is less than 2% evangelical, some evangelical resources are available, but there has been no active church planting among them within the past two years.

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

Next steps for the Pankararu

  • 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

Primary religion

Ethnoreligion

70% adherents

Primary language

Portuguese · Indo-European family

100% speak Portuguese

Gospel resources in Portuguese

  • Bible available
  • JESUS Film available
  • Radio programs available
  • Gospel recordings available
  • Audio resources available
  • Bible stories available

Films

Bibles

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

Pray for the Pankararu

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