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People group profile · PG023155

The Wassulu of Côte d’Ivoire

The Wassulu of Côte d’Ivoire, numbering about 19,500 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Fulani-descended people who integrated with Mande populations near where Mali, Ivory Coast, and Guinea meet, adopting a Bambara-related dialect before Islam's 18th-century spread, and briefly the heartland of Samory Toure's 1878-1898 Wassoulou Empire.

They are an indigenous people in the Malinke-Bambara people cluster of the Sub-Saharan African Peoples. Their primary religion is Folk Islam, and they primarily speak Wojenaka.

Pray for the WassuluPrint profile

AI-generated illustration representing the Wassulu people
AI-generated illustration, not a photograph. Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite: Wassulu

Fast facts

Country
Cote d’Ivoire
Population
19,500
Affinity group
Sub-Saharan African Peoples
People cluster
Malinke-Bambara
Primary language
Wojenaka (jod)
Primary religion
Folk Islam
Strategic Progress Index
Engaged yet Unreached
Evangelical
No Known Evangelicals
GSEC
Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
Lostness priority
Frontier Unreached People Group
Region
Western Africa, Africa

Where they live

Gospel status

The Wassulu 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 No
  • Church planting in the last two years No Churches Planted

Next steps for the Wassulu

  • 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

Folk Islam · Islam

99% adherents

Primary language

Wojenaka · Mande family

100% speak Wojenaka

Gospel resources in Wojenaka

  • Bible not available
  • JESUS Film not available
  • Radio programs available
  • Gospel recordings not 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 Wassulu

  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.

Download a prayer guide

Wasulu in other countries

The same people (ROP3 110714) is reported in 2 other countries.

People groupCountryPopulationStatus
WassaluMali270,000Engaged yet Unreached
WassaluGuinea93,500Engaged yet Unreached

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