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People group profile · PG046937

The Gaviao of Maranhao of Brazil

The Gaviao of Maranhao of Brazil, numbering about 650 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an indigenous Timbira people of Maranhão in eastern Amazonian Brazil who speak Gavião, a Jê language. They preserve a distinct identity through communal festivals, kinship ties, traditional knowledge, and their relationship with the forest landscape.

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 Pará Gavião.

Pray for the Gaviao of MaranhaoPrint profile

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

Fast facts

Country
Brazil
Population
650
Affinity group
American Peoples
People cluster
South American Indigenous
Primary language
Pará Gavião (gvp)
Primary religion
Ethnoreligion
Strategic Progress Index ?
Engaged yet Unreached
Evangelical
Less than 2%
GSEC ?
Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
Lostness priority ?
Pioneer Unreached People Group
Region
South America, Americas
Location
Pará: Kaikoture near Maraba; possibly in original locations in Maranhão state

Where they live

Gospel status

The Gaviao of Maranhao 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 Gaviao of Maranhao

  • 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

80% adherents

Primary language

Pará Gavião · Nuclear-Macro-Je family

75% speak Pará Gavião

Gospel resources in Pará Gavião

  • 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 Gaviao of Maranhao

  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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