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People group profile · PG047171

The Samoya of Mali

The Samoya of Mali, numbering about 4,400 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are a Gur people, also called Kalemse, arriving around the 15th century as a sub-ethnic Mandinka branch, settled mainly in Burkina Faso's driest northwest with communities in Mali, farming millet where rainfall is under 700 millimeters a year.

They are an indigenous people in the Gur people cluster of the Sub-Saharan African Peoples. Their primary religion is Animism, and they primarily speak Kalamsé.

Pray for the SamoyaPrint profile

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

Fast facts

Country
Mali
Population
4,400
Affinity group
Sub-Saharan African Peoples
People cluster
Gur
Primary language
Kalamsé (knz)
Primary religion
Animism
Strategic Progress Index
Unengaged and Unreached
Evangelical
Less than 2%
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 Samoya are Unengaged and Unreached, which means fewer than 2% are evangelical Christians, and there has been no reported church planting activity in the past two years. 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 Samoya

  • Pray that God would send workers to this people group
  • Begin sowing the gospel and seek out people of peace
  • Plant the first churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice

Primary religion

Animism · Ethnoreligion

60% adherents

Primary language

Kalamsé · Atlantic-Congo family

100% speak Kalamsé

Gospel resources in Kalamsé

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

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

Pray for the Samoya

  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

Samo in other countries

The same people (ROP3 108577) is reported in 1 other country.

People groupCountryPopulationStatus
KalengaBurkina Faso30,500Engaged yet Unreached

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