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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Angave of Papua New Guinea

The Angave of Papua New Guinea, numbering approximately 4,800 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an indigenous ethnic group of Papua New Guinea and can also be known as Buu, Wunavai. They are an Indigenous people, in the New Guinea people cluster of the Pacific Islanders affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Ethnoreligion - Animism. They primarily speak Ankave.

Photo by Google. (2025). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Angave

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Asian Pacific Rim Peoples
Country: Papua New Guinea
People Cluster: New Guinea
Primary Language(s): Ankave (aak)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion - Animism
Population: 4,800
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG009694

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Pray for the Angave of Papua New Guinea

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Ethnoreligion - Animism
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

%
Ethnoreligion - Animism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Ankave
Language Family: Angan

%
Ankave Speakers

Media Resources in Ankave:

Films:

No entries found for: Ankave(aak). Help build some!

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

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Bible Resources in Ankave:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Ankave bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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Next steps for the Angave

The Angave are Unengaged and Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations among which there are no known efforts focused on establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Begin signifcant prayer and fasting for this group
Send cross-cultural teams to discover and research this people group
Begin gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group

Next steps for the Angave

The Angave are Engaged yet Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations but there are sustained efforts at establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

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

Next steps for the Angave

The Angave are No Longer Unreached, which means there are more than 2% evangelical Christian populations and there are churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice. There is still more to be done among them.

Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Angave of Papua New Guinea

But he said, "What is impossible with man is possible with God."
readLuke 18:27

Praise God that He is the God of impossible things and that He is able to save even those who seem beyond hope.

No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.
readLuke 13:3

Pray that the lost will repent and believe the gospel, for without it, they will perish.

He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken.
readPsalm 62:2

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be in awe of Jesus, remembering that He is their rock, their fortress, and their salvation.

The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him.
readJohn 1:9-10

Pray for those God might send to share the gospel here. Ask that they will grow closer to Jesus and be compelled to share His good news with people who don't know it.

Angave (ROP3 - 100349) reported in the following countries:

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

Peoplegroups.org relies on updates from the field and other organizations for much of our data, so if you have any updates, please contact us. We use various international naming standards. For a list of these standards and fields, visit our Definitions page.

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