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Amharic - አማርኛ | Arabic - عربي
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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Sakalava of Mayotte

The Sakalava of Mayotte, numbering approximately 127,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are descendants of Malagasy migrants from nearby northwestern Madagascar, particularly the Sakalava ethnic groupBushi They are an Diaspora people, in the Malagasy people cluster of the Malay Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Ethnoreligion. They primarily speak Bushi.

Sakalava in Mayotte photo
Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Sakalava

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Mayotte
People Cluster: Malagasy
Primary Language(s): Bushi (buc)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion
Population: 127,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG015371
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Pray for the Sakalava of Mayotte

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Ethnoreligion
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

%
Ethnoreligion Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Bushi
Language Family: Austronesian

%
Bushi Speakers

Media Resources in Bushi:

Films:

No entries found for: Bushi(buc). Help build some!

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

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Bible Resources in Bushi:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Bushi bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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Next steps for the Sakalava

The Sakalava 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 Sakalava

The Sakalava 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 Sakalava

The Sakalava 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 Sakalava of Mayotte

For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it, for how should my name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another.
readIsaiah 48:11

Pray that those who have been living for their own glory will turn to the One who is worthy of all praise and find their true identity in Him.

...I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.
readPsalm 13:5

Ask God to bring many to trust in His unfailing love and cause their hearts to rejoice in His salvation.

The LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you.
readNumbers 6:25

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will remember that He has given them His favor and His presence.

"For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you."
readActs 17:23

Pray that believers God sends to cross cultures will be sensitive to the spiritual needs of the people they serve, and will proclaim the truth of Christ to them in creative ways that they will understand.

Bushi (ROP3 - 114969) 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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