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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Matawari of Suriname

The Matawari of Suriname, numbering approximately 1,700 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are described as an indigenous community of Suriname; a dialect subgroup of Saramaccan (srm) They are an Indigenous people, with Matawari as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Other Hispanic American people cluster of the Latin American and Caribbean Peoples. Their primary religion is Animism. They primarily speak Saramaccan.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Matawari

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Latin American and Caribbean Peoples
Country: Suriname
People Cluster: Other Hispanic American
Primary Language(s): Saramaccan (srm)
Primary Religion(s): Animism
Population: 1,700
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 5% or Greater but Less than 10% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG016435
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Pray for the Matawari of Suriname

Join others around the world in praying for the lost to be saved, the gospel to advance, the global Church to grow, and for laborers to be sent out and sustained in the harvest.

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Animism
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

90%
%
Animism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Saramaccan
Language Family: Indo-European

100%
%
Saramaccan Speakers

Media Resources in Saramaccan:

Films:

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

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Bible Resources in Saramaccan:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Saramaccan bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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Explore Lostness and Next Steps

Unengaged and Unreached

Strategic Priority Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached (SPI: 2), 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.
Lostness Priority Index (LPI): Marginally Reached People Group, (LPI: 4), 3% to 6% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 5% or Greater but Less than 10% Evangelical (GSEC: 5), this people group is greater than or equal to 5% evangelical

Next steps for the Matawari:
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

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Matawari 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.

Next steps for the Matawari:
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

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Matawari 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.

Next steps for the Matawari:
Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Matawari of Suriname

But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared.
readPsalm 130:4

Pray that God will bring those who have hard hearts to repentance and trust in Christ for the forgiveness of their sins.

And what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.
read2 Timothy 2:2

Pray that the lost will come to faith in Christ and be discipled in the truth of the gospel, becoming faithful followers of Jesus who, in turn, make disciples themselves.

For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised.
readHebrews 10:36

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will patiently endure suffering and hardships and do God's will so that they may receive what He has promised.

And the King will answer them, "Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me."
readMatthew 25:40

Ask God to raise up and send believers who will serve "the least of these" with compassion and energy because they know that in serving those in need, they are serving Christ.

Matawari Across Countries (ROP3 - 114941) 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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