The Piratapuyo of Brazil

The Piratapuyo of Brazil, numbering approximately 1,400 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are an Indigenous people of the Eastern Tucanoan language family in Brazil, primarily living along the middle Papurí River and lower Uaupés (Vaupés) River, in Amazonas state. Some communities have migrated downstream and settled near São Gabriel da Cachoeira and can also be known as Waikino, Waikana, Uaiana, Waikhara, Uaicana, Waikino, Piratapuya, Pira-Tapuya, Pira-Tapuia, Waina, Uainana, Uaikena, Waíkana. They are an Indigenous people, in the South American Indigenous people cluster of the Latin-Caribbean Americans affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Ethnoreligion - Animism. They primarily speak Piratapuyo.

Piratapuyo in Brazil photo
Photo by Google. (2025). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Piratapuyo (Waíkana)

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: American Peoples
Country: Brazil
People Cluster: South American Indigenous
Primary Language(s): Piratapuyo (pir)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion - Animism
Population: 1,400
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG017072

Pray for the Piratapuyo of Brazil

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Ethnoreligion - Animism
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

%
Ethnoreligion - Animism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Piratapuyo
Language Family: Tucanoan

%
Piratapuyo Speakers

Media Resources in Piratapuyo:

Films:

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Bible Resources in Piratapuyo:

Or check out the Piratapuyo bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

Next steps for the Piratapuyo

The Piratapuyo 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 Piratapuyo

The Piratapuyo 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 Piratapuyo

The Piratapuyo 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 Piratapuyo of Brazil

Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.
readPsalm 20:7

Pray for those who trust in anything other than the Lord to be convicted of their sin and learn about what Jesus did for them so that they can choose to trust in Him.

This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
read1 John 1:5

As mobile phones, radio, and satellite television, and other technologies become more available worldwide, pray for people who are developing digital gospel resources so that others can easily access the gospel.

And they all ate and were satisfied. And what was left over was picked up, twelve baskets of broken pieces.
readLuke 9:17

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will meditate on the stories of Jesus' miracles, be in awe of Him, and trust Him for everything they need.

There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.
readMark 7:15

Pray for Christians to take any opportunity to share the hope of Jesus with lost people here, praying they will be wise like Jesus as they share the truth about what can defile people and what can make them clean.

Pira-Tapuia (ROP3 - 108050) 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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