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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Machiguenga of Peru

The Machiguenga of Peru, numbering approximately 11,500 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are described as an Arawakan people of the Upper Amazon basin in southeastern Peru, especially on the Misahua, Alto Urubamba, Camisea, Manu, and Alto Madre de Dios rivers They are an Indigenous people, with Machiguenga as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the South American Indigenous people cluster of the Latin American and Caribbean Peoples. Their primary religion is Ethnoreligion. They primarily speak Matsigenka.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Latin American and Caribbean Peoples
Country: Peru
People Cluster: South American Indigenous
Primary Language(s): Matsigenka (mcb)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion
Population: 11,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG017549
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Pray for the Machiguenga of Peru

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: Ethnoreligion
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

—
%
Ethnoreligion Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Matsigenka
Language Family: Arawakan

100%
%
Matsigenka Speakers

Media Resources in Matsigenka:

Films:

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

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Bible Resources in Matsigenka:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Matsigenka 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): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical (GSEC: 4), this people group is greater than or equal to 2% evangelical

Next steps for the Machiguenga:
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 Machiguenga 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 Machiguenga:
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 Machiguenga 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 Machiguenga:
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 Machiguenga of Peru

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
readJohn 3:14-15

Pray that the lost among them will look to the One lifted up on the cross, believing in Him and receiving eternal life.

Seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him while he is near.
readIsaiah 55:6

Pray that the lost will seek the Lord while He may be found and call upon Him while He is near, for He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.
readPhilippians 3:20-21

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will remember their citizenship is in heaven.

And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who will not receive many times more in this time, and in the age to come eternal life.”
readLuke 18:29-30

Pray that God will raise up people to go and share the gospel and help them trust His promise that anyone who has left those they treasure for the sake of the kingdom of God will receive many times more in this life and in the life to come.

Machiguenga Across Countries (ROP3 - 105973) 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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