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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Mahafaly of Madagascar

The Mahafaly of Madagascar, numbering approximately 472,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a people of Madagascar and can also be known as Mahafale. They are an Indigenous people, in the Malagasy people cluster of the Malay Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Ethnoreligion - Animism. They primarily speak Malagasy, Tandroy-Mahafaly.

Mahafaly in Madagascar photo
Photo courtesy of Joshua Project. Photo Source: Bob Allen

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-saharan Africa Peoples
Country: Madagascar
People Cluster: Malagasy
Primary Language(s): Malagasy, Tandroy-Mahafaly (tdx)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion - Animism
Population: 472,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG033363

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Pray for the Mahafaly of Madagascar

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Ethnoreligion - Animism
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

%
Ethnoreligion - Animism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Malagasy, Tandroy-Mahafaly
Language Family: Austronesian

%
Malagasy, Tandroy-Mahafaly Speakers

Media Resources in Malagasy, Tandroy-Mahafaly:

Films:

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Malagasy, Tandroy-Mahafaly:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Malagasy, Tandroy-Mahafaly bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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Next steps for the Mahafaly

The Mahafaly 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 Mahafaly

The Mahafaly 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 Mahafaly

The Mahafaly 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 Mahafaly of Madagascar

And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
readMatthew 24:14

Pray that the message of hope will reach those who are wandering in darkness, offering them a path to eternal life.

Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord, together with his entire household. And many of the Corinthians hearing Paul believed and were baptized.
readActs 18:8

Pray that rulers and leaders will access the gospel, respond in faith, and be baptized, uniting with Christ and His Church, and influence others to follow Him.

For the LORD takes pleasure in his people; he adorns the humble with salvation.
readPsalm 149:4

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be encouraged and feel immeasurably loved as they meditate on the fact that God takes pleasure in them.

Go on up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good news; lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good news; lift it up, fear not; say to the cities of Judah, "Behold your God!"
readIsaiah 40:9

Pray for God to send and sustain believers to go and herald the good news to the lost here.

Mahafaly (ROP3 - 106024) 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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