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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Dawei of Myanmar

The Dawei of Myanmar, numbering approximately 600,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an ethnolinguistic community of Myanmar. They are an Indigenous people, in the Burmese people cluster of the Southeast Asian Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Buddhism - Theravada. They primarily speak Tavoyan.

Dawei in Myanmar photo
Photo courtesy of Joshua Project. Photo Source: Copyrighted ©️ 2025 Suparat - Shutterstock Used with permission

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Asian Pacific Rim Peoples
Country: Myanmar
People Cluster: Burmese
Primary Language(s): Tavoyan (tvn)
Primary Religion(s): Buddhism - Theravada
Population: 600,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG048864
View on Joshua Project

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Pray for the Dawei of Myanmar

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Buddhism - Theravada
Religious Affiliation: Buddhism

%
Buddhism - Theravada Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Tavoyan
Language Family: Sino-Tibetan

%
Tavoyan Speakers

Media Resources in Tavoyan:

Films:

No entries found for: Tavoyan(tvn). Help build some!

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

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Bible Resources in Tavoyan:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Tavoyan bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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Next steps for the Dawei

The Dawei 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 Dawei

The Dawei 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 Dawei

The Dawei 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 Dawei of Myanmar

Only in the LORD, it shall be said of me, are righteousness and strength; to him shall come and be ashamed all who were incensed against him.
readIsaiah 45:24

Pray that those who are weary and burdened by their own righteousness will find rest in the righteousness that comes through faith in Christ alone.

The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.
readIsaiah 40:8

Pray that everyone has access to God's Word and that those who hear the good news will turn from their sins and put their faith in Jesus the Messiah.

And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues.
read2 Corinthians 12:28

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will grow in the spiritual gifts God has given them and use these gifts to glorify Him and build up the Church.

Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
readIsaiah 58:7

As believers cross cultures to share the good news of Christ, pray that God will sustain them and grow their faith as He gives them the compassion necessary to minister well to those in need.

Tavoyan (ROP3 - 114965) 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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