Baibai in Papua New Guinea

The Baibai have only been reported in Papua New Guinea
Population
Main Language
Largest Religion
Christian
Evangelical
Progress
Progress Gauge

Introduction / History

Deep in the sago swamps of the Sandaun Province in northwest Papua New Guinea, the Momu Baibai people live in three small villages. They are isolated from the outside world by a two day hike over mountains, across log bridges and through swampland from the nearest government station at Amanab. In spite of their isolation, however, this small group has been strongly influenced by some aspects of Western culture. Most of the people dress in Western-style clothing and use many Western tools and implements in place of their traditional counterparts, like metal dishes in place of wooden or clay ones and manufactured axes in place of stone axes. Though the people no longer know how to make these and other traditional items, they continue to make their homes from bush materials, to carve some traditional drums and flutes, to weave baskets from palm fronds and to make string bags from tree bark.

Fear of sorcery permeates the lives of these people. Though they claim to have discontinued the practice themselves, deaths are attributed to magic, shooting stars are thought to be an evil spirit coming to earth, and crocodiles are thought to be the instrument of death, or in some cases, the embodiment of the sanguman or sorcerer himself. A local pastor asked one of the surveyors, "Is the resurrection for everyone or just for whiteskins?" Church services where the Scriptures are read and praise songs sung in Tok Pisin also do little to reach the women and children who speak only a few words of this trade language. The hunger for God's Word, however, is evident. In each village, churches made from simple bush materials are packed with the people of Momu Baibai who repeatedly told the survey team, "We need God's Word in our language so that we can understand it."


Prayer Points

Scripture Prayers for the Baibai in Papua New Guinea.


Profile Source:   Anonymous  

People Name General Baibai
People Name in Country Baibai
Alternate Names
Population this Country 700
Population all Countries 700
Total Countries 1
Indigenous Yes
Progress Scale 4
Unreached No
Frontier People Group No
GSEC 4  (per PeopleGroups.org)
Pioneer Workers Needed
PeopleID3 10575
ROP3 Code 100778
Country Papua New Guinea
Region Australia and Pacific
Continent Australia
10/40 Window No
Persecution Rank Not ranked
Location in Country Sandaun province: Amanab district.   Source:  Ethnologue 2016
Country Papua New Guinea
Region Australia and Pacific
Continent Australia
10/40 Window No
Persecution Rank Not ranked
Location in Country Sandaun province: Amanab district..   Source:  Ethnologue 2016
Primary Religion: Ethnic Religions
Major Religion Percent
Buddhism
0.00 %
Christianity  (Evangelical 5.00 %)
30.00 %
Ethnic Religions
70.00 %
Hinduism
0.00 %
Islam
0.00 %
Non-Religious
0.00 %
Other / Small
0.00 %
Unknown
0.00 %
Primary Language Baibai (700 speakers)
Language Code bbf   Ethnologue Listing
Language Written Yes   ScriptSource Listing
Total Languages 1
Primary Language Baibai (700 speakers)
Language Code bbf   Ethnologue Listing
Total Languages 1
People Groups Speaking Baibai

Primary Language:  Baibai

Bible Translation Status  (Years)
Bible-Portions Yes  (1998)
Bible-New Testament No
Bible-Complete No
Possible Print Bibles
Amazon
World Bibles
Forum Bible Agencies
National Bible Societies
World Bible Finder
Virtual Storehouse
Resource Type Resource Name Source
Audio Recordings Audio Bible teaching Global Recordings Network
Map Source Anonymous  
Profile Source Anonymous 
Data Sources Data is compiled from various sources. Learn more.


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