Aweer in Kenya


Population
Main Language
Largest Religion
Christian
Evangelical
Progress
Progress Gauge

Introduction / History

The Aweer are a remnant hunter-gatherer group living along the Kenyan coast in Lamu District on the mainland. A small number are in Somalia, but most live on the Kenyan side of the border.


What Are Their Lives Like?

In Kenya today, they are a vulnerable group, struggling to survive, in search of a new identity. Traditionally they depend on their elders for leadership and do not normally meet for village discussion. There are some men who have more than one wife, and each wife has her own house in which she lives with her children. The husband does not have his own home but periodically lives with each wife. The Aweers live under extremely difficult conditions. They have no running water, plumbing, natural gas or electricity. Rainfall is unpredictable. Their wells are dug near the Indian Ocean, so their drinking water is sometimes brackish. As a result, Aweer women frequently must walk long distances to obtain fresh water. Only five per cent of Aweer children have access to any education. According to recent sources, very few Aweer are literate. The Aweer have no opportunity to receive modern medical treatments, and their life expectancy is only 45 years. They practice a combination of Islam and folk religion.


What Are Their Beliefs?

The Aweer people combine some parts of Sunni Islam with traditional religious beliefs. They depend on the spirit world for their daily needs since they regard Allah as too distant. Allah may determine their eternal salvation, but the spirits determine how well we live in our daily lives. For that reason, they must appease the spirits. They often use charms and amulets to help them deal with spiritual forces.


What Are Their Needs?

The Aweer people need the chance to find the only Savior, the one who offers life to the full.


Prayer Points

Pray for the few Aweer followers of Jesus to be effective in demonstrating how Jesus blesses and heals families and communities. Pray they will accurately understand the gospel of grace, not having it mixed with requirements of works. Pray they will be obedient to follow Christ's teachings and commands, in response to grace.


Scripture Prayers for the Aweer in Kenya.


Profile Source:   Joshua Project  

People Name General Aweer
People Name in Country Aweer
Alternate Names Boni
Population this Country 21,000
Population all Countries 21,000
Total Countries 2
Indigenous Yes
Progress Scale 1
Unreached Yes
Frontier People Group No
GSEC 1  (per PeopleGroups.org)
Pioneer Workers Needed 1
PeopleID3 10942
ROP3 Code 101604
Country Kenya
Region Africa, East and Southern
Continent Africa
10/40 Window No
National Bible Society Website
Persecution Rank Not ranked
Location in Country Lamu county: Indian Ocean area inland north of Lamu city; Garissa county: north and west of Mundane range; Tana River county: forests inland from Kipini city; 11 villages or more.   Source:  Ethnologue 2016
Country Kenya
Region Africa, East and Southern
Continent Africa
10/40 Window No
National Bible Society Website
Persecution Rank Not ranked
Location in Country Lamu county: Indian Ocean area inland north of Lamu city; Garissa county: north and west of Mundane range; Tana River county: forests inland from Kipini city; 11 villages or more..   Source:  Ethnologue 2016
Map of Aweer in Kenya Ethnolinguistic map or other map

Primary Religion: Islam
Major Religion Percent
Buddhism
0.00 %
Christianity  (Evangelical 0.30 %)
2.00 %
Ethnic Religions
28.00 %
Hinduism
0.00 %
Islam
70.00 %
Non-Religious
0.00 %
Other / Small
0.00 %
Unknown
0.00 %
Primary Language Aweer (21,000 speakers)
Language Code bob   Ethnologue Listing
Language Written Yes   ScriptSource Listing
Total Languages 1
Primary Language Aweer (21,000 speakers)
Language Code bob   Ethnologue Listing
Total Languages 1
People Groups Speaking Aweer

Primary Language:  Aweer

Bible Translation Status  (Years)
Bible-Portions Yes  (2014)
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
Photo Source Jeff Nelson 
Map Source People Group location: IMB. Map geography: ESRI / GMI. Map design: Joshua Project.  
Profile Source Joshua Project 
Data Sources Data is compiled from various sources. Learn more.


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