Mazagway in Cameroon
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| People Name: | Mazagway |
| Country: | Cameroon |
| 10/40 Window: | No |
| Population: | 36,000 |
| World Population: | 36,000 |
| Primary Language: | Mazagway-Hidi |
| Primary Religion: | Islam |
| Christian Adherents: | 5.00 % |
| Evangelicals: | 0.80 % |
| Scripture: | Portions |
| Ministry Resources: | No |
| Jesus Film: | Yes |
| Audio Recordings: | Yes |
| People Cluster: | Chadic |
| Affinity Bloc: | Sub-Saharan Peoples |
| Progress Level: |
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Introduction / History
The Mazagway is a subgroup of the extensive Bantu ethnic groups of Africa. They live in northcentral Cameroon.
What Are Their Lives Like?
The Mazagway have their own culture which is being challenged by the forces of modernization. They have been marginalized politically and economically, and the Mazagway people are trying to maintain their culture.
What Are Their Beliefs?
The Mazagway people are Sunni Muslims who believe that the supreme God, Allah, spoke through his prophet, Mohammed, and taught mankind how to live a righteous life through the Koran and the Hadith. To live a righteous life, you must utter the Shahada (a statement of faith), pray five times a day facing Mecca, fast from sunup to sundown during the month of Ramadan, give alms to the poor, and make a pilgrimage to Mecca if you have the means. Muslims are prohibited from drinking alcohol, eating pork, gambling, stealing, slandering, and making idols. They gather for corporate prayer on Friday afternoons at a mosque, their place of worship.
The two main holidays for Sunni Muslims are Eid al Fitr, the breaking of the monthly fast and Eid al Adha, the celebration of Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son to Allah.
Sunni religious practices are staid and simple. They believe Allah has pre-determined our fates; they minimize free will.
Like most Muslims in Africa, the Mazagway 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 they live on a daily basis. For that reason, some Muslims appease spirits using charms and amulets to help them with spiritual forces. More orthodox Muslims consider these practices heretical and un-Islamic.
What Are Their Needs?
Poverty is one of the challenges faced by the Mazagway people of Cameroon.
Prayer Points
Pray for Mazagway culture to be renewed and enhanced by a work of the Holy Spirit and shaped into a God-centered and God-honoring mold.
Pray for the Holy Spirit to move among their family and community leaders to seek his face and enjoy his blessings.
Pray for the Lord to thrust out workers who will be compelled to nurture a disciple making movement among the Mazagway people.
Pray that soon the Mazagway people will have faith that will lead them to live honorable lives that will draw others to the savior.