 The Whole Bible for the Kabyle People in Algeria |
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by The Rev. Peter Siegfried |
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Djamila reads a Bible text for the first time in the worship service of the Methodist Congregation in the Kabyle Mountains in Algeria. She does it slowly, her voice is shaky. Some of the women have tears in their eyes. Djamila was illiterate. The few years she was able to go to school did not allow her to learn to read. What happened to her is what happens often in Muslim families. Although schooling is free the parents did not have enough money to pay for books, pencils, notebooks, etc. for all of their children. The boys of the family had priority. Now, as a young woman, Djamila has been able to participate for several months in the reading program which is offered by the United Methodist congregation in Ouadhia. The teaching materials are mainly the newly translated texts of the Kabyle Bible. There does not exist much literature in the modern Kabyle language and therefore the Bible texts offer an excellent basis for teaching literacy. Every time one of these women feels sure enough she is invited to read a text in the worship service. The congregation shares in their joy and happiness. Now they can read the Bible themselves. The translation of the whole Bible into Kabyle is part of the ministry of a team in the United Methodist Church in Ouadhia. Their goal is to make the Gospel known to the Kabyle people who represent about three million persons in Algeria. They are part of the original North African population of the Berbs, living in the mountains along the Mediterranean Coast. Although their language is officially recognized, teaching materials have only recently been developed. The Bible will be the first important published book. Hocine has been a member of the translation team for three years. He shared with me the joy he has when he digs deep in the Word of God. He thinks that by doing this translation he is the very first to receive a lot of blessings out of this work. Much research and reflection is needed for this task. The Kabyle is split into several dialects. It is not always easy to make a decision on which word to use so that it might be understood by the whole language group. For some words of the Bible there are no equivalents in Kabyle. For example, there is no term for “faithfulness”. The word has to be paraphrased: “keep his word.” To translate literally “Man of God” would give a lot of confusion because it would mean “Husband of God”. In Kabyle it rather would read “Servant of God”. For the time being their main struggles are the geographical names in the book of Joshua. Comparisons with other translations help to find the right word and the right spelling. This includes three different Arabic Bible Translations, the French Ecumenical Translation, and several other English and French translations. The first draft of the Old Testament translation was completed last year. The New Testament has already been revised and published. The team of four translators is now reviewing the Old Testament draft. Every time a few books are ready a provisional print goes to about twenty congregations to be used in worship services and Bible study groups. The feedback from pastors and laity helps to eliminate errors and unclear passages. “The wealth of the content of the Bible needs a careful work. We want this translation to be of excellent quality,” said Hocine. The team is highly motivated to finish the work, but they do not know the exact amount of time they still need. In fact, the translation began more than fifteen years ago, a time when it was not yet allowed to use the Kabyle language in public. “God helped us a lot,” said Nadja, “we put our hope and confidence in him. Our goal is to be able to offer the whole Bible to our people.” Peter Siegfied is the Executive Secretary for Europe and North Africa, in the Mission Contexts and Relationships Program Area of GBGM.
Date posted: Feb 24, 2003 |
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