Waorani New Testament (AUCWBT)

Overview

The Waorani New Testament, titled Wængonguï nänö Apæ̈negaïnö, was published in 2009 by Wycliffe Bible Translators, Inc. and is the product of decades of linguistic and missionary work among the Waorani people of the Amazonian lowlands of Ecuador. [1] The translation project began with Rachel Saint, a Wycliffe missionary and SIL linguist who, together with Waorani woman Dayuma — the first Waorani to leave her people and make sustained contact with outsiders — began work on the Gospel of Mark and the book of Acts in the late 1950s; Saint and Dayuma appeared together before a national audience at Madison Square Garden with Billy Graham in 1957. [2] The work was substantially extended from 1979 to 1992 by SIL translators Catherine Peeke, Ph.D. (a 1949 Wycliffe/SIL recruit who later received a doctorate in anthropological linguistics from Indiana University) and Rosi Jung, working alongside a team of Waorani co-translators; the completed New Testament was printed at Radio Station HCJB's printshop and dedicated in Ecuador in June 1992. [3] An earlier edition of the New Testament was published in 1992 by International Bible Society; the 2009 Wycliffe edition is a subsequent reprint making the text more widely available. [1] The Waorani language is a linguistic isolate — not demonstrably related to any other known language — spoken by approximately 2,400 people in the Napo and Pastaza provinces of Ecuador; the translation project is inseparable from the broader and well-documented story of the 1956 martyrdom of five American missionaries (Jim Elliot, Nate Saint, Ed McCully, Peter Fleming, and Roger Youderian) who were attempting first contact with the Waorani, and the subsequent peaceful entry into the community led by Rachel Saint and Elisabeth Elliot. [2] [4]

Language and People

Waorani (ISO 639-3: auc) is spoken by approximately 2,420 people in Ecuador. [Glottolog: waor1240]

Publishing and Organizations

Published by Wycliffe Bible Translators USA.

References

  1. Amazon product listing, "Waorani New Testament" (ISBN 9781531300616), Wycliffe Bible Translators, Inc. — https://www.amazon.com/Waorani-Testament-Wycliffe-Bible-Translators/dp/1531300618
  2. Wikipedia, "Rachel Saint" — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rachel_Saint
  3. King University, "Catherine Peeke" — https://www.king.edu/faith-and-values/chapel/chaplains-office/peeke-school-of-mission/catherine-peeke/; Reach Beyond, "First Convert to Christianity in Once-Violent Tribe Dies in Ecuador" — https://reachbeyond.org/content/news/read/first-convert-to-christianity-in-once-violent-tribe-dies-in-ecuador
  4. Wikipedia, "Operation Auca" — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Auca; Wikipedia, "Waorani people" — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waorani_people