Allah Ene Buku Kara Alkitab — Central Auyu New Testament (Indonesia)

Overview

Allah Ene Buku Kara ("God's Complete/Great Book") is the New Testament translation in the Central Auyu (Awyu) language of South Papua, Indonesia. The translation also includes two books of the Old Testament. The completed scripture was dedicated in May 2024 in the village of Kotiak on the south coast of Papua, marking a historic first: Central Auyu speakers received the Bible in their heart language for the first time. The translation is published under the banner of Gereja Persekutuan Kristen Alkitab Indonesia (GPKAI) and is available as audio text (code: AWUGPK). A parallel print edition — Allah Ene Buku Kara Alkitab (Perjanjian Baru Bahasa Awyu, Papua dan Bahasa Indonesia) — was published as a diglot New Testament (Awyu + Indonesian) by Lembaga Alkitab Indonesia (Indonesian Bible Society), a 1,952-page volume (13.5 × 21 cm).

Bible portions in Central Auyu were first available as early as 1985, according to Joshua Project records, but the complete New Testament was not finished until 2024.

Language and People

Central Auyu (ISO 639-3: awu; also spelled Awyu, Awja, Awya; alternate names include Ajau, Auyu, Avio, Awju, Nohon) is a Trans–New Guinea language belonging to the Awyu–Ok branch of the Central West New Guinea language cluster. It is spoken primarily along the Digul and Mappi Rivers in Mappi Regency and Boven Digul Regency, South Papua Province (formerly part of Papua Province), Indonesia. The main sub-districts are Obaa, Citak Mitak, Mandobo, and Bimikia.

Estimated speakers: approximately 10,000 first-language speakers (Joshua Project / Ethnologue), all within the Awyu, Nohon people group. The broader Awyu ethnic group (all dialects) numbers roughly 27,300 people (2017 census). The Awyu language family includes 5–11 dialect varieties: Central Awyu (awu), South Awyu, North Awyu, Southeast/Jair Awyu, and West Awyu sub-varieties (Asue, Miaro, Pasue, Kewet, Wildeman River, Bamgi, Edera, Kia).

The Awyu people inhabit the swampy Digul River basin, traditionally living as hunter-gatherers whose staple foods are sago, fish, and river shrimp. The community is classified by Joshua Project as Partially Reached (Progress Scale level 4): Christianity is the largest religion (~65%), with 5–10% evangelical believers, though many continue to hold animistic beliefs alongside Christian practice.

Translation History

Missionary presence in the Auyu district began in 1960 under The Evangelical Alliance Mission (TEAM) USA, which planted the first evangelical church posts in Papua's south coast region. TEAM founded Erikson-Tritt Theological College (ETTC) in Papua, which trained local pastors and evangelists. The churches planted by TEAM eventually unified into GPKAI (Gereja Persekutuan Kristen Alkitab Indonesia), which today operates a dedicated Departemen Penterjemahan Alkitab (Bible Translation Department) as one of its fifteen departments.

Portions of scripture in Central Auyu were made available as early as 1985, likely as part of early translation and literacy work.

The complete New Testament — plus two Old Testament books — was translated by Myo-Sook Sohn, a South Korean missionary born in Miryang, South Korea, in 1964, who worked under Global Bible Translators, a South Korea-based mission organization. Sohn relocated to Papua to live among the Central Auyu community, learning the language through immersion and daily conversation before undertaking the translation work with a team of local helpers. Flights of Bibles were delivered by Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) pilot Jack Gandy to Kotiak village in May 2024.

The dedication ceremony was a major community celebration: four pigs were slaughtered for a feast, and the gathered community sang a traditional song honoring Sohn as "a woman called all the way from Korea to bring the Bible to a tribe most people don't even know exists" (World News Group / WORLD, August 2024).

Scope

  • New Testament: Complete (27 books)
  • Old Testament: Two books included
  • Complete Bible: Not yet available
  • Available since 1985: Bible portions (unspecified)

Publishing and Organizations

  • Bible.is / Faith Comes By Hearing: Audio text distribution (AWUGPK)
  • Lembaga Alkitab Indonesia (LAI): Print diglot NT publisher (Allah Ene Buku Kara Alkitab, Perjanjian Baru Bahasa Awyu, Papua dan Bahasa Indonesia)
  • GPKAI (Gereja Persekutuan Kristen Alkitab Indonesia): Church partner and publisher credit; founded from TEAM mission work beginning 1950–1952 in Papua
  • Global Bible Translators (Korea): Translation organization, translator Myo-Sook Sohn
  • Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF): Bible delivery to remote Kotiak village

References