Nouveau Testament Gavar — Dzəv ma wiyə

Overview

Dzəv ma wiyə is the New Testament in Gavar, published by CABTAL (Cameroon Association for Bible Translation and Literacy) and available via YouVersion/Bible.com (ID 4516). The title translates approximately as "The Word of the Lord" — dzəv (word/message) + ma (of) + wiyə (Lord/God). This is one of a cluster of New Testaments published by CABTAL in 2024–2025 alongside the Yangben, Mmaala, and Tuki NTs — all languages of the Centre and Far North regions of Cameroon.

The Gavar language was the subject of a SIL rapid appraisal survey by Seguin in 1992 and intelligibility testing with the closely related Buwal language by Brye in 2000. A 2008 study on the Gavar verb phrase (published by the Cameroon Ministry of Scientific Research and Innovation with SIL support) provides the most detailed linguistic analysis of the language in print.

Language and People

Gavar (ISO 639-3: gou; also Gawar, Gouwar, Gauar, Kortchi, Rtchi, Ma-Gavar) is an Afro-Asiatic Chadic language of the Biu-Mandara branch, classified within the Daba group (Central Chadic, South sub-branch). Gavar's closest relative is Buwal (language code: bhs), with which it forms the North Daba sub-group; the two languages achieved a 70%+ lexical similarity in Brye's 2000 intelligibility testing. Other Daba group languages include Daba (dbq) and Muyang.

Gavar is spoken by approximately 15,000 people in the Far North Region of Cameroon, concentrated in Mogodé canton, Mokolo subdivision, Mayo-Tsanaga Department — the mountainous Mandara highland zone near the Nigeria border. The principal Gavar villages are Kortchi, Nora, and Mouftoum. The language is named after the town of Gawar (also spelled Gavar); speakers call their language and community Kortchi (reflecting the endonym preserved in the stub's autonym field).

The Gavar-speaking people are part of the broad Kirdi ("non-Muslim hill peoples") cultural sphere of the Mandara Mountains — a term applied by the Fulbe and Hausa to the diverse non-Muslim populations of this region, including the Mafa, Mandara, Podoko, Higi, Mora, Muktele, Buwal, and many others. The Mandara Mountains historically served as a refuge from Fulbe slave-raiding during the 18th–19th century expansions from Sokoto; the rugged terrain and dispersed settlement patterns reflect this defensive heritage. Traditional Kirdi religious practice involves ancestor veneration and elaborate sorghum-beer (bili-bili) ceremonies. Christianity has made significant inroads among Kirdi communities since the colonial era, and CABTAL has produced NT translations for numerous Mandara-zone languages.

Publishing and Organizations

Published by CABTAL (Cameroon Association for Bible Translation and Literacy), the Wycliffe Global Alliance member organization for Cameroon, formally established 26 October 1987. CABTAL is active in 116 language communities across all 10 regions of Cameroon and has completed New Testaments in over 36 languages. The Gavar NT is one of several NTs published for the Biu-Mandara language cluster of the Far North Region; CABTAL has also published NTs for related Mandara-zone languages including Mofu-Gudur, Gavar's neighbour Buwal, and others.

References