Holoholo Bible Translation — Holoholo Scripture Portions (DR Congo / Tanzania)
Overview
The Holoholo Bible Translation is Mark, Luke, and 1 Peter (3 books) in the Holoholo language of Lake Tanganyika's western shore, published by The Word for the World International and available via YouVersion/Bible.com (ID 4460; abbreviation: HBT). The earliest recorded scripture portions in Holoholo date to 1948 (Joshua Project); the current YouVersion translation by TWFTW represents a more recent completed edition. No full New Testament or Old Testament has been reported as complete. The community's own name for their language is Kalanga (or Ikiholoholo), while the externally assigned name "Holoholo" was given by Belgian colonial administrators, reportedly derived from a traditional greeting sound.
Language and People
Holoholo (ISO 639-3: hoo; autonym: Kalanga; also called Ikiholoholo) is a Bantu language: Niger-Congo → Atlantic-Congo → Benue-Congo → Bantoid → Narrow Bantu → Zone D, D.28 (East-Central Lake Tanganyika group; subdivisions D.28a West Holoholo and D.28b East Holoholo). Its closest relatives are Tumbwe (D.28.1) and Lumbwe (D.28.2), neither of which has an ISO code. The ⟨h⟩ in "Holoholo" is silent and serves only as a vowel separator (i.e., the pronunciation is approximately Olo-olo). Placement in Zone D is somewhat uncertain; some analyses group it closer to the Takama languages.
Holoholo is spoken in two countries:
- DR Congo: Kalemie city and the surrounding Lake Tanganyika western shoreline, Tanganyika Province (formerly southeastern Katanga; divided 2015), where the Lukuga River exits Lake Tanganyika
- Tanzania: Uvinza District, Kigoma Region, eastern shore of Lake Tanganyika; also historically in the Mahale Mountains area, until residents were displaced by the creation of Mahale Mountains National Park (1979–1985)
Estimated speakers: approximately 34,000 (Joshua Project); ~15,500 (Wikipedia, 2002 data) — total population across both countries is approximately 40,000–45,000.
Historical and Cultural Context
The Holoholo descend from the Baguha people who fled the expanding Luba Empire eastward in the 18th century, settling along Lake Tanganyika's western shore at what is now Kalemie (formerly Albertville). They absorbed Luba cultural elements including the bambudye secret societies that preserve Luba royal oral traditions, while developing a distinct lake-shore fishing economy alongside agriculture (sorghum, maize, peanuts, beans).
Lake Tanganyika played a significant role in 19th-century Central African history: David Livingstone explored the lake's shores in the 1860s–1870s, and the lake was contested between Arab slave-traders and the Congo Free State. The Holoholo territory at Kalemie was directly in the path of Arab-Swahili slave trade routes, and Kalemie became a major Belgian colonial administrative center (named Albertville after King Albert I of Belgium).
The majority of Holoholo people today are Muslim (the historical legacy of Arab trade contact), with minority African Traditional Religion and Christianity. Joshua Project classifies them at Progress Scale Level 4 (partially reached, evangelicals 2–10%).
Publishing and Organizations
Published by The Word for the World International (TWFTW; twftw.org), an international Bible translation organization based in Waxahaw, North Carolina. TWFTW is active in minority language translation across Africa and Asia.