Camsá New Testament (KBHWBT)
Overview
The Camsa New Testament, titled Bengbe Betsa Cabengaftaca Entsoyebuambna, is a translation into Camsa (also known as Kamentsa or Kamemtxa), a language isolate spoken by approximately 4,000 people in the Sibundoy Valley of the Putumayo Department in southwestern Colombia [1][2]. The Kamentsa people have inhabited the Sibundoy Valley for centuries; they were conquered by the Inca under Huayna Capac in 1492, and their neighbors the Inga are descendants of Quechua-speaking settlers from that period [2][3]. Camsa is classified as a language isolate, meaning it has no known genetic relationship to any other language, though attempts have been made to connect it to the Chibchan family [1][4]. SIL International (Instituto Linguistico de Verano) conducted linguistic studies of the Camsa language over several decades, producing phonological analyses, dictionaries, and other materials that supported the translation work [5]. The New Testament was copyrighted in 2009 by Wycliffe Bible Translators [6].
Language and People
Camsá (ISO 639-3: kbh) is spoken by approximately 4,770 people in Northern Colombia. [Glottolog: cams1241]
Publishing and Organizations
Published by Wycliffe Bible Translators USA.
References
- [1] Camsa language - Wikipedia. Classification as a language isolate, speaker population, and geographic location.
- [2] Kamentsa people - Wikipedia. History of the Kamentsa people, Inca conquest, and Sibundoy Valley context.
- [3] Exploring Colombia's Indigenous Communities: Camsa / Kamentsa Tribe (archived) - BnB Colombia Tours. Cultural overview of the Kamentsa community.
- [4] A Typological Sketch of Kamsa, a Language Isolate of Colombia (archived) - Forma y Funcion journal. Linguistic analysis confirming isolate status.
- [5] OLAC resources in and about the Camsa language (archived) - OLAC. Linguistic archive with SIL publications on Camsa.
- BibleSearch (archived) - Online text, American Bible Society
- Audio Bible - Audio Bible, Faith Comes By Hearing
- NT - Online text, Faith Comes By Hearing
- Bëngbe Bëtsa Cabëngaftaca Entsoyebuambna - Online text, Wycliffe Bible Translators, Inc.
- Bible For Developers - DBL archive entry, Digital Bible Library
- Global Bible Catalogue - Global Bible Catalogue entry.
- ebible.org entry - ebible.org.