Kasua New Testament (KHSWBT)

Overview

The Kasua New Testament, titled "Kokolo Kao Tesene Solo" in the vernacular, is a translation of the New Testament into the Kasua language, spoken by approximately 1,800 people living in the shadows of Mount Bosavi, an extinct volcano, across villages in the Gulf, Southern Highlands, and Western provinces of Papua New Guinea [1][2]. The translation was the work of Tommy and Konni Logan, an American couple with Wycliffe Bible Translators, who arrived in the remote village of Musula in 1991 after the Kasua people had spent seven years clearing an airstrip to make the area accessible by plane [3][4]. Village chief Amos Ulupele became the lead tribal translator, working alongside the Logans for over 26 years [3]. The translation process involved careful cultural and linguistic considerations; for example, since every four-legged animal in Kasua is called "pig," the team chose to use "a:pele sipi" (sheep-animal) rather than "pig-sheep" to translate the word "sheep" [3]. Bible portions were completed between 1996 and 2001, and the full New Testament was completed in 2016 [1]. The Kasua New Testament was formally dedicated on October 26, 2017, in a ceremony at Musula village where men shouldered boxes of the first printed New Testaments toward the village center while the community sang "God's book has come" in Kasua [3][5]. The copyright is held by Wycliffe Bible Translators, Inc., and the translation is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license [6].

Language and People

Kasua (ISO 639-3: khs) is spoken by approximately 600 people in Papua New Guinea, Map 8. [Glottolog: kasu1251]

Publishing and Organizations

Published by Wycliffe Bible Translators USA. Translation type: New.

References