Open Kikuyu Holy Word of God (KIKOKHW)

Overview

The Open Kikuyu Holy Word of God (Kiugo Githeru Kia Ngai Kihingure) is a full Bible in the Kikuyu language, published by Biblica in 2013. Kikuyu Bible translation has a long history stretching back to the early twentieth century. The first Scripture portions in Kikuyu were produced by Church of Scotland missionary Arthur Ruffell Barlow, working alongside Church Missionary Society colleagues Leonard Beecher (later Archbishop of East Africa) and Canon Harry Leakey. Individual Gospels were published starting in 1915 (Matthew and Luke) and 1917 (Mark), with Old Testament books such as Exodus following in 1934 through the British and Foreign Bible Society. [1] [2] The first complete Kikuyu Bible was published in 1965. [3] The 2013 Biblica edition represented a new translation effort for the contemporary Kikuyu-speaking community.

Language and People

Kikuyu (ISO 639-3: kik) is spoken by approximately 8,150,000 people in Kenya. [Glottolog: kiku1240]

The Kikuyu (Gikuyu) people are the largest ethnic group in Kenya. Early missionaries reduced the language to written form before beginning Scripture translation; to the Agikuyu, the Bible became known as "Ibuku ria Ngai" (God's Book). [4] Barlow studied Kikuyu along with nine related dialects of the area northeast of Mount Kenya, and the collaborative linguistic work of Barlow, Beecher, and Leakey also produced a standard Kikuyu grammar and the Kikuyu-English dictionary of 1964. [1]

Publishing and Organizations

Published by Biblica. Translation type: New.

References