Washkuk New Testament (KMOWBT)

Overview

The Washkuk New Testament, titled God Riiti Maji Kepi in the vernacular, was published in 1974 by Wycliffe Bible Translators and is the New Testament in the Kwoma language of East Sepik Province, Papua New Guinea [1][2]. The translation was produced by SIL missionaries Orneal and Martha Kooyers, who arrived in the Sepik River Basin in February 1961 and settled in the village of Madiwai to study the Washkuk language [3]. After two years of language study, Martha Kooyers established a school in the village, and the couple continued linguistic and translation work over the following decade, completing the New Testament by 1975 [3][4]. The Kwoma people live in 12 villages in the Waskuk Hills of the Ambunti district and number approximately 5,700, with their language divided into two main dialects: Kwoma (spoken in the hills) and Nukuma (spoken in the lowlands) [2][5]. Nearly 99% of the Kwoma have adopted Christianity following post-World War II missionary activity, though speakers of the Nukuma dialect have requested their own translation, as the existing New Testament is based on the Kwoma hill dialect [5][6].

Language and People

Kwoma (ISO 639-3: kmo) is spoken by approximately 3,000 people in Papua New Guinea, Map 5. [Glottolog: kwom1262]

Publishing and Organizations

Created by Wycliffe Bible Translators, Inc. Published by Wycliffe Bible Translators USA. Translation type: New.

References