Macushi New Testament (MBCWBT)

Overview

New Testament in Macushi (BR:mbc:Macushi). The Macushi (also spelled Makushi or Macuxi) are a Cariban-speaking indigenous people living in Roraima state in northern Brazil, as well as in Guyana and Venezuela, with a total population of approximately 30,000 [1]. Macushi is the most populous of the Cariban languages [2]. The first Macushi New Testament was translated by Ross and Cathy Hodsdon, who arrived in Brazil in the early 1970s and were connected with the Macushi through Baptist Mid-Missions missionaries Harold and Miriam Burns in Roraima [3]. Ross Hodsdon completed the linguistic and orthography work, and the translation was finished in approximately eight years [3]. A major challenge was that many biblical terms, including the word "love," had no direct equivalent in Macushi, making word-for-word translation impossible [3]. The first 1,000 printed copies were funded by the newly formed Bibles International, making it the first translation that organization ever published [3]. Scripture portions were available from as early as 1923, and the New Testament was completed in 1996, with a revised edition copyrighted by Wycliffe Bible Translators in 2013 [4][5].

Language and People

Macushi (ISO 639-3: mbc) is spoken by approximately 15,930 people in Northeastern Brazil. [Glottolog: macu1259]

Publishing and Organizations

Published by Wycliffe Bible Translators USA.

References