Cotabato Manobo Bible (MTAWBT)

Overview

The Cotabato Manobo New Testament, titled Sa Mepion Tegudon Denu Si Hesus, was completed in 1988 by Wycliffe Bible Translators after more than three decades of linguistic and translation work among the Cotabato Manobo people of Mindanao [1][2]. SIL's engagement with the Cotabato Manobo began in 1955, when Harland and Marie Kerr were allocated to the language group; Harland produced early grammatical and phonological analyses, while Marie conducted literacy classes and nursing among the community [3][4]. The translation work was continued by successive SIL teams including Tom and Elnore Lyman and Clay and Hellen Johnston, before Ross and Ellen Errington arrived in 1975 and brought the New Testament to completion [2][3]. Ross Errington, a Canadian who trained in linguistics at the University of North Dakota through SIL, has continued supporting Manobo translators working on Old Testament portions [2]. A later edition incorporating Old Testament selections was published in 2004 under the title Kagi Nemula ("Word of God") [5]. The completion of the New Testament resulted in approximately 30 small groups of Manobo believers where previously there had been only one [2]. Cotabato Manobo (also called Dulangan Manobo) is spoken in the Kalamansig, Palimbang, and Ninoy Aquino municipalities of Sultan Kudarat Province and the T'Boli municipality of South Cotabato Province on the island of Mindanao [6].

Language and People

Cotabato Manobo (ISO 639-3: mta) is spoken by approximately 30,000 people in Southern Philippines. [Glottolog: cota1241]

Publishing and Organizations

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

References