Eriiragano Eriihya (ZAKEBL)

Overview

Eriiragano Eriihya is the New Testament in the Zanaki language (ISO 639-3: zak), a Bantu language spoken by approximately 100,000 people in the Mara Region of Tanzania, east of Lake Victoria [1][2]. Zanaki is notably the first language of Tanzania's founding president Julius Nyerere [2]. The Zanaki New Testament was formally dedicated on August 2, 2024, in the town of Butiama, where hundreds of community members gathered on a soccer field to celebrate with traditional instruments, singing, dancing, and a communal feast [3]. The chief of the Zanaki tribe served as guest of honor and declared: "Today salvation has come to the Zanaki people because God's Word has arrived in the Zanaki language" [3]. The translation was published by Wycliffe Bible Translators, and a companion mobile app provides the text in Zanaki alongside Swahili, with audio for the entire New Testament [4].

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