Guhu-Samane New Testament (GHSWBT)

Overview

The Guhu-Samane New Testament, titled "Poro Tongo Usaqe" in the vernacular, is the New Testament in the Guhu-Samane language, a divergent Trans-New Guinea language related to the Binanderean family, spoken by approximately 13,000 people in Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea [1][2]. Translation work was begun in August 1957 by Ernest (Ernie) Richert and his wife Marjorie, who served with the Summer Institute of Linguistics [3][4]. The New Testament was published in 1975 by the Bible Society of Papua New Guinea in Lae [3][5]. Following the 1975 publication, Guhu-Samane Christians experienced a Holy Spirit revival in 1977, in which the vernacular translation played a central role in community spiritual life [4]. Anthropologist Courtney Handman has studied the translation's cultural impact extensively, documenting how Guhu-Samane devotees used performances of the local-language New Testament to articulate their experience of Christian transformation [4]. Dr. Richert continued linguistic work on the Guhu-Samane language until his death from cancer in late 1994, and his triglot dictionary (Guhu-Samane, English, and Tok Pisin) was completed by others [3]. As of 2024, a Guhu-Samane translation team continues Old Testament translation work under PNGBTA [6].

Language and People

Guhu-Samane (ISO 639-3: ghs) is spoken by approximately 12,000 people in Papua New Guinea, Map 15. [Glottolog: guhu1244]

Publishing and Organizations

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

References