The Wayuu Bible — Guajiro (Wayuu) Complete Bible (Colombia)
Overview
TÜ NÜNÜIKIKAT MALEIWA ("The Word of God") is the complete Bible in the Wayuu language of the La Guajira Peninsula, Colombia (and Venezuela), published by the Colombian Bible Society in 2024 and available via YouVersion/Bible.com (ID 1584; abbreviation: GUC), with audio available via Davar Audio Bibles. The autonym Guajiro is the older, externally-assigned designation; the community prefers Wayuu ("person/people"). Wayuu (ISO 639-3: guc) is an Arawakan language — belonging to the same language family that once spread across much of the Caribbean, northern South America, and Amazonia before European colonization, and remains the largest indigenous language of South America by speaker count.
Language and People
Wayuu (ISO 639-3: guc; autonym: Guajiro) is an Arawakan language: Arawakan → Northern Arawakan → Wayuu branch. The Arawakan family was the most widely distributed indigenous language family in the Americas at European contact — spanning from the Caribbean to the southern Amazon — and Wayuu is its most populous surviving member.
The Wayuu community inhabits:
- La Guajira Department, northeastern Colombia — primarily in the arid La Guajira Peninsula
- Zulia State, northwestern Venezuela — across the Colombia-Venezuela border
- The Wayuunaiki-speaking population spans both countries, making it the largest indigenous language of Colombia and Venezuela combined
Estimated speakers: approximately 300,000–500,000 total, making Wayuu one of South America's largest indigenous language communities.
Cultural Context
The Wayuu are semi-nomadic pastoralists who have historically maintained significant cultural autonomy, resisting Spanish conquest and maintaining a distinctive social organization based on matrilineal clans. The Wayuu occupy the arid desert peninsula of La Guajira — a zone that Spanish and later Colombian/Venezuelan state authority has never fully controlled. Wayuu traditional governance (palabreros, or conflict-resolution specialists recognized by UNESCO) and strong clan identity have preserved the language despite proximity to Spanish-dominant urban centers. The completion of the full Wayuu Bible in 2024 by the Colombian Bible Society represents a significant milestone — providing the entire canon in the community's language for the first time.
Publishing and Organizations
Published by the Colombian Bible Society (Sociedades Bíblicas de Colombia, sociedadesbiblicas.com.co), a United Bible Societies member organization. Audio version available via Davar Audio Bibles (davaraudiobibles.org).