Kami New Testament — Kami (Kikami) Scripture Portions (Tanzania)
Overview
Kami New Testament is 10-book scripture portions in the Kami language of Morogoro Region, Tanzania, published by The Word for the World International (TWFTW) and available via YouVersion/Bible.com (ID 4559). The community's autonym Kikami (the language name in the Bantu prefix convention: ki- = language class prefix + kami) identifies a critically endangered Bantu language of the Zigula-Zaramo (Zone G.30) cluster of eastern Tanzania. Despite only approximately 16,400 speakers, the Kami community inhabits the zone east of Morogoro city where Bantu Zone G languages have been under intense pressure from both Luguru (400,000+ speakers) and the national lingua franca Swahili.
Language and People
Kami (ISO 639-3: kcu; autonym: Kikami) is a Bantu language: Niger-Congo → Atlantic-Congo → Volta-Congo → Benue-Congo → Bantoid → Southern Bantoid → Bantu Zone G → Zigula-Zaramo group (G.30). The Zigula-Zaramo group includes closely related languages: Zaramo, Kwere, Kutu, Doe, Luguru, and Kami — all languages of the eastern Tanzania coast and hinterland zone. Kami shares substantial lexical overlap with all these G.30 neighbors. A notable feature is the reduced tonal system compared to canonical Bantu — consistent with neighboring Luguru and Kagulu. The language has only two tense distinctions (Past / Non-Past) and reduced verbal morphology relative to standard Bantu.
The Kami community inhabits:
- Mikese town (~40 km east of Morogoro city along the Dar es Salaam road), and surrounding villages (Mkunga Mhola, Dete, Lukonde Koo)
- Morogoro District, Morogoro Region, northeastern Tanzania
- Low-to-mid altitude terrain in the shadow of the Uluguru Mountains
Estimated speakers: approximately 16,400 (Mradi wa Lugha census, 2009). Critically endangered: no fluent child or adolescent speakers documented; youngest documented fluent speaker was in their forties at time of survey.
Cultural Context
The Kami people are matrilineal in descent and inheritance — an unusual combination with their geographic position and cultural environment. The community is majority Muslim, with Christian and traditional-religion minorities. The language's endangerment is driven primarily by regional shift to Luguru (which has 400,000+ speakers in the same Morogoro Region) rather than by national Swahili policy alone. A sociolinguistic survey ("The Under-Described Languages of Morogoro") documented the community's critical endangerment status. TWFTW's 10-book scripture portion represents a significant investment in a severely endangered community.
Publishing and Organizations
Published by The Word for the World International (TWFTW) (twftw.org), an indigenous-led Bible translation organization founded 1981 in South Africa by Dr. Véroni Krüger and P.J. Vivier. Active in 32 countries with 373 translation projects.