Narrinyeri Scripture Portions (NAYTJY)

Overview

The Narrinyeri Scripture Portions, titled Tungarar Jehovald — carrying the longer title Extracts from the Holy Scriptures in the language of the tribes inhabiting the lakes and lower Murray, called Narrinyeri — were published in 1864 by the South Australian Auxiliary of the British and Foreign Bible Society, making them the first Scripture officially published in an Australian Aboriginal language. [1] The translation was produced by Rev. George Taplin (1831-1879), a Congregationalist missionary from Kingston-upon-Thames, England, who established the mission settlement at Point McLeay (Raukkan) on the shores of Lake Alexandrina in 1859, working in collaboration with James Ngunaitponi. [2] The portions include selections from Genesis 1-4, Exodus 19-20, Matthew 5-7, and John 3, 18-21, along with the Lord's Prayer. [1] The work was reprinted in 1926 and 1986 by the Bible Society in Australia, and a 2009 edition presented both the Ngarrindjeri text and the Contemporary English Version side by side. [1]

Translation History

George Taplin arrived in Adelaide in 1849 and was appointed as the first missionary-teacher of the Aborigines Friends Association in 1859. [2] He began his mission work with the Ngarrindjeri confederacy on 4 April 1860, establishing a settlement on a traditional camping ground called Raukkan ("The Ancient Way"). [2] Taplin learned the Ngarrindjeri language, used it in preaching, and translated and published Bible tracts. [2] Earlier preliminary linguistic work on the language had been done by Heinrich Meye, an Encounter Bay missionary, during the 1840s. [1] Taplin was ordained in 1868 and continued his work until his death from heart disease at Raukkan on 24 June 1879, at age 47. [2] He also made significant contributions to the documentation of Ngarrindjeri culture, publishing The Narrinyeri (1874, enlarged 1878) and The Folklore, Manners, Customs, and Languages of the South Australian Aborigines (1879). [2]

Language and People

Ngarrindjeri (ISO 639-3: nay) is an Australian Aboriginal language historically spoken by the Ngarrindjeri people of the Murray River, Lower Lakes, and Coorong region of South Australia. [Glottolog: narr1259]

The 2016 Australian Census recorded approximately 312 Ngarrindjeri speakers. [1] The language is critically endangered, though revitalization efforts are ongoing in the community.

References