Zande (individual language) 2011 Edition (ZNEBSS)

Overview

The Zande 2011 Edition is a New Testament in the Zande language (Pazande), produced by the Bible Society in South Sudan and serving Azande communities across South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the Central African Republic. [1] Scripture in Zande has a long publishing history: a first portion appeared in 1918, a New Testament in 1938, and a complete Bible in 1978 through the Bible Society of Zaire. Bible translation work among the Azande people has a long history tied to Christian missionary activity in the region. The Church Missionary Society (CMS) began work in Zande-speaking areas of southern Sudan in the early 20th century, with pioneer missionary Archibald Shaw (1879-1956) advocating for CMS expansion to the Zande, Bari, and Moru peoples. [2] An earlier Zande Bible, produced by the Bible Society of Zaire (now DR Congo) and published in 2000, used a form of the language influenced by Lingala and French that was not easily understood by Sudanese Zande speakers, creating a need for this updated edition in the South Sudanese dialect. [3]

Language and People

Zande (ISO 639-3: zne) is spoken by approximately 1,792,000 people across the northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo, southwestern South Sudan, and the southeastern Central African Republic. [Glottolog: zand1248]

The Azande (the name means "the people who possess much land") are one of the largest ethnic groups of Central Africa, with a presence across three countries. [4] They are historically known for their centralized political organization under a system of hereditary chiefs. The Azande attracted significant scholarly attention through the work of British anthropologist E. E. Evans-Pritchard, whose studies of Azande witchcraft beliefs (Witchcraft, Oracles and Magic Among the Azande, 1937) became foundational texts in social anthropology. [4] Today, most Azande identify as Christians, primarily Catholic, Anglican (Episcopal), and Pentecostal. [3]

References