Olketa Man Nating Nao Transleitim Bible
LONG 1835, Henry Nott, man from England wea waka olsem bricklayer, and John Davies, man from Wales wea kasem training for ranem stoa, tufala finisim wanfala mamaeti project. Bihaen olketa waka hard for winim 30 year, olketa finis for transleitim full Bible long languis bilong Tahiti. Olketa wanem challenge nao tufala man hia feisim, and wanem nao kamaot from hard waka hia wea tufala willing tumas for duim?
“Great Awakening”
Long last haf bilong mek-18 century, olketa member bilong wanfala Protestant muvment wea olketa kolem Great Awakening, or Awakening, preach long olketa pablik area long vilij and klosap long olketa mine and factory long Britain. Goal bilong olketa hem for story witim pipol wea waka long olketa ples olsem. Olketa man for preach hia barava encouragem pipol for kasem wanfala Bible.
Man wea startim datfala muvment hem William Carey, wanfala Baptist wea share for startim London Missionary Society (LMS), long 1795. Datfala LMS trainim pipol wea willing for lanem olketa native languis and serve olsem olketa missionary long South Pacific. Goal bilong olketa missionary hia hem for preachim Gospel long languis bilong lokol pipol.
No longtaem bihaen olketa man for travel faendem island bilong Tahiti, hem kamap firstfala missionary territory bilong LMS. Olketa member bilong Awakening ting long olketa island hia olsem ‘olketa dark ples’ bilong olketa heathen pipol, olsem olketa plantation wea redy for harvest.
Olketa Man Nating Nao Winim Disfala Challenge
For preach long olketa pipol bilong Tahiti, LMS kwiktaem chusim samting olsem 30 missionary wea no really redy, putim olketa long Duff, ship wea olketa baem, and sendem olketa go. Wanfala report listim olketa hia olsem “fofala pastor [wea no kasem training long eni skul], sixfala carpenter, tufala man wea wakem shoe, tufala man for leim brik, tufala man for weave, tufala man wea sewim kaleko, wanfala stoakeeper, wanfala man wea savve wakem samting from leather, wanfala haos boy, wanfala man wea waka long garden, wanfala doctor, wanfala man wea waka witim metal, wanfala man wea wakem container from wood, wanfala man wea wakem samting from cotton, wanfala man wea wakem hat, wanfala man wea wakem kaleko, wanfala man wea wakem furniture, faevfala waef, and thrifala pikinini.”
Only tul wea olketa missionary hia garem for studyim olketa firstfala languis bilong Bible hem wanfala Greek-English dictionary and wanfala Bible wea garem Hebrew dictionary. Long sevenfala month wea olketa missionary hia travel long datfala ship, olketa baeheartim samfala word long languis bilong Tahiti wea olketa wea visitim Tahiti bifor listim, wea planti word kam from olketa man wea tekovarem datfala ship Bounty. Gogo, Duff kasem Tahiti, and long March 7, 1797, olketa missionary go shore. Bat, wan year bihaen, klosap evriwan long olketa wikdaon and go bak. Sevenfala missionary nomoa stap.
Henry Nott, man wea bricklayer bifor, hem wanfala long olketa. Hem 23 year nomoa. From olketa firstfala leta wea hem raetem, luk olsem hem no mas skul gud. Nomata olsem, start long taem hem arrive long there hem showaot klia hao hem savve tumas for lanem languis bilong Tahiti. Hem wanfala naesfala man wea honest and no wari tumas abaotem eni samting.
Long 1801, Nott kasem assignment for teachim languis bilong Tahiti long naenfala niu missionary wea arrive. Wanfala long olketa hem John Davies, wanfala man from Wales wea hem 28 year. Hem wanfala gudfala student wea garem kwaet and kaenfala fasin and hem savve waka hard. No longtaem bihaen, tufala man hia disaed for transleitim Bible long languis bilong Tahiti.
Wanfala Bigfala Waka
Hem bigfala waka for transleitim Bible long languis bilong Tahiti bikos long datfala taem, pipol story long datfala languis bat olketa no savve raetem. Only wei for olketa missionary lanem diswan hem for lisin nomoa. Olketa no garem eni dictionary or grammar buk. Wei wea disfala languis iusim olketa saond wea olsem man tekwind and evritaem stop and start, wei wea hem iusim staka vowel tugeta (kasem faevfala insaed wanfala word), and wei wea hem no iusim tumas consonant, mekem olketa missionary feel wikdaon tumas. Olketa talem witim sorre hao, “Planti word garem olketa vowel nomoa, and each wan garem saond bilong hemseleva.” Olketa talemaot stret hao olketa “no savve barava herem saond bilong olketa word long wei wea olketa need for duim for lanem.” Samfala taem olketa tingse olketa herem samfala saond wea no really stap!
Samting wea mekem problem hia moa worse, samfala taem samfala languis word kamap tambu and so olketa mas changem. Narafala problem hem olketa word wea garem sem mining. Seventi difren languis word stap for datfala word “prea.” Narafala challenge hem hao wei for joinim olketa word tugeta for mekem sentence long languis bilong Tahiti hem barava difren from English. Nomata hem hard, isisi olketa missionary mekem wanfala list bilong olketa word wea gogo Davies pablisim 50 year bihaen olsem wanfala dictionary wea garem 10,000 word insaed.
And tu, challenge stap for faendem wei for raetem languis bilong Tahiti. Olketa missionary trae for duim diswan followim wei wea English languis raetem olketa saond. Bat, olketa saond long languis bilong Tahiti no followim sem wei wea English iusim Latin alphabet. So, olketa storyim olowehao for spellim olketa word hia long wei wea pipol talem. Planti taem olketa missionary nao mekem olketa niu spelling, bikos olketa nao first wan long South Seas for raetem languis wea kam kasem datfala taem, pipol talem nomoa bat no savve raetem. Olketa nating savve hao, long future, waka bilong olketa bae kamap olsem example bilong wei for raetem planti nara languis long South Pacific.
Tu-thri Tul Nomoa Bat Planti Gudfala Idea
Olketa transleita garem tu-thri reference buk nomoa. Datfala LMS givim instruction for olketa iusim Textus Receptus and King James Version olsem main text. Nott askem LMS for sendem samfala moa dictionary long Hebrew and Greek languis and tu olketa Bible long tufala languis hia. No eni record for showimaot sapos hem kasem olketa buk hia or nomoa. Bat Davies kasem samfala buk bilong olketa savveman from samfala fren bilong hem long Wales. Olketa record showimaot hem garem wanfala Greek dictionary, wanfala Hebrew Bible, wanfala Niu Testament long Greek languis, and wanfala copy bilong Septuagint.
Long datfala taem, preaching waka bilong olketa missionary still no garem eni frut. Nomata olketa missionary stap long Tahiti for 12 year finis, no eniwan hem baptaes. Gogo, olketa war wea go ahed olowe long there forcem evri missionary for ranawe go long Australia; Nott nomoa disaed strong for stap. For lelebet taem hem nomoa missionary wea stap long Windward Islands part bilong Society Islands, bat gogo hem mas go bihaenem King Pomare II taem datfala king ranawe go long island bilong Moorea wea stap klosap.
Nomata hem muv go long there, Nott go ahed witim transleison waka bilong hem, and bihaen Davies stap long Australia for tufala year, hem kam bak and stap moa witim Nott. Insaed tufala year hia, Nott studyim Greek and Hebrew languis and hem barava savve gud. From diswan, hem start for transleitim samfala part bilong olketa Hebrew Scripture long languis bilong Tahiti. Hem chusim olketa part bilong Bible wea storyim samting wea isi for pipol bilong Tahiti minim.
Bihaen datwan, Nott waka long klos wei witim Davies and start for transleitim Gospel bilong Luke, wea olketa finis for transleitim long September 1814. Nott transleitim long wei wea barava here olsem languis bilong Tahiti, and Davies chekim datfala transleison witim olketa firstfala raeting. Long 1817, King Pomare II askem sapos hemseleva savve printim first page bilong Gospel bilong Luke. Hem printim long wanfala smol printing machine wea olketa nara missionary tekem kam long Moorea. For talem full story abaotem transleison bilong Bible long languis bilong Tahiti, iumi mas talem tu nem bilong Tuahine, wanfala faithful man long Tahiti wea stap witim olketa missionary long olketa year hia and helpem olketa for barava lanem evribit languis bilong Tahiti.
Olketa Finis for Transleitim
Long 1819, bihaen olketa waka hard for sixfala year, transleison bilong olketa Gospel, Acts bilong olketa Aposol, and buk bilong Psalms hem finis. Olketa iusim wanfala printing machine, wea olketa niu missionary tekem kam, mekem olketa savve printim and givimaot olketa Bible buk hia.
Bihaen, olketa barava busy for duim transleison, proofreading, and for chekim moa and stretem datwan. Taem hem stap long Tahiti for 28 year finis, long 1825 Nott kasem sik and LMS letem hem sail go bak long England. Gud samting nao, long datfala taem transleison bilong olketa Greek Scripture hem klosap finis. Taem hem gogo long ship for England and taem hem stap long there, hem go ahed for transleitim olketa nara part bilong Bible. Long 1827 Nott hem go bak long Tahiti. Eitfala year bihaen, long December 1835, hem finisim waka bilong hem. Bihaen winim 30 year bilong hard waka, full Bible hem transleit finis.
Long 1836, Nott hem go bak long England for printim full Bible long languis bilong Tahiti long London. Long June 8, 1838, Nott hem hapi tumas for givim Queen Victoria firstfala copy bilong Bible long languis bilong Tahiti. Diswan hem barava spesol samting for datfala man wea bricklayer wea 40 year bifor hem gogo long datfala ship Duff and barava willing for lanem evri samting abaotem living and kastom bilong Tahiti for fulfillim disfala bigfala waka wea hem iusim full laef bilong hem for duim.
Tufala month bihaen, Nott go bak long South Pacific witim 27 case bilong first 3,000 copy bilong full Bible long languis bilong Tahiti. Taem hem kasem Sydney, hem kamap sik moa, bat hem nating willing for letem olketa case go seleva. Bihaen hem winim sik hia, hem kasem Tahiti long 1840, and evriwan barava hipap raonem kago bilong hem for trae kasem copy bilong Bible long languis bilong Tahiti. Nott hem dae long Tahiti long May 1844, taem hem 70 year.
Affectim Staka Samting
Bat waka bilong Nott hem go ahed. Transleison bilong hem barava affectim olketa languis long Polynesia. Wei wea olketa missionary raetem languis bilong Tahiti hem protectim datfala languis for no lus. Wanfala man for raet hem sei: “Nott mekem datfala firstfala grammar bilong languis bilong Tahiti hem set. Long future, eniwan wea laek lanem languis bilong Tahiti long stretfala wei mas lukluk long datfala Bible.” Hard waka bilong olketa transleita hia minim record hem stap for planti thousand word mekem pipol no forgetim olketa. Wan handred year bihaen, wanfala man for raet hem sei: “Spesol Bible bilong Nott long languis bilong Tahiti hem best raeting bilong languis bilong Tahiti—evriwan agree witim diswan.”
Disfala important waka hem no just helpem pipol bilong Tahiti nomoa bat hem kamap faondeson bilong olketa nara transleison bilong olketa languis long South Pacific. Olsem example, olketa transleita long Cook Islands and Samoa iusim diswan olsem example for followim. Wanfala transleita hem sei, “For tok stret mi followim Mr. Nott, wea mi barava studyim gud transleison bilong hem.” Wanfala report talem hao nara transleita ‘iusim Hebrew buk bilong Psalms and olketa English version and version long languis bilong Tahiti’ taem hem ‘transleitim wanfala psalm bilong David long Samoan languis.’
For followim example bilong olketa member bilong Awakening long England, olketa missionary long Tahiti barava encouragem pipol for read and raet. Tru nao, for winim wan handred year, Bible nomoa hem buk wea pipol bilong Tahiti garem long languis bilong olketa. Dastawe hem kamap wanfala man part bilong laef long Tahiti.
Wanfala nambawan samting abaotem datfala Nott version hem wei wea nem bilong God hem kamap staka taem long olketa Hebrew and Greek Scripture. Dastawe, distaem planti pipol long Tahiti and olketa island bilong hem savve long datfala nem Jehovah. Datfala nem hem stap tu long samfala Protestant church. Nomata olsem, distaem, taem pipol tingim datfala nem, olketa tingim Olketa Jehovah’s Witness and preaching waka wea olketa strong for duim, wea olketa iusim Bible long languis bilong Tahiti wea Nott and olketa fren bilong hem transleitim. And bigfala waka bilong olketa transleita olsem Henry Nott remindim iumi hao iumi shud thankiu tumas for wei wea klosap evriwan long earth savve kasem Word bilong God.
[Olketa Piksa long page 26]
Olketa firstfala transleison bilong Bible long languis bilong Tahiti, 1815. Nem bilong Jehovah hem stap
Henry Nott (1774-1844), main transleita bilong Bible long languis bilong Tahiti
[Olketa Credit Line]
Bible long languis bilong Tahiti: Copyright the British Library (3070.a.32); Henry Nott and leta: Collection du Musée de Tahiti et de ses Îles, Punauia, Tahiti; catechism: With permission of the London Missionary Society Papers, Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand
[Piksa long page 28]
Bilingual Tahitian and Welsh catechism bilong 1801, wea garem nem bilong God
[Credit Line]
With permission of the London Missionary Society Papers, Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand
[Piksa long page 29]
Protestant church wea garem nem bilong Jehovah long front, island bilong Huahine, French Polynesia
[Credit Line]
Avec la permission du Pasteur Teoroi Firipa