The Bible in Aboriginal Kriol (ROPWBT)

Overview

The Kriol Bible, known as the “Holi Baibul,” is the first complete Bible published in any Australian Aboriginal language ^[1]. Kriol is an English-based creole language that developed through contact between Indigenous peoples and European settlers in northern Australia, and it is spoken by approximately 30,000 people across the Northern Territory and parts of Western Australia ^[2]. Translation work on the Kriol Bible began in 1978 and continued for 27 years, with the completed Old and New Testaments dedicated at the Katherine Christian Convention in May 2007 ^[1]. The translation was a collaborative effort led by the Rev. Canon Gumbuli Wurrumara and a team of native Kriol speakers, working alongside specialists from the Australian Society for Indigenous Languages (AuSIL) ^[1]. The project was a joint initiative of the Bible Society in Australia, Lutheran Bible Translators, the Church Missionary Society, the Anglican Church, Wycliffe Bible Translators, and AuSIL ^[1]. John W. Harris, a linguist and Bible scholar who grew up on an Aboriginal mission on Groote Eylandt, later served as director of the Bible Society’s translation and text division overseeing work in Indigenous Australian languages, and received a Lambeth Doctorate of Divinity from the Archbishop of Canterbury in 2010 for his contributions ^[3]. A revised edition of the Kriol Bible was published and dedicated in May 2019 at the Katherine Christian Convention ^[1].

Language and People

Kriol (ISO 639-3: rop) is spoken by approximately 7,160 people. [Glottolog: krio1252]

Publishing and Organizations

Published by Wycliffe Bible Translators USA.

References

• [1] Kriol - Aboriginal Bibles - Aboriginal Bibles. History of the Kriol Bible translation, dedication, and revised edition.
• [2] Australian Kriol - Wikipedia - Overview of the Kriol language, its development, and speaker population.
• [3] A passionate lover of bringing the Bible to lonely people in lonely places - Eternity News. Profile of John Harris and his contributions to Aboriginal Bible translation.
• Kriol Baibul - Online text, Wycliffe Bible Translators, Inc.
• Bible For Developers - DBL archive entry, Digital Bible Library
• Rosetta Project: Kriol Genesis - Internet Archive / Rosetta Project. Genesis in Kriol.
• find.bible entry - find.bible. Bible catalogue entry for ROPWBT.
• Global Bible Catalogue - Global Bible Catalogue entry.
• ebible.org entry - ebible.org.