Case 21
- Bibles in Pacific Island Languages 2
[Bible in Samoan]. O le Tusi Paia: o le Feagaiga Tuai ma le Feagaiga Fou lea ua faaSamoaina. Suva; Vila; Wellington: Bible Society, 1974.
The
first biblical translations to be printed in Samoan were by the London
Missionary Society and consisted of individual books of the Bible, beginning
with a Gospel of St. John in 1841.
The
first complete Bible in Samoan was not printed until 1862, chiefly the work of
the missionary George Pratt (1817-1894), who also produced the first Samoan
dictionary and grammar.
The
Samoan Bible on display is reprinted from the edition of 1884, which was a
further revision by the London Missionary Society.
[Bible in Samoan]. O le Tusi Paia: o le Feagaiga Tuai ma le Feagaiga Fou lea ua faaSamoaina. Suva; Vila; Wellington: Bible Society, 1974.
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[New Testament in Tongan]. Koe tohi oe Fuakava Foou a ho tau eiki moe fakamoui ko Jisu Kalaisi. Lonitoni: Nae Buluji Ma Ae Faahiga Oku Buluji Ae Tohi Tabu I Ae Lea Kehekehe O Mamani, 1864.
The
first portions of the Bible in Tongan were produced by the Methodist printer
William Woon (1803-1858), who arrived in 1831, established a small press, and
began printing small books and leaflets.
The
first New Testament in Tongan was produced by the Wesleyan Missionary Society
in 1849. A comprehensive revision of existing texts was subsequently carried
out by the Reverend Thomas West, resulting in the first complete Tongan Bible
in 1862.
On display is the 1864 edition of West’s
revision of the New Testament in Tongan.
[New Testament in Tongan]. Koe tohi oe Fuakava Foou a ho tau eiki moe fakamoui ko Jisu Kalaisi. Lonitoni: Nae Buluji Ma Ae Faahiga Oku Buluji Ae Tohi Tabu I Ae Lea Kehekehe O Mamani, 1864.
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[Bible in Niue]. Ko e Tohi Tapu: ko e Maveheaga Tuai mo e Maveheaga Fou. London: British and Foreign Bible Society, 1966.
The
first complete Bible in Niue language was translated by the missionaries and
brothers William George Lawes (1839-1907) and Francis Edwin Lawes (1843-1917)
and printed by the British and Foreign Bible Society in London in 1904.
The
first Gospel texts in Niue language were printed in Samoa in 1861 and the first
New Testament appeared via Sydney in 1866. The texts of the Old Testament were
translated piecemeal by the Lawes and other missionaries until collated into a
single volume in 1904. The Bible on display contains the text of F.E. Lawes’
1914 revision, which is still in use today.
[Bible in Niue]. Ko e Tohi Tapu: ko e Maveheaga Tuai mo e Maveheaga Fou. London: British and Foreign Bible Society, 1966.
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[Bible in Fijian]. Ai Vola Tabu, sa volai kina na Veiyalayalati Makawa, kei na Veiyalayalati Vou. Suva: Bible Society in New Zealand, 1972.
The
first Gospels in Fijian were printed by the Wesleyan Missionary Society in
1839. The first New Testament appeared in 1847 and the Old Testament followed
in 1864; but the complete Bible in Fijian was not printed in a single volume
until 1884.
In 1888,
the Wesleyan authorities designated the retired missionary Frederick Langham
(1833-1903) to revise the Fijian Bible. The text of Langham’s 1902 revised
edition, displayed here, is still in use today.
[Bible in Fijian]. Ai Vola Tabu, sa volai kina na Veiyalayalati Makawa, kei na Veiyalayalati Vou. Suva: Bible Society in New Zealand, 1972.
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