Gospel of John Now Available in Gullah!

As of November, 2003, De Good Nyews bout Jedus Christ wa John Write is available in Gullah. It is published by Wycliffe Bible Translators and printed at the JAARS print shop.

A previous scripture portion in Gullah was the Gospel of Luke, entitled De Good Nyews bout Jedus Christ wa Luke Write, published by the American Bible Society in 1994. It was very popular, with over 30,000 copies having been sold, and was called the most significant factor in the renaissance of the Gullah Language.*

Unfortunately, the Gullah Gospel of Luke is now out of print. However, the new Gullah Gospel of John is a continuation of the same work by the Sea Island Translation Team. Both Luke and John will be part of the whole Gullah New Testament, which should be available in late 2004 or early 2005, to be published by the American Bible Society.

The following is a sample from John 13:34-35...

An now A da gii oona a nyew chaage. Oona mus love one noda. Same fashion A beena lobe oona, oona mus lobe one noda. Ef oona da lobe one noda, ebrybody gwine know dat oona me ciple dem.

This latest scripture portion in Gullah was first made available to the public on November 8, 2003, at the Heritage Days Festival on St. Helena Island, SC. Thousands of people came to the Penn Center for this festival November 6-9 to celebrate the Gullah culture and recognize its heritage. A display was set up (see picture) to present the new Gullah publication, which will be available, now that the festival is over, through the Penn Center. (Follow this link for more pictures from the Heritage Days Festival.)

*Katherine Wyly Mille and Michael B. Montgomery, in their introduction (p. xlviii) to new edition of the 1949 classic book Africanisms in the Gullah Dialect by Lorenzo Dow Turner (2002 edition published by the University of South Carolina).