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The Nyakyusa
The seventh group in our series of minority languages we’ll be working with in Mbeya, Tanzania is the Nyakyusa. This information is taken from www.thetask.net.
The Nyakyusa
The Nyakyusa New Testament was published in 1966 and a complete Bible in 1996. However, the translated Scriptures are not widely used largely because the writing system is difficult for people to read. Few people of this generation have learned to read and write Nyakyusa.
When the churches learned about the Mbeya-Iringa Cluster Project they requested the opportunity to join in order to get a translated Bible in a writing system that meets their needs. The Nyakyusa community has many well-educated people and also many highly theologically qualified pastors, who are able to work in literacy and Bible translation.
Population: 500,000+
Cultural Information: The Nyakyusa are traditionally farmers as they live in a very fertile area. Bananas are used a lot in their daily diet.
Religion: Christian, traditional religion
History: The first Nyakyusa writing system was similar to the German writing system, because it was developed by German missionaries who first translated the Bible and other materials. The whole Bible was revised and reprinted in 1996 by the Bible Society of Tanzania, using this same system which is different enough from the writing system of the national language, Swahili, that it is difficult for this generation to read. Few people of this generation have learned to read and write in Nyakyusa and the Nyakyusa Bibles are not widely used in Tanzania.