Ghana’s Komba people received their complete Bible after 16 years of dedicated translation work.
Speaking in the course of the launch event last month, Rev. Dr. John Kwesi Addo Jnr., General Secretary of the Bible Society of Ghana (BSG), emphasized that this Bible will deepen faith while serving as a significant repository to preserve the Komba language and culture from extinction.
“This was greater than a dedication. It was a cultural event that united the whole community: Christians, Paramount Chiefs, elders, and Muslims, all celebrating 16 years of tireless translation work,” BSG noted in a press release.
BSG partnered with the Lutheran Bible Translators to deliver the Komba Bible within the hope that the Bible “will shape lives, strengthen families, and combat moral decay.”
The Komba people live in Ghana’s northeast region. Unlike many neighboring groups with centralized chieftaincy structures, the Konkomba traditionally organized themselves with out a central ruling authority. Social life centers around lineages, clans, village elders, and native religious and spiritual leaders.
Historically, their worldview embraced traditional spiritual beliefs: reverence for ancestral spirits, belief in natural spirits inhabiting rivers, trees, and land, plus rituals led by traditional healers or priests.
Many Konkomba have since adopted Christianity, while others follow Islam. Traditional beliefs and practices still influence some communities.
According to Lutheran Bible Translators, Baptist missionaries established the primary congregation among the many Komba in Namong in the course of the Nineteen Fifties. In the early Eighties, Lutheran missionaries Tim and Beth Heiney moved to Ghana to serve the Konkomba area.
In 1968, church authorities assigned Reverend Walter Demoss and his wife Helena to plant churches and train local leaders in Northern Ghana. Though called specifically to serve the Moba people, Reverend Demoss also mentored a young Komba man, Reverend Samuel Konlaan.
Rev. Konlaan later voiced concern that the one existing Bible translation remained difficult for his people to grasp due to the various dialects throughout the Komba language.
After years of preparation, organizers fully launched the New Testament translation effort in 2005 and assembled the team to translate the New Testament. Members included Mr. Elijah Matibin, project coordinator with expertise in Scripture engagement and literacy; Mr. David Federwitz, literacy and Scripture engagement advisor; Rev. Samson Bilafanim, translator; Rev. Emmanuel Mananyina, translator; Mr. James Adongo Wajak, translator; Rev. Nathan Esala, linguist and translation advisor; and Dr. Fabian Dapila, translation consultant.
Lutheran Bible Translators reports that the community played a significant role in the interpretation, ensuring the work not only conveyed God’s Word but addressed the community’s needs.
“The translation team sends them a printed copy. In some translation projects, reviewers select to satisfy in a gaggle, however the Komba reviewers decided to make their suggestions independently,” LBT explained.
On Nov. 1, 2014, the Komba community gathered for a festivity once they finally received the New Testament. Rev. Mananyina expressed his delight: “Reading the Bible has change into a part of my people. They are reading it day in and time out, they usually have taken it upon themselves to accomplish that. They have learned to read, and now they will exit and preach because they will read the Bible, something they were unable to do prior to now.”
Soon after the dedication, work on the Old Testament translation began in 2015. Mr. Elijah Matibin took on leadership of the project as KOLIBITRAP Coordinator. Lutheran Bible Translators, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ghana, KOLIBITRAP, and the Bible Society of Ghana signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to launch the Old Testament translation effort.
During this era, the team also recorded the New Testament in audio form and integrated it with the text to create a smartphone app. One Way Africa has now produced the total Bible in audio format to boost Bible engagement.
Earlier on Nov. 2, the Bible Society of Ghana launched the Dagaare Bible after 18 years of labor. Today, many Dagaare people, positioned in North West Ghana, are Catholic or other Christian denominations, while a number also practice Islam.
“The vast grounds of St. Andrew’s Cathedral overflowed with people from every corner of the Upper West Region: men, women and kids, Reverend Ministers, and the Regional Minister, all desperate to witness this historic moment,” the society reported.
In a 2023 report, BSG revealed that lack of monetary support hinders their work to translate the Bible into quite a few languages. The organization estimates that translating a single verse costs $20, bringing the general cost to finish one language to $622,040 (GH¢7.2 million) over 10 to fifteen years.
