BASSAR, Togo, March 30, 2006 — Saint Martin's Roman Catholic Church in Bassar proved to be too small to hold all the people who flocked to the launch of four books of the Old Testament in Bassar (Ntcham) in January. Here in this cosmopolitan town where many different religions are practised, Bassar-speaking Christians of all denominations joined together to celebrate a significant step towards having the whole Bible in their own language.
The New Testament in Bassar, which is spoken by around 100,000 people in Togo, has been available since the early 1990s. In recent years, in collaboration with SIL, the Bible Society of Togo has turned its attention to the Old Testament and has now been able to publish 2,000 copies each of Genesis, Leviticus, Deuteronomy and Joshua.
The diversity of people who attended the launch reflected the fact that, from the outset, this has been an inter-confessional project. The ceremony was led by the Rev. Wolanyo Amegah, General Secretary of the Bible Society, with guests including United Bible Societies Translation Consultant Dr. Joachim Some, Nadjombé Makou, President of the Association of Bassar Churches, and local political and religious leaders.
After the ceremony, many people were keen to buy their own copy of one or more of the newly published books at a special price of CFA Fr500 (just over $1 Cdn.). Their eagerness "reflects the Bassar people's commitment to the work of translating the Bible into their language," according to the Bible Society.
|
