The Nomaande New Testament Dedication, at Tcheckos

In 1982, the Omaande people could not read or write their own language. At that time, SIL linguists Carrie Taylor and Terri Scruggs started working with them to develop written communication. Patricia Wilkendorf joined them a year later. The linguists had no pre-existing dictionaries to work from: in these scenarios, language-learning is often a case of sitting with people and figuring out what they are saying.

Picture it: you are under a tree with someone in the village that you know will be home for the next 5 years, and probably the next 35. You point at a banana and he says something. He repeats it.
Ah-hah – that's the word for banana!
You eat it, he says something else.
That was the word for banana again, with something that sounds like the verb “to eat” - woohoo – I have learnt the present tense verb-prefix.
Your face curls up like you have bitten into a lemon.
Maybe I have learnt the phrase for “That banana is rancid, don't eat !!”

You say to him what you think is “I did not understand. Did you say 'the banana is rancid'?”

He looks confused.

You say again what you think is “The banana is rancid”.

He looks offended. Then you remember this is a tonal language and say 'banana' in a higher pitch. A week later you find out the low-pitched 'banana' was their word for 'wife'.

After many such conversations you have a basic hand-written dictionary but you still find the grammar confusing and have found out the people are very forgiving when you accidentally insult them by using the wrong tone. Sometime after, you are managing to insult fewer people, and have started to think about an alphabet that could represent the language that has no 'r' but a couple of sounds that are somewhere between 'b' and 'p' and that most Europeans could not tell the difference between.

After 5 years: you have translated simple documents, such as health and hygiene information and people are enthusiastically learning to read their own language and are seeing the benefits of the written word.

After 10 years some of the people who first learnt to read and write have helped you translate the Gospel of John. The local churches love it and you, along with your team, translate a pile of Sunday-school material, catechisms, etc.

After around 20 years you have a draft New Testament that you spend the next few years revising (for errors, typos, poor phrasing, etc.). In all of this you have thoroughly documented your work, published dictionaries and research papers and encouraged funding for your project. Eventually you send the New Testament for printing and let the people arrange a day to celebrate (and you pray that you'll live to see the Old Testament completed).

Lots of people gathered at Tchekos (3 hours from Yaoundé) on 9th January, for just such an occasion. They were thanking God for the arrival of their New Testament and, I suppose, thanking the linguists who arrived in their 20s and gave their working lives to people who initially meant nothing to them.

They came dressed in their finest. Wearing matching fabric to indicate a relationship, whether it is members of the same family at a wedding or members of the same church at a formal event, is an important thing here.


The ministers processed to the music, showing cross-denominational unity and support for the project.


The next procession was interesting – to applause and cheering, the New Testament! Without wanting to sound flippant, the gathered crowd's reaction was akin to that given to the world-cup winning team on an open-top bus ride at home.


The NT was presented to local leaders of SIL and CABTAL, who paraded it. More cheering, applause, etc.


After some singing, we had the speeches – including local leaders and those who had been involved in the project. Then Patricia Wilkendorf addressed the audience in their own language. This is a translation:

Oomande people, good morning!

Today I am filled with joy (lit: “I am like twenty yams”). And you? I thank Father God so much because he has made is possible for his small in number Omaande people to receive and read and understand his Word in their heart language, Nomaande! Thanks be to God!

His New Alliance is truly the Good News that concerns the Lord Jesus Christ. he came to this earth to save us. He came and died in our place (“for our affair”) while we were still sinners. This act shows us that our God loves us (habitually) a great deal – Romans 5:8. He tells us in this book that “If you hear the voice of God today, do not harden your hearts like when your ancestors rebelled (“made hard head”) - Hebrews 3:15.

My friends, if we do not listen to the voice of God today, then when? If we do not regret our sins today, then when? If we do not cut our foot out of them today, then when? If we do not worship our God today, then when?

God is calling you today; he's talking to you now in your own Nomaande language, saying: “If you hear the voice of God today, do not harden your hearts”. He also says: “I answered your prayer at the right time, I saved you on the day of salvation.” See then, now is exactly that right time; now is that day of saving people TODAY – 2 Corinthians 6:2. Let no-one remain behind'o!

I pray that God by his grace would bless always every Omaande of Tchekos, Tobagne, Ossimb, Nyiambaya, Omeng, Bunyunguluku and Injooko! Thanks be to God'o!!!

We had another musical interlude. The instrument at the right is some sort of xylophone.




More thank-yous followed. Despite her major role and obvious joy, Patricia humbly listened intently while everyone else had their say.




Next, the RFIS Drama Evangelism team performed a mime. This man played with sins that seemed like his friends but they are now controlling him. Deliverance would come later, in Jesus.



Soon after this, Clarke met a man with excellent taste in shirts. Both are Northern Irish programmers-turned-teachers. Donald (left) has retired from lecturing and was on a trip to work at the new RFIS site, building and fitting cabinets as part of a larger team.



At this point, Alison's aunt Alice made a new friend.



There were more presentations and more singing. By this stage it was almost 3pm and we had been there for over four hours. Curiously though, despite the language differences I don't recall being bored. (though I do recall being rather fidgety after many NI church gatherings where the great and good speak and make presentations). At this point the Yaoundé delegation had to leave, to be home before dark. The Omaande people's enthusiasm had not failed and they continued to sing and celebrate. They queued for the first chance to buy the New Testament in their own language, for 2,000 CFA (around £3)

So what's the point? During the European Reformation, the people couldn't understand what was going on in Church and had to trust the interpretation of the guy at the front. If he mis-read the Bible (which was in a language that was not his own native tongue), nobody had the ability to debate with him. The Bible in the common languages played a vital role in the Reformation, in getting people to read and understand scripture for themselves and in wider education. The Omaande now have this opportunity.

On a side note, the work that went into the English 'Authorised Version' published in 1611 went a long way to establishing written English as we know it – will English speakers celebrate the AV's 400th birthday like the Omaande celebrated the birth of theirs?