Gullah New Testament Completion Celebration |
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Prayer of dedication for the Gullah New
Testament
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| JAARS celebrated the Gullah New Testament completion on Saturday, November 5, 2005, turning the airplane hangar and the Townsend Building into huge “praise houses.” Praise houses, erected long ago on Southern plantations, provided slaves with a place to congregate and worship. | ||
| Gullah (or Sea Island Creole) is spoken by the descendants of West African slaves brought to America, beginning in the late 1600s, to work on rice plantations along the seacoast in South Carolina, Georgia and northern Florida. An estimated 250,000 Gullah people live in this region, and elsewhere in the U.S. | ||
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Some 2500 to 3000 attend the day’s
celebration.
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| At 10 a.m. in a jam-packed hangar with standing room only, we praised God for bringing His Word to the Gullah (Sea Island Creole) people. De Gullah Singers, dressed in traditional, plantation attire, led us in joyful thanks through energetic singing, accompanied by hand clapping and foot stomping. The lead singer said, “You gonna get happy!” and we did. | ||
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De Gullah Singers perform at the day’s
celebration.
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| Besides a preview of the day’s various speakers and singers, the program featured hot-off-the-press Gullah New Testaments presented to those who had been involved in the translation. Tears fell as Ardell, the mother-tongue translation team leader, received her copy. Vernetta, another translator, hugged hers tight, bowed her head, and wouldn’t let go. All were thankful for the final product of many years of hard, dedicated work. | ||
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The Gullah Translation Team, and others,
receive the Gullah New Testament.
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| Standing before colorful cloth banners depicting Gullah people and declaring “Celebration!” and “Gullah” over an open New Testament, Dr. Emory Campbell, another team member, told of his “proud journey” culminating in this special day. Years ago, he had rejected his own mother tongue. But then, he concluded, “Today we celebrate the most important event in the Gullah culture—because now we have a language.” | ||
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Dr. Emory Campbell speaks at the Gullah New Testament Celebration.
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| Dr. Campbell told about his cousin, whose mother tongue was
Gullah. He was never able to switch to English. Sunday after Sunday,
as he heard God’s Word read, he struggled to understand it.
English was not the language that spoke to his heart.
One Sunday in church, Dr. Campbell read “Who Dat Me Neighba?” the Good Samaritan story from the previously published Gospel of Luke. His cousin punctuated the reading with “Amen!” all the way through. Finally, he called out enthusiastically, “Now you keep dat book dey!” (Now you keep that book there!). We heartily applauded in agreement. |
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Dr. Ken Schmitt, Americas Area Director
for SIL International, speaks at celebration.
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| Dr. Ken Schmitt, Americas Director for SIL, spoke from John 1:1-5. “In the beginning was the Word”—now the Gullah too have a new beginning. Ken said, “What John described in the first century is being reenacted in the 21st century. The eternal, creative, life-giving, light-bringing, darkness-shattering Word of God has pitched its tent at the center of the Gullah culture so that the Gullah can behold the glory of the only begotten of the Father and learn of His grace and truth in a language that speaks to their hearts.” | ||
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Ron and Natalie Daise entertain through
Gullah songs and stories.
Hear Ron Daise read Revelation 22:20-21 from the Gullah New Testament. |
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After eating lunch outside on a sunny, fall day, we spent the afternoon regaled by the speakers and singers. De Gullah Singers continued to raise the roof, accompanied by washboard, tambourine, and other traditional instruments. Ron and Natalie Daise sang in beautiful harmony with heartfelt praise—and animated stories. Gullah folktale storytellers added to our delight, as well as taught us more about the culture. It was fun, touching, inspiring! |
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Dr. David Frank speaks to crowd at Gullah
New Testament Celebration.
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| Dr. David Frank detailed the translation’s history and process through informative slides and comments. He noted, with humor, that when Ruth Ash first keyboarded the New Testament text, there were no computer spell-checkers for Gullah to make the job easier. | ||
| Finally, Dr. Campbell presented memories from his
boyhood days growing up on Hilton Head Island—before the bridge
was built to the mainland. He also discussed some of the challenges
the Gullah face today in preserving their culture.
Today we saw, close up and personal, what it meant to him and to other Gullah people to be affirmed and encouraged in receiving God’s Word in their heart language. |
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The Gullah New Testament
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John 1:1-5 from De Nyew Testament |
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| Other Gullah Stories of Interest | ||
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JAARS, Inc. PO Box 248 Waxhaw, NC 28173 |
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