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October 2006

"This book will be a textbook in our schools!"

 “If I were not a Shor maybe I would say – why is translation necessary? When you see children unable to read in their language and with no possibility of returning to the culture of their forefathers, that is unbearable – even more than to see children hungry and poorly dressed. Thank you, IBT. Thank you, translators. You have provided us with the possibility of having a book in our language to shed light on our ‘way home’. This book is part of the way home.”

These were the words of a Shor woman on 8 September 2006 at the presentation of Bible stories in the Shor language in Tashtagol, the main city of the Shor people in southern Siberia. An audio-recorded version of the book was presented at the same time. Many people had gathered for the event, which was covered by press, radio and TV.

There are 14,000 Shors. They speak a Turkic language, closely related to Khakas. Their Orthodox Christian faith is mixed with animism and shamanism.

“In this cruel and disrespectful time the Bible stories enable us not only to read our language, but also to educate our children in the Christian foundations,” another woman commented. “This book will be a textbook in our schools.”

Until recently not a single book of the Bible existed in the Shor language.  Two years ago IBT completed translating and published the Gospel of Mark, the first book of the Bible in Shor. Work on the translation was not without its complications, as the Shor language had not seen any development for almost 40 years. Many people have lost the skill of reading in their mother tongue and use the Shor language only for everyday conversation. Therefore audio-recording is very important.

Andrei, a pastor working in the Shor area, has been engaged in the distribution of Mark’s Gospel. “In one village we were warned about a very evil and bullying man, who was always drunk,” he related. “We were walking peacefully along the village road when this man jumped out and threatened us. We could do nothing but pray. I told the threatening Shor that God loved him and that there was a book in Shor which spoke about this. I told him that we too loved the Shors and wanted to give them this book. The man took the Gospel of Mark, opened it and began to read – and suddenly he started to cry. Unfortunately I did not notice exactly which passage he read. Then we hugged each other and he went home.”

”Our people have been waiting for somebody to translate the Bible,” a member of the translation team said. “Our tradition is a mixture between Christianity and shamanism. We will get closer to the Christian way and Christian traditions when we have the Bible.”

Project of the month

Mark’s Gospel in Shor has also been recorded – now audio-cassettes will be produced and distributed to those who have already received the books. Please support this project with your gift this month!

Here you can sign for the IBT Russia/CIS monthly English Newsletter

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