Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 26, Number 9, 1 May 2009 — ʻAhahui to republish updated Baibala Hemolele [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

ʻAhahui to republish updated Baibala Hemolele

By ī. Ilihia Giansan Publicatians Editur Almost two centuries ago, missionaries assembled teams to pen the first Hawaiian translation of the Holy Bible. Today, laek Keppeler and the 'Ahahui Baibala Hemolele are working to ensure that Hawaiian speakers now and in the future have access to the Baibala Hemolele. For the past seven years, the 'Ahahui has been carefully modernizing the Hawaiian bible - making sure words are spelled correctly and inserting the kahakō and 'okina that contemporary Hawaiian speakers take for granted. And to show how far our people have eome in 170 years, the entire modern Bible will be available online (it's partially online already at baibala.org) and in an audio version. "The Bible was the first pieee of literature translated into Hawaiian," Keppeler said. "It's classic Hawaiian, very carefully translated by teams led by missionaries with Hawaiian scholars." He said it took 19 years to translate the Bible in the 1800s. This year, the Baibala is celebrating its 170th anniversary through the Year of the Hawaiian Bible. "The goal is to make the Baibala Hemolele eonunon, routine reading for the growing number of Hawaiian speakers now and in the future," said Keppeler. "There's a growing constituency, and we want to make sure the Bible is part of the Hawaiian literature that's available to enrich the experience in the language." "We are trying to support our mo'opuna who want to learn. We see whole families getting interested in the language, having a working knowledge of the language. It's a reversal of where we were in the 1970s when it was down to a few thousand speakers," Keppeler said. Keppeler said the project is pushing to publish the Baibala despite harsh eeonomie realities

because "there are going to be thousands of 'ohana using it." "We could wait until plush times, but in tough times perhaps more people will return to scripture. It's not light on the Hawaiian community - it's heavy on everyone," Keppeler said, referencing Matthew 4:4: "Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God." "We've had a lot of blessings eome our way," Keppeler said referring to his Native Hawaiian staff, help from outside scholars and experts, and financial support. Support from the federal Administration for Native Americans, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, the United Church of Christ, and loeal trusts and foundations have helped the project reach near-completion of master print and audio files, including layout, design and proofing. The next step would be duplicating the audio and printing. "We're in the final throes of raising resources to complete the audio and print masters," said Keppeler. About $500,000 is needed to complete the masters, and an additional $200,000 is needed to print the first run of 20,000 to 25,000 books. The proceeds from the first run of Bibles will fund additional runs. The 'Ahahui Baibala Hemolele is offering membership as a way to keep infonned about the project and also to fund its completion. An annual membership is $25, with lifetime memberships available for $200. Founding memberships for $1,000 will include a numbered copy of the first edition of the updated Baibala. The 'Ahahui would also like to hear from the conununity about the demand for an updated Baibala, as well as any other supporting materials that they would like to see translated. "We realize that some customers may not live near a bookseller," Keppeler said. "They may be in Hanapēpē or Nāhiku, with a rural route number. These are the kinds of people that we want to hear from." ■ Contact the 'Ahahui by e-mail at jkeppeīer@ pidfoimdation.org or eall 864-5410.

'ŌLELO MAKUAHINE ■ HAWAIIAN LANGUAGE KAWAIOLA ĪHE LIVING WAīER 0F OHA

vu Vi "iv ^ • rm wmm , — wt— m — ■ Rev. William Patterson Alexander, one of the early missionaries in Hawai'i, teaching about the Bible in the ulu kukui at PīIū'ū, Eost Kauo'i, in the 1 830s. - Photo: Courtesy ofMission Children's Sodety, Mission House Museum