Arawak Gospels, Acts, and Genesis

Arawak Gospels, Acts, and Genesis. Adaieli wacinaci okonomuntu ajiahu. Genesis ibena, bibici sabetu ajiahu Jesus Christ w'adaien okonomuntu, Apostleno onyisia okonomuntu ajiahu bajia.
London: M. J. Watts for the Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge, 1856. (BRB1443)

Arawak is spoken by a tribe of indigenous peoples primarily located in the Caribbean and northern South America. One group of Arawak Indians, the Taino, encountered Cristopher Columbus in 1492 in his first voyage to the Western Hemisphere. The first printing of any book of the Bible, however, did not appear until 1850 with the publication of Matthew and the Acts of the Apostles. Prepared by William Henry Brett (1818–1886), a missionary of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, this illustrated 1856 printing includes selections from Genesis, the four complete Gospels, and Acts. Affixed to the front pastedown of this copy is a “Collect before Reading the Scriptures” in Arawak. The final page of text has printed two additional Collects, also in Arawak.