Kalougata and Bible Translation

I have recently been involved in correspondence with the Editor of the Fiji Daily Post. He asked me to write a brief article on the history of the Fijian word "kalougata" and its use by the earliest Bible translators. My article was subsequently picked up by the widely read and very interesting Blogsite "Babasiga" and an interesting discussion followed.

The wider context of this "Kalougata" debate is that the Fijian citizen James Ah Koy is financing a new Fijian translation of the Bible in which the word 'kalougata' (blessing) has been deleted. Ah Koy believes that the word is a curse but he has a very narrow understanding of the meaning and background of the word; I tried to point this out in my article.

The problem with Ah Koy's efforts, no matter how well intentioned, is that his translators are translating from English, not from the original biblical languages of Hebrew and Greek. This will inevitably result in an inferior translation.

The first translators of Scripture into Fijian were very fine scholars, John Hunt with the New Testament and David Hazlewood with the Old Testament. Hunt translated from Greek into Fijian and Hazlewood from Hebrew into Fijian. The sad fact is that later revsions of their work, by men like James Calvert and Frederick Langham, simply let to a poorer standard of translation. This is why I am currently involved in a project to see both the Hunt New Testament, firstly, and then the Hazlewood Old Testament, reprinted to make them more widely available, NOT to replace our current version, but to complement them and give greater depth and understanding in the reading of the Fijian scriptures.