Examining-Maori-Manuscript
Dr. Melanie Riwai-Couch, Pacific Area Church History manager for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, examines the original Māori manuscript of The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ.© 2024 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced that it has located the original 900-page manuscript for the Māori translation of The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ.
“This historical record of the early translation of the Book of Mormon into Māori is a testimony to the importance of this sacred record to the early Māori saints,” said Elder Peter F. Meurs, President of the Church’s Pacific Area.
The announcement was made on Sunday, October 27, in conjunction with the 170th anniversary of the Church in New Zealand.
The Maori members wanted to have the Book of Mormon translated into their indigenous language since the early 1880s, according to Dr. Melanie Riwai-Couch, the Pacific Area Church History manager.
American missionaries and local Māori members contributed to the translation. “This manuscript is the final printer’s copy,” she said. “We have determined that it is handwritten by early missionary Sister Georgina Marriott.”
Others credited with the work of translating include Māori leader John Hoani Te Whatahoro Jury, (Ngāti Kahungunu), Henare Potae (Ngāti Porou), Te Pirihi Tutekohe (Te Aitanga-a-Mahaki and Te Aitanga-a-Hauiti), Piripi Te Maari (Ngātu Kahungunu) and others.
“The caliber of Maori translators was very high,” Riwai-Couch said.
The manuscript written in Maori is available now in the online Church History Catalog.
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