The Tatar New Testament:
how a curse became a blessing

Adapted from a report by the Institute for Bible Translation

“We Muslims are grateful…that the Tatars have received this book. Now we need the Old Testament as soon as possible. That will make this book even more appreciated and read.”

KAZAN, Tatarstan, Russian Federation — When Ivan the Terrible conquered what is now the Republic of Tatarstan in 1552 he was determined to convert the Tatars to Christianity, using force if necessary. Reports from the time describe how Tatar women were imprisoned and forcibly baptised, and one source records how men were beheaded to the joyful ringing of church bells.

As a result, the Tatar word for ‘baptise’ – ‘chukyndyru’ – means ‘curse’ and, not surprisingly, the Tatars opposed Christianity for centuries. Many Tatars today still feel that it is a ‘Russian’ religion, and only a small part of the population – a little over 200,000 out of a population of seven million – is Christian. Most Tatars are Sunni Muslims.

Joy

The publication of the Tatar New Testament last July, however, has been hailed by church leaders and Christians in Tatarstan as a sign that God is “not only God of the Russians…but God of the Tatars too”. One young woman at the launch ceremony held in the Tatar capital, Kazan, in October tearfully expressed her joy at the new translation, adding, “I want to thank God that he did not forget our people.”

In the Tatar New Testament, or Inzhil, the word for ‘baptism’ has been replaced by one meaning ‘immersion’, and special words for ‘Cross’ and ‘Jesus Christ’, which have also held negative connotations for the Tatars, have also been carefully selected.

The Inzhil comes at a time of reawakening for the Tatar language and culture, which until recently were in decline. Due to government initiatives, more young people are now studying the language, and books and newspapers are published in Tatar. President Minitimer Shaimiev sent a representative to the launch to express the government’s support for the new translation.

“The government cannot be indifferent to the spiritual and moral development of its people,” he said. “Therefore it takes an interest in seeing books such as this published and distributed, so that our people can read holy literature in their mother tongue.”

The director of the Department for Literature and Languages at the Tatar Academy of Sciences, himself a Muslim, spoke positively about the new translation.

The Tatar word for ‘baptise’ – ‘chukyndyru’ – means ‘curse’ and, not surprisingly, the Tatars opposed Christianity for centuries. Many Tatars today still feel that it is a ‘Russian’ religion

“The Inzhil is a holy book,” he said. “We Muslims are grateful…that the Tatars have received this book. Now we need the Old Testament as soon as possible. That will make this book even more appreciated and read.”

Communist years

Translation work on the Old Testament is well under way, and the Book of Genesis will be published this year. Work on translating the Bible into Tatar was begun during the communist years of the 1970s by the Institute for Bible Translation (IBT), but only really took off in 1993 when IBT formed a partnership with other Bible agencies, with assistance from UBS. The complete Bible is due for publication in 2005.

The Inzhil, with its attractive green cover gilded with traditional Tatar decorations, is already a well-known item at the local market in Kazan, where a member of the translation team has set up a Christian book table.