Aster Ganno (c.1872–1964) was an Ethiopian Bible translator who worked with the better known

Onesimos Nesib Onesimos Nesib ( Oromo: Onesimoos Nasiib; Amharic: ኦነሲሞስ ነሲብ; c 1856 – 21 June 1931) was a native Oromo scholar who converted to Lutheran Christianity and translated the Christian Bible into Oromo. His parents named him Hika a ...

on the translation of the Oromo Bible published in 1899.

Biography

Aster (referred to by her first name according to Ethiopian custom) while born free was later enslaved by the king of Limmu-Ennarea. She was emancipated in 1886 when Italian ships intercepted a boat transporting her to be sold on the Arabian Peninsula. She was then taken to

Eritrea Eritrea, officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa, with its capital and largest city being Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia in the Eritrea–Ethiopia border, south, Sudan in the west, and Dj ...

where the Imkullu school of the

Swedish Evangelical Mission The Swedish Evangelical Mission (SEM) ( Swedish: 'Evangelical Homeland Foundation', EFS) is an independent, low-church, New Evangelical () movement within the Church of Sweden. Described as "middle-of-the-road" due to maintaining its independ ...

took her in and educated her. Bible translator Onesimos quickly “discovered that Aster was endowed with considerable mental gifts and possessed a real feeling for the

Oromo language Oromo, historically also called Galla, is an Afroasiatic language belonging to the Cushitic branch, primarily spoken by the Oromo people, native to the Ethiopian state of Oromia; and northern Kenya. It is used as a lingua franca in Oromia an ...

” (Arén 1978:383). She was assigned to compile an Oromo dictionary, which was first used in polishing a translation of the

New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...

published in 1893. Aster also translated a book of Bible stories and recorded five hundred traditional Oromo

riddle A riddle is a :wikt:statement, statement, question, or phrase having a double or veiled meaning, put forth as a puzzle to be solved. Riddles are of two types: ''enigmas'', which are problems generally expressed in metaphorical or Allegory, alleg ...

s, fables,

proverb A proverb (from ) or an adage is a simple, traditional saying that expresses a perceived truth based on common sense or experience. Proverbs are often metaphorical and are an example of formulaic speech, formulaic language. A proverbial phrase ...

s, and songs, many of which were published in a volume for beginning readers (1894). She later worked with Onesimos in compiling an Oromo hymnbook. Arén reports that a large amount of the folklore she collected is still unpublished although preserved by the Hylander family (1978:384, fn. 71). Aster and Onesimos completed their translation of the Bible into Oromo, which was printed in 1899. Although the title page and history credit Onesimos as the translator, it appears that Aster's contribution was not, and still is not, adequately appreciated.Senai Wolde Andemariam. 2013. Who should take the credit for the Bible translation works carried out in Eritrea? ''Aethiopica'' 16: 102-129
Online access to article
/ref> In 1904, Aster, together with Onesimos and other Oromos, were able to move from Eritrea back to Wellega, where they established schools, Aster serving as a teacher at

Nekemte Nekemte, also spelled as Neqemte (, Amharic: ነቀምት), is a market city and separate woreda in western Ethiopia. Located in the East Welega Zone of the Oromia Region, Nekemte has a latitude and longitude of and an elevation of 2,088 mete ...

References

Bibliography

* Arén, Gustav (1978). ''Evangelical Pioneers in Ethiopia''. Stockholm: Stockholm: EFS Forlaget. * Kebbede Hordofa Janko and Unseth, Peter (2003). "Aster Ganno". ''

Encyclopaedia Aethiopica The ''Encyclopaedia Aethiopica'' (''EAe'') is a basic English-language encyclopaedia for Ethiopian and Eritrean studies. The ''Encyclopaedia Aethiopica'' provides information in all fields of the discipline, i.e. anthropology, archaeology, ethn ...

'', vol. 1, edited by Siegbert Uhlig, pp. 387,388. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz.

External links

Mekuria Bulcha, "Onesimos Nasib's Pioneering Contributions to Oromo Writing"
, ''Nordic Journal of African Studies'' 4(1): 36-59 (1995)

Dictionary of African Christian Bibliography {{Authority control 1872 births 1964 deaths Ethiopian children Ethiopian translators Ethiopian scholars Ethiopian Lutherans Ethiopian evangelicals Kidnapped African children Kidnapped Ethiopian people Lutheran biblical scholars Female Bible translators Oromo-language writers Translators of the Bible into Oromo Scholars of precolonial East Africa

Biography

See also

References

Bibliography

External links