George Pratt (1817 – 1894) was a missionary with the

London Missionary Society The London Missionary Society was an interdenominational evangelical missionary society formed in England in 1795 at the instigation of Welsh Congregationalist minister Edward Williams. It was largely Reformed tradition, Reformed in outlook, with ...

who lived in

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...

for forty years from 1839 to 1879, mostly on the island of Savai'i. Pratt was from

Portsea, Portsmouth Portsea Island is a flat and low-lying natural island in area, just off the southern coast of Hampshire in England. The island contains the majority of the city of Portsmouth. Portsea Island has the third-largest population of all the i ...

in England. He also served in

Niue Niue is a self-governing island country in free association with New Zealand. It is situated in the South Pacific Ocean and is part of Polynesia, and predominantly inhabited by Polynesians. One of the world's largest coral islands, Niue is c ...

, the Loyalty Islands and New Guinea. In Samoa, Pratt lived at a mission station in

Avao Avao is a village on the north central coast of Savai'i island in Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. ...

Matautu Matautu is the name of different villages in Samoa. Places named Matautu are found on the two largest islands, Upolu and Savaiʻi. Matautu, Upolu Island On Upolu island; *Matautu, a village located on the central north coast of the island to t ...

on the north coast of Savai'i island.

First Samoan Bible (1860) and dictionary (1862)

Pratt was the first person to document the

Samoan language Samoan ( or , ) is a Polynesian languages, Polynesian language spoken by Samoans of the Samoan Islands. Administratively, the islands are split between the sovereign country of Samoa and the Unincorporated territories of the United States, Unit ...

. He authored the first dictionary and grammar of the language, ''A Samoan Dictionary: English and Samoan, and Samoan and English; with a Short Grammar of the Samoan Dialect'', published in 1862 by the London Missionary Society's Press in Samoa. Subsequent editions were published in 1876, 1893, and 1911. Reprints have been issued in 1960, 1977, and 1984. In addition, the first Bible in Samoan was mainly the work of Pratt. Indeed, during his "four decades in Samoa ... he worked almost daily on translating the Bible and revising his translation."

Samoan songs and myths 1891

He also collected Samoan songs and myths and translated them into a publication ''Some Folk-songs and Myths from Samoa'', published in 1891. In this work is a section ''Samoan Custom: Analogous to those of the

Israelites Israelites were a Hebrew language, Hebrew-speaking ethnoreligious group, consisting of tribes that lived in Canaan during the Iron Age. Modern scholarship describes the Israelites as emerging from indigenous Canaanites, Canaanite populations ...

'', where he wrote about cultural similarities including the importance of the number 7,

embalming Embalming is the art and science of preserving human remains by treating them with embalming chemicals in modern times to forestall decomposition. This is usually done to make the deceased suitable for viewing as part of the funeral ceremony or ...

, natural eloquence, rod or staff of office, heads cut off in war, the use of slings and stones in war, possessions by evil spirits, the 'near sacred' relationships between brothers and sisters, calling the name of the chief who is to drink during ceremony, the giving of names and

circumcision Circumcision is a procedure that removes the foreskin from the human penis. In the most common form of the operation, the foreskin is extended with forceps, then a circumcision device may be placed, after which the foreskin is excised. T ...

. Pratt's valuable Samoan work records many old words of special interest - specialist terminology, archaic words and names in Samoan tradition. It contains sections on Samoan poetry and proverbs, and an extensive grammatical sketch:

Publications

* * * * * Revised in 1927 by C. J. Kinnersley (Misi Keniseli). * * * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pratt, George English Protestant missionaries Protestant missionaries in Samoa Samoan historians Historians of the Pacific 1817 births 1894 deaths Translators of the Bible into Polynesian languages 19th-century British translators British expatriates in Samoa British expatriates in Niue British expatriates in Papua New Guinea British expatriates in New Caledonia 19th-century historians Protestant missionaries in Niue Protestant missionaries in Papua New Guinea Protestant missionaries in New Caledonia Congregationalist missionaries in Samoa British missionary linguists