Korowai Gospel of Mark Dedication

I actually wasn’t expecting it to happen anymore this year, but it’s going to happen after all! On August 10, 2026, the churches in the Korowai area will have a Dedication Feast for Malkus Mawyon (the Gospel of Mark in Korowai). The celebrations will take place in the village of Yaniruma, where the first missionary entered the Korowai area in 1978.

About 10 years ago, the first edition of *Malkus Mawyon* was published, using the tentative writing system. At that time, only about 2% of the Korowai people could read, so it was mainly the audio recordings that were listened to. More Korowai people can read now, and in the meantime, *Malkus Mawyon* has also been published in the new alphabet. The churches in the Korowai area now want to use *Malkus Mawyon* in their church activities, so it was time for an official celebration: a traditional Korowai sagogrub feast!

A committee has been formed and, in collaboration with Suluh (SIL Indonesia), they are working hard on logistics, official paperwork, and invitations. Preparations are also in full swing on site in Yaniruma, because sagogrubs do not grow by themselves. The sago palms must be cut down in time so that the beetles can lay their eggs in the logs and the grubs will be nice and big by August 10, but not yet pupated. In addition, a long, traditional feast house must be built where people can eat and dance. And for all the guests, accommodations must be arranged or built.

I myself am responsible for getting all Korowai Bible materials available in the right format before 10 August. This includes, among other things, 'Malkus Mawyon' in book form, as a mobile app, and in audio format on solar-powered audio players. In addition, we also want to make the audio Bible stories from Gospel Recordings available on mobile phones and audio players. In the coming weeks, we’ll all be quite busy with the preparations.