| Title | Genesis, John Eliot's Indian Bible |
| Time Period | 1600-1699 |
| Description & Notes | The most central book for the religious community on Martha's Vineyard was the Bible. Puritans laid great importance on individuals being able to read the bible for themselves. As historian Charles Hambrick-Stowe notes, literacy destroyed the exclusive spiritual authority and efficacy of the priest….[and] Although the Puritan pastor retained the role of counselor, the printed manual took over some of the functions of the spiritual director of Roman Catholic monastic devotion (49). The Bible favored by the Puritans was the Geneva Bible, particularly the 1611 translation. John Eliot's Indian Bible Mamusse wunneetupanatamwe (1663) and Experience Mayhew's Algonquian translation of The Massachuset psalter(1709) are versions of this Bible and reflect its goal of reaching out to the common person. These translations played a key role in island religious culture and in allowing individuals to read the bible for themselves, since well into the early eighteenth century, Wampanoag was the dominant language for Algonquians even in religious communities on the island (Silverman 369). The Eliot Bible was essential in building and maintaining religious life on the island. In Indian Converts, Mayhew remarks with favor which men and women on Martha's Vineyard were known for reading the Bible to their families. Island behavior reflected New England practice more generally: Family devotions consisted chiefly of morning and evening Scripture reading, prayer, and psalm singing, and of thanksgiving at meals. The Bible was read 'in course,' sequentially by chapter from beginning to end, and family members often took turns reading aloud (Hambrick-Stowe 144). From the missionary perspective, the Eliot Bible was an essential means of making Algonquians into Puritans; however, one might also argue that it helped make Puritanism an Algonquian religion. Translator John Eliot was the minister for Natick, one of the key Indian Praying Towns that lay west of Boston. Unlike Mayhew who grew up speaking Wampanoag, Eliot came to speak Massachussets as an adult, and remained a marginal speaker. Consequently, Eliot's translations were a bicultural phenomenon, done with the aide of Massachuset minister John Sassamon who helped with the translation, and Algonquian journeyman James Printer, who set the type for later editions. |
| Geographic Location | Natick [Massachusetts] |
| Subject Keywords | Eliot, John Eliot Bible Island Christianity Missionary Ministers Algonquian Texts Bible Natick |
| Ethnic Group | American Indian - Algonquian Anglo American |
| Religious Affiliation | Protestant - Puritan |
| Artifact Type | Bible Psalms [Documents Text] Algonquian Texts [Documents Text] |
| Basic Type | Text |
| Digital Source | Harvard University Faculty of Arts and Sciences. History of American Civilization History of the Indian College III. The Wampanoag Bible. |
| Digital Source URL | http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~amciv/HistoryofIndianCollege.htm |
| Original Source | The Massachuset Psalter, or, Psalms of David : with the Gospel according to John : in columns of Indian and English : being an introduction for training up the aboriginal natives in reading and understanding the Holy Scriptures. Boston, N.E. : Printed by B. Green and J. Printer for the honourable Company for the Propagation of the Gospel in New-England, 1709. The Psalter was translated into Wampanoag by Experience Mayhew who preached at Aquinnah (Martha's Vineyard). Note the acknowledgment of J.Printer (Nipmuc) as publisher along with B.Green. |
| Copyright Holder | Public Domain original. Digital image courtesy of Judy Kertész and Lauren Brandt, Harvard University. |
| [Reed Digital Collection] | Indian Converts Collection |
| [Rights/Usage Statement] | The Indian Converts Website and Archive is copyright ©2008 Reed College and Laura Arnold Leibman. Use of text, images, and other content on this website is subject to some terms and conditions. See: http://cdm.reed.edu/cdm4/indianconverts/permissions.php |
| [Filename] | 029.tif |
| [Display Media Type] | JP2 |
| Publisher | Reed College |