Onesimos Nesib | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 1856 |
| Died | June 21, 1931(1931-06-21) (aged 74–75) |
| Occupation | Scholar |
| Known for | Translating theBible intoOromo |
Onesimos Nesib (Oromo:Onesimoos Nasiib;Amharic: ኦነሲሞስ ነሲብ; c 1856 – 21 June 1931) was a nativeOromo scholar who converted toLutheran Christianity and translated the ChristianBible intoOromo. His parents named himHika as a baby, meaning "Translator"; he took the name "Onesimus", after the Biblical character, upon converting toChristianity.
Onesimos Nesib is included in the AmericanLutheran Book of Worship as asaint, who commemorate his life 21 June. TheMekane Yesus Church honored him by naming their seminary inAddis Ababa for him. He is also known to be the pioneer of modernOromo literature.[1]
Born nearHurumu in modernEthiopia, Onesimos lost his father when he was four years old. According to an account he later wrote for the Board of theSwedish Evangelical Mission, he was kidnapped byslavers in 1869, and passed through the hands of eight owners untilWerner Munzinger freed him atMassawa and had him educated at theImkullu Swedish Evangelical Mission in that port city.[2] There he proved a good student, and eventually received baptism onEaster Sunday (31 March 1872). He was sent tothe Johannelund missionary seminary inBromma,Sweden for five years to receive further education; upon his return to Massawa, he married Mehret Hailu.
He attempted to immediately return to his nativeMacha Oromo people, and to circumvent the travel restrictions EmperorMenelik II had imposed on foreign missionaries attempted to reachWelega by way of centralSudan. His party got no closer thanAsosa, and were forced to return to the border town ofFamaka, where Onesimos suffered from a fever. The party was forced back toKhartoum, which they reached on 10 April 1882 just as theMahdist revolt broke out. Onesimos recovered from his illness, and found his way back to the Imkullu Mission, where while waiting further instructions he began the first of his many translations into Oromo. After attempting another unsuccessful mission to reach Welega in 1886, he began his translation of the entire Bible.
Unfortunately, Onesimos found that he lacked adequate knowledge of the words and idioms of his native language for he had not lived with his people since childhood, and he was forced to seek help. This came fromAster Ganno (1874–1964), a young girl who had been brought to Imkullu Mission, freed from a slave ship bound for Yemen by the Italian navy. Although she provided much of the material for the translation (which was published in 1893), Aster failed to receive any acknowledgement for her contributions.
It was not until 1904 that Onesimos at last returned to Welega at a place called Nedjo, where he was greeted with great honor by its governor,DejazmachGebre Egziabher. Unlike his predecessor, Onesimos preached to his flock in the Oromo language, which the localEthiopian Orthodox priests could not understand, and incurred their hostility. This, combined with the esteem the local Oromo had for him, led to the priests alleging that he was blaspheming theVirgin Mary. He was brought beforeAbunaMattheos in May 1906, who ordered that he be exiled upon the accusations of the local clergy. However Emperor Menelik reversed the Abuna's decision, and ruled that Onesimos could return toNekemte, but could no longer preach.[3]
While Onesimos limited his public actions in the next few years to teaching in his school at Nekemte, the threat of exile from his homeland continued to hang over his head until 1916 whenLij Iyasu granted him permission to preach his faith. Although Lij Iyasu was deposed the next year from his position as designated (but uncrowned) Emperor, his edict was not rescinded, and Onesimos continued to distribute his translations and preach until his death.
