Die Creol taal

250 years of Negerhollands texts

[p. 93]

2 Religious Material: translations and transliterations

2.1 The first religious manuscripts

The earliest of religious texts in the tradition of the Moravian Brethren is ms. 333 from 1754. It forms the annex to Christmas day in Samy Isles' diary kept from 1754-55. It represents the translation of a hymn as sung by the children of the congregation that day. It was published in Stein (1982b).

In this section we present ms. 334 instead, which is part A of an annex to an anonymous diary kept by one of the Moravian missionaries, dated 1755.

2.1.1 Several creole hymns (ms. 334)

The following texts come from Herrnhut manuscript 334, called ‘Annex to the St. Thomas diary of the month of August 1755’. This manuscript contains two parts: part A, which is called ‘Several creole hymns’, and part B, which is a list in German of names of 48 women. Here, only part A is given:

Beylage zum Diario von St. Thomas

vom Mon. August. 1755.

<lm•A.)> Etliche Cariolische Lied*e*r¹

1	Jesoe	Angesightes	Sweet^2
	Jesus	face.GEN	sweat

	maek	ons	Hertje	natt	en	heet
	make	1PL	heart.DIM	wet	and	hot

	Joe	Bloed	bliv	met	Goddes	Maght
	2SG	blood	remain	with	God.GEN	might

	na	ons	Hert	en	gi	ons	Kraght.
	NA	1PL	heart	and	give	1PL	strength

*

1 Beylage ...Lied*e*r: German.

2 Jesoe Angesightes Sweet: note the German genitive ending on Angesight and the Latin-Greek genitive of Jesus. Note as well the Dutch orthography for [u]: .

[p. 94]

1.

5	Een	kleentje	Kind	mi	weet	mi	ben,
	a	small.DIM	child	1SG	know	1SG	BE

	en	mi	Kraght	di	ben	swak,
	and	1SG	strength	DET	BE	weak

	voor	wees	een	vry^3	Kind	mi	ha	Sinn
	FOR	BE	a	good	child	1SG	have	desire

	maer	no	weet	hoe	vor	maak.
	but	NEG	know	how	FOR	make

3 vry: most probably this is not Du. vrij ‘free’ but rather NH fraai, fri ‘good’. The 18^th century NH texts sometimes use or instead of and Du. (or older ) corresponds to or (i.e. [i]) in this text. Furthermore this interpretation may be more in accordance with the official ideology of the Moravian missionaries. Although we feel our interpretation makes sense in this context it cannot be excluded that vry is related to the theological notion of (Christian) freedom (rather than to social liberty).

2.

10	Mi	Heiland	ka	Uyt	Lievd	vor	mi
	1SG	Saviour	PRF	out	love	for	1SG

	wees	ook	een	Kindje	kleen
	BE	also	a	child.DIM	little

	en	ka	verloss	door	si	schoon	Blood
	and	PRF	redeem	through	3POS	beautiful	blood

	mi	uit	all	Nodh	en	Pien.
	1SG	from	all	need	and	pain

3.

	Mi	lievste	Heiland	sei	mi	noe
	1SG	dearest	Saviour	tell	1SG	now

	hoe	mi	reght	dankbar	bedd
	how	1SG	really	gratefully	pray

15	voor	all	mi	lievd	mi	wies	na	joe
	for	all	1SG	love	1SG	show	NA	2SG

	dumm	mi	ben	en	noe	weet.
	stupid	1SG	BE	and	NEG	know

[p. 95]

4.

	Maer	mi	le	dink,	mi	[-power]	[-<ol•*pouwer*>]	<ol•pover>	Hert
	but	1SG	ASP	think	1SG	poor	poor	poor	heart

	so	as	mi	offd	ka	hoor
	so	like	1SG	often	PRF	hear

	voor	en	Geschenk	joe	ha	begeert
	for	a	gift	2SG	PST	desired

20	en	di	mi	dink	ben	waar.
	and	DET	1SG	think	BE	true

5.

	So	neem	na	joe	mi	Hert	en	Sinn
	so	take	NA	2SG	1SG	heart	and	mind

	nim	doe^4	lievst	Jesoelein
	take	do	dearest	Jesus.DIM

	mi	weet	well,	dat	van	joe	mi	ben
	1SG	know	well	that	of	2SG	1SG	BE

	joe	allerlievste	Mann
	2SG	most.beloved	man

4 Although doe can be interpreted as ‘do’ (or as Du. toe ‘please’) the partly ‘German’ syntax of these hymns as well as the form nim instead of neem ‘take’ could induce one to interpret this word as Germ. du ‘2SG’ in the normal inverted position for subjects in German imperatives.

6.

25	En	noe	mi	arem	hertje	kleen
	and	now	1SG	poor	heart.DIM	little

	van	elk	vüll	goed	bewaar
	of	every	filthy	thing	preserve

	joe	a	ka	wasch	di,	hou	die	schoon
	2SG	PST	PRF	wash	DET	keep	DET	clean

	van	Schad	en	elk	gevaar.
	of	damage	and	every	danger

[p. 96]

Melod. O Haupt voll Blut u. *Wunde...*.⁵

5 Tune: O Haupt ... *Wunde...*: German, meaning: ‘O head, covered with blood and wounds’.

1.

	Kom't^6	hie	met	mi	en	kik	di
	come	here	with	1SG	and	see	DET

30	hoe	hem	naben'n	si	Boet
	how	3SG	NA.inside	3POS	penance

	die	Aard'e	met	Sweet	makt	natt	hi
	DET	earth	with	sweat	makes	wet	here

	vat	all	si	Traanen	goet
	seize	all	3POS	tear.PL	good

	met	mi	na	jender	Herte
	with	1SG	NA	2PL	heart.PL

	versiemt	geen	Oogenblik
	fail	no	moment

35	want	allemaal	si	Smerte
	because	all	3POS	pain

	meen't	onse	eywig	Glük.
	means	1PL	eternal	happiness

6 The apostrophe used in this hymn seems to indicate that the following segment should not be pronounced as is clear from the forms naben'n and Aard'e since only this way these words fit the meter. This would imply that the writer wants to indicate that the plural imperative ending -t of German and older Dutch should not be pronounced in NH. Kom't should be read as kom. A rather complicated way to write NH kom. An alternative interpretation could be that the function of the apostrophe is ambiguous between indicating apocope (as in the case of Aerd'e) and syncope. In that case Kom't may be the syncopated variant of the plural imperative kommet of older German and the t should be pronounced.

2

	Kom't	hie	met	lievde	Traanen
	come	here	with	love	tear.PL

	en	kik	di	Smertens -Mann
	and	see	DET	pain.PL.GEN -man

	na	all	di	Leydens	Schoone
	NA	all	DET	suffering.GEN	beauty

[p. 97]

40	naben'n	si	Bloed	reght	an^7
	NA.inside	3POS	blood	straight	on

	waneer	mi	Hert	si	Leyden
	when	1SG	heart	3POS	suffering

	so	kraghtig	onderfind't
	so	strongly	experiences

........................................ mi

	mi	passeer	Ewighee -den
	1SG	pass	eternity.PL

	na	di	Gedaght	aleen.
	NA	DET	thought	alone

7 an: particle of the particle verb kik an ‘look at’ (Du. aankijken ‘id.’). Kik ... reght an is then equivalent to Du. recht aankijken.

3.

45	O	Hoofd	voll	Wond'n	en	Schwüiren^8
	o	head	full	wound.PL	and	ulcer.PL

	voll	Smert	en	Pien	en	Bloed,
	full	pain	and	pain	and	blood

	O	Hoofd	voll	Gaat	en	Swieren
	o	head	full	hole	and	ulcer.PL

	van	Dornen	steekel	Hoet
	of	thorny	prickle	hat

	Eertit	ka	wees	voll	Zierad
	formerly	PRF	BE	full	adornment

50	en	Heerlyk -heyt	heel	groot
	and	glory	very	great

	noe	jammerlyk	schuimpeeret
	now	woefully	scorned

	willkomm'n	met	moeschi	Groet.
	welcome	with	many	greeting

8 Schwüiren ‘ulcers’, a variant of Swieren (< Du. zweren ‘id.’), seems to be influenced by the vowel of Germ. Geschwür ‘ulcer’.

[p. 98]

4.

	Wat	joe	mi	Heer	ka	drag	hie
	what	2SG	1SG	Lord	PRF	bear	here

	ka	wees	alleen	mi	Goed
	PRF	BE	alone	1SG	good

55	die	Schuild	di	mi	ka	maek	hie
	DET	guilt	DET	1SG	PRF	make	here

	joe	ka	betaald	met	Bloed
	2SG	PRF	paid	with	blood

	Kik	hie	mi	staen	mi	pover
	look	here	1SG	stand	1SG	poor

	joe	Toorn	mi	ka	verdien
	2SG	wrath	1SG	PRF	deserve

	Maer	gi	mi	Saaligmaaker
	but	give	1SG	Saviour

60	vor	kik	joe	Gnad	alleen.
	FOR	see	2SG	mercy	only

*

	Jesoe	God	en	Lam
	Jesus	God	and	lamb

	ka	dod	na	Krüs	Stam
	PRF	die	NA	cross	stem

	mi	joe	Ziel	mi	po[w+]<v>	Herte
	with	2SG	soul	1SG	poor	heart

	dank	joe	vor	joe	Dod	en	Smerte
	thank	2SG	for	2SG	death	and	pain

65	hie	na	voor	joe	voet
	here	NA	before	2SG	foot

	wand	di	ben	heel	Soet.
	because	DET	BE	very	sweet

*

[p. 99]

	O	wat	voelt	mi	Hert
	o	what	feels	1SG	heart

	over	si	grot	Smert.
	about	3POS	great	pain

	Na	di	Crus	vor	kik	him	bludig
	NA	DET	cross	FOR	see	3SG	bloody

70	o	di	ben	mi	moschi	Soete
	o	DET	BE	1SG	very	sweet

	elke	wond	mi	groet
	every	wound	1SG	greet

	na	joe	Hand	en	Voet.
	NA	2SG	hand	and	foot

*

	O	mi	Hert	le	sink
	o	1SG	heart	ASP	sink

	waneer	mi	bedink,
	when	1SG	consider

75	hoeso	üt	si	Zie	le	Stroomen
	how	out	3POS	side	ASP	stream

	Goed	di	mak	mi	Herte	Vlammen
	thing	DET	make	1SG	heart	flame

	di	Versoenings	Bloed
	DET	reconciliation.GEN	blood

	van	mi	Lam	en	God.
	of	1SG	lamb	and	God

*

	O	joe	Man	vol	Smert
	o	2SG	man	full	pain

80	bloed^9	op	joe	volk	Hert
	blood	up	2SG	people	heart

9 bloed: ambiguous between Du. bloed ‘blood’ and bloeden ‘bleed’. Here it may be a verb.

[p. 100]

	maak	ons	altit	nogh	mehr	Voelbar
	make	1PL	always	even	more	perceptible

	bliev	na	ons	Hert	en	Hogo	klaar
	remain	NA	1PL	heart	and	eye	clear

	dat	elk	Oogenblik
	that	every	moment

	joe	Beeld	ons	kan	kik.
	2SG	image	1PL	can	see

*

85	Di	ben	mi	Plesie
	DET	BE	1SG	pleasure

	na	Dagh	Doenker^10	hie
	NA	day	dark	here

	voor	Dinkop	di	Lams	si	Traanen
	FOR	think.up	DET	lamb.GEN	3POS	tear.PL

	Pien	en	Smert	en	bloedig	Stroom -en
	pain	and	ache	and	bloody	stream -PL

	da	mi	Hert	le	Vlam
	then	1SG	heart	ASP	flame

90	en	sing	Lamm	o	Lamm!
	and	sing	lamb	o	lamb

**

*

.....................................Sondaars

*

	Sondaars	lopt	na	Jesus	Wonden
	sinner.PL	walk.IMP	NA	Jesus	wound.PL

	di	ons	altit	open	find
	DET	1PL	always	open	find

	da	di	hab	na	allgaar	Stonden
	EMP	DET	have	NA	all	hour.PL

10 Dagh Doenker: It seems as if this composition, literally ‘day dark’, has the meaning ‘night’.

[p. 101]

	Plek	voor	so	een	pover	Kind.
	place	for	such	a	poor	child

*

95	Lat	staan	noe	dat	allgar	Herten
	let	stand	now	that	all	heart.PL

	di	hier	voor	joe	Anschein	ben
	DET	here	before	2SG	face	BE

	voel	joe	bloedig	Dod	en	Smerten
	feel	2SG	bloody	death	and	pain.PL

	scriv	di	diep	na	Hert	en	Sin.
	write	DET	deep	NA	heart	and	sense

*

	Lat	stan	na	ons	Hert	en	Gronde
	let	stand	NA	1PL	heart	and	ground

100	en	diep	naben	ons	gemoed
	and	deep	NA.inside	1PL	mood

	allmal	Sondaers	ondervind	di
	all	sinner.PL	experience	DET

	joe	so	dierbar	Wonden	Bloed.
	2SG	so	dear	wound.PL	blood

*

	En	als	Kleentje	pover	Wormtje
	and	as	small	poor	worm.DIM

	di	ben	maer	lelk	Goed	aleen
	DET	BE	just	ugly	thing	only

105	altit	na	joe	soete	Gnade
	always	NA	2SG	sweet	mercy

	Bloed	en	Wonden	ons	verbly -en.
	blood	and	wound.PL	1PL	gladden

[p. 102]

Sein Feuer hize durch uns hin

Sein blutigs Bad soll uns durchziehn

weil ihr seid sein ererbtes Gut

und kostet Ihm sein theures Blut¹¹

*

	Joe	Crües	joe	Groot	benaut	en	Smert
	2SG	cross	2SG	great	anxiety	and	pain

	joe	Sweet	en	allemael	Wonden
	2SG	sweat	and	all	wound.PL

	di	ka	trek	wey	mi	heele	Hert
	DET	PRF	pull	away	1SG	whole	heart

110	en	ha	di	vast	gebonden.
	and	have	DET	fast	bound

*

	Di	ben	di	Vüer	di	na	mi	vlammt
	DET	BE	DET	fire	DET	NA	1SG	flames

	en	roer	mi	Hert	na	Gronde
	and	move	1SG	heart	NA	ground

........................................ vor

	vor -door^12	na	mo<ol•e>schi	Smerten	Schaam
	FOR -through	NA	much	pain.PL	shame

	ja^13	ka	dod	vor	mi	Sonde.
	yes	PRF	die	for	1SG	sin

*

115	Joe^14	Hert	na	mi,	mi	Soon	noe	gi
	2SG	heart	NA	1SG	1SG	son	now	give

	di	ben	mi	Grood	en	Waard
	DET	BE	1SG	great	and	worth

	Geen	rüst	joe	Vind	ander	Plek	hie
	NEG.one	rest	2SG	find	other	place	here

11 Sein Feuer ... Blut: German.

12 vordoor ‘because’

13 ja: maybe ju ‘2SG’, although the usual spelling is joe.

14 In this stanza Jesus addresses the sinner.

[p. 103]

	na	di	geheel	Aerd.
	NA	DET	entire	earth

*

	So	neem	mi	Jesus	Christus	aan
	so	take	1SG	Jesus	Christ	on

120	grav	mi	diep	na	joe	Bloed
	dig	1SG	deep	NA	2SG	blood

	mi	Glov	dat	joe	na	Crüs	ka	hang
	1SG	believe	that	2SG	NA	cross	PRF	hang

	mi	en	de	wereld	te	Goed.
	1SG	and	DET	world	to	good

*

	Joe	Gottlyk	Liev	na	mi	goy	üit
	2SG	divine	love	NA	1SG	throw	out

	Joe	heel	schoon	lievde	Vlam
	2SG	very	beautiful	love	flame

125	maer	Cabba	Duijster,	Spitt,	Valskeet
	but	finish	darkness	evil	falseness

	Joe	Sinn	schenk	mi	o	Lamm.
	2SG	sense	give	1SG	o	lamb

*

	O	God	maak	mi	Hert	tot	joe	Hüss^15
	o	God	make	1SG	heart	to	2SG	house

	hiso	na	deese	titt
	here	NA	DEM	time

	Ja	latstaan	joe	woonhüss,	die	wees
	yes	let	2SG	home	DET	BE

130	ook	na	di	Ewigheit.
	also	NA	DET	eternity

15 Hüss ‘house’ and woonhüss ‘house, home’ two lines below demonstrate that Du. huis could be both [hus] (the normal form) and [hys] in 18^th century NH. This confirms the use of his- in A. Magens' letter of 1883.

[p. 104]

Translation

Annex to the diary of St. Thomas

of the month of August 1755.

Several Creole hymns.

Jesus face's sweat

Make(s) our little heart wet and hot

Your blood remain(s) with God's might

In our heart and give(s) us strength.

*

A small child I know I am
And my strength is weak.
To be a free child I have desire
But do not know how to do it.

My Saviour has out of love for me
Also been a little child.
And has through his beautiful blood redeemed
Me from all need and pain.

My dearest Saviour tell me now
How to pray really gratefully.
For all my love I show to you
Stupid I am and I don't know.

But I think my poor heart
As I often have heard.
You have desired for a gift
And that I think is true.

So take to you my heart and mind
Take it, do dearest little Jesus.
I know well that yours I am
You most beloved man.

And now my poor little heart
Preserve it from every filthy thing

[p. 105]

 

You have washed it, keep it clean

 

Of damage and every danger.

Tune: O head covered with blood and wounds.

Come here with me and look
How he in his penance
Makes the earth wet with sweat.
Seize all his tears good
With me in your hearts
Do not miss any moment
Because all his pain
Means our eternal happiness.

Come here with tears of love.
And straight at the man of pains
In all the beauty of suffering,
Inside his blood,
When my heart experiences
His suffering so strongly
I pass eternities
In the thought alone.

O head full of wounds and ulcers
Full of pain and ache and blood.
O head full of holes and ulcers
From a thorny hat.
Formerly [you] were full of adornment
And glory very great
Now woefully scorned
Be welcome with many greetings.

What you my Lord have borne here
Has been only for my good.
The guilt which I have made here
You have paid with blood.
Look here I stand, me poor one
Your wrath I have deserved.
But give me, Saviour
That I may see your mercy alone.

*

[p. 106]

 

Jesus God and Lamb

 

[You] have died at the cross's stem.

 

With your soul. My poor heart

 

Thanks you for your death and pain,

 

Here in front of your foot

 

Because it is very sweet.

 

 

 

O what does my heart feel

 

About his great pain.

 

At the cross to see him bloody

 

O it is very sweet for me.

 

Every wound I greet

 

In your hands and feet.

 

*

 

O my heart sinks

 

When I consider

 

How out of his side is streaming

 

Some thing which makes my heart flame.

 

The blood of expiation

 

Of my Lamb and God.

 

*

 

O you man full of pain

 

Bleed on your people's heart.

 

Make us always even more perceiving

 

Remain clear in our hearts and eyes.

 

That every moment

 

Your image we can see.

 

*

 

It is my pleasure

 

In the night here.

 

To think of the lamb's tears

 

Pain and ache and bloody streams.

 

Then my heart is a flame

 

And sings Lamb o Lamb.

 

**

 

*

 

Sinners go in Jesus' wounds

 

Which we always find open.

 

They have at every moment

 

Place for such a poor child.

 

*

 

Let it be now that all hearts

 

Which are here before your face

 

Feel your bloody death and pains

 

And write these deep in heart and sense.

[p. 107]

 

*

 

Let it be that in our heart and ground

 

And deep inside our mind.

 

All sinners experience it:

 

The blood of your dear wounds.

 

*

 

And as small poor little worm

 

It is only an ugly thing.

 

Always in your sweet mercy

 

Blood and wounds gladden us.

 

 

 

May his fire burn right through us

 

His blood should run through us.

 

Because you are his inherited things

 

And are costing him his precious blood.

 

*

 

Your cross your great anxiety and pain

 

Your sweat and all wounds.

 

They have pulled away my whole heart

 

And have bound it fast.

 

*

 

It is the fire which flames in me

 

And stirs my heart profoundly.

 

Because in much pain and shame

 

You have died for my sin.

 

*

 

My son, now give your heart to me

 

It is great and worthwhile for me.

 

No rest you find in another place here

 

On the entire earth

 

*

 

So take me up Jesus Christ

 

Bury me deeply into your blood.

 

 

 

I believe that you have hung on the cross

 

For the good of myself and the world.

 

*

 

Throw out your divine love to me

 

Your very beautiful love flame.

 

But finish darkness, evil, falseness

 

Give me your sense o lamb.

 

*

 

O God make my heart of your house

 

Here in this time.

[p. 108]

 

Yes let it be your home,

 

Also in eternity.

2.2 Printed work

In the period 1765-1834 several hymnals were published. The first one of those was Gebeden en Liederen voor die swart Broeder-Gemeenten na S. Thomas, S. Croix en S. Jan., the hymnal of the Moravian Brethren. In 1770 the Danish missionaries published their first printed hymnals. The last printed work was the Danish Creol Psalm-Buk, of een Vergaedring van Oûwe en nywe Psalmen na Creol-Tael. The printing history of the Danish hymnals is quite complex, and we have tried to clarify the situation somewhat in the bibliography in this volume.

In this section we present some examples from the 1765 edition of the hymnal for the Moravian Brethren and from the 1823 edition of the hymnal for the Danish mission.

9. St. Thomas

2.2.1 The Herrnhuter Hymnal of 1765 (3.1.3)

According to Oldendorp's history of the Moravian mission, some hymns were already translated into creole in 1749 (Oldendorp 1987:454). Although he also mentions a publication from 1761 (p.540-541), Oldendorp (1987:573) writes:

[p. 109]

‘In order to promote liturgical singing, the first Creole hymn booklet was published in Europe in 1765. It reached the island the following year and it was put to use in the service of the Negro congregation. No matter how rudimentary it was, this first effort provided the impetus for the consideration of the compilation of a more complete and articulate hymn book in the Creole language.’

The translator of the hymnal was possibly Johann Böhner, who also translated large parts of the Bible into Negerhollands (Oldendorp 1987:540-541). Here is one example from this first printed hymn booklet.

6.

1	En	breng	goei	Nuws,	Gemeent!	na	Joe:
	and	bring	good	news	congregation	NA	2SG

	Die	heel	fraai	Nuws	so	veel	mi	breng,
	DET	very	good	news	so	much	1SG	bring

	Van	die	mi	le	praat	en	le	sing.
	of	DET	1SG	ASP	talk	and	ASP	sing

	Voor	jen	ie^16	heilig	Meid	Marie
	for	2PL	***	Holy	maid	Mary

5	Een	Kindje	van -daag	ka	pari^17,
	a	child.DIM	today	PRF	give.birth

	Een	Kind	so	teer	en	soet,	da	die
	a	child	so	tender	and	sweet	EMP	DET

	Sal	maak	jender	goe	moeschi	bli.
	FUT	make	2PL	very	much	happy

	Da	Hem	ben	Jesus	die	Heer	God,
	EMP	3SG	BE	Jesus	DET	Lord	God

	Em	wil	help	jen	ut	all'maal	Nood,
	3SG	will	help	2PL	out	all	need

16 ie: probably die ‘DET’.

17 Voor jen ... ka pari: SOV sentence without Verb Second. Such an archaic order can sometimes be found in German hymns and songs.

[p. 110]

10	En	wees	jen	Heiland	en	maak	vri
	and	BE	2PL	Saviour	and	make	free

	Jen	Sondaars	van	die	sondo	hie.
	2PL	sinner.PL	of	DET	sin	here

........................................ Em

28

	Em	breng	die	Saligheid	all'gaar,
	3SG	bring	DET	salvation	all

	Die	God	Vader^18	ka	gie	waar -waar,
	DET	God	Father	PRF	give	truly -RED

	Dat	jen	mee	Jesu^19	na	si	Rik
	that	2PL	with	Jesus	NA	3POS	kingdom

15	Sal	leef	na	Bliskap	eewiglik.
	FUT	live	NA	happiness	eternally

	So	merk	die	Teken	mi	gie	noe:
	so	notice	DET	sign	1SG	give	now

	Na	Doekoe	slecht,	na	Beest -Canoe
	NA	cloth	bad	NA	crib

	Jender	sal	vind	een	Kindje	daar,
	2PL	FUT	find	a	child.DIM	there

	Die	onderhou	Skepsels	all'gaar.
	DET	support	creature.PL	all

20	Laatstaan	ons	wees	goe	moeschi	bli
	let	1PL	BE	very	much	happy

	En	loop	mee	Beest -Wachtman	na	die,
	and	walk	with	animal -keeper	NA	DET

18 Vader does not easily fit the iambic meter of this hymn. The basilectal NH form pupa ‘father’, with stress on the final syllable, would have been more apt.

19 The Latin case form Jesu indicates that mee is meant to be a preposition rather than a coordinator. This means that Dat jen ... eewiglik more or less follows the rules of subordinate SOV word order of German and Dutch.

[p. 111]

	En	kik	wa	God	ons	ka	vereer^20,
	and	see	what	God	1PL	PRF	honour

	si	lieve	Soon,	ons	Hert -Begeer.
	3POS	dear	Son	1PL	heart -desire

(Mal. 3. 1.	Hag. 2.	v.v. 8.)
Maleachi 3 1	Haggai 2	v.v. 8

	Hoppo	mi	Hert!	en	kik	daso
	rise	1SG	heart	and	look	there

25	Wagoed	lee	na	die	Beest -Canoe,
	what	lie	NA	DET	crib

	Van	wie	die	mooje	Kindje	ben;
	of	who	DET	beautiful	child.DIM	BE

	die	ben	die	liefste	Jesus	kleen!
	DET	BE	DET	dearest	Jesus	little

	Wees	welkom	Joe,	ons	dierbaar	Vrind
	BE	welcome	2SG	1PL	dear	friend

	Joe	no	veracht	ons	sondig	Kind',
	2SG	NEG	despise	1PL	sinful	child

30	Maar	kom	na	Jammer	na	ons	hie:
	but	come	NA	misery	NA	1PL	here

	Hoe	ons	sal	see	Joe	Dank	voor	die!
	how	1PL	FUT	say	2SG	thanks	for	DET

	O	Heer	en	Skepper	van	all'gaar!
	o	Lord	and	Creator	of	all

	Heel	pover	Joe	ka	kom	waar -waar,
	very	poor	2SG	PRF	come	truly -RED

	Da^21	Joe	na	die	droog	Gras	lee	noe,
	EMP	2SG	NA	DET	dry	grass	lie	now

20 German-Dutch subordinate SOV order in combination with a Creole TMA particle.

21 Da: In view of the SOV word order and the context one might also analyze Da as older German da ‘where’.

[p. 112]

35	Die	Boerrik^22	sender	jeet	en	Koei^23.
	DET	mule	3PL	eat	and	cow

........................................ Of-

29

	Ofskoon	die	Wer'ld	was^24	nog	so	groot
	although	DET	world	were	still	so	great

	Vol	Goud	en	ander	kostlik	Goed,
	full	gold	and	other	costly	thing

	All'maal	die	altoveel	kleen	ben^25
	all	DET	very	small	BE

	Voor	wees	voor	Joe	een	Samba	kleen.
	FOR	BE	for	2SG	a	bed	small

40	Die	Fluweel	en	die	Sie	van	Joe
	DET	velvet	and	DET	silk	of	2SG

	Ben	grof	Gras	en	slecht	doekoe	noe,
	BE	coarse	grass	and	bad	cloth	now

	Op	die	Joe,	Koning	groot	en	rik,
	up	DET	2SG	king	great	and	rich

	Prajier	lik	na	joe	Hemelrik.
	splendor	like	NA	2SG	Kingdom.of. Heaven

	Mi	kleen	Jesu!	die	mi	lief	ha^26,
	1SG	little	Jesus	DET	1SG	dear	have

45	Maak	mi	Hert	wees	joe	skoon	Samba,
	make	1SG	heart	BE	2SG	clean	bed

22 Boerrik: NH burika ‘mule’.

23 Koei: This is NH kui, which derives from dialectal Du. koei. The translator must have had Standard, Du. koe ‘cow’ in mind because that rhymes with noe ‘now’.

24 Wer'ld was: Wer'ld instead of Wereld (or: Grond) may render Welt ‘world’ in the German original, while Du. was ‘was’, which is not NH, may render G. wär(e) ‘were (conjunctive)’.

25 die altoveel kleen ben: German-Dutch subordinate word order.

26 die mi lief ha: German-Dutch word order due to rhyme.

[p. 113]

Voor	rust	altid	heel	soet	nabin,
FOR	rest	always	very	sweet	NA.inside

Dat	Joe	moe	nooit	kom	ut	mi	Sin.
that	2SG	must	never	come	out	1SG	sense

Translation

From heaven on high it is I come now
And bring good news, congregation!, to you.
The very good news so much I bring
Of it I talk and sing.
For you the Holy maid Mary
A little child today has borne,
A child so tender and sweet, that it
Will make you very much happy.
It is Jesus the Lord God.
He will help you out of all need,
And is your Saviour and make free
You sinners from the sin here.
He brings the salvation to all,
The God Father has given very truly,
That you with Jesus in His kingdom
Will live in happiness eternally.
So notice the sign I give now:
In bad cloth, in a crib
You will find a little child there,
Who supports creatures all.
Let us be very much happy
And go with the animal-keeper to it,
And see what God has honoured us with,
His dear Son, our heart-desire.
Open my heart! and look there
What lies in the crib
Of who the beautiful little child is.
It is the dearest little Jesus!
Be welcome you, our dear friend
You do not despise us sinful child[ren]
But come to misery with us here
How we will say you thanks for it!
O Lord and Creator of all!
Very poor you have come very truly
It is you that in the dry grass lies now,

[p. 114]

 

The mules and the cow eat.

 

Although the world was still so great

 

Full of gold and other costly things,

 

It all is very small

 

To be for you a little bed.

 

The velvet and the silk of you

 

Is coarse grass and bad cloth now,

 

On which you, king great and rich,

 

Sleep like in your heaven kingdom

 

My little Jesus! whom I love dearly,

 

Make my heart be your clean bed,

 

To rest always very sweet inside,

 

That you must never come out of my mind.

2.2.2 A Danish hymnal (1823)

The history of the Danish translations of hymns is rather complex. Some of the works were re-editions of others, and for others it is quite hard to say who is the composer. In the bibliography of the present work, more information about each publication can be found.

In this section is an example from Creol Psalm-Buk of een Vergaedring van Oûwe en nywe Psalmen na Creol-Sprack (1823). According to Lund's correspondence with the Danish Missionary Society kept in RA (RA, Privatinstituter. Det Danske Missions Selskab. Privatarkiv nr. 10.162. Pk. 324.), this hymnal is a re-edition of the 1770 one, enlarged with 30 hymns written by him in 1797. Strangely enough, Lund says in a letter of 12 December 1822 that he does not know of any other hymnal than the 1770 edition (see Wold). Yet the 1823 one corresponds in several ways to the 1799 one by Brandt. In an 1827 edition, hymn 17 agrees completely, except for minor spelling differences, with the text supplied in a letter by Lund of 3 June 1823. Here we print the hymns 79 and 80.

98

No. 79.

Mel. I Jesu Navn²⁷.

1	Wa	mi	bin	blie,
	what	1SG	BE	happy

27 Mel. (...) Navn: Danish, meaning ‘tune: In Jesus' name’.

[p. 115]

	O	Jesu!	mi	ka	doop^28
	o	Jesus	1SG	PRF	baptise

	En	ka	kom	vrie	yt	van	die	Slaverie
	and	PRF	come	free	out	of	DET	slavery

	Door	die	saelig	Gloov	en	Hoop;
	through	DET	blessed	belief	and	hope

5	Door	die	Waeter	mi	ka	skoon^29,
	through	DET	water	1SG	PRF	clean

	Krieg	Pardoon,
	get	Pardon

	En	ons	ka	maek	Kontragt
	and	1PL	PRF	make	contract

	Na	Jesu	Bluet	en	Kragt;
	NA	Jesus	blood	and	strength

	Self	die	Dievel	mut	neem	Pad
	self	DET	devil	must	take	path

10	Ju	mit	mi.	ons	ka	maek	Maet,
	2SG	with	1SG	1PL	PRF	make	mate

	door	ju	bluedig	Sie	sie	Gat.
	through	2SG	bloody	side	3POS	hole

	2.	O!	help	Ju	mi,^30
	2	o	help	2SG	1SG

	Mi	draeg	mi	Kristen	Naem
	1SG	carry	1SG	Christian	name

	Heel	stil	en	fraej,	en	noojt	for	gooj	mi	wej;
	very	silent	and	good	and	never	FOR	throw	1SG	away

28 ka doop: passive.

29 ka skoon: passive or a copular construction with perfective marker ka instead of copula bin ‘(fin.) be’.

30 Imperative with Germanic V1 word order.

[p. 116]

15	No	for	maek	ju	Spor^31	en	Skaem;
	NEG	FOR	make	2SG	mock	and	shame

	Yt	mi	doop	no	lat	mi	stap
	out	1SG	baptism	NEG	let	1SG	step

	En	for	slaep:
	and	FOR	sleep

	As	mi	sal	kom	for	val,
	as	1SG	FUT	come	FOR	fall

	Hoppo	mi	daen	nog	eenmael;
	raise	1SG	then	still	once

20	Leer	mi	elke	Dag	denk	op
	teach	1SG	every	day	think	up

	Ju	ka	skoon	mi	na	die	Doop
	2SG	PRF	clean	1SG	NA	DET	baptism

	Door	die	Waeter	na	mi	Kop
	through	DET	water	NA	1SG	head

31 Spor: Seems a printing error for spot.

Translation

Number 79.

tune: In Jesus' Name

What I am happy
O Jesus! I have been baptised
And have come free out from the slavery
Through the blessed belief and hope;
Through the water I have cleaned,
Gotten forgiveness,
And we have made a contract
In Jesus' blood and strength;
Even the devil must take the path.
You with me. We have made friendship,
Through your bloody side's hole.

[p. 117]

 

2. O! help you me,

 

I carry my Christian name

 

Very silently and well, and never to throw me away;

 

Not to make you mockery and shame;

 

Out of my baptism do not let me step

 

And to sleep:

 

As I will come to fall,

 

Raise me then once more;

 

Teach me every day to think of it.

 

You have cleaned me in the baptism

 

Through the water on my head.

99

No. 80.

Mel. Guds Søn er kommen³².

1	Elkeen,	die	gloof	en	word	gedoop,
	everyone	DET	belief	and	become	baptised

	Sal	ontvang	waer	die	Leeven.
	FUT	receive	true	DET	life

	Want	hem	mit	Iesus	Bluet	ka	hoop,
	because	3SG	with	Jesus	blood	PRF	hope

	Bin	een	van	Iesus	Leeden.
	BE	one	of	Jesus	limbs

5	Word	onder	Godt	sie	Kinders	Tall,
	become	under	God	3POS	child.PL	number

	For	eer	die	Lam	mit	Engels	all
	FOR	honour	DET	lamb	with	angel.PL	all

	Na	Leevens	Buk	geskreeven^33.
	NA	life.GEN	book	written

	2.	Ons	almael	sygt	heel	hertelig:
	2	1PL	all	sigh	very	hearty

32 Mel. (...) kommen: Danish, meaning: ‘Tune: God's Son has come’.

33 na Leevens Buk geskreeven: Dutch word order with Du. past participle geschreven ‘written’ which is required in the presence of the passive auxiliary word ‘be’.

[p. 118]

	O	Iesus!	gyn	ons	Gnaede!
	o	Jesus	allow	1PL	mercy

10	Dat	door	die	Doops	Kragt	waerdelig^34
	that	through	DET	baptism.GEN	strength	worthily

	Ons	wandel	mut^35	op	Arde,
	1PL	walk	must	up	earth

	Nabinn'	die	sut	en	gloovig	Hoop
	NA.inside	DET	sweet	and	believing	hope

	Dat	ju	ka	bring	ons	door	die	Doop.
	that	2SG	PRF	bring	1PL	through	DET	baptism

	Na	eewig	Heemels	Ere.
	NA	eternal	heavenly	honour

34 waerdelig: may be Du. waardig ‘dignified(ly), worthy/worthily’ or waardiglijk ‘dignifiedly, worthily’. -lig is reminiscent of Danish.

35 Ons wandel mut: Dutch archaic subordinate word order probably due to the iambic meter.

Translation

Number 80.

tune: God's son has come.

Everyone, who believes and is baptised,
Will receive truly the life.
Because he with Jesus' blood has hoped,
Is one of Jesus' limbs.
Become one among God's children's number
To honour the lamb with Angels all
In life's book written.

2. We all sigh very heartily:
O Jesus! allow us mercy!
That through the baptism's strength worthily
We must walk on earth,
Inside the sweet and religious hope
That you have brought us through the baptism.
In eternal heavenly honour.