The Lord's Prayer - in Ma'di, Acholi and Luganda

I know, from looking at the statistics on the number of hits for each of the posts on the blog, that my earlier post setting out the Lord's Prayer in Arur (the local dialect spoken here in Nebbi) and from the excitement the arrival a copy of my blog gave one of the sisters at St. Cecilia's Abbey who loves to collects the Our Father in many languages, that a further post providing this most perfect of prayers in three of the other dialects spoken in this area of West Nile may also prove popular and of interest.

Many different languages are spoken across Uganda and indeed within the Diocese of Nebbi there are probably a dozen or more different tongues, but here are just three which I have heard amongst the different villages and communities I have visited.

Ma’di - spoken by 131,000 people in West Nile District, Uganda and in South Sudan

Ama Ata 'bu 'a rii,
nya ru kolu ole.
Opi nyidri kemu,
le nyidri kideru vu 'a,
kendre ka ride 'bu 'a.
Nyehwe ama ni endru linya amadri endru ri i 'i.
Nye'be ama ni enzi amadri,
kendre ama 'ba zi enzi ideka amani rii e'beka ri ani.
Nyiji ama o'bi a ku,
ki nyari ama ta unzi ri i'a.

 

Acholi - spoken by over 750,000 people in north central Acholi District, Uganda and in South Sudan 

 

 

 

Lugana - spoken by over 3,000,000 people in Buanga Province, Uganda

 

 

Kitaffe ali mu ggulu,
Erinnya lyo litiibwe,
Obwakabaka bwo bujje,
Byoyagala bikolebwe mu nsi,
Nga bwe bikolebwa mu ggulu.
Otuwe leero emmere yaffe eya buli lunaku.
Otusonyiwe ebibi byaffe,
Nga naffe bwe tusonyiwa abatukola obubi.
Totutwala mu kukemebwa, naye tulokole mu bubi.
Amiina.