OF CHIPPEWAY AND ENGLISH HYMNS, FOR THE USE OF THE NATIVE INDIANS. TRANSLATED BY PETER. JONES, INDIAN MISSIONARY. TO WHICH ARE ADDED A FEW HYMNS TRANSLATED BY THE REV. JAMES I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the New-York: PUBLISHED BY LANE AND SCOTT, FOR THE MISSIONARY SOCIETY OF THE M. E. CHURCH, 1851. CHR Ninguh tuhgo nuhgum suh emah kezheganduhmowin- New-York: PUBLISHED BY LANE AND SCOTT, 1851. ގ. Feb. 12, 1914- wal. PREFACE. THE old edition of the Ojebway Hymn-Book having been out of print for some time, I have received repeated and earnest solicitations from the converted Indians at the various Ojebway mission stations to have it reprinted; stating, as their reason, that as the Great Spirit had made their hearts to rejoice while singing his praises in the language of those hymns, they still wished to retain what had been made a blessing to them in their first efforts to serve the Lord. They have also complained that they were not able to read the new hymns translated by the Rev. JAMES EVANS and GEORGE HENRY, and published by the American Tract Society at New-York, owing to the difference in orthography; and feeling a desire to aid, as far as I am able, this part of the solemn worship of almighty God, I have been induced, not only to fall in with their desires, but also to translate a number of additional hymns, all of which I hope and pray may be made a great blessing to my Indian brethren. In order to have the hymns as correct and intelligible as possible, I have availed myself of the advice and suggestions of several of my native brethren. For the accommodation of our white friends who occasionally worship with us, the English hymns are printed on the opposite pages. Many of the more educated Indians have also expressed a desire to possess the hymns in both languages. The Indian hymns are divided into syllables, in order to make them easier for the Indians and white people to read. The Indian words are written with the simple sounds of the English alphabet, which, in most cases, will enable the reader to pronounce them with sufficient accuracy. There are, however, sounds in the Ojebway which the English letters do not exactly convey, such as between b and p, d and t, g and k, s and z, sh and zh, gw and qu, and ch and j. Thus the Indian writer is liable to interchange one letter for the other when spelling the same word, and, consequently, that want of uniformity, always desirable, will sometimes appear. The above letters have, in most cases, their distinct sounds, according to English pronunciation. It is very desirable that a dictionary in the Ojebway should be published as a standard for the orthography of that language. |