KANNADA KEY TERMS

Angels 
•	deevadodaru 
•	God's messengers used in the Kannada Bible
The word used for angel is "deevadodaru."  This is the word used in the Kannada Bible.  It literally means messengers of God.  The Hindu word usually used for angel is "deevata."  This is used to describe the Hindu goddesses, such as Lakshmi.  Often, a family or even a village will have a certain "deevata" that they worship.  She is their family goddess or village goddess.  It is a feminine word whereas the Biblical word has the plural ending which is the ending to show respect to a man or to refer to multiple angels (could be masculine or feminine).  We were also told that "deevata" will fight against evil and demons.  For example, in one story, a "deevata" fought against Ravana, who I believe is the king of demons from the Ramayana.  We decided to stay with this word since its the word used in the Kannada Bible and the Hindu word has a very different meaning than the Biblical understanding of angels.  I asked our Kannada teacher (who is Hindu) about this word.  She didn't seem familiar with it but she translated it for me as "God's messengers."
We've been told by several people that there is no concept of an angel in Hindu worldview.
In testing people aren't familiar with this term but they understand the literal meaning that it is a messenger from God. 
•	Found in:  Creation, Fall, Abraham, Birth, Resurrection, Pentecost 
13/Mar/2008 

Baptism 
•	Deekshasnana
•	 literally translates as 'holy bath' used in Kannada Bible
When this term is first introduced in the Pentecost story, we also used a brief phrase 'special bath of water' to clarify the word's meaning.
In testing, this word is almost totally unfamiliar to non-Christians.  However, they can understand the literal meaning of the word 'holy bath' but don't know what it is refers to.
Our backtranslator told us that when someone becomes a Hindu monk there are certain rituals they do called 'deeksha'.  By completing these rituals, it demonstrates that you have left behind your old life and are now going to follow this new way of life.  She seemed to make some connection with the word for baptism with these type of rituals but she wasn't really sure, just guessing at what it might mean.  Others said that it means to give up a worldy life and instead devote yourself to a godly life. 
•	Found in:  Pentecost, Paul's Conversion, Paul & Silas 
07/Feb/2008 

Curse 
•	Shabda 
•	used in Kannada Bible
In testing, people have told us that to be cursed means that you don't receive God's blessings.  God can curse someone by witholding good things from them, such good health, children, wealth, etc.  The curse is the person's punishment because they did bad things.  It is assumed that the gods have the power and authority to curse those whom they are not pleased with.  No one has made any association with this word for curse and witchcraft, spells, or anything like that. 
•	Found in:  Fall 
25/Jan/2008 

Demon/Ghost 
•	Bhuta Preta Pischaci Deva 
•	The word deva is used in the New Testament.
In testing, these words for evil spirits seem to be synonymous with each other.  No one has thought that there is much difference between them, just different names for the same thing.  Some people have said that in different parts of Karnataka, people use some of the words more than others.
In testing, most don't have a concept of an evil spirit as anything other than the ghost of a dead person.  They don't think of an evil spirit as a separate, created being that is different from a human.  This is why we chose to include the creation of the spirit world to address this worldview barrier.   In Hindu mythology there are'demons' but they are more like giants in Western folktales.  They have bodies and great strength.  There are male and female demons and they marry each other, have children, etc.  We felt that this idea was so far-removed from the Biblical concept of a demon that we couldn't use that term.
•	See Cultural Notes:  Evil Spirits 
•	Found in:  Creation (uses all four words for demon) Demoniac (deva) Resurrection (bhuta) Paul & Silas (deva) 
25/Jan/2008 

Devotees 
•	buktharu 
•	this is used to refer to Jesus' followers, who are not disciples/apostles.  It's a more general term than the word used for 'disciple'.  There is another word that is used for 'believers' in the Kannada Bible but it not as familiar to Hindus.
Our backtranslator said that disciples actually learn directly from the guru and are physically with him.  They were with the guru while he was alive.  However, devotees are just people who follow his teachings and may never have met him in person.  She also told us that we would be called 'devotees of Jesus.'
What things do devotees do?  They follow the teachings of their guru, they may teach others about him.  They obey what he says to do.  A devotee of Jesus follows his principles and worship Jesus as God
•	Found in:  Pentecost, Paul's Conversion, Paul & Silas 
07/Feb/2008 

Disciples 
•	shisaru 
•	used in Kannada Bible we were told that this word is also used by Hindus to refer to the followers of a guru.
Our backtranslator said that disciples actually learn directly from the guru and are physically with him.  They were with the guru while he was alive. 
•	Found in: Demoniac, Healing of Girl, Rich Man, Lazarus, Arrest, Death, Resurrection, Pentecost, Paul's Conversion, Paul & Silas 
25/Jan/2008 

Faith 
•	Nambeke 
•	also means 'belief'.  It can also be used as a verb that means 'to believe' or 'to put your faith in' Used in Kannada Bible 
•	Found in: Abraham, David,  Jonah, Healing of Paralyzed Man, Sinful Woman, Healing of Girl, Pentecost, Paul & Silas 
31/Mar/2008 

Fasting 
•	Opavasa 
•	Used in Kannada Bible
Our crafters told us that fasting is a common practice among Hindus.  It is sometimes done when they are having some problem or when they want something from God (such as doing well on an exam).  Our backtranslator told us that she fasts on a certain day every month. 
•	Found in: Jonah, Paul's conversion 
07/Feb/2008 

Forest 
•	aranya 
•	Wilderness, Used in Kannada Bible
The Kannada word that is translated as forest is "aranya."  It is the word used in the Bible.  Our crafters described it as a place without food, where people don't live.  It does seem to give the connotation of jungle.  We were told that the word is also used in the Hindu stories, such as when Rama and Sita lived in the jungle for 14 years.  We showed our crafter a photo from Illumina of the Sinai wilderness and asked if this was "aranya."  She seemed confused and said no.  But she couldn't think of any Kannada word that would describe that picture.  So we decided to stick with the word in the Bible.  I think it has the idea of the English word wilderness, except from their worldview that would be the jungle. 
•	Found in: Moses 1, Moses 2, Desert 
25/Jan/2008 

Forgive 
•	Shaphane 
•	used in Kannada Bible 
In testing, this word seems to have a similar meaning to the English word.  If somebody offends or does something wrong to another person then they may ask that person's forgiveness. 
•	Found in: David, Paralytic, Sinful Woman, Last Supper, Resurrection, Pentecost 
09/Apr/2008 

Garden 
•	toota 
•	Used in Kannada Bible 
The Kannada word for garden is "toota." It is the word used in the Kannada Bible.  It has the general meaning of farm, orchard, vegetable garden.  We talked with our crafters about another word which means "park."  At first, they seemed to think this was a good idea but kept returning to the word "toota."  They seemed more comfortable with sticking to the Biblical term. 
•	Found in: Creation, Fall 
25/Jan/2008 

God 
•	Devaru 
•	Used in Kannada Bible 
•	Found in: All stories 
25/Jan/2008 

God's Spirit/God's Soul 
•	Devara atma 
•	is used in Kannada Bible in certain passages although 'pravit atma' (Holy Spirit) is used more often.  
We've been told that both terms are used interchangeably by Kannada Christians to refer to the Holy Spirit
•	Found in: Birth, Pentecost, Paul's Conversion
Other terms tested: Pravit atma (Holy Spirit) Used in Kannada Bible
Intially we used Holy Spirit (pravit atma) in our stories.  In testing, people understand the literal meaning of the words.  They understand 'pravit' as holy, sacred, pure and 'atma' as spirit, soul.  However, there is no Biblical concept of the Holy Spirit.  There is no understanding that the Holy Spirit comes from God. Depending on the story context, some people seem to think that it refers to the soul of a person.  For example, in the birth story when the angel says that the Holy Spirit will be with Jesus, some people thought that this meant that Jesus would have a pure soul.  So, we decided to make it clear that this spirit is from God by just saying 'God's Spirit'.  In testing this term, this seems to be understood better and people definitely understand that this spirit is from God. 
25/Jan/2008 

Heaven 
•	swarga 
This is the word commonly used by Hindus to refer to heaven.   In testing, it has been understood as a really good place that a good person goes to when they die.  We've been told that when a person dies they either go to heaven or hell, depending on how they lived their life.  However, people don't stay in heaven or hell for eternity. They are eventually re-born on earth to continue the cycle of re-birth and death. Christians also use this term to refer to heaven.  I have heard it used in worship songs at the Kannada church.  Since both 'swarga' and 'paraloca' are used interchangeably among believers, we decided to use the more familiar term to Hindus which is 'swarga.' 
•	Found in:  Rich Man, Death, Pentecost
Other term tested:  Paraloca used in Kannada Bible Paraloca is another term for heaven that seems to be used primarily by Christians.  It literally means 'other world.'  Our Hindu backtranslator was unfamiliar with this term.  She said that it could refer to either heaven or hell since it refers to a place outside of this world. 
25/Jan/2008 

Hell 
•	naraka 
•	is described as a place where God puts people who have done bad things.  
This belief is held by Hindus.  For Hindus, the god 'Yemma' is the head of hell and he has many soldiers under his control.  When someone is dying he sends his soldiers to go and take them.  When the soldiers come they throw a rope  around the soul of the person who is dying and take there soul.  Then they take that soul to hell and the god, 'Yemma' gives them various forms of punishment depending on the sins that people have committed.  He has an assistant named Chitrajuptha, who records the sins of people in a book.  In Naraka, there is fire, swords cutting people, and other types of punishment. used in Kannada Bible 
•	Found in: Rich Man 
03/Apr/2008 

Jewish Leaders 
•	Yuyudi Nayakaru 
We wanted a term that could encompass all the types of Jewish leaders in the stories, such as priests, Pharisees, Sadducees, scribes, etc.  We also wanted to convey the idea that these people had more than just religious power but also were leaders in the whole community. 
•	Found in: Paralytic, Sinful Woman, Prodigal Son, Rich Man, Lazarus, Arrest, Death, Paul's Conversion
Other terms tested: Yuyudi Dharmastra Punditaru (Jewish Religious Leader) this is not the word used for Pharisees in the Kannada Bible. we decided to use a more generic term that could apply to all the Jewish religious people (scribes, Pharisees, head priest, etc.).  Also, the word that used in the Kannada Bible for Pharisee is unfamiliar to non-Christians.
Although we initially were using this word, it still caused some confusion.  We decided to simplify it even more to just 'Jewish leaders.' 
25/Jan/2008 

Lord 
•	Swami 
this is a common word used when speaking to someone of respect or higher authority.  Can be used when addressing God or even a servant to a master.  Christians often refer to Jesus as 'Yesu Swami' (Lord Jesus). 
•	Found in: Moses 1, Healing of Demon-Possessed Man, Lazarus 
03/Apr/2008 

Messages 
•	Sandeesha 
•	Found in: Creation, Isaiah 
25/Jan/2008

Miracles 
•	abuta 
•	used in Kannada Bible
This term has been well understood in testing.   There are many stories about miracles in Hinduism so this is a familiar concept. 
•	Found in: Moses 1, Paralytic, Sinful Woman, Demoniac, Prodigal Son 
02/Apr/2008 

Plague 
•	peeda 
•	used in Kannada Bible 
this was translated for us in several ways -- problem, difficulty, pain, disaster, torture.  In testing, everyone understood it as a bad thing that happens.  It was agreed that God has the power to cause these things to happen. 
•	Found in: Moses 1, Moses 2 
25/Jan/2008 

Praise 
•	Stuthi Kondadi 
•	used in Kannada Bible 
•	Found in: Desert, Birth, Paralytic, Paul & Silas 
25/Jan/2008 

Prayer 
•	Praathane 
•	used in Kannada Bible
This term is also used by Hindus and was easily understood in testing. 
•	Found in: Desert, Jonah, Isaiah, Pentecost, Paul's Conversion, Paul & Silas 
07/Feb/2008 

Preaching 
•	Bodisu, Oopadessha maardu 
•	used in Kannada Bible
In testing, this word was understood to be a type of teaching that is done by religious people.  It might include things like telling people to stop sinning; teaching people how to live in a good life.  It's a different type of teaching than what is taught in a university. 
•	Found in: Paralytic (oopadesha maardu), Sinful Woman (oopadesha maardu), Demoniac (oopadesha maardu), Prodigal Son (Bodisu), Rich Man (Bodisu), Lazarus (Bodisu; Oopadeesha maardu), Arrest (Bodisu), Death (Oopadeesha maardu), Resurrection (Oopadeesha maardu), Pentecost (Bodisu) 
03/Apr/2008 

Prophet 
•	pravadi 
•	God's messenger. Used in Kannada Bible
We didn't want to deviate from the established Biblical key term although Hindu people may not be familiar with this word.  The word is first introduced in the David story and includes a short description of who Nathan was and what his role as a prophet was. In the following stories, when the term is first used in the story it includes a brief description of what a prophet does.  From testing, we've found that this has worked well and people begin to become familiar with the term and understand its meaning.
There is another word in Kannada for prophet that is used by Hindus.  This word is "aachakaru."  This person was described as someone who sits inside the temple and then will come out and tell people what God has said.  Another possible word that was suggested was "panditharu" which means "wise or experienced person."   We were told that some Indians associate the word pravadi with Catholic priests.
Suddha -- pravadi – traveling messenger who spreads the messages of God.  She compared it some ashrams where they preach things, good messages.  "God would choose someone to communicate between God and the common people, they were mediators" 
•	Found in: David, Isaiah, Birth, Sinful Woman, Rich Man, Lazarus, Death, Resurrection 
29/Mar/2008 

Repent 
•	pushatape 
•	used in Kannada Bible
It was understood in testing that repentence means to feel sorry for the wrong things that you've done.  It means that you don't want to do those things anymore. 
•	Found in: David, Resurrection, Pentecost 
25/Jan/2008 

Savior/Salvation/To Save 
•	Raksha  
•	all of these terms come from this root form used in Kannda Bible 'Protector' 
This is the word that's used in the Kannada Bible for Savior 'Rakshaka.'  It comes from the verb 'rakshisu' which means 'to save' or 'to protect.'   The literally meaning of this word is protect or save someone from harm or danger.  It can be used in both a spiritual sense as well as a physical sense. 
•	Found in: Birth, Sinful Woman, Death, Paul & Silas 
09/Apr/2008 

Sin 
•	papa 
•	used in Kannada Bible
We were told this is a common word that Hindus also use.  For Hindus it means the bad things that the gods tell people not to do.  For example, killing, lying, cheating, kidnapping, drinking alchohol, smoking, being greedy.   If a Hindu commits a sin then they will perform some religious act such as going to the temple, making a vow to a god, performing a sacrifice, performing puja, etc. 
•	Found in: Noah, David, Jonah, Isaiah, Birth, Paralytic, Sinful Woman, Prodigal Son, Arrest, Resurrection, Pentecost
NOTES:
our Hindu neighbor told us that killing some is an "unforgiveable sin"
"If an old man rapes a girl who is really young, this is a sin.  He is doing a sin.  In the eyes of God this is a sin which he has to be punished.  God will punish him later and people will punish him.  Maybe God will punish him that the hands he did this bad deed with, he will lose those hands or he will be paralyzed.  This is God’s punishment to give.  Before he dies, he is going to suffer.  The punishment comes before he dies.  It can be any form of punishment.  For example, Saddam Hussein.  He has committed lots of sins and he was hanged.  That was the sentence that was given to him.  We can’t escape from the eyes of God.  I’ll be suffering from some health problem, it must be because I am suffering the punishment for some sin I did in this life or from a previous life when I did something really bad.  If you don’t perform any good deeds here, you are going to be re-born in the next life in a form that you will suffer.  Maybe you’ll be born as a mad dog and people will be throwing stones at you.  Or as a thief and people will keep chasing you and the police give lots of punishments.  If you don’t perform your good deeds in this life, do good things, good thoughts, good everything to be perfect, and be praying.  Then you are going to suffer when you leave this earth.  Until your soul is brought into peace that all your bad karma (bad deeds) has gone away.  And then your soul will be in peace.  Until then you will be having rebirth after rebirth.  So, in life we need to see that our soul will rest peacefully in heaven and won’t be reborn.  We don’t want to be reborn on this earth in any way, to suffer.  Instead our soul will rest in peace in heaven with God and made us his disciple in heaven.  When we are in heaven, we are like Noah.  Just like God safeguarding Noah, God will safeguard us in heaven.  He won’t send us to hell.  If you perform a lot of sin, you will go to hell and then be reborn on earth.  Until your good deeds happen and God is satisfied that your soul is going to rest in peace and all your bad deeds on earth have gone, then God will decide from this life, let his soul take rest.  All of soul, human, animals, birds.  Even animal souls can be re-born again, they can be born as a human.  That is the reason God has created all things and we should not hurt them.  We should not hurt the living creatures.  Especially people who are vegetarians.  That is the reason we are doing ahimsa, we are not going to hurt the human or the animals.  Like Jains put something over their mouth so they don’t even breathe insects.  If they have eaten that, they think they have performed sin." 
25/Jan/2008 

Teacher 
•	Guru 
A guru is someone who instructs others about the difference between good and bad things.  He instructs them to live good life, holy life.  Even school teachers are sometimes refered to as gurus.  Their students/disciples try to follow their teachings and their lifestyle.   In India, there are various kinds of gurus.  A guru means a master.  There can be religious gurus and seculiar gurus depending upon their job. Sometimes people worship their gurus.  One famous guru in India is Sri Baba. "guru"- is a teacher.  A guru will teach to help others, to devote yourself to god.  You to live a simple life.   How do people respond to the 'guru'?  The disciples would lend him a hand in whatever he does.  People respect them and do what they say. 
•	Found in: HEALING OF GIRL, SINFUL WOMAN, LAST SUPPER 
03/Apr/2008 

Worship 
•	Aardaney 
•	Used in Kannada Bible
We decided to use 'aardaney' instead of 'pooja' because in testing people heavily associated the Hindu rituals with this.  So, for example, in the Noah story, it says that Noah got off the boat and worshipped God.  One person in testing said that Noah made an idol and worshipped God that way.  We wanted to avoid the connotation of religious ritual and focus more on worship as heart-felt devotion to God which seems to be better expressed with 'aardaney'.
Radha explained to us that this word describes the devotion to God while pooja describes the actions of worship.  She did say that aradaney can mean singing, praying, praising, reading a book.
Some pastors who work in villages said that only Brahmins are familiar with this word.  That other Hindus won't know this word.  This is the word used primarily by Christians who don't really use the word pooja.
Sudda described aardaney as "thinking of God,  praying to God, respecting God" 
•	Found in:  Creation, Noah, Moses 1, Moses 2, Desert, Jonah, Birth, Paul & Silas
Other terms tested: Pooja
Radha said this explains the actions done in worship.  It means lighting the fire before the idol, putting flowers on the idol, breaking a coconut, etc.  It is used commonly by Hindus to describe their religious rituals. 
11/Feb/2008
\r Blessing aashervada We've noticed that people seem to associate blessing with physical blessings -- wealth, health, etc.  Even among Christians, we get the impression that many believe that if you obey God, then he will bless you with the things you want.
Every Friday our downstairs neighbors perform a special puja.  When asked what they pray for, they said, "that God would make us rich."  Wealth seems to be a sign of God's blessing on a person.
It is Hindu custom for elders to give blessings to those younger than them.  This is often done when the younger person falls at the feet of the older person.  They fall at the feet because the feet are considered the lowest part of the body.  The elder person blesses their hands on the younger person’s head and says a blessing.  A common blessing to give is “Iiasu, arrogya, aaisraria, cenangirli” (Long life, good health, money and fame, be happy).  They will also give specific blessings for other events, such as before taking a big exam, getting married, or having a baby.  The reason this is done is because “we are the parents and have given birth to them, we are respected a lot.  We are like the god for them, we are NOT the god but LIKE the god for them.  So youngsters take the blessings from the elders and the youngsters respect the elders. We take the blessing of our elders because they are our creators, they have given birth to us.  It is a good Indian tradition that has been followed for many years.  By doing this, youngsters start respecting their elders.”  People only fall at the feet of someone who is older than them and someone they respect.  If someone is considered a bad person, people will not want to take a blessing from them. 21/May/2007 \r Curse Shaba (?) used in Kannada Scripture
In testing, people have told us that to be cursed means that you don't receive God's blessings. 11/Aug/2007 \r Demon Bhuta Preta Pischaci Deva
See Cultural Notes:  Evil Spirits The word deva is used in the New Testament 10.07 150.07 (throughout this story) 07/Mar/2007 \r Disciples shisaru used in Kannada Bible we were told that this word is also used by Hindus to refer to the followers of a guru. 150.04, 150.05 07/Mar/2007 \r God Devaru refers to the creator God this is the term used in the Kannada scriptures used in almost every story 06/Nov/2006