The Brem language is spoken by several villages on the Madang coast. There are four dialects. The two main dialects are Bunabun, spoken by villages along the beach, and Asumbin, which is spoken inland. The Qkuan Kambuar dialect was traditionally spoken by a Brem community living in the south, but there are very few who still speak this dialect. Instead, most of this southern community has shifted to Tok Pisin. The fourth dialect is now extinct. Brem speakers also speak Tok Pisin.
The North Coast Road runs directly through the land of the Bunabun. This makes it easy to access markets to sell their cash crops or to access a service center. The main cash crops are cocoa and coconut, but they also sell betel nut, food crops and livestock. The road also makes it easy for researchers to access the Bunabun. Linguists developed a Latin script for the language in 1999. In 2017 and 2018, Andrew Pick from the University of Hawaii recorded many stories told by the Bunabun people in the Bunabun dialect.
The Bunabun retain a strong sense of cultural identity that is preserved in their language and in their traditional stories. We can celebrate the expression of God's creativity in the Bunabun
culture.
There is a high percentage of Evangelicals among this Christianized people.
Nine in ten Bunabun people identify themselves as Christians, but they have no scripture in their language.
Pray that God raises up workers to share God's word in the two dialects of the Brem language that are still widely used.
Ask God to stir up a hunger in their hearts for him and his word.
Pray that God continues to lead the Bunabun people into a closer relationship with him.
Scripture Prayers for the Bunabun in Papua New Guinea.
Wycliffe Bible Translators
| Profile Source: Joshua Project |
