The Great Flood: Translating the Word of God Brings the True Story to the Krupto

Eight representatives from the Krupto* tribe in South Asia traveled far from their homes, most in the jungle, not near any main roads. They had come to a historic workshop held by Bibles International to write the first reader in their language and were prepared to discuss which culturally relevant key words, sentences, and drawings should be used for each lesson.

As I looked at the smiling faces of the participants of the primer-writing workshop, I thought, Little do they know that their language, which had no previous writing system, is already famous on the other side of the world. They had no idea the Ark Encounter in Kentucky has a map displaying the names of languages, including Krupto, that have preserved stories of a universal flood.

Through generations of oral culture, the Krupto have passed on an important legend of a girl and boy who survive the worldwide flood. Anthropologist S.C. Dube translated both their song and a lengthy account into English in the mid-1940s.

The song tells the story of how the great god Mahadeo planned to send the flood out of anger against a wily jackal. An old man and woman anticipated the destruction, and the man carved a large box out of sandalwood with various compartments. The old couple stored in it the necessities of life that would last for a period of twelve years. The man then placed his young son and daughter into the box-boat and locked the lid.

The song then describes, “Thunder, lightning, and rain, all came to the service of Mahadeo in his play of frenzied destruction. In less than an hour the whole scheme of the Universe was completely upset. Not one living creature survived. In all four directions there was endless water, and over that water was the small sandal house-boat.”

Mahadeo sent out birds to report on the destruction. The birds found the boat and heard the children feebly say, “The little food we have will not last long.” Mahadeo opened the box and reared the children, later commanding them to be married and repopulate the earth.

Although many details of the biblical Flood were corrupted or lost completely over time, the Krupto still retain a knowledge of this event. This shared story is now being used to direct them to God’s Word. The story of Noah has been translated into the Krupto language along with other key Old Testament stories leading to the Gospel. The illustrated stories have even been put on SD cards so they can be listened to and watched on cell phones.

A Krupto man told one of these Bible stories to a national pastor. When the national pastor asked where the story came from, the man said that it was part of their heritage. He had recounted the Bible story accurately without adding mythological elements. It appears that translating the Bible stories had made him view the story as belonging to their history. It helped him accept the story as true.

Pray that the Krupto will understand that the Bible’s account of Noah and the ark is not just a true story, but that it illustrates God’s truth of salvation from judgment. The Krupto need to take refuge in the spiritual ark, which is Jesus Christ, to be saved from the flood of eternal destruction.

*pseudonym