Francis Whyte Ellis
Francis Whyte Ellis | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1777 |
| Died | 1819 Ramnad |
| Occupation(s) | Collector of Madras, translator, Tamil and Sanskrit scholar |
Francis Whyte Ellis(1777–1819)[1]was aBritishcivil servantin theMadras Presidencyand a scholar ofTamilandSanskrit.
Biography
[edit]Ellis became a writer in theEast India Company'sservice atMadrasin 1796. He was promoted to the offices of assistant-under secretary, deputy-secretary, and secretary to the board of revenue in 1798, 1801, and 1802 respectively. In 1806 he was appointed judge of thezillahofMachilipatnam,in 1809 collector of land customs in the Madras presidency, and in 1810 collector of Madras. He died atRamnadofcholera[2]on 10 March 1819.
Dravidian language hypothesis
[edit]Ellis is the first scholar who classified theDravidian languagesas a separatelanguage family.[3] [4] Robert Caldwell,who is often credited as the first scholar to propose a separate language family for South Indian languages, acknowledges Ellis's contribution in his preface to the first edition ofA Comparative Grammar of the Dravidian or South Indian Family of Languages:[5]
The first to break ground in the field was Mr. Ellis, a Madras civilian, whose was profoundly versed in the Tamil language and literature, and who interesting but very brief comparison, not of the grammatical forms, but only of some of the vocables of three Dravidian dialects, is contained in his introduction toCampbell'sTeluguGrammar.
History
[edit]Ellis first published his notion about the South Indian languages forming a separate language family in a "Note to Introduction" for his protege Alexandar Duncan Campbell'sTelugu Grammarin 1816.[6]The event which set forth in motion the writing of the "Dravidian Proof" was the report of the Committee of Examination of Junior Civil Servants issued in 1811. The committee, chaired by Ellis, wanted the civil service officers to learn the basic structure of the South Indian languages, so that they can function effectively wherever they were stationed in South India. It noted that the common features of five South Indian "dialects" - High Tamil, Low Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu and Kannada and recommended the teaching of Tamil as a representative of all five. The College of Fort St. George and its press (see below), were given the task of creating grammars and other text books for the language training. As a part of this effort, Campbell, then the secretary to the Board of Superintendents of the college, prepared a work of Telugu grammar in 1816. Two years before, another work of Telugu grammar had been published byWilliam Carey(anorientalistmissionary fromCalcutta) at theSeramporepress, in which he described Sanskrit as the source of all South Indian languages. In his grammar, Campbell set out to disprove Carey and other Calcutta orientalists likeCharles WilkinsandHenry Thomas Colebrooke(proponents of the "all Indian languages are derived from Sanskrit" school of thought). Ellis wrote a note to introduction for Campbell's book in which he offered his "Dravidian Proof".[7]
The Dravidian Proof
[edit]Ellis' Dravidian Proof is a step by step attempt to establish the non-Sanskritic origins of Telugu. Ellis first compared therootsof Sanskrit and Telugu. Parallel columns of the roots were presented to show the difference between the two languages. For Sanskrit, the roots were taken fromDhatupathaand for Telugu, they were taken from a list compiled by Pattabhirama Shastri. In the second step, Ellis used a more complex comparative table of Tamil, Telugu and Kannada roots to show that the languages sharedCognateroots. In the third and final step Ellis used a comparative table of words made from the roots of the three languages to show their relationship as well. Ellis made use of Telugu scholar Mamadi Venkayya'sAndhradipakaas a source for different types of Telugu words. As a conclusion, Ellis disproved the prevailing theory that though roots and words might be common to South Indian languages, the difference in their idioms was great. He accomplished this by translating the same passages from Sanskrit and English into Tamil, Telugu and Kannada and analysing the sentence structures of the translations.[7]
Other literary contributions
[edit]St. George College and its press
[edit]While stationed at Madras, Ellis became interested in the history and languages of India. He was a member of the Member of the Madras Literary Society[8]and the founder of the College ofFort St. Georgeat Madras - an institution which had both British and Indian members.[1]Pattabiram Shasthri, Muthusami Pillai, Udayagiri Venkatanarayanayya, Chidambara Vaathiyaar and Syed Abdul Khadar were among Indian scholars who worked in the college. The college was founded in 1812 and the next year Ellis also helped set up the College Press by supplying it with a printing press and Tamil types. Telugu types, printing ink and labour for the venture was supplied by the Superintendent of Government Press atEgmore.The Madras Government supplied the paper. Ellis purchased English types and printing ink for the Press cheaply. The press commenced publishing in 1813 - its first work wasConstanzo Beschi's (Veeramamunivar) Tamil grammarKodum Tamil.Before Ellis's death in 1819, the press published a Tamil grammar primerIlakkana surukkam,a Tamil translation ofUttara KandamofRamayana(both by Chitthambala Desikar), Ellis' own translation and commentary ofThirukkuraland five Telugu works - Campbell's grammar (with Ellis' Dravidian Proof), tales of Vikkirama, a translation ofPanchatantraand two more grammars. The press continued publishing books into the 1830s including works in Kannada,MalayalamandArabic.[6]
Works of Ellis
[edit]Ellis and his friendsWilliam ErskineandJohn Leydenwere oriental scholars interested in learning about the various aspects of Indian life and publishing works on Indian languages. Ellis was a capable administrator and had a good relationship with Indians.[9]He even adopted their customs and way of dressing. Among Ellis contributions to oriental scholarship are his works on South Indian property ownership, Hindu law, a "fake"FrenchVedaand his commentary onThirukkural.[6]In 1814, Ellis wrote an account of theMirasiland proprietary system of South India with the help of hisSheristadar(chief of staff), the Indian scholar Shankarayya.[10][11]As his reputation for oriental scholarship grew, he was requested by Alexander Johnston to research the origins of a French work titledEzour Vedam,which was claimed as a translation of a Sanskrit work and aVeda.Ellis proved that the "Vedam" was not a translation but an original work of theJesuitpriestRoberto de Nobili,written in 1621 for converting Hindus to Christianity. His monograph on theEzour Vedamwas published posthumously in theAsiatic Journalin 1822.[12]He delivered a series of lectures on Hindu law at the Madras Literary Society, which were published after his death. Ellis had a high regard for Tamil poet-saintTiruvalluvarand hisThirukkural.[13][14]He translated 18 chapters of theAratthupaal(one division of Thirukkural dealing with law and virtue) into English in a non-metrical verse. 13 of those chapters were published by the College press during Ellis' lifetime.[6][15]Ellis was also the first scholar to decipher and explain the first century CE "Cochin Grants" given to theAnjuvannamJewish communityinCochin.[4]In addition to the "Dravidian Proof", Ellis wrote three dissertations - on Tamil,[4]Telugu, and Malayalam.[16]
It has been suggested that Ellis worked with others to promote vaccinations to prevent smallpox. In order to reduce resistance from Indians, he is thought to have helped craft a Sanskrit verse that was then claimed to have been discovered and described, showing that the European form of vaccination was in fact just a modification of something known in ancient India. The publication of the letter first inserted into theMadras Courier,[17]in 1819 under the pseudonym "Calvi Virumbom" was widely propagated.[18][19]
Legacy
[edit]When Ellis died in Ramnad, he left some of his papers — philological and political — to SirWalter Elliot,on whose death they passed toG. U. Pope,who had them placed in theBodleian Libraryat Oxford. According to Sir Walter, many of Ellis' unpublished works were lost when they were burned by the cook of theMaduraicollector Rous Petrie.[8]Ellis did not publish them earlier because he wanted to do so only after becoming a "ripened scholar at forty years".[20][21]As an administrator, Ellis was well liked by his Indian subjects.[9]His grave atDindigalbears two inscriptions - one in English and the other in Tamil.[22]The English inscription reads:
Uniting activity of mind with versatility of genius, he displayed the same ardour and happy sufficiency on whatever his varied talents were employed. Conversant with the Hindoo languages and Literature of the Peninsula, he was loved and esteemed by the Natives of India, with whom he associated intimately.[4]
DalitactivistIyothee Thasshas credited Ellis as being the forerunner of Tamil revivalism in the 19th century.[23]
See also
[edit]Notes
[edit]- ^abTrautmann 2006,p. 73
- ^The Dictionary of National Biography mentions Cholera as the cause of his death. But Trautmann writes he died of accidental self-poisoning.(Trautmann 2006,p. 76). An obituary published in theLondonLiterary Gazetteand Journal in 1820 says "a fatal accident terminated his life"
- ^Trautmann 2006,pp. 75–76
- ^abcdBurnell, Arthur Coke (2008).Elements of South-Indian Palabography.BiblioBazaar. p. 35.ISBN978-0-554-90622-5.
- ^Trautmann 2006,p. 74
- ^abcdBlackburn, Stuart (2006).Print, folklore, and nationalism in colonial South India.Orient Blackswan. pp. 92–95.ISBN978-81-7824-149-4.
- ^abTrautmann 2006,pp. 151–170
- ^abTrautmann 2006,pp. 80–81
- ^abThe London literary gazette and journal of belles lettres, arts, sciences, etc.The London Literary Gazette. 1820. pp.12.
francis whyte ellis.
- ^Trautmann 2006,p. 98
- ^Irschick, Eugune. F (1994).Dialogue and history: constructing South India, 1795–1895.University of California Press.p. 101.ISBN978-0-520-08405-6.
- ^Rocher, Ludo (1984).Ezourvedam: a French Veda of the eighteenth century.John Benjamins Publishing Company. pp. 18–20.ISBN978-0-915027-06-4.
- ^A stone inscription found on the walls of a well at the Periya palayathamman temple atRoyapettaiindicates Ellis' regard for Thiruvalluvar. It is one of the 27 wells dug on the orders of Ellis in 1818, when Madras suffered a severe drinking water shortage. In the long inscription Ellis praises Thiruvalluvar and uses a couplet from Thirukkural to explain his actions during the drought. When he was in charge of the Madras treasury and mint, he also issued a gold coin bearing Thiruvalluvar's image. The Tamil inscription on his grave makes note of his commentary of Thirukkural.Mahadevan, Iravatham."The Golden coin depicting Thiruvalluvar -2".Varalaaru.com(in Tamil).Retrieved25 June2010.
- ^The original inscription in Tamil written in theAsiriyapameter and first person perspective: (The Kural he quotes is in Italics)
சயங்கொண்ட தொண்டிய சாணுறு நாடெனும்
ஆழியில் இழைத்த வழகுறு மாமணி
குணகடன் முதலாக குட கடலளவு
நெடுநிலம் தாழ நிமிர்ந்திடு சென்னப்
பட்டணத்து எல்லீசன் என்பவன் யானே
பண்டாரகாரிய பாரம் சுமக்கையில்
புலவர்கள் பெருமான் மயிலையம் பதியான்
தெய்வப் புலமைத் திருவள்ளுவனார்
திருக்குறள் தன்னில் திருவுளம் பற்றிய்
இருபுனலும் வாய்த்த மலையும் வருபுனலும்
வல்லரணும் நாட்டிற் குறுப்பு
என்பதின் பொருளை என்னுள் ஆய்ந்து
ஸ்வஸ்திஸ்ரீ சாலிவாகன சகாப்த வரு
..றாச் செல்லா நின்ற
இங்கிலிசு வரு 1818ம் ஆண்டில்
பிரபவாதி வருக்கு மேற் செல்லா நின்ற
பஹுதான்ய வரு த்தில் வார திதி
நக்ஷத்திர யோக கரணம் பார்த்து
சுப திநத்தி லிதனோ டிருபத்தேழு
துரவு கண்டு புண்ணியாஹவாசநம்
பண்ணுவித்தேன் - ^Zvelebil, Kamil(1992).Companion studies to the history of Tamil literature.Brill. p. 3.ISBN978-90-04-09365-2.
- ^Trautmann 2006,p. 156
- ^"[To the editor of the Madras Courier]".Madras Courier.12 January 1819.
- ^Wujastyk, Dominik (1987). "A pious fraud: the Indian claims for pre-Jennerian smallpox vaccination.". In G J Meulenbeld; D Wujastyk (eds.).Studies on Indian medical history.Groningen: Egbert Forsten. pp. 131–167.
- ^Ring, John (1805)."Mr. Shoolbred, on Vaccine Inoculation in Bengal".The Medical and Physical Journal.13(74): 336–347.ISSN0267-0100.PMC5670459.PMID30490820.
- ^Trautmann 2006,p. 77
- ^The Asiatic journal and monthly register for British and foreign India, China, and Australia Vol 26.Parbury, Allen, and Co. 1828. p. 155.
- ^Mahadevan, Iravatham."The Golden coin depicting Thiruvalluvar -2".Varalaaru.com(in Tamil).Retrieved25 June2010.
- ^Venkatachalapathy, A. R."A Scholar called Ellis".Kalachuvadu Magazine(in Tamil). Archived fromthe originalon 8 March 2010.Retrieved25 June2010.
References
[edit]- Sreekumar, P. 2009.Francis Whyte Ellis and the Beginning of Comparative Dravidian Linguistics.Source: Historiographia Linguistica, Volume 36, Number 1, 2009, pp. 75–95(21)[1]Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing Company
