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Johann Ernst Hanxleden

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Johann Ernst Hanxleden
Arnos Pathiri
Born1681(1681)
Ostercappeln,Lower Saxony,Germany
Died1732 (aged 50–51)
Pazhuvil,
present dayThrissur district,Kerala,India
Resting placePazhuvil
Other namesArnos Pathiri
Occupation(s)Jesuitpriest,missionary,poet,grammarian,lexicographer,philologist
Notable work
  • Puthen Pana
  • Malayalam–Portuguese Dictionary
  • Malayalavyaakaranam
  • Sidharoopam

Johann Ernst Hanxleden(1681–1732), better identified asArnos Pathiri,was a GermanJesuitpriestandmissionary,best known for his contributions as aMalayalamandSanskritpoet,grammarian,lexicographer,andphilologist.He lived in India for most of his life and became a scholar ofSanskritandMalayalamlanguages before authoringPuthen Pana,a poem on the life ofJesus Christ,Malayalam–Portuguese Dictionary,the first dictionary in Malayalam as well as two linguistic treatises,MalayalavyaakaranamandSidharoopam.

Arnos Pathiri lived inSt. Francis Xavier Forane Church, Velurand is said to have writtenPuthen Pana,a poem which deals with the life of Jesus Christ. He also establishedPazhayangadi Church,which is a church underSt. Francis Xavier Forane Church, Velur.He is also very prominent inPazhuvil.

One theory suggests that Arnos Pathiri escaped fromSt. Francis Xavier Forane Church, Velurdue to some locals who were trying to kill him. A woman worker in a toddy shop overheard and reported this to Arnos, leading him to escape from the church and go to Pazhuvil, where he eventually died.

Early life

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Johann Ernst Hanxleden was born atOstercappeln,nearOsnabrück,inLower Saxony,Germany in 1681.[1][note 1]While studying philosophy at his home town of Osnabruck, he met Wilhelm Weber, aJesuit priestto whom he volunteered for service in India as a part of the then Jesuit mission inMalabar.[3]On 30 October 1699 he set out on a long journey to India, along with Wilhelm Weber and another Jesuit priest, Wilhelm Meyr, travelling through present day Italy, theOttoman Empire,Syria,Armenia,andPersiato reachSurat(of present-dayGujarat), India on 13 December 1700.[note 2]During the journey, he entered into anovitiateand proceeded toGoawhere there was a large community ofJesuits.[4]

In India

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Sampaloor Church
St. Francis Xavier Forane Church, Velur founded by Arnos Pathiri

After completing his spiritual formation (Novitiate) in Goa, Hanxleden was sent to aJesuitSeminary atSampaloorinThrissur Districtof the south Indian state ofKerala.[note 3]It is at St. Paul's Seminary in Sampaloor, he did his theological studies for preparing himself to receive priesthood.[5]He took time also to initiate himself to the local language,Malayalamand more importantly studied theSyriac,theliturgicallanguage of theThomas ChristiansofKerala.He was ordained priest in 1706. In addition to his mother tongue German, and his mastery ofMalayalam,he also had a good command overLatin,Syriac,Portuguese,Sanskrit,andTamil.[1]

After moving toPalayoor,Hanxleden studiedSanskrittoo and improved hisMalayalam,learning under the tutelage of Namboodiri scholars such as Kunjan and Krishnan from Angamaly and Thekkemadom from Thrissur.[4]From 1707 to 1711, he served as secretary toJohn Ribeiro,the thenArchbishopofCranganoreand visited many places inKeralaon tasks such as preaching andCatechesis.It is recorded that he also served as the vicar of the main church inMalabar.Later, he moved toVelur, Thrissur,a small village nearThrissurDistrict in 1712 and built theVelur Forane Church.[6]From 1729 onward, he spent his time between Velur, Sampaloor,PalayoorandPazhuviland it was atPazhuvilhe suffered a snake bite which resulted in his death on 20 March 1732, at the age of 51.[7]He was buried there but, later, when a memorial was built outside the church, his mortal remains were transferred to it; the memorial also houses a historical museum.[4]

The church and his home in Velur have since been declared as a protected monument by the Government of Kerala.[8]Among various exhibits at the museum are the bed used by Hanxleden and thechathurangam(which Hanxleden used to play) columns marked on the floor of his home.Mar Francis Vazhapilly,Metropolitan Archbishop of Thrissurfrom 1921 to 1942, used to stay at theVelur Forane Churchfor a few days duringLentso that he could sleep on the bed used by Arnos Paathiri and drink from the well dug during his times.[9]

His life has been documented in many books;Arnos Pathiri - a Biography,written by A. Adappur, a Catholic priest[4]Arnos Pathiri,written by Mathew Ulakamthara[10]Arnos Pathiri - Jeevacharithramof N. K. Jos[11]andArnos Padri,written by C. K. Mattam count among them.[12]

Legacy

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Arnos Paathiri's oeuvre comprises poems, dictionaries and grammar books and two of his prominent literary works arePuthen PanaandChathuranthyam.[13][14]

Puthen Pana

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ThePuthen Pana,a Malayalam epic on the life of Jesus Christ, is Arnos Pathiri's most popular poem and it is one of the earliest poems written in simple Malayalam.[15]It has been an inalienable part of Christian (not restricted toCatholic) life in Kerala since the time of its composition; itspaadhams are sung in a characteristic manner in Christian households on various solemn occasions, the most notable ones beingHoly Thursday,Good Friday,and other days ofHoly WeekandLentand evenings preceding funerals.[9][16]It is reported that he wrotePuthen Panasitting by the well ofPazhuvilForane church.

The poem which follows a similar style to the noted work,JnanappanaofPoonthanam Nambudiri,[9]consists of fourteenPaadhams;the couplets are written in theSarppiniVruththam,except for those in the twelfthPaadham,which are in theNathonnathametre.[16]The twelfthPaadhamon the lament of theVirgin Maryat thecrucifixionand death of Jesus is the heart of the poem. Other importantPaadhams are concerned with theFall of Man(second), theAnnunciation(fourth), theNativity(fifth), theSermon on the Mount(seventh), theLast Supper(tenth), the trial andCrucifixion(eleventh), theResurrection(thirteenth), and theAscension(fourteenth). The firstpaadhamhas the poet telling us that the poem is being written on request from Antonio Pimental, the Archbishop of Cranganore; Pimental held the ecclesiastical office from 1721 to 1752, the poem is estimated to have been composed some time during the period 1721–1732.[16]

Chathuranthyam

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TheChathuranthyamis a mystic poem on the four ends of man:Maranam,Vidhi,MokshamandNarakamparts of the poem are sung on occasions similar to thePuththenpaanarecitals. While his poems are written works, they also have a strongoral tradition;many pious Christians learn his poetical works by heart for recitals.[17]

Malayalam–Portuguese Dictionary

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Arnos Pathiri was the first to compile aMalayalamDictionaryand hislexicondescribedMalayalamwords in bothSanskritandPortuguese.[18]

Others

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Pathiri was the first European to write aSanskritgrammarGrammatica grandonicaand also the first European to compose Sanskritverse.[8]He also wrote a short and succinctgrammarfor theMalayalamlanguage. Along with his predecessor,Heinrich Roth,he was one of the pioneering EuropeanSanskritscholars, and he has written several essays onRamayanaandMahabharata,in Latin.[8]Marana Parvam,Vidhi Parvam,Moksha Parvam,Naraka Parvam,Umma Parvam,Misiha Charitham,andJehova Parvamare some of his other works.[19]

Arnos Padre Academy is an eponymous organization based in Velur, established in memory of Hanxleden[20]and the academy has taken steps to get his writings translated into English with the help of European scholars.[21]

Selected works

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  • Arnos Pathiri (1966).Puthan pana.
  • Chathuranthyam
  • Genevieva Punyacharithram
  • Ummaadaey Dhukhkham
  • Arnos Pathiri (1988).Malayalam Portuguese nighandu.Kerala Sahitya Academy.
  • Malayalavyaakaranam
  • Samskrutham – PortugueseDictionary
  • Samskruthavyaakaranam
  • Ave Maris Stella
  • Arṇos Pāthir̲i; Rāghavan Piḷḷa, K. (1960).Koodāśappāna(in Malayalam). Thiruvananthapuraṃ: Ōr̲iental Mānuscr̲ipt̲s Library.OCLC7276032.
  • Arnos Pathiri.Arnos Pathiriyude Padya Krithikal(PDF).Fr. S. Thermadam.
  • Arnos Pathiri (1931).Narakaparvam(PDF).Bharathavilasam Press and Book Depot.
  • Arnos Pathiri.Umaparvam(PDF).Bharathavilasam Press and Book Depot. p. 63.

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^Some reports mention the year of birth as 1680.[2]
  2. ^Franz Kaspar Schillinger, a doctor and fellow passenger later gave the account of this dangerous journey and reported that Weber and Meyr died during the transit.[3]
  3. ^The remains of the seminary where Hanxleden did his priestly studies in Sampaloor and the church are preserved as a historical monument atSt. Francis Xavier's Church, Sampaloor.The word Sampallor has got its origin from 'san-paul-ur', means land of St. Paul. It was the Jesuit priests who have given this name to this land which is called asAmbazhakadto commemorate St. Paul the Apostle of Jesus who travelled at length from middle East to the western Europe to preach the Gospel. It is also assumed that Jesuits had great reverence to Pope Paul III who approved the Plan of St. Ignatius of Lyola to form a congregation by name "Society of Jesus" in 1540 by the bull "Formula of the Institute".[4]

References

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  1. ^ab"Arnos Padre commemoration".The Hindu.17 March 2010. Archived fromthe originalon 11 April 2013.Retrieved19 March2013.
  2. ^"Biography on Kerala Sahitya Akademi portal".Kerala Sahitya Akademi portal.19 April 2019.Retrieved19 April2019.
  3. ^abVijayakrishnan, K. (23 October 2018)."Arnos Pathiri: The German Jesuit Who Compiled A Sanskrit Grammar Book".Madras Courier.Retrieved19 April2019.
  4. ^abcdePradeep, K. (7 August 2015)."The times and life of Arnos Paathiri".The Hindu.Retrieved19 April2019.
  5. ^"Sampaloor Church at Thrissur".Kerala Tourism.19 April 2019.Retrieved19 April2019.
  6. ^"Rich tributes paid to Arnos Padre".The Hindu.21 March 2010. Archived fromthe originalon 30 March 2010.Retrieved19 March2013.
  7. ^"Remembering the man who wrote 'Puthen Pana'".india.ucanews.Retrieved19 April2019.
  8. ^abc"Sanskrit work: 300-year-old Sanskrit work by German released in Belgium".The Times of India.14 April 2013.Retrieved19 April2019.
  9. ^abc"Set Puthen Pana to new tunes: Minister".The Hindu.Retrieved19 March2013.
  10. ^Ulakamthara, Mathew(1982).Arnos Pathiri.Kerala History Association.OCLC17608738.
  11. ^Jos, N. K. (1982).Arnos Pathiri - Jeevacharithram(in Malayalam). Kōṭṭayaṃ: Prakasam Publications.OCLC13121660.
  12. ^Arnose Padri.C. K. Mattam: C. K. Mattam. 1957.
  13. ^"List of works".Kerala Sahitya Akademi.19 April 2019.Retrieved19 April2019.
  14. ^Amaresh Datta (1987).Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature: A-Devo.Sahitya Akademi. pp. 229–.ISBN978-81-260-1803-1.
  15. ^"Velur church and Arnos Pathiri".malayalam.webdunia.Retrieved19 April2019.
  16. ^abc"Choreography on 'Puthenpana' staged".The Hindu.22 January 2007.Retrieved19 April2019.
  17. ^Jose T L (1998).Arnospathiriyude chathuranthyam oru vimarshanatmaka padanam.Kalady: Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit.
  18. ^"CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Johann Ernest Hanxleden".newadvent.org.19 April 2019.Retrieved19 April2019.
  19. ^"Arnos Pathiri and Malayalam Literature".Christianity.19 April 2019.Retrieved19 April2019.
  20. ^"Arnos Padiri Academy - Offitial Website".arnosacademy.19 April 2019.Retrieved19 April2019.
  21. ^"Academy to translate Arnos Pathiri's works to English".Deccan Chronicle.14 January 2014.Retrieved19 April2019.

Further reading

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  • Ferroli, D (1939).The Jesuits in Malabar.Bangalore: King & Co.OCLC612088429.
  • P. J. Thomas:Malayalasaahithyavum Kristhyaanikalum,D. C. Books, Kottayam, 1989.
  • M. Mundadan,An Unknown Oriental Scholar: Ernest Hanxleden,Indian Church History Review23 (1989) 39–63.
  • J. J. Pallath, Ed.:Arnos Padiri: the first Malayalam poet scholar orientalist,Arnos Padiri publications, Calicut, 1994.
  • Joseph J. Palackal,Puthen Pana: A musical study,Master's thesis, Hunter college of the City university of New York, 1995, Christian Musicological Society of India.
  • Jose, T. L. (1998)."A Critical Study of Arnos Pathiri's Chathuranthyam".Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit(in Malayalam).Retrieved19 April2019.
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