Johann Ernst Hanxleden

Johann Ernst Hanxleden (1681-1732), better identified as Arnos Pathiri, was a German Jesuit priest and missionary, best known for his contributions as a Malayalam and Sanskrit poet, grammarian, lexicographer, and philologist. He lived in India for most part of his life and became a scholar of Sanskrit and Malayalam languages before authoring Puthen Pana, a poem on the life of Jesus Christ, Malayalam–Portuguese Dictionary, the first dictionary in Malayalam as well as two linguistic treatises, Malayalavyaakaranam and Sidharoopam.

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

Early life

Johann Ernst Hanxleden was born at Ostercappeln, near Osnabrück, in Lower Saxony, Germany in 1681.[1][note 1] While studying philosophy at his home town of Osnabruck, he met Wilhelm Weber, a Jesuit priest to whom he volunteered for service in India as a part of the then Jesuit mission in Malabar.[3] On October 30, 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, the Ottoman Empire, Syria, Armenia, and Persia to reach Surat (of present-day Gujarat), India on December 13, 1700.[note 2] During the journey, he entered into a novitiate and proceeded to Goa where there was a large community of Jesuits.[4]

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

After completing his spiritual formation (Novitiate) in Goa, Hanxleden was sent to a Jesuit Seminary at Sampaloor in Thrissur District of the south Indian state of Kerala.[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, Malayalam and more importantly studied the Syriac, the liturgical language of the Thomas Christians of Kerala. He was ordained priest in 1706. In addition to his mother tongue German, and his mastery of Malayalam, he also had a good command over Latin, Syriac, Portuguese, Sanskrit, and Tamil.[1]

After moving to Palayoor, Hanxleden studied Sanskrit too and improved his Malayalam, 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 to John Ribeiro, the then Archbishop of Cranganore and visited many places in Kerala on tasks such as preaching and Catechesis. It is recorded that he also served as the vicar of the main church in Malabar. Later, he moved to Velur, Thrissur, a small village near Thrissur District in 1712 and built the Velur Forane Church.[6] From 1729 onward, he spent his time between Velur, Sampaloor, Palayoor and Pazhuvil and it was at Pazhuvil he suffered a snake bite which resulted in his death on March 20, 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 the chathurangam (which Hanxleden used to play) columns marked on the floor of his home. Mar Francis Vazhapilly, Metropolitan Archbishop of Thrissur from 1921 to 1942, used to stay at the Velur Forane Church for a few days during Lent so 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 - Jeevacharithram of N. K. Jos[11] and Arnos Padri, written by C. K. Mattam count among them.[12]

Legacy

Arnos Paathiri's oeuvre comprises poems, dictionaries and grammar books and two of his prominent literary works are Puthen Pana and Chathuranthyam.[13][14]

Puthen Pana

The Puthen 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 to Catholic) life in Kerala since the time of its composition; its paadhams are sung in a characteristic manner in Christian households on various solemn occasions, the most notable ones being Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and other days of Holy Week and Lent and evenings preceding funerals.[9][16] It is reported that he wrote Puthen Pana sitting by the well of Pazhuvil Forane church.

The poem which follows a similar style to the noted work, Jnanappana of Poonthanam Nambudiri,[9] consists of fourteen Paadhams; the couplets are written in the Sarppini Vruththam, except for those in the twelfth Paadham, which are in the Nathonnatha metre.[16] The twelfth Paadham on the lament of the Virgin Mary at the crucifixion and death of Jesus is the heart of the poem. Other important Paadhams are concerned with the Fall of Man (second), the Annunciation (fourth), the Nativity (fifth), the Sermon on the Mount (seventh), the Last Supper (tenth), the trial and Crucifixion (eleventh), the Resurrection (thirteenth), and the Ascension (fourteenth). The first paadham has 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

The Chathuranthyam is a mystic poem on the four ends of man: Maranam, Vidhi, Moksham and Narakam parts of the poem are sung on occasions similar to the Puththenpaana recitals. While his poems are written works, they also have a strong oral tradition; many pious Christians learn his poetical works by heart for recitals.[17]

Malayalam–Portuguese Dictionary

Arnos Pathiri was the first to compile a Malayalam Dictionary and his lexicon described Malayalam words in both Sanskrit and Portuguese.[18]

Others

Pathiri was the first European to write a Sanskrit grammar Grammatica grandonica and also the first European to compose Sanskrit verse.[8] He also wrote a short and succinct grammar for the Malayalam language. Along with his predecessor, Heinrich Roth, he was one of the pioneering European Sanskrit scholars, and he has written several essays on Ramayana and Mahabharata, in Latin.[8] Marana Parvam, Vidhi Parvam, Moksha Parvam, Naraka Parvam, Umma Parvam, Misiha Charitham, and Jehova Parvam are 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
  • Arnos Pathiri (1966). Puthan pana.
  • Chathuranthyam
  • Genevieva Punyacharithram
  • Ummaadaey Dhukhkham
  • Arnos Pathiri (1988). Malayalam Portuguese nighandu. Kerala Sahitya Academy.
  • Malayalavyaakaranam
  • Samskrutham – Portuguese Dictionary
  • Samskruthavyaakaranam
  • Ave Maris Stella
  • Arṇos Pāthir̲i; Rāghavan Piḷḷa, K. (1960). Koodāśappāna (in Malayalam). Thiruvananthapuraṃ: Ōr̲iental Mānuscr̲ipt̲s Library. OCLC 7276032.
  • Arnos Pathiri. Arnos Pathiriyude Padya Krithikal. 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

Notes
  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 at St. 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 was formerly called as Ambalakad to 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
  1. "Arnos Padre commemoration". The Hindu. Retrieved 19 March 2013.
  2. "Biography on Kerala Sahitya Akademi portal". Kerala Sahitya Akademi portal. 19 April 2019. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
  3. Vijayakrishnan, K. (23 October 2018). "Arnos Pathiri: The German Jesuit Who Compiled A Sanskrit Grammar Book". Madras Courier. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
  4. K.pradeep (7 August 2015). "The times and life of Arnos Paathiri". The Hindu. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
  5. "Sampaloor Church at Thrissur". Kerala Tourism. 19 April 2019. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
  6. "Rich tributes paid to Arnos Padre". The Hidnu. Retrieved 19 March 2013.
  7. "Remembering the man who wrote 'Puthen Pana'". india.ucanews.com. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
  8. April 14, PTI; 2013. "Sanskrit work: 300-year-old Sanskrit work by German released in Belgium". The Times of India. Retrieved 19 April 2019.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  9. "Set Puthen Pana to new tunes: Minister". The Hindu. Retrieved 19 March 2013.
  10. Mathew Ulakamthara (1982). Arnos Pathiri. Kerala History Association. OCLC 17608738.
  11. Jos, N. K. (1982). Arnos Pathiri - Jeevacharithram (in Malayalam). Kōṭṭayaṃ: Prakasam Publications. OCLC 13121660.
  12. Mattam. C. K (1957). Arnose Padri. C. K. Mattam: C. K. Mattam.
  13. "List of works". Kerala Sahitya Akademi. 19 April 2019. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
  14. Amaresh Datta (1987). Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature: A-Devo. Sahitya Akademi. pp. 229–. ISBN 978-81-260-1803-1.
  15. WEBDUNIA. "Velur church and Arnos Pathiri". malayalam.webdunia.com. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
  16. "Choreography on 'Puthenpana' staged". The Hindu. 22 January 2007. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
  17. Jose T L (1998). Arnospathiriyude chathuranthyam oru vimarshanatmaka padanam. Kalady: Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit.
  18. "CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Johann Ernest Hanxleden". www.newadvent.org. 19 April 2019. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
  19. "Arnos Pathiri and Malayalam Literature". Christianity. 19 April 2019. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
  20. "Arnos Padiri Academy - Offitial Website". www.arnosacademy.com. 19 April 2019. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
  21. "Academy to translate Arnos Pathiri's works to English". www.deccanchronicle.com. 14 January 2014. Retrieved 19 April 2019.

Further reading
  • Ferroli, D (1939). The Jesuits in Malabar. Bangalore: King & Co. OCLC 612088429.
  • P. J. Thomas: Malayalasaahithyavum Kristhyaanikalum, D. C. Books, Kottayam, 1989.
  • M. Mundadan, An Unknown Oriental Scholar: Ernest Hanxleden, Indian Church History Review 23 (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). Retrieved 19 April 2019.
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