Johann Ernst Hanxleden

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Johann Ernst Hanxleden (b. at Ostercappeln, near Osnabrück, in Hanover, Germany, 1681; d. at Palayur, in Trichur, Kerala, 20 March 1732), known as Arnos Paathiri [Padre Ernst] in Kerala, was a Malayalam/Sanskrit poet, grammarian, lexicographer, and philologist. In addition to his mother tongue German, and his mastery of Malayalam and Sanskrit, he also had a good command over Latin, Syriac, Portuguese, and Tamil.

He volunteered for service as a Jesuit missionary in Kerala while a student of philosophy at his home town. Together with his superiors Wilhelm Weber and Wilhelm Meyr, and a barber Franz Kaspar Schillinger, he set forth on 30 October 1699, travelled through Italy, Turkey, Syria, Armenia, and Persia, and set foot in India at Surat on 13 December 1700; Weber and Meyr had died at sea; Schillinger would later write an account of the perilous voyage.

Hanxleden then went through Goa to the Jesuit seminary at Ampazhakkad in Kerala, completed his religious studies there, and was ordained. He moved to Palayur and, after surmounting several formidable barriers, learnt Sanskrit and Malayalam from two namboothiri brahmins, Kunjan and Sankaran from Kalady, who were students in the Trichur Sanskrit school. Later he served as secretary to John Ribeiro (the Archbishop of Cranganore from 1701 to 1716) for a few years; during this time he travelled widely throughout Kerala on various tasks such as preaching and catechesis.

Hanxleden moved to Velur, a small village near Trichur, in 1712 and built a church there. This was his abode for most of his remaining life.

The Puththenpaana, a Malayalam epic on the life of Christ, is his most celebrated poem. This is one of the earliest poems written in simple Malayalam. It has been an inalienable part of Christian (not restricted to Catholic) life in Kerala since the time of its composition; its paadhams [cantos] 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. The poem consists of fourteen paadhams; the couplets are written in the sarppini vruththam [metre], except for those in the twelfth paadham, which are in the nathonnatha metre.

The twelfth paadham concerns itself with the artistic theme of pietà; Michelangelo's pietà draws its inspiration from similar feelings.

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 he is writing the poem at the request of Antonio Pimental, Archbishop of Cranganore; since Pimental held the ecclesiastical office from 1721 to 1752, the poem was composed some time during the period 1721-1732.

The Chathuranthyam is a mystic poem on the four ends of man: maranam [death], vidhi [judgement], moksham [paradise], and narakam [perdition]; 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 retain his poetical works in their minds and are able to recite it by heart.

Hanxleden was the first to compile a Malayalam dictionary. His lexicon describes Malayalam words in both Sanskrit and Portuguese (the then predominant European language in India). He also wrote a short and succinct grammar (the earliest) for the Malayalam language.

Hanxleden and his predecessor, Heinrich Roth, were the pioneering European Sanskrit scholars: he was the first European to write a Sanskrit grammar, and also the first European to compose Sanskrit verse.

From 1729 onwards, he lived at Ampazhakkad, Pazhuvil, and Palayur. He died at Palayur of a snake-bite, and is buried there in the ancient church founded by St. Thomas.

Paulinus of St. Bartholomew [Johann Philipp Wesdin, known as Paulinus Paathiri (1748-1806)] of the Carmelite order, who had lived in Kerala from 1776 to 1789, brought some of Hanxleden's works, such as his Sanskrit grammar, to Europe, and also wrote about Hanxleden and his writings extensively in his memoirs.

His home, and the church he built (St. Francis Xavier forane church), are preserved as historical monuments in Velur (John Kalliath, a teacher, was instrumental in organising the people of Velur towards the objective of preserving them). Among various exhibits at the museum are the bed used by Hanxleden, and the chathurangam (the Indian ancestor of chess, which Hanxleden used to play) columns marked on the floor of his home.

Mar Francis Vazhapilly, Bishop of Trichur from 1921 to 1942, used to stay at the Velur 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.

[edit] Works

Puththenpaana [Mishihaadaey paana / New song-poem] (Malayalam poem; published by St. Joseph's press, Mannanam)
Chathuranthyam [Naaluparvvam / The four ends] (Malayalam poem)
Genevieva punyacharithram [The epic of St. Genevieve] (Malayalam poem)
Ummaadaey dhukhkham [Mater dolorosa / The sorrow of Mother] (Malayalam poem; thought to have later become the twelfth paadham of the Puththenpaana)
Malayalam-Portuguese nighandu [Dictionarium Malabarico-Lusitanum] (published in 1988 by Kerala sahithya academy)
Malayalavyaakaranam [Grammatica Malabarico Lusitana / Arte Malabar] (Malayalam grammar; published in 1993 by Ranjima publications, with original in Portuguese and English translation by Miss Pinto; Editor: P. V. Ulahannan Mappila)
Samskrutham-Portuguese nighandu [Dictionarium Samscredamico-Lusitanum] (completed by Bernhard Bischopinck and Archbishop Antonio Pimental)
Samskruthavyaakaranam [Sanskrit grammar]
Ave Maris Stella [Hymn; not extant]

[edit] References

Franz Kaspar Schillinger: Persianische und Ost-Indianische Reis, welche Franz Kaspar Schillinger mit P. Wilhelm Weber und P. Wilhelm Mayr durch das Türckische Gebiet im Jahr 1699 angefangen und 1702 vollendet, Nürnberg, 1707.
Paulinus of St. Bartholomew: Examen historico-criticum codicum indicorum bibliothecae sacrae congregationis de propaganda fide, Propaganda press, Rome, 1792.
Paulinus of St. Bartholomew: India orientalis Christiana, Propaganda press, Rome, 1794.
Paulinus of St. Bartholomew: De manuscriptis codicibus indicis R. P. Joan Ernesti Hanxleden epistola ad. R. P. Alexium Mariam A. S. Joseph Carmelitam excalceatum, Vienna, 1799.
D. Ferroli: The Jesuits in Malabar, Bangalore, 1939.
C. K. Mattam: Arnos Paathiri.
P. J. Thomas: Malayalasaahithyavum kristhyaanikalum [Malayalam literature and Christians], D. C. Books, Kottayam, 1989.
Mathew Ulakamthara: Arnos Pathiri, Kerala history association, Cochin, 1982.
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.