Johann Ernst Hanxleden

Johann Ernst Hanxleden (1681–1732), also known as Arnos Pathiri, was a German Jesuit priest and missionary, best known for his contributions as a Malayalam and Sanskrit poet and philologist. He lived in India for most 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.

Arnos Pathiri lived in St. Francis Xavier Forane Church, Velur, Thrissur, in Kerala. He also established Pazhayangadi Church, under St. Francis Xavier Forane. He is also very prominent in Pazhuvil, Thrissur.

Early life Johann Ernst Hanxleden was born at Ostercappeln, near Osnabrück, in Lower Saxony, Germany in 1681. While studying philosophy at his home town of Osnabrück, he met Wilhelm Weber, a Jesuit priest who volunteered to serve as a part of the Jesuit mission in Malabar. On 30 October 1699 he set out on a long journey to India, along with Weber and another Jesuit priest, Wilhelm Meyr. They travelled through Italy, the Ottoman Empire, Syria, Armenia, and Persia to reach Surat (in present-day Gujarat), India on 13 December 1700.Refn|group=note|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.

Life in India

St. Francis Xavier Forane Church, Velur founded by Arnos Pathiri After completing his novitiate in Goa, Hanxleden was sent to a Jesuit seminary, St. Paul's, at Sampaloor in the Thrissur District of the south Indian state of Kerala.Refn|group=note|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 is called as Ambazhakad 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". He took time also to initiate himself to the local language, Malayalam, as well as Syriac, the liturgical language of Kerala's Thomas Christians. 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.

From 1729 onward, he spent his time between Velur, Sampaloor, Palayoor and finally Pazhuvil, where he suffered a snake bite which resulted in his death on 20 March 1732, at the age of 51. One theory suggests that Arnos Pathiri escaped from St. Francis Xavier Forane Church, when some locals 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 St. Antony's Church, Thrissur, where he eventually died and where his tomb is located. When a memorial was built outside the church, his remains were transferred to it. The memorial today houses a historical museum. 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. N. K. Jose, and C. K. Mattam.

Translation of Name

1. Ernst → Arnose German: Johann Ernst Hanxleden

In German, “Ernst” is pronounced something like “AIRNST” (with a slightly rolled R).

When rendered in Malayalam, with Dravidian phonology and the limitations of local script and tongue, it would often become:

Ernst → Arnos / Arnose / Arnas The final “t” sound often gets softened or omitted. "r" and "n" can blur due to Malayalam phonetics. "s" endings are more natural than abrupt consonants like “t” in Malayalam speech. Conclusion: The transformation from Ernst to Arnose is both phonetically plausible and culturally natural.

2. Father → Pathiri In Malayalam: പാതിരി (Pathiri) is the commonly used word for “Father” in the Catholic Christian context. Derived from the Portuguese “Padre” (as were many early ecclesiastical terms in Kerala). The pronunciation naturally evolved to Pathiri in Malayalam due to local phonetics.

3. Combined Name: Arnose Pathiri Arnose = local rendering of his given name (Ernst) Pathiri = his title, or how people addressed him as a priest Thus, “Arnose Pathiri” simply means “Fr. Ernst” in the affectionate, localized voice of 18th-century Kerala. It wasn't a formal name he chose—it was a name the people gave him, much like a form of inculturation or linguistic baptism.

Works Arnos Pathiri's oeuvre comprises poems, dictionaries and grammar books; His most prominent literary works are Puthen Pana and Chathuranthyam.

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. 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. It is reported that he wrote Puthen Pana sitting by the well of Pazhuvil Forane church.

The poem follows a similar style to the Jnanappana of Poonthanam Nambudiri.

Malayalam–Portuguese Dictionary Pathiri was the first to compile a Malayalam dictionary and his lexicon described Malayalam words in both Sanskrit and Portuguese.

Others Pathiri was the first European to write a Sanskrit grammar Grammatica grandonica and also the first European to compose Sanskrit verse.

The Arnos Padre Academy, based in Velur, was established in his memory. The academy has taken steps to get his writings translated into English with the help of European scholars.

Selected works

Chathuranthyam Genevieva Punyacharithram Ummaadaey Dhukhkham

Malayalavyaakaranam Samskrutham – Portuguese Dictionary Samskruthavyaakaranam Ave Maris Stella