Kseniia D. Nikolskaia

This article discusses the Ancient Indian system of concepts about purification of the property defiled by the qualities of its previous owner. It analyzes the contexts of Ancient Indian didactic literature. The main conclusion is that Brahman can act as a purifier for the defiled property.

The article examines the work of the Tranquebar missionaries and its significance for the study of South Indian languages.

The first part of a study of newly baptized Indians in the Astrakhan trading colony.

The second part of a study of newly baptized Indians in the Astrakhan trading colony.

In the XVIII century, the first Lutheran priests arrived from the Saxon city of Halle to the south of Hindustan, in the city of Tranquebar. As employees of the Danish Royal Mission, they worked among pagans, studied their languages, translated texts of Holy Scripture and other Christian literature into local languages, printed these translations in the printing house they established, and taught local children in schools. They regularly sent detailed reports on their work to Germany. In addition to information about the God-pleasing activities of Lutheran pastors, these reports contained detailed information about the region: natural and climatic conditions, political structure, daily lives of the local population, religion and cults, etc. The first years of the mission’s existence in Tranquebar, the main work was conducted under the leadership of Pastor Bartolomäus Ziegenbalg (1682–1719), who lived in India from 1706 until 1719. In this article, the missionaries’ reports, most of which were compiled by Ziegenbalg, and his letters from India are used as the main sources. The key problem to which the article is devoted is the understanding of the Indian institute of caste by European settlers of the beginning of the XVIII century. The missionaries made attempts to interpret the caste system, comparing it with the traits of the social organization of Europe familiar to them. They did not fully understand the nature of caste and caste ideology. However, they considered the existence of the caste system as the main obstacle to the spread of Christianity in India.

The history of the missionary movement in India was reflected in various types of sources: both in official documents and in letters from Church ministers. These texts contain unique information about the region and, at the same time, allow us to imagine the perception by Europeans of the image of the “other” - the pagans, the antipodes of the Christians. An example of such sources can be materials related to the name of Pastor Bartolomäus Ziegenbalg, who headed the Lutheran community in Southern India at the beginning of the XVIII century. The texts compiled by Ziegenbalg clearly show the division of the entire Tranquebar society into three large and specific groups: Christians (Christen), Muslims (Mahometaner / Mohammedaner / Muhammedaner) and pagans (Heiden). At first glance, the main criterion in this division turns out to be the religious factor, and the characteristic of the inhabitants of Hindustan is built according to the bipolar principle typical of early forms of thinking: “we” (Europeans, carriers of true knowledge and genuine culture) and “they” (ignorant pagans, barbarians). On closer inspection, the situation seems more complicated. Ziegenbalg’s critical attitude towards local European Christians creates a distinct effect of a certain detachment of the mission servants and their flock from Christening. The pastor introduces the concepts of “new Christians” and “old Christians”. The new ones are those who join the community from among the pagans. The old Christians, as expected, mean European Christians living in and around Tranquebar.

On modern Indian meeting websites (for example, MatrimonialsIndia. com ) the user page, in addition to other information, contains an indication of who created the profile. Among these persons, in addition to the user himself (or herself) and their close relatives (parents, brothers, sisters), some «friends» are mentioned. Not only in the early periods of history, but also in modern India, the institution of marriage remains extremely conservative. This circumstance raises the question: why do people who are not relatives of the potential bride and groom take part in creating a family? The analysis of sources from different eras shows us that contexts of this kind have been encountered before. So, for example, in the notes of Lutheran missionaries who worked in Southern India at the very beginning of the XVIII century, there are indications of the participation of some «friends» in the planning of marriage unions. There are also references to certain «friends» as the participants in the search for a bride for a young man in the monuments of ancient Indian didactic literature (Kāmasūtra). The analysis of texts and cases of the use of the term «friends» both in ancient Indian texts and in later sources shows that, most likely, it is not just about friendly ties. «Friends» most likely refer to members of the same caste group to which the potential bride and groom belong.

The documents of Lutheran missionaries who worked in Tamil Nadu from the beginning of the 18th century contain extensive information about life in the region. In accounts of Tamil society, alongside Brahmans there often appear unclear figures called pantaras or pandaras. Their status is interpreted differently in scholarly literature: they are described as priests for lower castes or as non-Aryan priests, and some authors write about their conflict with Brahmans. Analysis of the sources makes it possible to systematize the available information. The Pandaras were associated with cult practices. They were not identical to Brahmans and were not part of the Brahman group, yet they were not consistently opposed to Brahmans. In some situations Brahmans and Pandaras could even replace one another. The sources show that Pandaras were more closely linked to non-Aryan cults. Their status imposed fewer restrictions than that of Brahmans and allowed them to perform rituals prohibited to Brahmans. Pandaras could be pilgrims or mendicant ascetics; they could act independently or serve as temple employees; they could act alone or belong to different communities. Most likely, pandar is a collective term. Unlike Brahman status, the status of a Pandara was not inherited. The term pandar was probably not a caste name. Thus, analysis of Tamil Nadu’s social structure and of the source material allows us to view the Pandaras as cult specialists with the widest possible audience.