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Pinto, Marta Pacheco

doi:10.1075/btl.107.06pac

Cited by 6 publications

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“…The missionary publications in the late nineteenth century became wide-ranging. They included not only religious materials, but also non-religious subjects such as Physics, Astronomy, Botany, Medicine, Agriculture, Economics and Literature (Pinto, 2016: 295).…”

Section: Brahmin Mediation and Representation Of The Bhūta Cultmentioning

confidence: 99%

Languages, Castes and Hierarchy: Basel Mission in Nineteenth-Century Coastal Karnataka

Koudur

2020

South Asia Research

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In the former South Kanara or south coastal Karnataka region, the presence of overlapping languages, mainly Tulu and Kannada, posed prolonged dilemmas in the nineteenth century for the Basel Mission. The choice of language was important for their evangelical work, supported by important language-related activities such as dictionary making, grammar writing and translations. Since language use was intertwined with caste hierarchy, this raised issues over the position of lower castes, mainly Billavas, for the native elites and upper castes. This article argues that the prioritisation of Kannada, and relegation of Tulu to a secondary position, was an outcome not only of missionary perceptions of the larger Kannada context, but also more importantly can be traced back to elite representations regarding the subaltern Tulu culture and lifeworld. As missionary intervention in education and native language use challenged the status quo of social hierarchy among local communities, this sparked efforts by the native elites to reclaim and restore the earlier hierarchy. In the process, the native elite representations of Tulu language and culture became at the same time an effort at dismissal and appropriation.

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Section: Brahmin Mediation and Representation Of The Bhūta Cultmentioning

confidence: 99%