Abbé J. A. Dubois or Jean-Antoine Dubois (January 1765 – 17 February 1848) was a French Catholic
missionary
A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...
in
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
, and member of the ''
Missions Etrangères de Paris
The Society of Foreign Missions of Paris (french: Société des Missions Etrangères de Paris, short M.E.P.) is a Roman Catholic missionary organization. It is not a religious institute, but an organization of secular priests and lay persons ...
''; he was called Dodda Swami by the local people. In his work on Hindu manners, customs and traditions he presented Indian cultures, traditions, thoughts and the ''varnasrama'' system. He returned to France, and authored a book of
Indology
Indology, also known as South Asian studies, is the academic study of the History of India, history and Culture of India, cultures, Languages of South Asia, languages, and Indian literature, literature of the Indian subcontinent, and as such is a ...
, ''Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies''.
Dubois is remembered in India for having adopted the way of life, clothing,
vegetarianism
Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter.
Vegetarianism may ...
and language typical of a Hindu monk or
renunciate
A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedicat ...
, and earning trust and respect. He failed, however, in his mission of converting Indians to Christianity; and often expressed the opinion that the project was doomed to failure.
Early life
Dubois was baptized on 10 January 1766 at
Saint-Remèze
Saint-Remèze (; oc, Sant Remèsi) is a commune in the Ardèche department in southern France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions ...
, in
Ardèche
Ardèche (; oc, Ardecha; frp, Ardecha) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern France. It is named after the river Ardèche and had a population of 328,278 as of 2019.[France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...]
. He was ordained in the
diocese of Viviers
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Viviers ( la, Dioecesis Vivariensis; french: Diocèse de Viviers ) is a diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in France. Erected in the 4th century, the diocese was restored in the Concordat of 1822 ...
in 1792, and sent for India that same year, as an
MEP missionary.
Career
In India
In India, Dubois was at first attached to the
Pondicherry
Pondicherry (), now known as Puducherry ( French: Pondichéry ʊdʊˈtʃɛɹi(listen), on-dicherry, is the capital and the most populous city of the Union Territory of Puducherry in India. The city is in the Puducherry district on the sout ...
mission, and worked in the southern districts of the present
Madras Presidency
The Madras Presidency, or the Presidency of Fort St. George, also known as Madras Province, was an administrative subdivision (presidency) of British India. At its greatest extent, the presidency included most of southern India, including the ...
. After the fall of
Srirangapatna
Srirangapatna is a town and headquarters of one of the seven Tehsil, Taluks of Mandya district, in the Indian States and territories of India, State of Karnataka. It gets its name from the Ranganathaswamy Temple, Srirangapatna, Ranganthaswamy ...
in 1799, he went to
Mysore
Mysore (), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. Mysore city is geographically located between 12° 18′ 26″ north latitude and 76° 38′ 59″ east longitude. It is located at an altitude of ...
to reorganize the Christian community.
He abjured European society, adopted the native style of clothing, and made himself in habit and costume as much like a
Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
as he could. He used to go around in the garb of
sanyasi
''Sannyasa'' (Sanskrit: संन्यास; IAST: ), sometimes spelled Sanyasa (सन्न्यास) or Sanyasi (for the person), is life of renunciation and the fourth stage within the Hindu system of four life stages known as '' As ...
and abstained from eating meat for many years.
He was credited with the founding of agricultural colonies and the introduction of vaccination as a preventive of
smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...
. He also caused a church to be built in
Srirangapatna
Srirangapatna is a town and headquarters of one of the seven Tehsil, Taluks of Mandya district, in the Indian States and territories of India, State of Karnataka. It gets its name from the Ranganathaswamy Temple, Srirangapatna, Ranganthaswamy ...
, known in his honour as the "Abbe Dubois Chapel."
He was known as ''Dodda
Swami
Swami ( ; sometimes abbreviated sw.) in Hinduism is an honorific title given to a male or female ascetic who has chosen the path of renunciation (''sanyāsa''), or has been initiated into a religious monastic order of Vaishnavas. It is used eith ...
-avaru'' in the
Mysore region.
Rev.
Elijah Hoole
Elijah Hoole (1798–1872) was an English orientalist and Wesleyan Methodist missionary.
Life
The son of Holland Hoole, a Manchester shoemaker, he was born there; he entered Manchester grammar school 6 April 1809, leaving in 1813 to help in h ...
of the
Wesleyan Mission records meeting Abbe Dubois on Saturday 4 August 1821 at
Seringapatam
Srirangapatna is a town and headquarters of one of the seven Taluks of Mandya district, in the Indian State of Karnataka. It gets its name from the Ranganthaswamy temple consecrated at around 984 CE. Later, under the British rule the city wa ...
. He describes the Abbe as being dressed in Muslim or Turkish clothes. The Abbe complains about many of his followers being forced to convert to Islam by
Tipu Sultan
Tipu Sultan (born Sultan Fateh Ali Sahab Tipu, 1 December 1751 – 4 May 1799), also known as the Tiger of Mysore, was the ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore based in South India. He was a pioneer of rocket artillery.Dalrymple, p. 243 He int ...
. Having gained proficiency in local languages and customs, the Abbe gained respect among the locals. In his conversation with Elijah, the Abbe expressed the view that India was incapable of accepting Christianity and advised Elijah to return to England at the earliest.
Later career
Dubois left India in January 1823, with a special pension conferred on him by the East India Company. On reaching Paris, he was appointed director of the
Missions Étrangères de Paris
The Society of Foreign Missions of Paris (french: Société des Missions Etrangères de Paris, short M.E.P.) is a Roman Catholic missionary order, missionary organization. It is not a religious institute, but an organization of secular clergy, s ...
, of which he afterwards became superior (1836-1839). He translated into
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
the famous book of Hindu fables called ''Panchatantra'', and also a work called ''The Exploits of the Guru Paramartha''.
Writings on Indology
''Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies''
His most notable work was ''Hindu manners, customs and ceremonies''. Although Dubois disclaimed the title of author, his collections were not so much drawn from the Hindu sacred books as from his own careful and vivid observations, and it is this, united to a remarkable prescience, that makes his work so valuable. The book contains three parts:
* a general view of society in India, and especially of the caste system
* the four states of Brahminical life
* religious practices — festivals, feasts, temples, objects of worship
Lord William Bentinck
Lieutenant General Lord William Henry Cavendish-Bentinck (14 September 177417 June 1839), known as Lord William Bentinck, was a British soldier and statesman who served as the Governor of Fort William (Bengal) from 1828 to 1834 and the First G ...
purchased Dubois's French manuscript for eight thousand
rupee
Rupee is the common name for the currencies of
India, Mauritius, Nepal, Pakistan, Seychelles, and Sri Lanka, and of former currencies of Afghanistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, the United Arab Emirates (as the Gulf rupee), British East Africa, B ...
s for the
British East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...
in 1807. In 1816 an English translation was published, and about 1864, a curtailed reprint of this edition was issued. The Abbé, however, largely recast his work as ''Mœurs, institutions et cérémonies des peuples de l'Inde'' (published in Paris in 1825), and in 1897 this revised text (now in the India Office) was published in an edition with notes by H. K. Beauchamp.
Sylvie Murr has claimed that Dubois' ''Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies'' derived from
Gaston-Laurent Cœurdoux
Gaston-Laurent Coeurdoux (; french: Cœurdoux ; 18 December 1691, Bourges, France – 15 June 1779, Pondicherry, French India) was a French Jesuit missionary in South India and a noteworthy Indologist.
Early training
Cœurdoux entered the novi ...
's original manuscript, ''Mœurs et coutumes des Indiens'', now lost.
[See ''Mœurs et coutumes des Indiens (1777). Un inédit du Père G.-L. Cœurdoux, SJ, dans la version de N.-J. Desvaulx''. Vol. 1. Ed. Sylvie Murr. Paris: École Française d'Extrême-Orient, 1987. ''L'Indologie du Père Cœurdoux''. Vol. 2. Éd. Sylvie Murr. Paris: École Française d'Extrême-Orient, 1987. See also ]Richard De Smet
Richard De Smet (16 April 1916 – 2 March 1997) was a Belgian Society of Jesus, Jesuit Catholic priest, priest, and Christian missionary, missionary in India. As Indology, Indologist he became a renowned Adi Shankara, Sankara specialist.
Li ...
, Review of the two volumes of Murr, ''Indian Theological Studies'' 27 (1990) 371-373.
Other writings
Of much interest was his ''Letters on the State of Christianity in India'', published in London in 1823, in which he asserted his opinion that under existing circumstances, there was no possibility of "overcoming the invincible barrier of
Brahmin
Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (guru ...
ical prejudice" so as to convert the Hindus to any sect of Christianity. He acknowledged that low
caste
Caste is a form of social stratification characterised by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultura ...
s and
outcastes might convert in large numbers, but of the higher castes, he wrote:
"Should the intercourse between individuals of both nations, by becoming more intimate and more friendly, produce a change in the religion and usages of the country, it will not be to turn Christians that they will forsake their own religion, but rather ... to become mere atheists
Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no d ...
."
Abbe Dubois Chapel, Srirangapatna
File:Abbe Dubois Chapel, Seringapatam.JPG, Abbe Dubois Chapel, Srirangapatna
Srirangapatna is a town and headquarters of one of the seven Tehsil, Taluks of Mandya district, in the Indian States and territories of India, State of Karnataka. It gets its name from the Ranganathaswamy Temple, Srirangapatna, Ranganthaswamy ...
File:Memorial Plaque - Abbe Dubois Chapel, Seringapatam.JPG, Memorial Plaque
File:Bell Tower - Abbe Dubois Chapel, Seringapatam.JPG, Bell Tower
File:Church Bell at the Abbe Dubois Chapel, Seringapatam.JPG, Church Bell
Citations
References
Primary
*''Description of the Character, Manners and Customs of the People of India, and of their Institutions, religious and civil''. London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme and Brown, 1816. Derived, as Sylvie Murr shows, from G.-L. Cœurdoux's original manuscript, ''Mœurs et coutumes des Indiens'', now lost. See De Smet, Review of the two volumes of Murr, ''Indian Theological Studies'' 27 (1990) 371–373.
*''Letters on the state of Christianity in India, in Which The Conversion On The Hindoos Is Considered As Impracticable. To which is added a vindication of the Hindus, male and female, in answer to a severe attack made upon both by the Reverend ****''. London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, Brown and Green, 1823. Reprinted by Asian Educational Services
*Hough, James. ''A Reply to the Letters of the Abbé Dubois on the State of Christianity in India''. London: L.B. Seeley & Son, 1824.
*Townley, H. ''An Answer to the Abbé Dubois in which the various wrong principles, misrepresentations and contradictions, contained in his work, entitled "Letters on the State of Christianity in India" are pointed out; and the Evangelization of India is, both on sound principle and on solid fact, demonstrated to be practicable''. London, 1824.
*
efutation of the letters of Abbe Dubois ''The Friend of India'' (Calcutta) (1825).
*''Mœurs, institutions, et cérémonies des peuples de l'Inde''. Enlarged edition of the 1816 work. Paris, 1825, 2 vols.
*''Exposé de quelques-uns des principaux articles de la théogonie des Brahmes''. Paris, 1825.
*
eply to criticisms.''Bulletin des Sciences'' (May 1825).
*''Le Pantcha-tantra ou les cinq ruses, fables du Brahme Vichnou-Sarma''. Paris, 1826.
*''The Exploits of the Guru Paramarta.''
*
eply to criticisms.''Asiatic Journal'' vol. 1 (1841).
*''Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies''. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1899.
*''Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies: The Classic First-Hand Account of India in the Early Nineteenth Century''. Ed. Henry K. Beauchamp. Courier Dover, 2002.
Secondary
*''Mœurs et coutumes des Indiens (1777). Un inédit du Père G.-L. Cœurdoux, SJ, dans la version de N.-J. Desvaulx''. Vol. 1. Éd. Sylvie Murr. Paris: École Française d'Extrême-Orient, 1987. Pp. 247.
*''L'Indologie du Père Cœurdoux''. Vol. 2. Ed. Sylvie Murr. Paris: Ecole Française d'Extrême-Orient, 1987. Pp. 250.
*De Smet, Richard. Review of Sylvie Murr, Vol. 1: ''Mœurs et coutumes des Indiens (1777): Un inédit du Père G.-L. Cœurdoux, S.J. dans la version de N.-J. Desvaulx''. Vol. II: L’Indologie du Père Cœurdoux (Paris: École Française d’Extrême-Orient, 1987). ''Indian Theological Studies'' 27 (1990) 371–373.
*.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dubois, Jean-Antoine
1765 births
1848 deaths
French Roman Catholic missionaries
Roman Catholic missionaries in India
People from Ardèche
French expatriates in India