Anncharlott Eschmann (September 24, 1941,

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

– April 6, 1977,

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...

) was a scholar of religion. She was born in

, the first daughter of Professor Ernst Wilhelm Eschmann, a renowned Professor of Philosophy, and Mrs. Charlott Eschmann, a retired psychotherapist. She grew up in Roman Catholic

Ticino Ticino (), sometimes Tessin (), officially the Republic and Canton of Ticino or less formally the Canton of Ticino,, informally ''Canton Ticino'' ; lmo, Canton Tesin ; german: Kanton Tessin ; french: Canton du Tessin ; rm, Chantun dal Tessin . ...

(Switzerland), where her parents' house had become a constant meeting place of members of the Eranos Society. Eschmann studied Protestant theology,

comparative religion Comparative religion is the branch of the study of religions with the systematic comparison of the doctrines and practices, themes and impacts (including migration) of the world's religions. In general the comparative study of religion yie ...

and

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 ...

Marburg Marburg ( or ) is a university town in the German federal state (''Bundesland'') of Hesse, capital of the Marburg-Biedenkopf district (''Landkreis''). The town area spreads along the valley of the river Lahn and has a population of approximate ...

and

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

. In 1969, she submitted her PhD thesis on the topic of "The idea of history in Aztec religion". As a member of the Orissa Research Projekt, Eschmann went to

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 ...

in autumn 1970. There, she encountered, for the first time, Vishwanath Baba in Joranda. Eschmann's academic research focussed on "sectarian" movements such as the Samaritans, the oppressed Jewish offspring, and Mahima dharma and the modern reform movement in

Orissa Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of Sch ...

. She explored the phenomenon which Srinivas labelled as

Sanskritization Sanskritisation (or Sanskritization) is a term in sociology which refers to the process by which castes or tribes placed lower in the caste hierarchy seek 'upward' mobility by emulating the rituals and practices of the dominant castes or upper ...

, i.e. the continuing incorporation of "prehistoric" and popular beliefs into "high" traditions. Her work on

Jagannath Jagannath ( or, ଜଗନ୍ନାଥ, lit=Lord of the Universe, Jagannātha; formerly en, Juggernaut) is a deity worshipped in regional Hindu traditions in India and Bangladesh as part of a triad along with his brother Balabhadra, and sister ...

and

Narasimha Narasimha ( sa, नरसिंह, lit=man-lion, ), sometimes rendered Narasingha, is the fourth avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu. He is regarded to have incarnated in the form of a part-lion, part-man being to slay Hiranyakashipu, to end rel ...

exemplified the relation of tribal deities and the Jagannath cult of

Puri Puri () is a coastal city and a Nagar Palika, municipality in the state of Odisha in eastern India. It is the district headquarters of Puri district and is situated on the Bay of Bengal, south of the state capital of Bhubaneswar. It is als ...

. From 1975, Eschmann was the head of the

branch of Heidelberg's South Asia Institute. Anncharlott Eschmann died on April 6, 1977, in New Delhi.

Published works

* "Die Funktion der Geschichte im religiösen Weltbild Altmexikos". In Verhandlungen des 38. Internationalen Amerikanistenkongresses, 1968, Band II. Munich 1970: 353-359. * "Typen der Erlösung - Bericht von der religionsgeschichtlichen Studienkonferenz in Jerusalem vom 14. bis 19. Juli 1968". In Kairos, Zeitschrift für Religionswissenschaft und Theologie, Heft 4, 1968: 286-288. * "Die Samaritaner. 2700 Jahre Glaubensgeschichte zwischen Judentum, Christentum und Islam". In Gehört - Gelesen. Manuskriptauslese der interessantesten Sendungen des Bayrischen Rundfunks, Nr. 1, Januar 1970: 58-65. * "Spread, Organisation and Cult of Mahima Dharma". In An Inter-Disciplinary Seminar on Mahima Dharma and Darshan, edited by D. Panda, Koraput 1972: 7-11. * "Der Avataragedanke im Hinduismus des Neunzehnten und Zwanzigsten Jahrhunderts". In Numen: International Review for the History of Religions, vol. 19, 1972: 229-240. * "The Role of Hindu Tradition in Contemporary India: An Interdisciplinary Study of the Temple City of Puri and the Jagannatha Cult". In Bulletin of the South Asia Institute of Heidelberg University, 1973: 92-99. * "Religion, Reaction and Change: The Role of Sects in Hinduism". In Religion and Development in Asian Societies, Colombo 1974: 143-157. * "Religion and Religions in Modern Hinduism". In South Asian Digest of Regional Writing, Heidelberg 1975: 2-20. * "Spread, Organisation and Cult of Mahima Dharma". In Satya Mahima Dharma, edited by S.N. Senapati, Cuttack 1975: Dharma Grantha Store: 9-22. * "Das religiöse Geschichtsbild der Azteken", Berlin 1976: Gebrüder Mann. * "Hinduisation of Tribal Gods and Cults: The Shaiva and Shakta Typology". In The Cult of Jagannath and the Regional Tradition of Orissa, edited by A. Eschmann, H. Kulke and G.C. Tripathi, Delhi 1978: Manohar: 79-97. * "Hinduisation of Tribal Gods and Cults: The Vaishnava Typlogy". In The Cult of Jagannath and the Regional Tradition of Orissa, edited by A. Eschmann, H. Kulke and G.C. Tripathi, Delhi 1978: Manohar. * "Hinduisation of a Ritual: Prototypes of Jagannatha's Navakalevara Ceremony". In The Cult of Jagannath and the Regional Tradition of Orissa, edited by A. Eschmann, H. Kulke and G.C. Tripathi, Delhi 1978: Manohar * "Mahima Dharma - an Autochthonous Hindu Reform Movement". In The Cult of Jagannath and the Regional Tradition of Orissa, edited by A. Eschmann, H. Kulke and G.C. Tripathi, Delhi 1978: Manohar. * "Baum, Stein und Pfahl: Symbolik der Indischen Volksreligion". In Symbolon. Jahrbuch für Symbolforschung, Bd. 3, Köln, 1977. {{DEFAULTSORT:Eschmann, Anncharlott German scholars Religion academics 1941 births 1977 deaths German expatriates in Switzerland German expatriates in India