Father Sebastian Englert OFM Cap., (November 17, 1888 – January 8, 1969) was a Capuchin

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...

friar A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders founded in the twelfth or thirteenth century; the term distinguishes the mendicants' itinerant apostolic character, exercised broadly under the jurisdiction of a superior general, from the ol ...

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

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 ...

linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...

and

ethnologist Ethnology (from the grc-gre, ἔθνος, meaning 'nation') is an academic field that compares and analyzes the characteristics of different peoples and the relationships between them (compare cultural, social, or sociocultural anthropology) ...

from

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. He is known for his pioneering work on

Easter Island Easter Island ( rap, Rapa Nui; es, Isla de Pascua) is an island and special territory of Chile in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeasternmost point of the Polynesian Triangle in Oceania. The island is most famous for its nearl ...

, where the Father Sebastian Englert Anthropological Museum is named after him.

Early life in Bavaria

Born Anton Franz Englert in Dillingen,

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

, Father Sebastian spent his school days in

Eichstätt Eichstätt () is a town in the federal state of Bavaria, Germany, and capital of the district of Eichstätt. It is located on the Altmühl river and has a population of around 13,000. Eichstätt is also the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese ...

and Burghausen. In 1907, he entered the

novitiate The novitiate, also called the noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a Christian ''novice'' (or ''prospective'') monastic, apostolic, or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether ...

of the

Order of Friars Minor Capuchin The Order of Friars Minor Capuchin (; postnominal abbr. O.F.M. Cap.) is a religious order of Franciscan friars within the Catholic Church, one of Three " First Orders" that reformed from the Franciscan Friars Minor Observant (OFM Obs., now OFM ...

and received the religious name Sebastian. He undertook his canonical studies in philosophy and theology in the Capuchin studium of Dillingen, and was ordained to the priesthood in 1912. During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Father Sebastian served as a chaplain in the German Army in

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 ...

and

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

, and after the war he worked for five years as a parish priest in the Schwabing district of

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 ...

. In 1922, he went at his own request as a missionary to the

Mapuche The Mapuche ( (Mapuche & Spanish: )) are a group of indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina, including parts of Patagonia. The collective term refers to a wide-ranging ethnicity composed of various groups who sha ...

at Villarrica and

Pucón Pucón (Mapudungun: "entrance to the cordillera") is a Chilean city and commune administered by the municipality of Pucón https://www.mipucon.com/ sitio web. It is located in the Province of Cautín, Araucanía Region, 100 km to the south ...

Southern Chile Southern Chile is an informal geographic term for any place south of the capital city, Santiago, or south of Biobío River, the mouth of which is Concepción, about {{convert, 200, mi, km, sigfig=1, order=flip south of Santiago. Generally cities ...

Missionary and scientific activity in Chile

Father Sebastian served in the Apostolic Vicariate of the Araucanía in Villarrica and

, which at the time was administered almost entirely by Capuchins. There, in addition to his pastoral duties, he conducted ethnological and linguistic research into Mapuche culture and the Mapudungun language. From 1934 to 1938, he published studies in

Araucanian The Mapuche ( (Mapuche & Spanish: )) are a group of indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina, including parts of Patagonia. The collective term refers to a wide-ranging ethnicity composed of various groups who sh ...

literature, ethnology and folklore. During this period, his

linguistic Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...

studies included an investigation of the relationship of

Quechua Quechua may refer to: *Quechua people, several indigenous ethnic groups in South America, especially in Peru *Quechuan languages, a Native South American language family spoken primarily in the Andes, derived from a common ancestral language **So ...

and

Aymara Aymara may refer to: Languages and people * Aymaran languages, the second most widespread Andean language ** Aymara language, the main language within that family ** Central Aymara, the other surviving branch of the Aymara(n) family, which today ...

to the Mapuche language.

Rapa Nui

From 1935 for more than 30 years until his death, Father Sebastian worked as a missionary priest on

Rapa Nui Easter Island ( rap, Rapa Nui; es, Isla de Pascua) is an island and special territory of Chile in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeasternmost point of the Polynesian Triangle in Oceania. The island is most famous for its nearly ...

(

). At the time, he was perhaps the only non-Rapa Nui to have mastered their language. Although he celebrated

Mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different elementar ...

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

, he preached, heard confessions and catechized the faithful in the Rapa Nui language. He also translated popular

Catholic devotions Catholic devotions are particular customs, rituals, and practices of worship of God or honour of the saints which are in addition to the liturgy of the Catholic Church. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops describes devotions as "exp ...

into Rapa Nui and encouraged native religious song. In 1964, he produced a history of the early activity of the French Sacred Hearts missionaries who first evangelized the island. Given the isolation of Rapa Nui during the period before air travel, Father Sebastian researched the language, ethnology and anthropology of Easter Island. His knowledge of Rapa Nui culture and prehistory impressed the scientific staff of the Norwegian Archaeological Expedition of 1955.

William Mulloy William Thomas Mulloy Jr. (May 3, 1917 – March 25, 1978) was an American anthropologist. While his early research established him as a formidable scholar and skillful fieldwork supervisor in the province of North American Plains archaeology, h ...

, a member of that expedition, writes:''William Mulloy. 1969. "Sebastian Englert 1888-1969." American Anthropologist 71:1110. :"I retain a sharp memory of a day shortly after our arrival, when he was asked to summarize his views of the local prehistory in a lecture to the expedition archaeologists. He presented a beautifully organized exposition based largely on his interpretations of painstakingly collected local genealogies and traditions. I wrote down everything I could..." Father Sebastian published several books, the most important being ''La tierra de Hotu Matu'a'' (The Land of

Hotu Matu'a Hotu may refer to: * Hotu Matu'a, legendary first settler of Easter Island * The Yellow River Map The Yellow River Map, Scheme, or Diagram, also known by its Chinese name as the Hetu, is an ancient Chinese diagram that appears in myths conc ...

) a 1948 study of the history, archaeology, anthropology, and language of Easter Island. He described numerous "

- Rapa Nui

cognate In historical linguistics, cognates or lexical cognates are sets of words in different languages that have been inherited in direct descent from an etymology, etymological ancestor in a proto-language, common parent language. Because language c ...

s". Among these are the Mapuche/Rapa Nui words ''toki''/''toki'' (axe), ''kuri''/''uri'' (black) and ''piti''/''iti'' (little). His research is best known to English-speakers through radio broadcasts for Chilean naval personnel in

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest contine ...

, published in the United States as ''Island at the Center of the World: New Light on Easter Island''. Father Sebastian arrived intending to stay only a short time on the island, but in February 1936 he received a letter, via a visiting ship of the

Chilean Navy The Chilean Navy ( es, Armada de Chile) is the naval warfare service branch of the Chilean Armed Forces. It is under the Ministry of National Defense. Its headquarters are at Edificio Armada de Chile, Valparaiso. History Origins and the Wars ...

, from his superior, Bishop Edwards, asking him to stay for two months more, which he did. However, it was almost a year until the next ship arrived, in January 1937. In that time he had revitalized the island's church, and had himself become attached to the island. The ship carried another letter from Bishop Edwards, appointing Father Sebastian as priest of Easter Island by attaching it to the "Apostolic Vicariate of Araucania". He was "strict, authoritarian and patriarchal" with the islanders, supported the Chilean authorities in making it difficult for islanders to travel, and publicly censured churchgoers in his sermons, based on information they gave him when privately confessing their sins, adversely affecting their ability to work and to buy imported goods, both of which were controlled by the state-backed island company. In historian Steven Roger Fischer's view, this may have contributed to the failure of the islanders to "internalize Catholicism fully during those crucial development years." Because of his work for the island's people, especially its

lepers Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease (HD), is a long-term infection by the bacteria ''Mycobacterium leprae'' or ''Mycobacterium lepromatosis''. Infection can lead to damage of the nerves, respiratory tract, skin, and eyes. This nerve damag ...

Thor Heyerdahl Thor Heyerdahl KStJ (; 6 October 1914 – 18 April 2002) was a Norwegian adventurer and ethnographer with a background in zoology, botany and geography. Heyerdahl is notable for his ''Kon-Tiki'' expedition in 1947, in which he sailed 8,000&nb ...

, leader of the Norwegian Archaeological Expedition, called Father Sebastian the "uncrowned king of Easter Island."Thor Heyerdahl. 1960. ''Aku-Aku: The Secret of Easter Island. Cardinal Giant edn. New York: Pocket Books. In 1963, Fr. Sebastian was awarded the

Bundesverdienstkreuz The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, or , BVO) is the only federal decoration of Germany. It is awarded for special achievements in political, economic, cultural, intellect ...

(Federal Cross of Merit) First Class by the

Federal Republic of Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated between ...

. He died in

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

in 1969 during a lecture tour of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. His remains were returned to Rapa Nui and interred in the cemetery in the Tahai district, but were later transferred to the site of Holy Cross Church in

Hanga Roa Hanga Roa (; rap, Haŋa Roa, Rapa Nui pronunciation: �ha.ŋa ˈɾo.a (Spanish: ''Bahía Larga'') is the main town, harbour and seat of Easter Island, a municipality of Chile. It is located in the southern part of the island's west coast, in th ...

. In his will, he left all his books, his writings and his collection of native artifacts to the Government of Chile with the intention of forming a museum, but it wasn't until 1994 that the Father Sebastian Englert Anthropological Museum (MAPSE) was opened under the Chilean Directorate of Libraries, Archives and Museums (DiBAM). His papers, along with those of other researchers in Rapanui culture, are in the Biblioteca William Mulloy, which is administered by MAPSE.

Publications

* Englert, S. 2004. ''La tierra de Hotu Matu'a: historia y etnología de la Isla de Pascua: gramática y diccionario del antiguo idioma de Isla de Pascua.'' 9th ed. Santiago de Chile: Editorial Universitaria. * Englert, S. 1980. ''Leyendas de Isla de Pascua: textos bilingües.'' Santiago de Chile: Ediciones de la Universidad de Chile. * Englert, S. 1978. ''Idioma rapanui: gramática y diccionario del antiguo idioma de la Isla de Pascua.'' Santiago de Chile: Universidad de Chile. * Englert, S. 1977. ''Diccionario Rapanui-Español.'' New York: AMS Press. * Englert, S. 1970. ''Island at the Center of the World; New Light on Easter Island.'' Translated and edited by William Mulloy. New York: Scribner. * Englert, S. 1964. ''Primer siglo cristiano de la Isla de Pascua, 1864-1964.'' Villarrica, Chile: Escuela Lito-Tipográfica Salesiana “La Gratitud Nacional”. * Englert, S. 1938. ''Diccionario Rapanui-Español redactado en la Isla de Pascua, por p. Sebastián Englert, Mis. Cap.'' Santiago de Chile: Prensas de la Universidad de Chile. * Englert, S., and M. Buschkühl. 1988. ''Missionsgeschichte der Osterinsel: Pater Sebastian Englert O.F.M.Cap. (1888-1969) zum 100. Geburtstag.'' Ausstellung, Dezember 1988-März 1989. Eichstätt: Universitätsbibliothek.

References

External links