Hermann Friedrich Mögling (1811–1881), also spelt Herrmann Friedrich Moegling, was a German missionary from the

Basel Mission The Basel Mission was a Christian missionary society based in Switzerland. It was active from 1815 to 2001, when it transferred the operative work to , the successor organization of ''Kooperation Evangelischer Kirchen und Missione'' (KEM), found ...

who spent most of his career in the western regions of the state of

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

, India. He is credited as the publisher of the first ever newspaper in the

Kannada language Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native ...

called as '' Mangalooru Samachara'' in 1843.Hermann Mögling's contribution to the Kannada literature is mentioned by He was awarded a doctorate for his literary work in

Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...

called as ''Bibliotheca Carnataca''. He also translated Kannada literature into German. Mögling is acknowledged by Kannada writers and linguists as the first modern Kannada writer, as he produced nearly 36 literary works, considered to be ground-breaking and exceptional Kannada literature, in a short period of 20 years. He was the founder-principal of BEM Theological Seminary, later renamed as

Karnataka Theological College Karnataka Theological College ''(founded in 1847)'' is an ecumenical seminary catering to the Kannada-speaking students wishing to pursue the priestly vocation. KTC is located in Mangalore of Karnataka in South India, and is affiliated to the na ...

. He and his wife Pauline( Nee Bacmeister) laid the foundations for the

Evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual expe ...

parish and Anandapur, a village made out of jungle in the interior of Karnataka.

Early life

Hermann Mögling was born in 1811 in the town of Brackenheim in the

Kingdom of Württemberg The Kingdom of Württemberg (german: Königreich Württemberg ) was a German state that existed from 1805 to 1918, located within the area that is now Baden-Württemberg. The kingdom was a continuation of the Duchy of Württemberg, which existe ...

, Germany.The birth place and lifetime of Hermann Mögling is mentioned by He studied theology at the

University of Tübingen The University of Tübingen, officially the Eberhard Karl University of Tübingen (german: Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen; la, Universitas Eberhardina Carolina), is a public research university located in the city of Tübingen, Baden-W� ...

and joined the

. He came to the city of

Mangalore Mangalore (), officially known as Mangaluru, is a major port city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats about west of Bangalore, the state capital, 20 km north of Karnataka–Ke ...

in Karnataka as a missionary of

in 1836. In 7 years, in 1843, Mögling had mastered Kannada, and went on to start the first Kannada newspaper - Mangalura Samachara.

Career

Mögling, being a Christian missionary, was involved in missionary related work in

but he also learnt the native

language and contributed significantly to Kannada literature. One of his pioneering works was the publication of the first

newspaper, ''Mangalooru Samachara'' (meaning ''Mangalore News'').

Newspaper publishing

In the days of Mögling's career at

, there was no simple way of communicating news and other items to the general public because of non-existence of a medium like radio and of a newspaper in the native language. He decided to publish a

newspaper with the intention of spreading news items to the public. He decided to name it as '' Mangaluura samaachaara'' and its first issue rolled out on 1 July 1843. Thereafter it was published fortnightly and contained 4 pages. The paper was printed using stone slabs.A history of Kannada newspapers is provided by Some of the news items covered were local Mangalore-related news, Indian population, news related to the

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 South ...

and its laws and regulations. Even songs of

Purandaradasa Purandara Dasa (IAST: Purandara dāsa) ( 1470 – 1565) was a Haridasa philosopher and a follower of Madhwacharya 's Dwaitha philosophy -saint from present-day Karnataka, India. He was a composer, singer and one of the chief founding-prop ...

and moral stories were also printed. There are conflicting reports on whether this newspaper was used by Mögling as a tool for proselytisation or not. The newspaper became popular and it was decided to shift its publication to the city of

Bellary Bellary, officially Ballari, in the eponymous Bellary district, is a city in the state of Karnataka, India. History Bellary was a part of Rayalaseema (Ceded Districts) which was part of Madras Presidency till 1 November 1956. The Ballari ...

where it was renamed as ''Karnataka Samachara''. ''Karnataka Samachara'' was first released on 1 May 1844 and in fact it was the 15th issue of '' Mangalooru Samachara''. ''Karnataka Samachara'' was the first Kannada newspaper to be printed using

movable type Movable type (US English; moveable type in British English) is the system and technology of printing and typography that uses movable components to reproduce the elements of a document (usually individual alphanumeric characters or punctuation m ...

. Unfortunately, only three issues of ''Karnataka Samachara'' were released. Mögling is credited to be one of the visionaries for a unified Karnataka. In his times, not much communication used to happen between the north and south regions of present-day

though the people in these two regions spoke the same language,

. In the last issue of ''Karnataka Samachara'', he talks of a ''Samagra Karnataka'' (''Unified Karnataka'') which is essentially a union of these different regions.

Proselytisation

Mögling's main job as a missionary of Basel Mission was the spread of Christianity. One of his converts by name Anandaraya Kaundinya and his family have exchanged letters with Mögling which he has published under the title ''Iraaru patragalu'' (Twelve letters). This was the first collection of letters ever published in

. Even during his stay in

Kodagu Kodagu (also known by its former name Coorg) is an administrative district in the Karnataka state of India. Before 1956, it was an administratively separate Coorg State, at which point it was merged into an enlarged Mysore State. It occupies ...

district during the years (1853–1858) he spent much of his time on proselytisation. He also published a German book titled ''Das Kurgland'' which mainly deals with his activities related to Christianity.

Literature

In 1848, Mögling started dealing with

literature by publishing a list of more than 3000

proverbs. He also composed about 20 poems (along with Weigle who was his cousin brother and a fellow Basel Missionary) in modern Kannada poetical form. This makes him a pioneer of modern Kannada poetry. But his most important contribution to the

literature is regarded as the ''Bibliotheca Carnataca'', a six-volume collection of traditional Kannada literary texts, including the songs of

Basava Basaveshwara, colloquially known as Basavanna, was a 12th-century CE Indian statesman, philosopher, poet, Lingayat social reformer in the Shiva-focussed bhakti movement, and a Hindu Shaivite social reformer during the reign of the Kalyani Cha ...

nna, an early

Lingayat Lingayatism or Veera Saivism is a Hindu denomination based on Shaivism. Initially known as ''Veerashaivas'', since the 12th-century adherents of this faith are known as ''Lingayats''. The terms ''Lingayatism'' and ''Veerashaivism'' have been ...

poet; ''Bibliotheca Carnataca'' as a collection of

classics was edited and published by him between the period 1848–1853. Mögling was helped in this venture by a philanthropist, ''J Casamajor'' who was a retired judge from

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

and settled in

Nilgiris The Nilgiri Mountains form part of the Western Ghats in northwestern Tamil Nadu, Southern Karnataka, and eastern Kerala in India. They are located at the trijunction of three states and connect the Western Ghats with the Eastern Ghats. At le ...

. With an exchange of letters, the two discussed on ways to collect

manuscripts, select the important ones among them for publishing and identifying skilled people who would be needed to complete this activity. Casamajor agreed to bear all the expenses required for this venture and was very particular that his name should not be mentioned in any of the publications. A total of eight titles were brought out, the first one being the ''Ravana digvijaya – Yakshagana Prasanga'' (the victory of

Ravana Ravana (; , , ) is a rakshasa king of the island of Lanka, and the chief antagonist of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana'' and its adaptations. In the ''Ramayana'', Ravana is described to be the eldest son of sage Vishrava and rakshasi Kaikesi. ...

, based on a scene from

Yakshagana Yakshagaana is a traditional theatre, developed in Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Uttara Kannada, Shimoga and western parts of Chikmagalur districts, in the state of Karnataka and in Kasaragod district in Kerala that combines dance, music, dialogue, ...

). The largest published title running 760 pages was the Basava Purana and the smallest one was

Kanakadasa Kanaka Dasa (1509–1609) was a Haridasa saint and philosopher, popularly called Daasashreshta Kanakadasa (ದಾಸಶ್ರೇಷ್ಠ ಕನಕದಾಸ). He was a renowned composer of Carnatic music, poet, reformer and musician. He is kn ...

's ''Haribhaktasara''. Other titles published as a part of ''Bibliotheca Carnataca'' were ''Dasara Padagalu'' (a collection of 170

Haridasa The Haridasa Bhakti Sahitya devotional movement (sampradaya) originated in Karnataka, India, after Madhvacharya, and spread to eastern states such as Bengal and Assam of medieval India. Over a span of nearly six centuries, several saints and ...

songs) and Lakshmisha's ''Jaimini Bharata''. This venture met an abrupt end due to the sudden demise of Casamajor and Mögling's return to Germany. During his stay in

, Mögling also published the German book ''Das Kurgland'' and also a

book titled ''Raajendranaame'' at the behest of the

king, Senior Virarajendra. The whole book ''Raajendraname'' was printed using a simpler orthographic form invented by Mögling himself. The

language uses double consonants frequently, which Mögling felt was difficult for children to learn easily and also to print (since a blank line between two print lines was necessitated to print the double consonant). Mögling devised a scheme of accommodating the double consonant in the same single line by breaking the double consonant into a half consonant wherever possible. After getting an approval for his scheme from the Madras Province's Education Department, Mögling published this entire book in his devised orthography. He also published a book called ''Coorg Memoirs'' which is supposedly one of the earliest history books on

. In this book, he has described the social life of Kodavas and their customs as well. On his return to Germany, he translated 24 songs of

and

to the German language which were published by Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft, an Oriental society in Germany. In 1870, he also translated the first two chapters (67 verses) of ''Bibliotheca Carnatacas ''Jaimini Bharata'' into German. Pilgrims Progress was published in Kannada by Moegling and Weigle in 1848Wholeness in Christ: the legacy of the Basel Mission in India G. Shiri, Karnataka Theological Research Institute – 1985 – p358

BEM Theological Seminary

Hermann Moegling was the founder-principal of the BEM Theological Seminary, established in 1847 by the Basel Evangelical Missionary Society. This seminary was established to train Pastors for the

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

churches in

and Malabar areas. In 1965, BEM Theological Seminary was merged with Union Kanarese Seminary at

Tumkur Tumkur, officially renamed as Tumakuru, is a city located in the southern part of Indian state of Karnataka. Tumkur is situated at a distance of northwest of Bangalore, the state capital along NH 48 and NH 73. It is the headquarters of the ...

and renamed as present

Mission in Coorg

In 1852, Rev. Mögling was getting ready to go back to Germany, when he was met by Alamanda Somayya from Coorg, who wanted to convert to Christianity and also invited him to Coorg, offering his land for construction of a church in Coorg. Rev. Mögling cancelled his plans to return to Germany, and instead moved to Coorg along with his junior Rev. Anand Rao Kaundinya in 1853. On 6 January 1853, Alamanda Somayya was baptised into Christianity, taking up the name of Stephanas Somayya. A modest church was built on Somayya's land. The then Chief Commissioner of Coorg, Lt Col Mark Cubbon, helped Rev. Mögling to set up Coorg's first Protestant church and a school in Mercara in 1855. Further in 1857, the British administration granted Rev. Mögling 97 acres land to establish a church and a coffee estate settlement. In spite of his busy schedule in Coorg, Rev. Mögling managed to write two books on Coorg. One in German, called Das Kurgland, detailing evangelical work in Coorg, and the other in English, called Coorg Memoirs, an in depth study of the history of Coorg. Rev. Mögling was very much fond of Coorg and used to call it his second home. He left Coorg in 1860, to be with his ailing wife in Germany.

Late years

When his cousin Gottfried Weigle died in 1855, Mögling (at a late age of 45) married Weigle's wife Pauline. This marriage also gave Mögling four stepchildren from Pauline's earlier marriage. One last contribution to

from him was his interest in coming up with a

– English dictionary. He motivated the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

in this project and also suggested the name of Ferdinand Kittel as the ideal person to head the project. Mögling died in 1881 and his memorial is in Esslingen.

Recognition

* At the recommendation of Rudolph Roth (a reputed

Indologist Indology, also known as South Asian studies, is the academic study of the history and cultures, languages, and literature of the Indian subcontinent, and as such is a subset of Asian studies. The term ''Indology'' (in German, ''Indologie'') is ...

), Mögling's alma mater; the University of Tübingen awarded Mögling an honorary doctorate in 1858 for his work, ''Bibliotheca Carnataca''. * The Mögling Institute of German Language which is in

and affiliated to

Mangalore University Mangalore University commonly known as, MU is a public university in Konaje, Mangaluru, Karnataka, India. In 2021, National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) awarded Mangalore University 'B' grade. History Mangalore University was e ...

is named after him.Silver jubilee celebrations of the Mögling Institute of German Language is mentioned by * 1 July (the day when the first issue of ''Mangalooru Samachara'' was released) is celebrated as ''Kannada Press Day'' in

.Kannada press day events are mentioned by * Mögling's 200th birthday was celebrated in 2011, by unveiling his bust at the

Notes

External links

Hindu – Dr. Hermann Moegling was ahead of his time

Article with pictures of Moegling's Kin Attending Bicentenary Birthday Celebration

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mogling, Hermann 1811 births 1881 deaths People from Brackenheim People from the Kingdom of Württemberg Kannada-language writers German Protestant missionaries History of Mangalore Christian clergy from Mangalore Translators of the Bible into Kannada 19th-century translators Protestant missionaries in India German expatriates in India Missionary linguists