Haljand Udam (May 8, 1936 – December 17, 2005) was an Estonian orientalist and translator.
Early life and career
Udam was born in Rakvere in 1936 and graduated from
Tartu University
The University of Tartu (UT; et, Tartu Ülikool; la, Universitas Tartuensis) is a university in the city of Tartu in Estonia. It is the national university of Estonia. It is the only classical university in the country, and also its biggest ...
as a geologist, but soon became interested in Eastern culture, including Ancient Iranian literature. He studied oriental languages in
Tashkent
Tashkent (, uz, Toshkent, Тошкент/, ) (from russian: Ташкент), or Toshkent (; ), also historically known as Chach is the capital and largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of 2 ...
university and
Moscow State University
M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU; russian: Московский государственный университет имени М. В. Ломоносова) is a public research university in Moscow, Russia and the most prestigious ...
Initially specializing in
Indology
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 ...
, he became interested in
tradition
A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays or ...
alist philosophers like Guénon. In Moscow, Udam defended his
candidate
A candidate, or nominee, is the prospective recipient of an award or honor, or a person seeking or being considered for some kind of position; for example:
* to be elected to an office — in this case a candidate selection procedure occurs.
* ...
's thesis in 1971 (“On the Special Semantic Aspects of the
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
Sufi Terminology”). Udam has translated several works from
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...
(
Ibn Tufail
Ibn Ṭufail (full Arabic name: ; Latinized form: ''Abubacer Aben Tofail''; Anglicized form: ''Abubekar'' or ''Abu Jaafar Ebn Tophail''; c. 1105 – 1185) was an Arab Andalusian Muslim polymath: a writer, Islamic philosopher, Islamic the ...
),
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
(
Rudaki
Rudaki (also spelled Rodaki; fa, رودکی; 858 – 940/41) was a Persian poet, singer and musician, who served as a court poet under the Samanids. He is regarded as the first major poet to write in New Persian. Said to have composed more tha ...
Urdu
Urdu (;"Urdu" '' Tajik, and other languages into Estonian, including
Omar Khayyam
Ghiyāth al-Dīn Abū al-Fatḥ ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm Nīsābūrī (18 May 1048 – 4 December 1131), commonly known as Omar Khayyam ( fa, عمر خیّام), was a polymath, known for his contributions to mathematics, astronomy, philosophy, an ...
's Rubaiyat. He also worked as an editor and contributed to
Estonian Encyclopedia
"Estonian Encyclopaedia" ( et, Eesti entsüklopeedia) is Estonian encyclopaedia which was published in 1985-2007. From 1985 to 1990 its title was "Eesti nõukogude entsüklopeedia" (abbreviated ENE; in English: 'Estonian Soviet Encyclopaedia') a ...
(''Eesti Entsüklopeedia'').
Some of his articles on orientalism have also been published in foreign language magazines. Just before his death, Udam managed to finish the translation of
Quran
The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , s ...
into the Estonian language. It was published on the 19 December 2007. Udam was also known as one of the few Estonian intellectuals who aligned with the
Conservative Revolution
The Conservative Revolution (german: Konservative Revolution), also known as the German neoconservative movement or new nationalism, was a German national-conservative movement prominent during the Weimar Republic, in the years 1918–1933 (betw ...
.
Udam was the leading scholar of Islam in Estonia. He died in
Viterbo
Viterbo (; Viterbese: ; lat-med, Viterbium) is a city and ''comune'' in the Lazio region of central Italy, the capital of the province of Viterbo.
It conquered and absorbed the neighboring town of Ferento (see Ferentium) in its early history ...
,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
in 2005.
Footnotes
References
*''Haljand Udam in memoriam'' http://www.ekspress.ee/viewdoc/A99CF9B6F0552EC5C22570DD003C25C0
*''Haljand Udam - inimene kõrvalteelt'', Arter, April 22, 2000 https://web.archive.org/web/20080109084947/http://arhiiv2.postimees.ee:8080/leht/00/04/22e/lugu12.htm
Bibliography
*''Orienditeekond'', Tallinn 2001, (see a review http://20th-century-history-books.com/B0008DAQUI.html)