Thambiran Vanakkam, the First Printed Book in Indian Language
The Portuguese first set foot in Indian soil in 1498 when Vasco da Gama reached the port of Calicut in Kerala. Over the years, they established a powerful presence along the Indian coasts, setting up trading posts and forts, with Goa as their capital.
As the Portuguese influence in India grew, Jesuit missionaries came to the country to spread Christianity. On May 6, 1542, the first Jesuits arrived in India, led by St. Francis Xavier.
The Parava fishermen, who settled on the Pearl Coast at Tuticorin in Tamil Nadu state, were exploited by the Arabs and local rulers. Seeking protection, a group of Parava leaders went to the Portuguese at Cochin in 1535. They were granted protection on the condition that they be immediately baptised as Catholics. By 1537, the entire Parava community, consisting of more than 20,000 members, had embraced Christianity. However, without proper Christian teachings, the newly converted Paravas were no different from their non-Christian neighbors.
After a brief stay in Goa, Xavier moved to Tuticorin in late October 1542 and remained with the Paravas along the Pearl Fishery Coast. With the help of a few men who understand both Portuguese and Malabar languages, they translated prayers into Malabar Tamil, the local language spoken by the fishermen.
Meanwhile, the printing press was set up at St. Paul's Jesuit College in Goa. Thus, India was the first Asian country to have a modern printing press. Juan de Bustamante, a Jesuit brother from Spain, was the first printer. The king of Portugal had also sent an Indian 'of good character, an able and experienced' printer to assist Bustamante.
The first printed work was in Portuguese, titled Conclusiones Philosophicas (Theses of Philosophy) of Antonio de Quadros in 1556, containing disputed points used by students at St. Paul's College for their priestly training. These were loose sheets to be distributed among the participants of the seminar.
The first book printed at Goa was St. Francis Xavier's short catechism for children, Doctrina Christam, in Portuguese in 1557. The earliest book printed at Goa that is still available today is Gaspar De Leao's Compendio Spiritual Da Vida Christa, published in 1561, which is now housed at the New York Public Library.
It included a word-for-word translation into Portuguese. The translation and transliteration were done by three Tamil Christians, then living in Lisbon, Vincente de Nazareth, Jorge Carvalho and Thoma da Cruz. They were most likely three Tamil Christians from the Pearl Fishery Coast, who were invited to Portugal to translate them. The work was supervised by the Franciscan monk Joam de Vila de Conde.
Although the language may be considered poor, it holds the distinction of being the first printed book in a non-European language, even though the script used was not Tamil. A copy of the Cartilha is kept in the Ethnological Museum at Belem, Lisbon. This signifies Tamil as the pioneer non-European language to be published in print.
Fr. Henriques was the first European scholar to undertake a scientific study of the Malabar language. He arrived Goa in 1546. At the beginning of 1547, Fr. Xavier sent him to look after the Christians of the Pearl Fishery Coast. Punnaikayal was his functional center.
Fr. Henriques mastered Malabar Tamil, so well that he wrote many books. "When the people of the country hear me speaking their language using the proper moods, tenses, and persons, they are astonished and they are still more amazed," wrote Fr. Henriques in a letter to St. Ignatius. Henriques even replaced 'Amen' with 'Om' while greeting people.
"Arte da Lingua Malabar" is a grammar of the language spoken by the Paravas. Henriques started composing it around 1549 to 1564 in Portuguese. The only copy of this book is in the National Library of Lisbon, Portugal.
Shortly after the arrival of Italian Jesuit Alexandro Valignano at Goa in 1574, he visited the Pearl Fishery Coast and brought Henriques with him to Goa. According to the decision made at the Provincial Congregation of the Jesuits at Goa in 1575, Henriques was relieved of his missionary activities and tasked with the preparation of various books for native Christians.
A Spanish Jesuit, Joao Gonsalves, who had come with Bustamante, was given the responsibility of creating Malabar types. In 1577, Fr. Gonsalves, with the assistance of Pero Luis, a Brahmin convert, cast these metal types. However, the types produced were deemed unsatisfactory, and Gonsalves passed away in 1578.
The first and only book printed there was Thambiran Vanakkam on October 20, 1578. It was the first book printed in an Indian language. Thambiran Vanakkam is a translation of St. Francis Xavier's short catechism Doctrina Christam. The full title of the book is 'Doctrina Christam en Lingua Malauar Tamul' which can be translated to Doctrina Christam in Malabar Tamil language. It was translated by Fr. Henriques and Manuel de Sao Pedro, most likely a Parava convert. The only known copy of this book is at the Harvard University Library.
It was printed on paper imported from China. The shorter 10 x 14 cm book had 16 pages of 24 lines each. Wherever Portuguese words appeared in the book, two dagger signs were used before and after the word. Gonsalves' Goa designed Malabar types are featured on the 16th page of Thambiran Vanakam, along with those designed in Kollam.
The press at Kollam was soon shifted to the Madre de Deos (Mother of God) Jesuit College at Fort Cochin. Henriques' second book Kiricittiani Vanakkam (Christiani Vanakkam), was printed at the Cochin press on 14 November 1579. This edition, consisting of 119 pages, is a translation of Fr. Marcus Jorge's Doctrina Christam, published in Portuguese in 1566. A copy of this work can be found at the Bodleian Library.
"Kompeciyonayaru" is the title of Fr. Henriques' third translation work, "Confessionario," a manual for Confession. It was printed in 1580 using Fr. Faria's Malabar types at Cochin. A copy of Confessionario can be found at the Bodleian Library. It consists of 214 pages measuring 9 x 13.5 cm. In 1581, Fr. Faria passed away.
"Flos Sanctorum" is another work by Fr. Henriques. It is a book on the lives of saints, in 669 pages. Two copies of this work now exists: one at the Vatican Library and another at the Copenhagen Royal Library. However, both copies lacks the original title page and preface. Most probably, it was printed at the new press established at the Jesuit college of Punnaikayal in 1586. It is possible that Fr. Bustamente, who historians believe was in India from 1563 under the name of Rodrigues, could have printed the document after Faria's death. Fr. Rajamanickam has republished this work in 1967 under the title "Adiyar Varalaru."
Fr. Henriques died on February 6, 1600 at Punnaikayal. He also compiled Tamil and Malayalam dictionaries, but those works are now lost.
As the Portuguese influence in India grew, Jesuit missionaries came to the country to spread Christianity. On May 6, 1542, the first Jesuits arrived in India, led by St. Francis Xavier.
The Parava fishermen, who settled on the Pearl Coast at Tuticorin in Tamil Nadu state, were exploited by the Arabs and local rulers. Seeking protection, a group of Parava leaders went to the Portuguese at Cochin in 1535. They were granted protection on the condition that they be immediately baptised as Catholics. By 1537, the entire Parava community, consisting of more than 20,000 members, had embraced Christianity. However, without proper Christian teachings, the newly converted Paravas were no different from their non-Christian neighbors.
After a brief stay in Goa, Xavier moved to Tuticorin in late October 1542 and remained with the Paravas along the Pearl Fishery Coast. With the help of a few men who understand both Portuguese and Malabar languages, they translated prayers into Malabar Tamil, the local language spoken by the fishermen.
Goa, Home to the First Printing Press in India
Printing was introduced in India by the Jesuit missionaries as a part of their evangelization. In September 1556, a ship carrying a printing press and some technicians from Portugal, intended to assist in missionary work in Abyssinia (Ethiopia), stopped in Goa on the way. While at Goa, the Patriarch designate of Abyssinia and the missionaries delayed their journey due to strained relations with the Emperor of Abyssinia.Meanwhile, the printing press was set up at St. Paul's Jesuit College in Goa. Thus, India was the first Asian country to have a modern printing press. Juan de Bustamante, a Jesuit brother from Spain, was the first printer. The king of Portugal had also sent an Indian 'of good character, an able and experienced' printer to assist Bustamante.
The first printed work was in Portuguese, titled Conclusiones Philosophicas (Theses of Philosophy) of Antonio de Quadros in 1556, containing disputed points used by students at St. Paul's College for their priestly training. These were loose sheets to be distributed among the participants of the seminar.
The first book printed at Goa was St. Francis Xavier's short catechism for children, Doctrina Christam, in Portuguese in 1557. The earliest book printed at Goa that is still available today is Gaspar De Leao's Compendio Spiritual Da Vida Christa, published in 1561, which is now housed at the New York Public Library.
First Printing in Romanized Tamil Script
Two years before the advent of printing in India, the first Tamil book was printed in Lisbon, the capital of Portugal, on February 11, 1554, in the Roman script. This is the Cartilha, a booklet of 38 pages. The full title of the book is 'Cartilha em lingoa Tamul e Portugues', which translates to 'Cartilha (Primer) in Tamil and Portuguese languages'.
It included a word-for-word translation into Portuguese. The translation and transliteration were done by three Tamil Christians, then living in Lisbon, Vincente de Nazareth, Jorge Carvalho and Thoma da Cruz. They were most likely three Tamil Christians from the Pearl Fishery Coast, who were invited to Portugal to translate them. The work was supervised by the Franciscan monk Joam de Vila de Conde.
Although the language may be considered poor, it holds the distinction of being the first printed book in a non-European language, even though the script used was not Tamil. A copy of the Cartilha is kept in the Ethnological Museum at Belem, Lisbon. This signifies Tamil as the pioneer non-European language to be published in print.
Works of Father Henriques
Encouraged by Xavier, the missionaries who followed him to the Pearl Fishery Coast tried to learn Malabar Tamil. Fr. Antonio Criminali, Xavier's immediate successor at the Fishery Coast, learnt to read and write this language. In 1549, after the death of Criminali, Fr. Henrique Henriques, also known as Anrique Anriquez was chosen as the Jesuit Superior of the Coast and held the position until 1574.Fr. Henriques was the first European scholar to undertake a scientific study of the Malabar language. He arrived Goa in 1546. At the beginning of 1547, Fr. Xavier sent him to look after the Christians of the Pearl Fishery Coast. Punnaikayal was his functional center.
Fr. Henriques mastered Malabar Tamil, so well that he wrote many books. "When the people of the country hear me speaking their language using the proper moods, tenses, and persons, they are astonished and they are still more amazed," wrote Fr. Henriques in a letter to St. Ignatius. Henriques even replaced 'Amen' with 'Om' while greeting people.
"Arte da Lingua Malabar" is a grammar of the language spoken by the Paravas. Henriques started composing it around 1549 to 1564 in Portuguese. The only copy of this book is in the National Library of Lisbon, Portugal.
Shortly after the arrival of Italian Jesuit Alexandro Valignano at Goa in 1574, he visited the Pearl Fishery Coast and brought Henriques with him to Goa. According to the decision made at the Provincial Congregation of the Jesuits at Goa in 1575, Henriques was relieved of his missionary activities and tasked with the preparation of various books for native Christians.
A Spanish Jesuit, Joao Gonsalves, who had come with Bustamante, was given the responsibility of creating Malabar types. In 1577, Fr. Gonsalves, with the assistance of Pero Luis, a Brahmin convert, cast these metal types. However, the types produced were deemed unsatisfactory, and Gonsalves passed away in 1578.
Kerala, Home to the Second Printing Press
The first printing press in Kerala was established at Salvador (Savior) Jesuit College at Thangassery in Quilon (modern Kollam), in 1578 by Fr. Joao de Faria. In that same year, Fr. Faria created a second and improved version of Malabar types.
The first and only book printed there was Thambiran Vanakkam on October 20, 1578. It was the first book printed in an Indian language. Thambiran Vanakkam is a translation of St. Francis Xavier's short catechism Doctrina Christam. The full title of the book is 'Doctrina Christam en Lingua Malauar Tamul' which can be translated to Doctrina Christam in Malabar Tamil language. It was translated by Fr. Henriques and Manuel de Sao Pedro, most likely a Parava convert. The only known copy of this book is at the Harvard University Library.
It was printed on paper imported from China. The shorter 10 x 14 cm book had 16 pages of 24 lines each. Wherever Portuguese words appeared in the book, two dagger signs were used before and after the word. Gonsalves' Goa designed Malabar types are featured on the 16th page of Thambiran Vanakam, along with those designed in Kollam.
The press at Kollam was soon shifted to the Madre de Deos (Mother of God) Jesuit College at Fort Cochin. Henriques' second book Kiricittiani Vanakkam (Christiani Vanakkam), was printed at the Cochin press on 14 November 1579. This edition, consisting of 119 pages, is a translation of Fr. Marcus Jorge's Doctrina Christam, published in Portuguese in 1566. A copy of this work can be found at the Bodleian Library.
"Kompeciyonayaru" is the title of Fr. Henriques' third translation work, "Confessionario," a manual for Confession. It was printed in 1580 using Fr. Faria's Malabar types at Cochin. A copy of Confessionario can be found at the Bodleian Library. It consists of 214 pages measuring 9 x 13.5 cm. In 1581, Fr. Faria passed away.
"Flos Sanctorum" is another work by Fr. Henriques. It is a book on the lives of saints, in 669 pages. Two copies of this work now exists: one at the Vatican Library and another at the Copenhagen Royal Library. However, both copies lacks the original title page and preface. Most probably, it was printed at the new press established at the Jesuit college of Punnaikayal in 1586. It is possible that Fr. Bustamente, who historians believe was in India from 1563 under the name of Rodrigues, could have printed the document after Faria's death. Fr. Rajamanickam has republished this work in 1967 under the title "Adiyar Varalaru."
Fr. Henriques died on February 6, 1600 at Punnaikayal. He also compiled Tamil and Malayalam dictionaries, but those works are now lost.
References
- The Background of the 16th Century Grammar by Father Henriques By Jeanne H. Hein
- The First Oriental Scholar By S. Rajamanickam
- The First Books printed in Tamil By Xavier S. Thani Nayagam
- History of Printing and Publishing in India: Story of Cultural Re-Awakening, Vol. 1 By Kesavan, B.S.
- Tamil saw its first book in 1578, The Hindu
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