Suchergebnisse

The focus of the present research is to reconstruct the original meaning of the culturally dense term Ved. dákṣiṇā / Pa. dakkhiṇā, which, in the late Vedic language, specifically means the gift due to the priest who officiates the rite in favour of a patron. The discussed data make it possible to postulate a com- pletely different meaning for this term in the early Vedic texts, where it is used to evoke an 'auspicious condition' prototypically proper to a successful leader, both as an effect of previous glorious deeds and as a possible cause of further prosperity. We propose that in the Vedic context this term should be translated as 'magnificence', in which we distinguish two facets, namely: a more abstract one, that is magnificence in potency, as a result of past merits and often associated to the gods' favour, and magnificence in action, i.e. the (sometimes material) outcome of such a condition. The latter may become the crucial ingredient of a simple devotional act of offering. Albeit with the expected differences, we find also in Pali sources a comparable emphasis on such an act of offering, in particular when addressed to a worthy recipient. Indeed, retrofitting the late meaning of dakṣiṇā/dakkhiṇā to the earlier cul- tural and linguistic stages leads to a miscomprehension of many relevant pas- sages and pivotal features of both Vedic and early Buddhist ancient religious and political ideology. This is why we dedicate the last part of the paper to investigating how this assumed notion of 'magnificence' matches with what we know about the most ancient Indo-Aryan societal forms and with what is assumed about the evolution of these forms. We hope in this way to be able to add a crucial element to the interpretation of the cultural dynamic at work between the Buddhist and Vedic cultures, a dynamic characterised by some unresolved tensions such as preservation versus innovation and identity con- struction versus syncretic strategies.

Introduction -- In and from the field: a journey into the life of a 'mission-ethnographer' and his co-producers Annekie Joubert Part 1 Historic contextualisation / Lize Kriel Part 2 Corpus of Hoffmann's ethnographic articles Gerrie Grobler, Annekie Joubert, Inge Kosch Rites of passage Article 1 Engagement and marriage among the Sotho people in the Woodbush Mountains of the Transvaal = Peeletso le lenyalo Basothong ba Lebowa ba Dithabeng tsa Woodbush go la Transfala (1913) -- Article 2 The initiation school of the Sotho people in the Woodbush Mountains of the Transvaal = Koma ya banna ya Basotho ba Lebowa ba Dithabeng tsa Woodbush go la Transfala (1915) Folklore: stories from the Transvaal Article 3 Folktales and stories of the natives in Northern Transvaal = Dinonwane le dikanegelo tsa Basotho ba Lebowa (1915) -- Article 4 Folktales and stories of the natives in Northern Transvaal = Dinonwane le dikanegelo tsa Basotho ba Lebowa (1916) -- Article 5 Folktales and stories of the natives in Northern Transvaal Dinonwane le dikanegelo tsa Basotho ba Lebowa (1916) -- Article 6 Folktales and stories of the natives in Northern Transvaal = Dinonwane le dikanegelo tsa Basotho ba Lebowa (1916) Mother and child Article 7 Sotho texts from the Woodbush Mountains in the Transvaal = Dingwalwa tsa Sesotho tse di tswago Dithabeng tsa Woodbush go la Transfala (1928) Witchcraft, gods, prophets, spirits and totems Article 8 Sotho texts from the Woodbush Mountains in the Transvaal = Dingwalwa tsa Sesotho tse di tswago Dithabeng tsa Woodbush go la Transfala (1928/29) -- Article 9 Sotho texts from the Woodbush Mountains in the Transvaal: totems and prohibitions = Dingwalwa tsa Sesotho tse di tswago Dithabeng tsa Woodbush go la Transfala: Meano le Dikganetso (1920/31) -- Article 10 Sotho texts from the Woodbush Mountains in the Transvaal: Spirits that are with some stones and other things and witchcraft = Dingwalwa tsa Sesotho tse di tswago Dithabeng tsa Woodbush go la Transfala: Moya wo o nago le maswika a mangwe le ge e le dilo tse dingwe le boloi (1931/32) -- Article 11 Sotho texts from the Woodbush Mountains in the Transvaal: The soul in death and after death = Dingwalwa tsa Sesotho tse di tswago Dithabeng tsa Woodbush go la Transfala: Moya wa motho mohlang wa lehu le ka morago ga lehu (1932) Land, laws and punishment Article 12 Sotho texts from the Woodbush Mountains in the Transvaal: Legal practices of the Northern Sotho people = Dingwalwa tsa Sesotho tse di tswago Dithabeng tsa Woodbush go la Transfala: Tiriso ya melao ya Basotho ba Lebowa (1933/34) -- Article 13 Sotho texts from the Woodbush Mountains in the Transvaal: Legal practices of the Northern Sotho people = Dingwalwa tsa Sesotho tse di tswago Dithabeng tsa Woodbush go la Transfala: Tiriso ya melao ya Basotho ba Lebowa (1933/34) -- Article 14 Sotho texts from the Woodbush Mountains in the Transvaal: Legal practices of the Northern Sotho people = Dingwalwa tsa Sesotho tse di tswago Dithabeng tsa Woodbush go la Transfala: Tiriso ya melao ya Basotho ba Lebowa (1933/34) -- Article 15 Sotho texts from the Woodbush Mountains in the Transvaal: Legal practices of the Northern Sotho people = Dingwalwa tsa Sesotho tse di tswago Dithabeng tsa Woodbush go la Transfala: Tiriso ya melao ya Basotho ba Lebowa (1933/34) People, politics and government Article 16 Sotho texts from the Woodbush Mountains in the Transvaal: Political organisation = Dingwalwa tsa Sesotho tse di tswago Dithabeng tsa Woodbush go la Transfala: Peakanyo ya borerapuso (1937/38) -- Article 17 Sotho texts from the Woodbush Mountains in the Transvaal: Political organisation = Dingwalwa tsa Sesotho tse di tswago Dithabeng tsa Woodbush go la Transfala: Peakanyo ya borerapuso (1937/38) -- Article 18 Sotho texts from the Woodbush Mountains in the Transvaal: Political organisation = Dingwalwa tsa Sesotho tse di tswago Dithabeng tsa Woodbush go la Transfala: Peakanyo ya borerapuso (1937/38) Home, habits and conduct Article 19 Customs and traditions of the Sotho people in Northern Transvaal = Mekgwa le botlwaelo bja Basotho ba Transfala-Lebowa (1956) -- Article 20 Customs and traditions of the Sotho people in Northern Transvaal = Mekgwa le botlwaelo bja Basotho ba Transfala-Lebowa (1956) -- Article 21 Customs and traditions of the Sotho people in Northern Transvaal = Mekgwa le botlwaelo bja Basotho ba Transfala-Lebowa (1957) -- Article 22 Customs and traditions of the Sotho people in Northern Transvaal = Mekgwa le botlwaelo bja Basotho ba Transfala-Lebowa (1957) -- Article 23 Customs and traditions of the Sotho people in Northern Transvaal = Mekgwa le botlwaelo bja Basotho ba Transfala-Lebowa (1958) -- Article 24 Customs and traditions of the Sotho people in Northern Transvaal = Mekgwa le botlwaelo bja Basotho ba Transfala-Lebowa (1958) Obituary : In remembrance of missionary C. Hoffmann (1963) E. Kahler-Meyer Part 3 Orthographic developments and grammatical observations Inge Kosch