Weiter zum Inhalt

Sag mir, wo die Blumen sind. Zur Identifikation von Pflanzennamen in nepalischen Ritualtexten


Seiten 397 - 424

DOI https://doi.org/10.13173/zeitdeutmorggese.166.2.0397




Identifying plants mentioned in Sanskrit texts botanically poses a number of problems. One of these results from the fact that, on the one hand, Sanskrit names circulate all over South Asia and over long periods, and on the other hand, the flora actually found at specific times and places differs. The present contribution reflects on the local and temporal variability of plant identification in a particular regional and thematic context. Drawing on a corpus of Nepalese texts stating rules for the use of flowers in worshipping Hindu deities, it is investigated how Sanskrit plant names are translated into the vernaculars, mainly Newari, and how they are identified with plants in ritual practice. The general analysis of the types of translations and of the blurred boundary between mistaken and creative exegesis is followed by four examples presented in more detail; i.e. Skt. śatapatra/śatapatrikā, tamālapatra, ketakī, and śamī. Two opposing tendencies can be observed, which, however, do not come into conflict, because they operate each on a different level. The tradition is conservative, as the authority of the Sanskrit texts is not questioned or altered. At the same time it is innovative, as species of local importance or those recently imported are included at the stage of translation into the vernaculars or on that of ritual implementation. The changing ritual flora can thus be legitimized by referring to an unchangeable textual authority. It is therefore argued that the much-bemoaned circumstance that in certain types of text plant names are only stated without any further hint to the corresponding species enhances the normative potential of the texts.

Heidelberg

1 Arya Vaidya Sala (Hrsg.) 2002: Indian Medicinal Plants. A Compendium of 500 Species. 5 Bde. Chennai.

2 Biardeau, M. 1981: „L'arbre śamī et le buffle sacrificiel.‟ In: M. Biardeau (Hrsg.): Autour de la déesse hindoue. Paris, S. 215–243.

3 Biardeau, M. 1989: Histoires de poteaux. Variations védiques autour de la Déesse hindoue. Paris.

4 Čejka, J. 1999: „Plants in Kāvya Poetry. Problems with Plant-Names.‟ In: J. Vacek (Hrsg.): Pandanus '98. Flowers, Nature, Semiotics. Kāvya and Sangam. Prag, S. 167–178.

5 Devakoṭā, K. 1968: Nepālīnighaṇṭuḥ. Aneka bhāṣā-saṃgrahasahitaḥ. Kathmandu [V. S. 2025].

6 Dymock, W./C. J. H. Warden/D. Hooper 1995: Pharmacographia Indica. A History of the Principle Drugs of Vegetable Origin. 3 Bde. Delhi (1890).

7 Emeneau, M. B. 1949: „The Strangling Figs in Sanskrit Literature.‟ University of California Publications in Classical Philology 13.10.

8 Galil, J. 1984: „Ficus religiosa L. The Tree-Splitter.‟ In: Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 88, S. 185–203.

9 Genaust, H. 31996: Etymologisches Wörterbuch der botanischen Pflanzennamen. Hamburg.

10 Goody, J. 1994: The Culture of Flowers. Cambridge.

11 Hanneder, J. 2002: „The Blue Lotus. Oriental Research between Philology, Botany and Poetics?‟ In: ZDMG 152, S. 295–308.

12 Hanneder, J. 2007: „Some Common Errors Concerning Water-lilies and Lotuses.‟ In: IIJ 50: S. 161–164.

13 Hříbek, M. 2008: „Matching Uneven Pairs. Lotuses, Water-Lilies and their Sanskrit Counterparts.‟ In: Pandanus 2.2, S. 147–53.

14 Jansen, R. 1995: Die Bhavani von Tuljapur. Religionsgeschichtliche Studie des Kultes einer Göttin der indischen Volksreligion. Stuttgart.

15 Jørgensen, H. 1936: A Dictionary of the Classical Newari. Kopenhagen.

16 Jørgensen, H. 1941: A Grammar of the Classical Newari. Kopenhagen.

17 Kaplan, L. 1960: „Historical and Ethnobotanical Aspects of Domestication in Tagetes.‟ In: Economic Botany 14, S. 200–202.

18 Kölver, U./I. Shresthacarya 1994: A Dictionary of Contemporary Newari. Newari–English. Bonn.

19 Mahākālasaṃhitā. = Kiśoranātha Jhā (Hrsg.): Mahākālasaṃhitā. Guhyakālīkhaṇḍaḥ. Bde. 1–2. Allahabad 1976–1977.

20 Majupuria, T. C./D. P. Joshi 1997: Religious & Useful Plants of Nepal & India. Medicinal Plants and Flowers as Mentioned in Religious Myths and Legends of Hinduism and Buddhism. Gwalior.

21 Malla, K. P. et al. (Hrsg.) 2000: A Dictionary of Classical Newari. Compiled from Manuscript Sources. Kathmandu.

22 Manandhar, N. P. 2002: Plants and people of Nepal. Portland.

23 Meulenbeld, G. J. 1974: The Mādhavavidhāna and its Chief Commentary. Chapters 1–10. Introduction, translation and notes. Leiden.

24 Meulenbeld, G. J. 1988: „[Additions to] Sanskrit Names of Plants and their Botanical Equivalents.‟ In: R. P. Das: Das Wissen von der Lebensspanne der Bäume. Surapālas Vṛkṣāyurveda. Stuttgart, S. 425–465.

25 Meulenbeld, G. J. 2009: The Trees Called śigru (Moringa sp.), along with a Study of the Drugs Used in Errhines. [Eelde].

26 Newari-Lexicon: Datenbank, in der Newariglossen aus 11 Manuskripten (von 1381 bis 1711) zum Sanskrittext des Amarakoṣa recherchierbar sind; im Internet unter diesem Namen unter der domain„panactive” zugänglich.

27 Puṣpacintāmaṇi (PuCi): s. A. Zotter 2013.

28 Puṣpamāhātmya: NGMPP A 334/17 (Fols. 13v-27v).

29 Puṣparahasya: NGMPP H 340/3.

30 Puṣpasāra: NGMPP A 63/9; H 340/2.

31 Rau, W. 1954: „Lotusblumen.‟ In: Asiatica. Festschrift für Friedrich Weller. Leipzig, S. 505–513.

32 Regmi, P. P. 1983: Patram-puṣpam. Nepālakā dhārmika boṭa-biruvāharu. Kathmandu [V. S. 2040].

33 Rothmaler, W. (Begr.)/E. J. Jäger u. a. (Hrsg.) 2008: Exkursionsflora von Deutschland. Bd. 5: Krautige Zier- und Nutzpflanzen. Berlin/Heidelberg.

34 Schmidt, R. 1911: „Beiträge zur Flora Sanskritica. Fortsetzung.‟ In: ZDMG 65, S. 729–758.

35 Shrestha, K. 1998: Dictionary of Nepalese Plant Names. Kathmandu.

36 Singh, V./B. Singh/V. K. Kaul 2003: „Domestication of Wild Marigold (Tagetes minuta L.) as a Potential Economic Crop in Western Himalaya and North Indian Plains.‟ In: Economic Botany 54, S. 535–544.

37 śivakoṣa = R. G. Harshe (Hrsg.): The śivakoṣa of śivadatta Miśra. Poona 1952.

38 Slocum, P. D. 2005: Waterlilies and Lotuses. Species, Cultivars, and New Hybrids. Portland.

39 Smith, F. M. 1987: The Vedic Sacrifice in Transition. A Translation and Study of the Trikāṇḍamaṇḍana of Bhāskara Miśra. Poona.

40 Sorensen, J. L./Johannessen, C. L. 2006: „Biological Evidence for Pre-Columbian Transoceanic Voyages.‟ In: V. H. Mair (Hrsg.): Contact and Exchange in the Ancient World. Honolulu, S. 238–297.

41 śreṣṭha, U./S. śreṣṭha 2004: Nepālakā pramukha gairakāṣṭha vana paidāvāraharū. Major non-timber forest products of Nepal. Kathmandu.

42 Syed, R. 1992: Die Flora Altindiens in Literatur und Kunst. München.

43 Watt, G. 1893: A Dictionary of the Economic Products of India. Bd. 4.3.: Silk to Tea. London.

44 Wujastyk, D. 1998: The Roots of Āyurveda. Selections from Sanskrit Medical Writings. Delhi.

45 Zotter, A. 2010: „How to Initiate a Tree. The Aśvatthopanayana in Prescriptive Texts.‟ In: A. Zotter/C. Zotter (Hrsg.): Hindu and Buddhist Initiations in India and Nepal. Wiesbaden, S. 341–363.

46 Zotter, A. 2013: Von Blüten, Göttern und Gelehrten. Die Behandlung von pūjā-Blüten im Puṣpacintāmaṇiw. Text, Herkunft und Deutung eines nepalischen Kompendiums. Leipzig.

47 Zotter, C. 2012: „Von Linien und schwarzen Schlangen. Design im Hindu-Ritual.‟ In: J. Karolewski/N. Miczek/C. Zotter (Hrsg.): Ritualdesign. Zur kultur- und ritualwissenschaftlichen Analyse„neuer” Rituale. Bielefeld, S. 293–325.

Empfehlen


Export Citation