Hindu-Muslim-Jewish Origin Legends in Circulation between the Malabar Coast and the Mediterranean, 1400s-1800s

马拉巴尔海岸和地中海之间流传的印度教、穆斯林和犹太教起源传说，1400 年代至 1800 年代

• 批准号: AH/X002136/1
• 负责人: Ophira Gamliel
• 金额: $ 31.29万
• 依托单位: University of Glasgow
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2023 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=AH%2FX002136%2F1
• 关键词: Hindu; Muslim; Jewish; Origin; Legends

The name of the legendary Hindu king Cheraman Perumal is documented in texts in different Asian and European languages as far back as the 1400s. This legendary king is associated with the division of the kingdom of Malabar (southwestern India) into twelve districts before converting to Islam and traveling to Mecca. The multiple tellings of the legend and its "conversion" into different religious settings provides rich empirical data for investigating processes and patterns of religious demarcation within and beyond regional and communal boundaries. The centrality of the Malabar Coast as a node in maritime networks between India, the Arab World, and Europe before and throughout the early modern period highlights the intertwined nature of maritime and religious networks. Our project is a first attempt to systematically analyse and historicise patterns of religious demarcation as reflected in the circulation of origin legends and their respective textual traditions.The project examines seven sources with different tellings of the Cheraman Perumal legend in Arabic, Malayalam, and Hebrew. Four of the seven tellings have been studied separately, two are known to scholars but not studied, and one will be studied for the first time in this project. The approach to the study of these tellings is innovative in historicising the literary and linguistic features of the texts rather than their contents alone, while reading them in conversation with each other. What patterns of inter- and intra-communal relations are underpinned by this intertextual conversation? How do linguistic and literary data account for broader concerns of religious demarcation, be it inclusive or exclusive, cohesive or divisive, within communities and political entities and between them? Addressing these questions has far-reaching implications for our knowledge on so-called 'religious identities', challenging the notion of religions as stable entities. Textual traditions such as the one under investigation rather underscore the multiplicity and fluidity in the ways communities perceive themselves and interact. By the end of the project, the first scholarly editions of the seven tellings in the three languages with English translations will be completed along with a critical analysis. Additionally, a typology of the linguistic features of languages-in-contact will be developed, featuring the first of its kind in terms of descriptive grammars. A digital map visualising the maritime nodes and links referred to in each text will demonstrate the intersections and divergences between religious networks along the maritime routes between the Malabar Coast and the Mediterranean. These textual traditions, their circulation, and their evolution are key to analysing the history of religious networks in the early modern Western Indian Ocean.

传说中的印度教国王Cheraman Perumal的名字早在15世纪就被记录在不同亚洲和欧洲语言的文本中。这位传奇的国王与马拉巴尔王国（印度西南部）在皈依伊斯兰教并前往麦加之前分为十二个地区有关。传说的多种讲述及其“转换”到不同的宗教环境提供了丰富的经验数据，以调查区域和社区边界内外的宗教划分过程和模式。马拉巴尔海岸作为印度、阿拉伯世界和欧洲之间的海洋网络的节点，在近代早期和整个近代时期的中心地位，突出了海洋和宗教网络交织在一起的性质。我们的项目是第一次尝试系统地分析和历史化的宗教划分模式，反映在起源传说和各自的文本传统的流通。该项目检查了七个来源与不同的讲述阿拉伯语，马拉雅拉姆语和希伯来语的Cheraman Perumal传说。七个讲述中的四个已经被单独研究，两个被学者所知但没有研究，一个将在这个项目中首次研究。研究这些叙述的方法是创新的，它将文本的文学和语言特征历史化，而不仅仅是其内容，同时在相互对话中阅读它们。这种互文性对话的基础是什么样的社区间和社区内关系模式？语言和文学数据如何解释宗教划界的更广泛关切，无论是社区和政治实体内部以及它们之间的包容性或排他性、凝聚性或分裂性？解决这些问题对我们对所谓的“宗教身份”的认识具有深远的影响，挑战了宗教作为稳定实体的概念。而像正在调查的文本传统则强调了社区认识自己和互动方式的多样性和流动性。到项目结束时，将完成这七种语言的第一个学术版本的英语翻译与批判性分析一起沿着。此外，还将开发接触中语言的语言特征的类型学，其特点是在描述性语法方面的第一个。一个数字地图可视化的海洋节点和链接中提到的每一个文本将显示宗教网络之间的交叉点和分歧沿着马拉巴尔海岸和地中海之间的海上路线。这些文本传统、它们的流传和演变是分析近代早期西印度洋宗教网络历史的关键。