Pierre Vittoz (1926-1978)
Missions


Biography Alpinism Works Mission
Translating the Bible
Mission work in Ladakh
The friend T.Phuntsok


Christianisme
Le Nouveau Testament
re-traduit en tibétain (médian)

par Pierre Vittoz
et Tsetan Phuntsog



Les trois niveaux de tibétain écrit
Il y a 3 niveaux de tibétain: le registre supérieur, sorte de latin, langue ancienne véhicule des écritures bouddhistes, comprise seulement des lettrés mais prestigieuse, remontant au +VIIIe siècle. Le tibétain intermédiaire, comparable au français écrit littéraire, mélange de langue sacrée et de langage parlé dominant (langue de Lhassa). Enfin, les tibétains inférieurs, comparables aux français effectivement parlés, voire aux patois de langue d'oïl, à savoir les environ 40 dialectes locaux vraiment parlés par les vraies gens dans la vraie vie.

La Bible en tibétain supérieur
Les missionnaires protestants allemands ("moraves") ont commencé par traduire la Bible en tibétain supérieur. Le but étant de rivaliser en prestige avec le bouddhisme de l'élite, et aussi de faire oeuvre valable pour l'ensemble du Tibet. Heinrich Jaeschke (1817-1883), qui reprend en 1857 la mission de Kyelang au Lahul, puis Friedrich Redslob (1838-1891), qui ouvre une mission à Leh en 1885 (avant de mourir du typhus en 1891), ont traduit le Nouveau Testament de 1860 à 1890.

Puis August Francke (1870-1930), arrivé au Ladakh en 1896, et son ami tibétain chrétien Joseph Gergan (v.1877-1946) ont traduit l'Ancien Testament entre 1920 et 1935. La Bible complète en tibétain supérieur n'est cependant sortie en format imprimé qu'en 1948. Soit après cent ans de travail!...

La Bible en tibétain intermédiaire
Le missionnaire protestant suisse "morave" Pierre Vittoz et son ami tibétain chrétien Tsetan Phuntsog ont ensuite, entre 1959 et 1970, retraduit Le Nouveau Testament, à partir du texte original grec, en tibétain intermédiaire (publication en 1970). L'Ancien Testament a été traduit ensuite par d'autres lettrés (publication finale 2011).

La Bible en tibétain inférieur
Un Nouveau Testament en tibétain inférieur du Tibet Central a été publiée en 2018.

Une traduction du Nouveau Testament en tibétain inférieur du Ladakh (dialecte de Leh) a été démarrée et est encore en cours en 2023.


La vallée de Spiti, à 5'500m d'altitude, en 2017, dans l'Himachal Pradesh. À quelques encâblures des sommets séparant le Ladakh de l'Inde. Source: Dook (0.06Mb).




Bible en tibétain, de Pierre Vittoz
Source: Wikipedia

Recent research has shown there are approximately 50 Tibetan languages and over 200 dialects of Tibetan.

The complex task of translating the Scriptures into the different varieties of Tibetan is made more difficult by the need to choose between different linguistic registers.
These are:
–the high literary register (the language used for the Tibetan Buddhist scriptures, also known as ཆོས་སྐད chos skad);
–the mid literary register (a mixture of high literary and some known common spoken and non-spoken words);
–and one of many varieties of the low register (the vernacular/spoken language), which are specific to particular regions.

There are advantages and disadvantages of translating into each different register.

A translation into one of the varieties of the low register will be easily understood in one specific region but its geographical reach will be limited, and it will be seen as less prestigious than the high and mid registers.

Mid Literary is more difficult to understand than the spoken language but has a wider geographical reach.

The high literary register can reach even further geographically but it requires people first to learn a literary language in order to understand what is written in it.

History of translations into Mid and High Literary registers

The Moravian missionary H. A. Jäschke (1817–1883) spent three months in Ladakh in 1857, and subsequently worked in Keylong (Lahul) until 1868. He studied the spoken languages of the region. However, he decided to translate the New Testament into Classical Tibetan, drawing on the assistance and advice of speakers and scholars of different forms of Tibetan in both the Western Himalayan region and Darjeeling. He hoped that his choice of language would ensure that the written text would be widely understood across Tibet and the Himalayan border regions.

Jäschke's successor F. A. Redslob (1838–1891) completed the translation of the New Testament in 1885. Between 1898 and 1902, a committee chaired by another Moravian missionary A. W. Heyde (1825–1907) prepared a revised version of the Tibetan New Testament under the sponsorship of the British and Foreign Bible Society.

Later, Dr A. H. Francke (1870–1930) and his Ladakhi colleague Yoseb Gergan (1878–1946) translated the Old Testament into Classical Tibetan. The draft translation of the Old Testament was completed by 1935, but the full Tibetan Bible was not published until 1948.

In 1959, Eliyah Tsetan Phuntsog (son-in-law of Yoseb Gergan) started to revise the New Testament with Pierre Vittoz (a Swiss missionary). They translated it into a Mid Literary register, hoping that this would be accessible to the various Tibetan-speaking peoples in both India and Tibet. This version was published in 1970.

However, most of the Ladakhis who were not trained in the Literary register found all these versions difficult to understand.

"In the 1950s and early 1960s Eliyah Tshetan Phuntsok (Tshebrtan Phun-tshogs) and Pierre Vittoz produced a revised version of the New Testament. Phuntsok, who was Gergan’s sonin-law, had spent two years as a monk in Rizong monastery while Vittoz was the last European missionary to serve in Ladakh; between them they knew both Greek and classical Tibetan. Their version has been praised for its accuracy and for the beauty of its Tibetan style but many contemporary Ladakhi Christians, having been educated in the Indian school system, find it easier to use English or Urdu Bibles."

De façon similaire, si on parle de "montagne de glace" à un lecteur francophone, il va s'imaginer un entassement très grand de morceaux de glace, ou une montagne très recouverte de glace, mais pas un objet flottant sur l'eau, alors que si on écrit iceberg, les gens comprennent tout de suite qu'il s'agit d'un objet flottant sur l'eau. Parler de "chemise en T" entraînerait une complète incompréhension du lecteur francophone, tandis que "T-shirt" est compris tout de suite, etc...

JOHN BRAY: CHRISTIANITY IN LADAKH: THE MORAVIAN CHURCH FROM 1920 TO 1956 121, Tanjong Rhu Road ; # 16-38 ; Tanjong Ria condominium, SINGAPORE 436974 JNBray@aol.com

in

LADAKH HIMALAYA OCCIDENTAL
ETHNOLOGIE, ÉCOLOGIE
RECHERCHES RÉCENTES SUR LE LADAKH N° 2B
RECENT RESEARCH N° 2B
Colloque organisé à Pau en janvier 1985 par Patrick Kaplanian et Claude Dendaletche. Troisième édition pour internet entièrement revue, corrigée et augmentée par Patrick Kaplanian. Patrick Kaplanian editor.


The Vittoz-Phuntsog version has been praised for its accuracy and for the beauty of its Tibetan style but... many contemporary Ladakhi Christians, having been educated in the Indian school system, find it easier to use English or Urdu Bibles (!)

In 2011, a Tibetan Old Testament (TOT11) was completed, attributed to the Nepal Bible Society.

A translation of the New Testament into modern "low literary" Tibetan, often called the Central Tibetan Bible (CTB), and released in 2018 under the subheading ༄༅།།འཛམ་གླིང་མཐའ་གྲུ་གསལ་བའི་འོད་སྣང་། (Wylie: 'dzam gling mtha' gru gsal ba'i 'od snang) "Radiant Light to the Ends of the Earth", and printed by Central Asia Publishing, as well as being available digitally. The rights to the Bible are held by the Wycliffe Bible Translators.

In 2019, a translation of the New Testament was released as the New Tibetan Bible (NTB) in a form of literary Tibetan, available digitally. Rights to this are also held by the Wycliffe Bible Translators.

Translations into Ladakhi

Ladakhi is a language spoken in India in regions bordering both China and Pakistan; its neighbouring languages are Purik, Balti, Zanskari, Nubra, and the more divergent Changthang (see map). All these languages are part of the Western Tibetan language grouping and quite distinct from the Central, Amdo and Khams Tibetan spoken varieties.

Alongside his main Tibetan translation work, Jäschke translated the Harmony of the Gospels, a selection of texts used by the Moravian church in Easter Week, into vernacular Ladakhi. He noticed that the Ladakhi Christians were more attentive when listening to the Harmony, than they were when they heard texts written in the High Register of Classical Tibetan.

Like Jäschke, Francke put his main efforts into Bible translation into literary Tibetan. However, he also emphasised the need to translate at least some portions of the Bible into the spoken languages of the region. In 1907, he printed a revised version of Jäschke's Harmony. He also prepared a Ladakhi Life of Christ, and in 1908, he published a Ladakhi version of Mark's Gospel. Yoseb Gergan produced a revised version of the Ladakhi St Mark, and this was published at Lahore in 1919.

These early vernacular translations adapted the classical literary spelling system rather than using a phonetic transcription of spoken Ladakhi. In the early 1950s, E. T. Phuntsog experimented with a greatly simplified spelling system for writing Ladakhi. However, he ran into opposition from a segment of the Ladakhi community who wanted to preserve the classical spelling system of the Buddhist Scriptures. Phuntsog translated excerpts from the Gospels of St Mark and St Luke using this script. However, his proposals were never accepted outside the small Christian community, and he was forced to put them on one side.

Today there is an ongoing project to translate the complete Bible into the low register of spoken Ladakhi (Zhung/Leh dialect) using a more phonemic spelling structure. Currently the New Testament and Genesis 1-16 have been completed.




Top







Working as Christian Missionary
Pierre Vittoz, 1950-1956
in Ladakh

Life was harsh in the Himalaya in the 1950s for a Christian believer sincerely wishing to convert souls to christianity. Pierre Vittoz, during his whole stay in Laday (Sept 1950–July 1956) did not achieve a single conversion of a Tibetan to the faith of Jesus-Christ. He did manage, though, to bring back to christianity a few converts who had been slipping back to Buddhism.

From the "Moravian Mission" monthly journal of Feb.1951, vol XLVIII, no12, we read:

"Gaining converts in Tibet is a slow process. The difficulties that confront them are so fearsome that only an exceptional man with an exceptional religious experience can be expected to face them."

"Should anyone make a stand as a Christian, he may be quite likely cast out of his home by his family and thereby lose his means of livelihood, not only so but his other relatives and friends will turn their backs on him and upbraid him for leaving his former religion. Becoming a Christian in Tibet may mean a complete severance from former relatives and friends. It imposes a severe strain on a prospective convert and explains, in part, the slow growth of the Church."

In an exceptional text (below), sent on 19 July 1952 to Church colleagues in Switzerland, PV conveys to us this hard feeling. The message below is totally exceptional in so far as PV talks about political events -- which means that he was aware of them -- that took place in and around Ladakh! And in so far as he avows frankly the difficulty to bring about christianity to the Buddhist Tibetans.

19 July 1952 presentation by Pierre Vittoz of the Ladakhi Church to Swiss fellow Christians
Source: FPCV/BEAACT     (9.2 Mo)



On the whole, it seems that PV was mainly busy managing the existing Christian community of 70 souls in Leh than in making new conversions. He would write songs and poems for them. He would edit with his friend E.T.Phuntsog a Church leaflet every month. He would also arbitrage the frequent conflicts dividing the small church.

When they arrived in Leh, Pierre and Catherine Vittoz replaced as foreign missionaries in Leh Norman Driver and Mary Driver, who had lived there for 19 years, since 1933.

In February 1956, Pierre and Catherine Vittoz, and the whole Ladakhi Church, welcomed British Bishop Herbert Connor, who came to visit Leh. The Bishop stayed one month. He ordained Jonathan Paljor and Tsatan Phuntsok to the rank of priests (Moravian News of September 1956).

Around 1952: Pierre Vittoz (26) on the left side as seen by the viewer, in Tibetan dress. With fellow parishioners including Tsetan Phuntsog (right). Picture taken during the visit by the British controler of the Christian missions in Leh.
Source: FPCV/BEAACT     (6.6 Mo)



Around 1952: Mary Driver (back row, first from the left) and Norman Driver (back row, third from the left) in their medical center in Leh.
Source: FPCV/BEAACT     (9.0 Mo)



Around 1952: Pierre Vittoz (26) on the right side as seen by the viewer, in Tibetan dress. With fellow parishioners. Picture taken during the visit by the British controler of the Christian missions in Leh.
Source: FPCV/BEAACT     (6.6 Mo)




The German "Moravian" Church published a newsletter, who kept informed of the work done by Pierre Vittoz.

The September 1952 Newsletter
Source: Memorial Univ of Newfoundland

The January 1953 Newsletter
Source: Moravian Archives

The March 1954 Newsletter
Source: Paul Library

Moravian Missions, vol. 52, no. 08 (August 1954) Source.


The list and archive of all "Moravian Missions" newsletters (1903-1956) by the Center for Newfoundland/Labrador Studies.
Source.





https://dai.mun.ca/pdfs/moravianmis/ MoravianMissionsVol48No101950October.pdf ;

MORAVIAN MISSIONS         Vol XLVIII No8
October 1950

Tibet.

At long last the two recruits for the Tibetan field are now on their way. Br. and Sr. P. Vittoz left London on 26th August 1950. Communications with Tibet are still irregular and slow. Br. Driver had not heard of the granting of the visa to Br. and Sr. Vittoz, even though a letter was sent as soon as information of its granting was received. Br. Driver hopes to meet them in Srinagar and take them to Leh by air if possible.



https://dai.mun.ca/pdfs/moravianmis/ MoravianMissionsVol48No111950November.pdf

MORAVIAN MISSIONS        
November 1950

The recent war in Kashmir as resulted in the recruitment of the youth of Ladakh for military service and this has greatly increased the previous military requirements of food and transport. The pockets of the farmers of Ladakh have been filled with money and nowadays most people can produce a wad of notes when they have to buy something in the market.

Once upon a time a rupee was untold wealth and a poor family lived for four days on what a rupee bought. Nowadays, it is a very small thing indeed, for the cost of living in Western Tibet has risen very steeply during the past few years. Old people, the destitute and infirm have found things very difficult because they have no land or are unable to work.

It is also a matter for surprise that many other people can still manage to live in these expensive days. Salaries and wages of Mission workers and State Officials have more than doubled, but the real change in the cost of living can be assessed from this price list.

In 1940 to hire a horse from Srinagar to Leh cost 15 shillings. In 1950 the cost is about £10. The cost of a horse from Leh to Khalatse, fifty miles, was 3 shillings, now it is 16 shillings.

In 1940 cooking butter cost 9d. lb. In 1950 10 /- per lb.

In 1940 lean mutton cost 4d. per lb. In 1950 1/10 per lb.

In 1940 sugar cost 4d. per lb. In 1950 2/6 per lb.

In 1940 flour cost 1d. per lb. In 1940 potatoes cost ~d. per lb. In 1940 milk cost 1d. per pint. In 1940 s1nall eggs cost id. eacl1. In 1950 1/- per lb. In 1950 5d. per lb. In 1950 6d. per pint. In 1950 4d. eacl1 In 1940 \Vood fuel was 5lbs. for 1d. In 1950 5lbs. for 8d. In 1940 a coolie (labot1rer) got 6d. a day. In 1950 3/-. In 1940 house servants got 15/- per inontl1. In 1950 60/-.

A recent visitor to Leh said that the cost of living was as high, if not higher, than in Washington, the capital of the U.S.A...

A second remarkable change is the recent growth of party consciousness among the people. The West Tibetans in East Kashmir, that is Ladakh, have been repeatedly told of the realisation of Independence by India. They have also been told that the oppressive rule by the Maharajah has ended and that they are free to go their own way in "New Kashmir".

All have heard that the freedom to decide their own future will be theirs soon. This teaching has been taken to heart by the Ladakhi. So much so that newly elected village councillors have really believed that they had power of life and death over their fellows.

But that is not all; the Buddhists are now demanding that, as they are the majority community, their nominees should be appointed to all the positions of authority in the Leh district - which is Ladakh. They are objecting to those who have been converted from Buddhism to Christianity holding these positions now and to this end petitions of protest have been carried in processions through the town of Leh. Men have been called from remote villages to Leh to join in these processions and recently the troops had to be called out to disperse an angry crowd of demonstrators.

In past years the Ladakhi has been praised for his tolerance and friendship for all men. Christian Evangelists have travelled around the countryside and have always found an audience willing to listen to them. The Church in Ladakh too has been able to worship her Lord and Saviour without interference from anyone. Now the clouds of enmity and hatred appear to be gathering and the future of the Church in Ladakh is going to be more difficult and also more exciting. The past indifference to Christ and His Gospel appears to be changing into active opposition.

The third change on the Western borders of Tibet is the welcome one of an increased desire to become better Christians among some of other Brethren thei-e

An outward sign of this is the fact that Church attendance has never been better than it is now. For many years before they became free from Mission control in 1945, the Christians sometimes complained of the strict discipline maintained by the Missionaries.

Along with this they besought and complained that the Missionaries should be more lenient with the failings and moral laxity of the easy going Tibetan. This did not help the Missionaries to keep on the best of terms with their Ladakhi Brethren and without some elements of friendship prevailing between Missionaries and Christians, little missionary influence could be exerted.

It is now very interesting to notice that, after five years of autonomy, the Elders of the Ladakh Church are becoming more firm with their erring Brethren. Instead of condoning faults and turning the blind eye, the Elders are beginning to think more of the moral welfare of their fellow Christians and of bringing the Gospel standard of behaviour before them. The change is something to rejoice over or the Elders are at last beginning to become real Shepherds of God's Sheep in Ladakh. One of a missionary's joys, and there are many, is watching the Lord's Children under the providence of God progress towards "full grown men unto the measure of the stature of the Fulness of Christ."



MORAVIAN MISSIONS         Vol CLVIII No12
Feb 1951

Tibet.

News of our Missionaries in Tibet has been somewhat scanty in recent months, but the arrival of the Annual Report with an accompanying letter has provided some interesting items of information.

The dangers threatening Eastern Tibet (Chinese invasion) have not, at the present time, come near to Western Tibet, and, unless unforeseen developments take place in the near future, the work can proceed with little external interruption.

Internally there is a sense of change and instability until the future of Kashmir is decided. The people themselves are unsettled in their minds and are somewhat apprehensive about their new rulers (the republic of India).

The delight of Br. and Sr. Driver at receiving reinforcements after holding on alone in Leh for three difficult years can be imagined. Their joy in their new colleagues is real.

When Br. and Sr. Vittoz reached Srinagar it was found as cheap, if not cheaper, to charter a plane to convey them to Leh (the journey being done in 75 minutes) than to travel by pack pony and pony back, which would have taken 15 days.

Br. Driver hopes that Br. Vittoz will be able to suggest new methods of presenting the Gospel when he has acquired sufficient knowledge of the language. For the present his work consists chiefly in language study. Not until he has gained a good knowledge of the language can he begin any Evangelistic work. The foundation laid in the Tibetan language under Br. Asboe's guidance will enable Br. & Sr. Vittoz to build up· more quickly their fluency in a strange tongue. ·

The decision taken some years ago to grant full independence to the Church in Leh has proved to be right; more and more responsibility is being undertaken by the Elders in Leh .. Church attendances ha improved, more interest is being shown in the temporal and Spiritual work of the Church.

When the Relics of Buddha were in the neighbourhood of Leh, all the accommodation at the Gospel Inn was taken. The Evangelists made the most of their opportunity and spoke to many people giving them tracts to carry away. Apart from such unusual occasions the Gospel Inn has not been used as much as in former years.

The hospital work is a great encouragement . Over 5,000 attendances at the dispensary were recorded, fifty in-patients came for treatment, in addition Dr. Driver made over 700 visits to patients in their homes. There is ample work for her services even though the state dispensary has been re-opened.

Last winter Br. and Sr. Driver had the help of Miss Drew, a trained nurse from New Zealand belonging to the Central Asia Mission, who had come to Leh to obtain a better knowledge of the Tibetan language.

She proved of great help to the Doctor in dressing frost-bitten Yarkandis ,who came for treatment and needed much skilled attention.

When we consider that all this medical work has been carried out practically single-handed we pay our tribute to Dr. Mary Driver. The unemotional record of facts and figures indicates a devotion to duty that must tax the strength of the Doctor in her service to sffering human beings. Her work is done in and through the strength given to her by the Great Physician. We can only pray that her health may stand the strain so that in the coming years her medical knowledge·and skill may benefit larger numbers of people who need it.

The two Christian girls who, as previously mentioned in these notes, wanted to become nurses, have now gone to the Ludhiana Medical School for a two year's· course which will qualify them for the title of Nurse “Dais” --- a local Indian term. They are keen to get this training which will enable them to assist the Doctor on their return to Leh.

A leather-bound copy of the Tibetan Bible has been given the Leh Church by the Bible Society in Lahore in memory of the late Br. Yoseb Gergan, who did so much of the translation work, but owing the the breakdown of postal communications between Pakistan and Kashmir the Bible has not yet been received.

Gaining converts in Tibet is a slow process. The difficulties that confront them are so fearsome that only an exceptional man with an exceptional religious experience can be expected to face them. Should anyone make a stand as a Christian he may be quite likely cast out of his home by his family and thereby lose his means of livelihood, not only so but his other relatives and friends will turn their backs on him and upbraid him for leaving his former religion. Becoming a Christian in Tibet may mean a complete severance from former relatives and friends. It imposes a severe strain on a prospective convert and explains, in part, the slow growth of the Church.



https://dai.mun.ca/pdfs/moravianmis/ MoravianMissionsVol49No091951November.pdf

MORAVIAN MISSIONS         Vol XLIX No9
November 1951

Tibet

Br. Yonatan began work in Leh about the end of May 1951. He visited the members of the Congregation and conducted services at the beginning of July 1951 and did very well. He has the gift of imparting his ideas to others. The report from the Principal of the College Yonatan attended in India refers to him as a very good student, diligent in his studies, of exemplary conduct and one who has shown an excellent spirit.

Br. and Sr. Vittoz had a brief holiday during August. They had been struggling daily with the Tibetan language. Their holiday was spent in an attempt to climb one of the peaks opposite Leh which, it is believed, had never been conquered. In spite of some bad weather Br. Vittoz reached the 20,000 ft. summit. His wife is finding acclimatization a slow process; in some cases it takes two years, in others a shorter time.

The country is being taken over and explored: groups of scientists are searching for valuable minerals needed in modern industry. Engineering groups are improving communications, establishing wireless contacts with distant parts of the country, by building radial roads for rapid transport by motor vehicles. The people are put to work building airstrips. Thus in a brief space of a few months a primitive country is being transformed into an up-to-date modern State with bewildering suddenness and efficiency.

The hospital is not as busy as it used to be: the prices charged have been increased and the people are economizing. The charge is 4 annas for 3 days’ medicine, which is not beyond the patients’ means.

The doctor is preparing to visit Nubra to do cataract operations for theporer people who cannot afford to come to Leh; some time has to be spent with the patients afte the operations so the visit may last a month.



MORAVIAN MISSIONS        
Feb 1952

Tibet.

Reference was made last month to the appointment of Br. Eliyah Tsetan Puntsok as a· member of the Tibetan Staff. He is, it is worth me11tioni11g, the son-in-law of the late Br. Y oseb Gerga11.

Br. Driver has since written to say that with the help of Br. Eliyah he and Br. Vittoz intend to produce literature for propagancla purposes. He hopes that it may be possible to eliminate the laborious handwork by t1sing a typewriter with Tibetan characters. He has asked ~1ission Board to locate such a typewriter! With the kind help of Bishop Kenneth Hamilto11 st1ch a typewriter has been locatedat a price. The price asked for such a machine is $ggo- more than £300 in our currency. We hope that on further inquiry this typewriter may l)e st1itable and that the high cost of purchase may not rule out this new venture envisaged l)y the missionaries. It is one which might have far:reaching and beneficial results. Typewritten stencils would, with the help of a duplicator, enable literature to be produced in considerable quantities.



https://dai.mun.ca/digital/moravianmis/

MORAVIAN MISSIONS         Vol LI No1
January 1953

Tibet.

Br. Vittoz, on whom the mantle of Br. Driver has fallen, has supplied notes from Ladakh which give a vivid account of the work, the disappointments and the problems of the Missionary in Leh. From these only a selection can be made.

Magic lantern shows were held in the courtyard of the church during the month of August 1952, on Monday and Friday evenings, before the weather became too cold. Between fifty and sixty people gathered to ' look and listen ' and, it is hoped, to learn something-from the pictures and comments on the Bible stories displayed.

Br. Dewazung’s two daughters, who had been sent to Ludhiana Mission Hospital in India to be trained as nurse Dais, returned recently. As their fares had been paid by the Mission they promised to serve for at least two years in

our hospital. Now it appears that both of them have applied to enter State Service, one in Leh and one in Kargil.

During the month of October 1952, harvesting and threshing of wheat and barley proceeded as usual, and, with good crops, everybody was pleased. To the consternation of the people an epidemic of' rinderpest ' broke out in one of the hamlets belonging to Leh. Many cows died and as beef is never eaten in Kashmir the people suffer the total loss of their cattle. The Missionaries lost two cows and made every effort to keep alive a calf to ensure their supply of milk.

Br. and Sr. Vittoz report that they are in good health and are now fully acclimatized so that the altitude does not affect them any longer.

'The news of Sr. Driver's illness was received with grief by our brethren,' writes Br. Vittoz. ' Everybody liked them and we heard many a word of sympathy for them.'

The dispensary is now closed. People wanting help or medicine come to the Mission house.

Br. xxxx rashi, the Evangelist, who was preaching and helping in the dispensary is going to take charge of Sheh where a small Congregation is without a regular preacher and a few children without regular instruction.



MORAVIAN MISSIONS         Vol LII No3
March 1954

Tibet

Br. Vittoz makes some interesting observations in his Annual Report on the work in Ladak. The life of a missionary is full of hopes for the future, coupled with frequent disappointments in the present, and in Leh this has been true.

Political changes have affected the country's economy; the lull in trade across Central Asia (Leh being one of the main trade centres between India, Tibet, Sinkiang and Afghanistan) is impoverishing the country, and there is little hope of a revival. There is no doubt that modern progress was gradually ousting the ' caravan barter trade across the Asian deserts,' but political action has accelerated the process.

A change of Government in Kashmir· in August (1953) did not affect Ladak. The Government decided to alleviate taxes paid by landowners as well as to sanction important development schemes that have been under consideration for a long time. An imposing High School building was completed this summer. A hospital is to be built in Leh.

For some years the Ladak people have been demanding more autonomy in the management of local affairs. In November, 1953, the Kashmir Government agreed to this claim and appointed the Head Lama of one of the local Buddhist monasteries to the charge of Deputy Minister for Ladak Affairs. ·

Missionary work, in the accepted sense, is carried on by the Mission staff only, for Ladak Christians seem to lack the desire or the strength to evangelize their fellow countrymen. Br. Eliyah Tsetan Puntsok has fully confirmed the hopes that were placed in him when he joined the Mission Staff two years ago. In spite of hardships, says Br. Vittoz, he never failed t undertake arduous duties with enthusiasm. he readily devotes himself to the service od his Lord and Master and to His Church in everything. His leadership and his stand for the faith have been conspicuous and of inestimable value.

During the long winter months the Mission Staff read together an English book on the Church's teaching, and also a Tibetan book of poetry, readings that were both profitable and entertaining.

Literary work has always been a characteristic feature of Western Tibet. The printing of the Tibetan newspaper has been speeded up by the purchase of a rotary duplicator. This monthly paper is spread far and wide and is one of the best means of carrying the Gospel to places outside the personal reach of the Missionaries.

Besides tracts in dialect, Br. Eliyah has written Christian poems in pure classical Tibetan. One of these, entitled ' Eighty Praises,' is of true beauty, says Br. Vittoz, and its success is such that it has been quoted by a preacher in Kalimpong, which is more than a thousand miles distant from Leh.

Evangelistic tours have been undertaken in a new way, described in earlier issues of this magazine. The Dispensary is reopened; as. it is equipped with all kinds of instruments and medicines, the Missionaries work in collaboration with civil and military physicians.

In passing Br. Vittoz remarks that he had the honour of being a private guest of India's Premier, last summer (1953) (without saying why!!).

Unfortunately, the Ladak Church is static. There have been no conversions for several years, and the church seems to lack the strength to expand. Only a very few Christians give a positive witness of their joy and peace; fears are expressed that the Church might lose her vitality if no deep spiritual revival occurs within her.

Efforts are being made to induce those who have left the church to rejoin, with some success. Some who had turned to Buddhism have rejoined the church. Two former Kyelang members who, because of lack of news about them had been crossed off the list, have been discovered and have re-entered the service of the Church.

A short story reveals that the work, though disappointing, has not all been a failure. A Central Asian Mission doctor working near Simla visited the former Moravian Mission Station of Pu and found two Christian ladies, strong and faithful, still reading their Bibles and singing old Moravian hymns. Such happenings, though infrequent, are heard with joy and gladness and are tokens of God's blessing because they bring encouragement to all who labour in the Tibetan field to sow the seed faithfully.

One of the main worries is the isolated position the Ladak Church. No active co-operation with any other Mission is possible. So Br. Eliyah attended the General Assembly of the United Church of North India, held at Calcutta October (1953), described by himself in a separate article. He expressed the Ladak Church's desire to have a solid link with the Indian Church. His request was welcomed. The possibilities of the Ladak Church joining the United Church of North India are being studied. If it is achieved, then the small church may be blessed through spiritual communion with her Indian sisters, thereby enabling her to serve her Lord more faithfully.









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Eliya Tsetan Phuntsog (1907/1908–1973)
Pierre Vittoz's best friend
in Ladakh



Pierre Vittoz and his Christian Ladakhi friend Eliyah Tsetan Phuntsog revived the "Ladakh Phonya" ("Ladakh Messenger") from 1952 to 1956.

Tsetan Phuntsog (prononcer Tsetanne Pountsok) (Un autre Himalaya p.160-168). Notable tibétain de haut niveau, élevés dans le bouddhisme et ayant embrassé la foi chrétienne à l’âge adulte.

Together with the couple Pierre and Catherine Vittoz, at that time the last European missionaries in Leh, who had to leave the region in 1956, he was still working in the 1950s on the publication of anti-Communist pamphlets.

In 1953 he and Vittoz began preparatory work for a revised edition of the New Testament.

Phuntsog experimented in the 1950s with a simplified spelling for Tibetan, which was closer to today's pronunciation. He suggested dropping the letter ཨ, the unpronounced letter “a”, and replacing it with འ, “a” where it is pronounced.

Buddhists found his attempt subversive, as it would move the written language away from the classical spelling of ancient Buddhist scriptures. For example, the spelling would make the well-known mantra "Om mani padme hum" change its appearance.

After demonstrations against his spelling proposals, he was pressured to resign from his civil service position.

In 1959, Phuntsog moved to Uttar Pradesh to join his friend Pierre Vittoz who had just started a new mission position in Mussoorie.

In time Phuntsog managed to regain his position in Ladakh. He won a lawsuit against his family.

Phuntsog helped his fellow citizens fleeing the Chinese occupation of Tibet find a new home in Clement Town near Dehradun in India. In 1963 he founded a home for Tibetan refugee children in Rajpur.



Eliya Tsetan Phuntsog

Eliya Tsetan Phuntsog (also written as Eliyah Tseten Phuntsog ea) (Sadu, near Leh, Ladakh, 1907 / 1908 – 1973) was a Tibetan Christian who published a revision of the translation of the New Testament into Tibetan in 1970.

He was the son-in-law of the Tibetan Bible translator Yoseb Gergan. He indeed married in 1934 Gergan's daughter Soung Kyil, stemming from Lhasa like her father.

En 1920, l’évêque anglais Arthur Ward, de Londres, ordonne les deux premiers pasteurs ladakhis Joseph Gergan et Dewazung Dawa lors d’une visite dans les missions de l’Himalaya.

Phuntsog converted to christianity in 1934. In 1952, Phuntsog became a clergyman of the Moravian Brothers. Leaving a well-paid job as a state official, he became a salaried member of the Moravian Church and the head of the Leh Church (about 70 members in 1952).

Tsetan Phuntsog was born into a noble family (sku drag) that produced ministers and rulers of Ladakh . He was a cousin of the king of Ladakh and bore the Tibetan title Nono , the title for a nobleman or prince. Phuntsog studied in the Gelug Order's Rinzong Monastery and planned to become a monk. When his father died, he was forced to give up monastic life to provide for the family. He was highly respected in the Buddhist community and regarded as a leader of the Buddhist lay community.

In 1926 he met Yoseb Gergan , who on a later occasion gave him one of his texts on Christianity to read.

He was in love with Yoseb Gergan daughter Soung Kyil, but to marry her, converting to Christianity was a condition set forth by the father. After six years of reflexion, in 1934, Tsetan Phuntsog converted to Christianity and could marry Gergan's daughter Soung Kyil.


Tsetan Phuntsog around 1954.
Source: FPCV/BEAACT     (9.8 Mo)




Tsetan Phuntsog around 1954.
Source: FPCV/BEAACT     (9.8 Mo)




Phuntsog's wife Soung Kyil around 1954.
Source: FPCV/BEAACT     (9.1 Mo)




Phuntsog's wife Soung Kyil around 1954.
Source: FPCV/BEAACT     (7.7 Mo)



In 1933, together with Rahul Sankrityayan (1893-1963), he edited a first Tibetan language course.

Upon his conversion to Christianity in 1934, he took the name “Eliya” as his baptismal name. Not long after, he married Yoseb Gergan's daughter Sungkyil. Although it was understood that his conversion was not due to expediency because of his high social status, it caused great outrage and caused him to lose his social status and his reputation as an irreproachable man. Phuntsog had hesitated for more than six years before taking that step, and he was fully aware of the risks involved. When the Rinzong Monastery got wind of his conversion, it reacted as would become customary in the region, demanding the immediate repayment of all advances he had received for the family's upkeep, and also launched a campaign to banish potential future converts.

In 1940, he was asked to act as a mediator on the Tibetan border over a dispute over a nomad who was murdered there in 1935.

And 1948 he played an important role during the war against Pakistan. After the ceasefire in 1950, he was even appointed Tehsildar, head of the tax office, in Leh, the capital of Ladakh, India.

From 28 Aug 1953 to 26 Nov 1953, Phuntsog travelled from Leh to Kargil, Srinagar, Landour/Mussoorie, Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Calcutta and New Delhi to attend a conference of Mission workers (Conference of the World-wide Evangelistic Crusade) in Mussoorie and a large conference of the Northern Indian Church in Calcutta (Eleventh General Assembly of the United Church of Northern India) and to visit relatives and friends (in Delhi).

Together with the couple Pierre and Catherine Vittoz, at that time the last European missionaries in Leh, who had to leave the region in 1956, he was still working in the 1950s on the publication of anti-Communist pamphlets. In 1953 he and Vittoz began preparatory work for a revised edition of the New Testament.

He experimented in the 1950s with a simplified spelling for Tibetan, which is closer to today's pronunciation. He suggested dropping the letter ཨ, the unpronounced letter “a”, and replacing it with འ, “a” where it is pronounced. Buddhists found his attempt subversive, as it would move the written language away from the classical spelling of ancient Buddhist scriptures. For example, the spelling would make the well-known mantra Om mani padme hum change its appearance. After demonstrations against his spelling proposals, he was pressured to resign from his civil service position.

In 1959 he moved to Uttar Pradesh. In time he managed to regain his position. He won a lawsuit with the family and helped his fellow citizens fleeing the Chinese occupation of Tibet find a new home in Clement Town near Dehradun in India. In 1963 he founded a home for Tibetan refugee children in Rajpur.

Phuntsog became the author of several plays, songs and poems with Christian themes.

Views

Phuntsog realized that Buddhist and Christian religiosity are far apart, and desired a more Tibetan form of Christianity. He found it problematic that many Tibetan converts also started to imitate or adopt Western dress, social behavior and dietary habits, thereby alienating them from their population. He thought in a certain syncretism , presenting Jesus Christ as guru and attaching great importance to meditation .

Sources

• ( en ) Periodical Accounts of the Work of the Moravian Missions , 1950, No. 158. http://collections.mun.ca

• ( de ) INGEBORG BALDAUF , Quellen zur Geschichte der Brüdermission im Himalaya-Gebiet im Archivist der Brüder-Unität in Herrnhut , http://www.ladakhstudies.org

• ( en ) JOHN BRAY , Towards a Tibetan Christianity? The Lives of Joseph Gergan and Eliyah Tsetan Phuntsog. in: Tibetan Studies. Proceedings of the 6th Seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies. Fagernes 1992, pp. 68-81. Edited by Per Kvaerne. Oslo: Institute for Comparative Research in Human Culture. 1994.

• ( en ) Paper of John Bray

• ( fr ) Joseph Gergan et l'Histoire : le Tibet Occidental vu par un chrétien at academia.edu

• ( cs ) MARTINA JAKELOVÁ , Diplomova Bakalarska Prace III (Bachelor's thesis): Tibetan Buddhism in the concept of Christian missionaries in Ladakh (translate via: ) , Brno 2006

Extrait de

Toujours intéressé par l’histoire de son pays, S.S. Gergan ne manquait pas une occasion de dénicher des manuscrits comme en témoigne Pierre Vittoz (n.c.) lors d’une excursion au monastère de Hemis avec Eliyah TsetenPhuntsog (1908-1973) à la recherche d’un manuscrit traitant de la vie du Christ

Dans les années 1970, il est venu à l’université de Bonn sur l’invitation de Dieter Schuh afin de photographier le fonds de manuscrits et documents collectés par son père et lui-même.

Nous nous attarderons un peu plus ici sur le gendre de Joseph Gergan, le mari de sa fille Sungkyil. On peut dire que Eliyah Tseten Phuntsog est l’héritier spirituel de Joseph Gergan. Ils ont travaillé côte à côte pendant les quinze dernières années de la vie de ce dernier. Comme Joseph Gergan, Eliyah Tseten Phuntsog est né dans une famille bouddhiste cultivée de haut rang : il était le cousin du roi du Ladakh.

Né à Sabu dans une famille aristocratique, il est allé étudier au monastère de Ridzong avant d’être contraint de rentrer s’occuper de sa famille. En 1926, il rencontre Joseph Gergan, qui plus tard lui remet un de ses textes sur le christianisme. Après 6 ans de réflexion, Eliyah Tseten Phuntsog se fait baptiser en 1934 et prend le nom chrétien d’Eliyah. Il se marie à la fille de Joseph Gergan peu de temps après. Par sa situation sociale élevée (il est proche de la famille royale), on déduit que sa conversion a été choisie suite à une réflexion personnelle, en dehors de toute incitation ou tentation. ((Malgré cela)) [A cause de cela], elle est mal perçue par une part de la population, on menace de le déshériter, on tente de l’empoisonner… Il prend tout de même des responsabilités politiques et les autorités du Cachemire [hindouistes, donc neutres dans son conflit contre les bouddhistes] lui demandent son aide en 1940 pour régler un différend à la frontière tibétaine au sujet du meurtre d’un nomade qui eut lieu en 1935. En 1948, il joue un rôle important durant la guerre contre le Pakistan et devient même Tehsildar (percepteur d’impôt) en 1950 après le cessez-le-feu.

Outre l’aide qu’il apporte à Pierre Vittoz en étudiant les Cent mille chants de Milarepa avec lui, il a aussi écrit des articles, chants et saynètes chrétiennes pour son journal.

En 1956, une décision du gouvernement indien impose aux époux Vittoz, les derniers missionnaires européens au Ladakh, de quitter la région. Eliyah Tseten Phuntsog et un autre chrétien, Yona-than Paljor (n.c.), sont alors ordonnés pasteurs par l’évêque O’Connor (n.c.) pour remplacer Pierre et Catherine Vittoz.

Le témoignage de Sungkyil, la femme d’Eliyah Tseten Phuntsog, et les écrits de ce dernier sur la pratique chrétienne soulignent la convergence d’une certaine vision du christianisme entre celui-ci et Joseph Gergan. Il accomplit un syncrétisme entre bouddhisme et christianisme aussi bien dans ses sermons où le Christ est le Guru, que dans sa pratique où la méditation tient une place importante.

Eliyah Tseten Phuntsog va aussi travailler dans le domaine de l’éducation. En 1933, il édite, avec Rahul Sankrityayan (1893-1963), le premier livret d’un manuel de tibétain. Il fut secrétaire de la Ladakh Buddhist Education Society lors de sa création.

Phuntsog tentera aussi une réforme de l’écriture tibéetaine, afin d'en simplifier et faciliter l’apprentissage. Mais ce dernier point, bien qu’ambitieux, fut probablement le plus polémique. En effet, il proposait d’abolir la lettre xxx pour la remplacer systématiquement par yyy. yyy étant une syllabe germe dans le bouddhisme, la première lettre du célèbre mantra Om-ma-ni-pad-ma-hung, ces idées nouvelles ne pouvaient pas être acceptées.

En 1959, il part s’installer en Uttar Pradesh, à Mussoorie où il retrouve Pierre Vittoz. Il va ensuite aider les réfugiés tibétains à s’installer aux alentours de Dehradun. En 1963, il fonde une école pour les enfants de réfugiés tibétains à Rajpur où il finira sa vie et où une partie de ses enfants vit toujours. Pierre Vittoz qui l’a côtoyédurant ses années passées au Ladakh consacre un chapitre entier de son livre Un autre Hima-laya à la personne d’Eliyah Tseten Phuntsog.

Yoseb Gergano

Sonam Gergan / Yoseb Gergan

Born ca. 1885, Ladakh (India) Passed away Dec 16, 1946

cause of death possible heart attack

Yoseb Gergan (born Sonam Gergan) was one of the first Tibetans to adopt Christianity. He became a Tibetan Bible translator.


Sonam Gergan was born in Ladakh, India, circa 1885, the son of Tempu Gergan, a Tibetan finance minister who had fled Lhasa to escape popular anger when the (Eleventh) Dalai Lama was assassinated in 1856. Through contacts with two German missionaries, Dr. AW Heyde and Eduard Pagel, and his own father, Sonam was educated in two cultures simultaneously. Heyde and Pagel had started translating the Bible into Tibetan, and Tempu Gergan was able to help them with the language. Because they had chosen the classical Tibetan written language, the translation was not easy for even Tempu's own son Sonam to understand.

After the death of his father, Sonam went to Srinegar, the capital of Kashmir , to receive further training at a mission school. He decided to become a Christian and took the name Yoseb. Later it became his life's work to translate the Bible into Tibetan.

In 1920, during a visit by Bishop Arthur Ward of the Moravian Brethren, he was ordained a minister.

bible translator

One difficulty in translating the Bible into Tibetan was the search for the correct language register. It was unusual to write the colloquial language, but written classical Tibetan was difficult for many to understand. When Yoseb heard a Buddhist monk say prayers, he realized that the dialect or language in which they were written was easily understandable to most Tibetans. In addition, the prayer book also contained words needed to translate a religious text. The friendly monk handed over his text.

Yoseb worked tirelessly on the translation for about the last 27 years of his life. Initially, he collaborated with Dr. August Francke , who worked on the translation using Tempu Gergan's manuscripts. When Dr. Francke later returned to Europe, Yoseb continued to work alone.

By 1935 the translation was ready. It turned out that the British and Foreign Bible Society could not process the document like this, and that it had to be completely copied on special white paper. Exhausted, Yoseb died on August 16, 1946 from the consequences of a possible heart attack. He has never seen the translation in print.

The Bible translation was finally released in August 1948, 90 years after the original translators began working on it.

The final result was partially understandable by most Tibetans in Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan, India and Ladakh, but most could not fully understand the language used.

Literature

• ALAN MABERLY , God Spoke Tibetan, http://www.nwtv.co.uk/ pages/arts/books/books/tibet/chap01.htm

web links • http://matthiasgergan.blogspot.com/ 2013/03/yoseb-gergan-legacy-of-faithfulness.html

Sources • Periodical Accounts of the Work of the Moravian Missions , 1950, No. 158. http://collections.mun.ca
• Ingeborg Baldauf, Quellen zur Geschichte der Brüdermission im Himalaya-Gebiet im Archivist der Brüder-Unität in Herrnhut , http://www.ladakhstudies.org
• 'seb Gergan, A Legacy of Faithfulnaess , by Matthias Gergan, great-grandson of Yoseb Gergan (posted in CHURCH HISTORY on Facebook ).

Categories : • Tibetan person
• Bible Translator to Tibetan
• Died in 1946
• Died on December 16
• Moravian brother




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Created: 08 Apr 2023 – Last modified: 28 Dec 2024