Peter Percival
Encyclopedia
Peter Percival was a British
born missionary
, linguist and a pioneering educator in Sri Lanka
and South India
during the British colonial era. His work influenced prominent people such as Robert Bruce Foote
a pioneering geologist and archeologist and Arumuka Navalar
, a Hindu
revivalist. He began his career in British held Sri Lanka
and Bengal
as a Wesleyan Methodist missionary. His early work was in the minority Sri Lankan Tamil dominant Jaffna peninsula
. He was instrumental in starting and upgrading a number of schools within the Jaffna peninsula. His preference of education over evangelism
influenced educational programs off all others who sought to improve the literacy
rate in the district. During his stay in Jaffna
, he led the effort to translate the Bible
into Tamil
, based on the Authorised Version. After returning to England
, he converted to Anglicanism
. Subsequent to his posting in South India, he severed his association with the Anglican Missionary Society that had sent him to India and worked as an educator in Presidency College in Madras Presidency
. He published English-Tamil and English-Telugu
dictionaries as well as a number of books on Indian culture and religion. He died in 1882 in Yercaud in present day Tamil Nadu
.
after short stints due to illness. He spent most of his early adult life in Jaffna peninsula until 1851, with a short stint in Bengal (1829–32). While in Bengal he was influenced by the educational policies of Alexander Duff, a Presbyterian
missionary. During his period of stay in Jaffna peninsula, he upgraded a number of existing Methodist missionary primary schools into fully accredited high schools and founded new ones especially for girls. He was instrumental in upgrading Jaffna Central College
and Point Pedro Methodist Girls College from primary schools to full-fledged high schools. He founded Vembadi Girls' High School and Hartley College
. Apart from these popular schools, he also opened number of village schools for primary education. In 1836 his efforts led to the building of St. Paul’s chapel in Jaffna.
During his tenure as the principle of Jaffna Central College, he hired his former student Arumuka Navalar
as a teacher and collaborated with him in translating the Bible into Tamil. Peter Percival's eight-year association allowed Arumuka Navalar to develop his ideas as to how to revive the moribund Saivite sect
of the upper caste
Tamils of Jaffna peninsula. Peter Percival‘s preference of education over evangelism
created friction with other Wesleyan missionaries but it also influenced the educational practices of all those who were trying to improve the literary levels of 19th-century Sri Lankan Tamil society. These early efforts in education led to the relatively higher literacy levels and resultant monopolization of government jobs by minority Sri Lankan Tamils compared to the rest of the population of Sri Lanka when it gained independence from Britain in 1948. (See Origins of the Sri Lankan civil war
)
by the Anglican Bishop of London
. During the next two years, he worked as a lecturer at St Augustine's College, Canterbury
, teaching a course about India and its religions.
in 1855. In 1856 after becoming the Registrar
of Madras University and Professor of Sanskrit
and Vernacular Literature in Presidency College, he severed his relationship with the missionary society.
. He also translated into English, Tamil proverbs and the literary work of Avvaiyar
, a Tamil poet.
His daughter married pioneering geologist and archeologist Robert Bruce Foote. Peter Percival and Robert Bruce Foote were lifelong friends and shared their interest in Indian culture, history and linguistics. He retired to the hill station
town of Yercaud and died in 1882. Graves of both Peter Percival and Robert Bruce Foote were found in the cemetery of the Holy Trinity Church at Yercaud in 2009.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
born missionary
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
, linguist and a pioneering educator in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
and South India
South India
South India is the area encompassing India's states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry, occupying 19.31% of India's area...
during the British colonial era. His work influenced prominent people such as Robert Bruce Foote
Robert Bruce Foote
Robert Bruce Foote was a British geologist and archaeologist who conducted geological surveys of prehistoric locations in India for the Geological Survey of India. In 1863, the year after his archaeological survey began, he discovered the first conclusive Paleolithic stone tool in India. He found...
a pioneering geologist and archeologist and Arumuka Navalar
Arumuka Navalar
Arumuka Navalar was one the early revivalists of native Hindu Tamil traditions in Sri Lanka and India. He and others like him were responsible for reviving and reforming native traditions that had come under a long period of dormancy and decline during the previous 400 years of colonial rule by...
, a Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
revivalist. He began his career in British held Sri Lanka
British Ceylon
British Ceylon refers to British rule prior to 1948 of the island territory now known as Sri Lanka.-From the Dutch to the British:Before the beginning of the Dutch governance, the island of Ceylon was divided between the Portuguese Empire and the Kingdom of Kandy, who were in the midst of a war for...
and Bengal
Bengal
Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...
as a Wesleyan Methodist missionary. His early work was in the minority Sri Lankan Tamil dominant Jaffna peninsula
Jaffna Peninsula
The Jaffna Peninsula is an area in Northern Province, Sri Lanka. It is home to the capital city of the province, Jaffna and comprises much of the former land mass of the ancient Tamil kingdoms of the Nagas and the medieval Jaffna kingdom. The peninsula is mostly surrounded by water, connected to...
. He was instrumental in starting and upgrading a number of schools within the Jaffna peninsula. His preference of education over evangelism
Evangelism
Evangelism refers to the practice of relaying information about a particular set of beliefs to others who do not hold those beliefs. The term is often used in reference to Christianity....
influenced educational programs off all others who sought to improve the literacy
Literacy
Literacy has traditionally been described as the ability to read for knowledge, write coherently and think critically about printed material.Literacy represents the lifelong, intellectual process of gaining meaning from print...
rate in the district. During his stay in Jaffna
Jaffna
Jaffna is the capital city of the Northern Province, Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna district located on a peninsula of the same name. Jaffna is approximately six miles away from Kandarodai which served as a famous emporium in the Jaffna peninsula from classical...
, he led the effort to translate the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
into Tamil
Tamil language
Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
, based on the Authorised Version. After returning to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, he converted to Anglicanism
Anglicanism
Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English...
. Subsequent to his posting in South India, he severed his association with the Anglican Missionary Society that had sent him to India and worked as an educator in Presidency College in Madras Presidency
Madras Presidency
The Madras Presidency , officially the Presidency of Fort St. George and also known as Madras Province, was an administrative subdivision of British India...
. He published English-Tamil and English-Telugu
Telugu language
Telugu is a Central Dravidian language primarily spoken in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, where it is an official language. It is also spoken in the neighbouring states of Chattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa and Tamil Nadu...
dictionaries as well as a number of books on Indian culture and religion. He died in 1882 in Yercaud in present day Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
.
Sri Lanka
Peter Percival was sent to Jaffna peninsula in Sri Lanka by the Wesleyan Methodist Mission of North Ceylon in 1826. At his arrival the missionary society and its efforts had not produced results expected by their original expectations and goals. A number of previous missionaries had returned to EuropeEurope
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
after short stints due to illness. He spent most of his early adult life in Jaffna peninsula until 1851, with a short stint in Bengal (1829–32). While in Bengal he was influenced by the educational policies of Alexander Duff, a Presbyterian
Presbyterianism
Presbyterianism refers to a number of Christian churches adhering to the Calvinist theological tradition within Protestantism, which are organized according to a characteristic Presbyterian polity. Presbyterian theology typically emphasizes the sovereignty of God, the authority of the Scriptures,...
missionary. During his period of stay in Jaffna peninsula, he upgraded a number of existing Methodist missionary primary schools into fully accredited high schools and founded new ones especially for girls. He was instrumental in upgrading Jaffna Central College
Jaffna Central College
Jaffna Central College is a boys public national school in Jaffna, Sri Lanka. It was founded in 1817 by British Methodist missionaries and is among the oldest of the modern schools in Sri Lanka.-History:...
and Point Pedro Methodist Girls College from primary schools to full-fledged high schools. He founded Vembadi Girls' High School and Hartley College
Hartley College
Hartley College is a boys private school in Point Pedro, Sri Lanka. It was founded in 1838 by British Methodist missionaries. The school is named after Wesleyan priest and missionary Rev. Hartley.-History:...
. Apart from these popular schools, he also opened number of village schools for primary education. In 1836 his efforts led to the building of St. Paul’s chapel in Jaffna.
During his tenure as the principle of Jaffna Central College, he hired his former student Arumuka Navalar
Arumuka Navalar
Arumuka Navalar was one the early revivalists of native Hindu Tamil traditions in Sri Lanka and India. He and others like him were responsible for reviving and reforming native traditions that had come under a long period of dormancy and decline during the previous 400 years of colonial rule by...
as a teacher and collaborated with him in translating the Bible into Tamil. Peter Percival's eight-year association allowed Arumuka Navalar to develop his ideas as to how to revive the moribund Saivite sect
Shaivism
Shaivism is one of the four major sects of Hinduism, the others being Vaishnavism, Shaktism and Smartism. Followers of Shaivism, called "Shaivas," and also "Saivas" or "Saivites," revere Shiva as the Supreme Being. Shaivas believe that Shiva is All and in all, the creator, preserver, destroyer,...
of the upper caste
Caste
Caste is an elaborate and complex social system that combines elements of endogamy, occupation, culture, social class, tribal affiliation and political power. It should not be confused with race or social class, e.g. members of different castes in one society may belong to the same race, as in India...
Tamils of Jaffna peninsula. Peter Percival‘s preference of education over evangelism
Evangelism
Evangelism refers to the practice of relaying information about a particular set of beliefs to others who do not hold those beliefs. The term is often used in reference to Christianity....
created friction with other Wesleyan missionaries but it also influenced the educational practices of all those who were trying to improve the literary levels of 19th-century Sri Lankan Tamil society. These early efforts in education led to the relatively higher literacy levels and resultant monopolization of government jobs by minority Sri Lankan Tamils compared to the rest of the population of Sri Lanka when it gained independence from Britain in 1948. (See Origins of the Sri Lankan civil war
Origins of the Sri Lankan civil war
The origins of the Sri Lankan Civil War lie in the continuous political rancor between the majority Sinhalese and the minority Tamils. According to Jonathan Spencer, a social anthropologist from the School of Social and Political Studies of the University of Edinburgh, the war is an outcome of how...
)
England
In 1851, he returned to England with the intention of coming back to Sri Lanka but due to differences with the Methodist hierarchy in London, he renounced Methodism. In 1852, he was ordained deaconDeacon
Deacon is a ministry in the Christian Church that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions...
by the Anglican Bishop of London
Bishop of London
The Bishop of London is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of London in the Province of Canterbury.The diocese covers 458 km² of 17 boroughs of Greater London north of the River Thames and a small part of the County of Surrey...
. During the next two years, he worked as a lecturer at St Augustine's College, Canterbury
St Augustine's College, Canterbury
St Augustine's College, Canterbury was a Church of England theological college in Canterbury, Kent that opened in 1848 and closed in 1976. Many of those who trained there went on to serve as missionaries...
, teaching a course about India and its religions.
India
In 1854, he went to Madras in South India with the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, an Anglican missionary society. He became an Anglican priest ordained by Bishop of MadrasBishop of Madras
The Bishop of Madras was the Ordinary of the Anglican Church in Madras from its inception in 1835 until the foundation of the Church in India, Pakistan, Burma and Ceylon in 1927; and since then head of one of its most prominent Dioceses.-External links:*...
in 1855. In 1856 after becoming the Registrar
Registrar (academic)
In education outside the United Kingdom, a registrar or registrary is an official in an academic institution who handles student records. Typically, a registrar processes registration requests, schedules classes and maintains class lists, enforces the rules for entering or leaving classes, and...
of Madras University and Professor of Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
and Vernacular Literature in Presidency College, he severed his relationship with the missionary society.
Later life
In India he was known a scholar in Tamil and Telugu. After having published the Tamil translation of the Bible, he wrote the book Land of the Veda: India Briefly Described in some of its Aspects, Physical, Social, Intellectual and Moral. His other publications include, a book on Tamil proverbs in English, English-Tamil and English-Telugu dictionaries, and a bilingual Tamil and Telugu journal DinavartamaniDinavartamani
Dinavartamani began in 1855 as Bilingual in Tamil and Telugu with a separate edition of Telugu started in 1856. Dinavartamani was a weekly edited by Peter Percival and issued from Madras. Its Telugu edition in 1856 had a circulation of 700 copies. The journal covered routine news, science, tales...
. He also translated into English, Tamil proverbs and the literary work of Avvaiyar
Avvaiyar
The Avvaiyars "respectable women" was the title of more than one poet who was active during different periods of Tamil literature. The Avvaiyar were some of the most famous and important female poets of the Tamil canon. Abithana Chintamani states that there were three female poets titled...
, a Tamil poet.
His daughter married pioneering geologist and archeologist Robert Bruce Foote. Peter Percival and Robert Bruce Foote were lifelong friends and shared their interest in Indian culture, history and linguistics. He retired to the hill station
Hill station
A hill station is a town located at a higher elevation than the nearby plain or valley. The term was used mostly in colonial Asia , but also in Africa , for towns founded by European colonial rulers as refuges from the summer heat, up where temperatures are cooler...
town of Yercaud and died in 1882. Graves of both Peter Percival and Robert Bruce Foote were found in the cemetery of the Holy Trinity Church at Yercaud in 2009.