Günther-Dietz Sontheimer
Günther-Dietz Sontheimer (born April 21, 1934 in Ulm , † June 2, 1992 in Dossenheim ) was a German Indologist .
Life
Sontheimer, son of Walther Sontheimer , at the studied 1953-1958 University of Tübingen Law and Helmuth von Glasenapp u. a. Indology. After passing the first state law exam, he continued his studies specializing in Indian law at Law College in Pune . From 1961 to 1964 he studied Indian law and Marathi at the University of London . This was followed by his doctorate and since 1965 an activity at the South Asia Institute in Heidelberg , whose branch in New Delhi he headed from 1973 to 1975. Following the habilitationhe began teaching history of religion at the South Asia Institute in Heidelberg in 1976 .
Günther-Dietz Sontheimer spent more than 40 times doing field research in India , starting from Pune in West India . His research focused in particular on the Indian folk religion (e.g. the Khandoba / Shiva cults in the small town of Jejuri, about 30 kilometers southeast of Pune), the nomadic pastoral groups (including the Hatkar Dhangars) on the Deccan , in the Indian state of Maharashtra , Andhra Pradesh , Karnataka and their cults, as well as oral traditions and customs. Some of his works have also been documented on film by the Munich documentary filmmaker Henning Stegmüller and the Indian filmmaker and author Dilip Chitre . He expanded classical Indology to include an ethnological aspect through innovative field research .
In 1987 Sontheimer was awarded the Rabindranath Tagore Literature Prize of the Indo-German Society .
Works
- The Concept of Daya: A Comparative Study. Dissertation. London 1962.
- Biroba. Mhaskoba and Khandoba: Origin, History and Environment of Pastoral Deities in Maharastra. Wiesbaden 1976.
- The Joint Hindu Family: Its Evolution as a Legal Institution. South Asian Studies, Volume 7. Delhi 1977.
Web links
- Literature by and about Günther-Dietz Sontheimer in the catalog of the German National Library
- Obituary by Prof. Jürgen Lütt for Günther-Dietz Sontheimer
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Sontheimer, Günther-Dietz |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German Indologist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | April 21, 1934 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Ulm |
| DATE OF DEATH | 2nd June 1992 |
| Place of death | Dossenheim |