[INDOLOGY] mAtAjI

Richard Salomon rsalomon at u.washington.edu
Fri May 24 16:45:44 UTC 2013


Getting back to Indology and India(the detourwas my fault!): Skt. tata 
works the same way: originally "dad," butalso used by a father to 
address his son.

RS

On 5/23/2013 12:27 PM, Luis Gonzalez-Reimann wrote:
> on 5/23/2013 10:30 AM Andrew Ollett wrote:
>> calling a younger person "mama" or "papa" is very common in latin 
>> american communities, at least in new york.
>
> This is very common in Mexico, where it is often used in the 
> diminutive: "mamita," "papito."
>
> Luis González-Reimann
> _____
>
>>
>> On Thu, May 23, 2013 at 7:12 PM, Richard Salomon 
>> <rsalomon at u.washington.edu <mailto:rsalomon at u.washington.edu>> wrote:
>>
>>     On the other hand, this usage is not /exclusively /South Asian.
>>     For instance, in Yiddish a little girl is referred to/addressed
>>     as "mamele" = "little mother." I would imagine there are (many?)
>>     other such casesfrom other languages/cultures.
>>
>>     Rich Salomon
>>
>>     On 5/23/2013 9:53 AM, Dipak Bhattacharya wrote:
>>>     Perhaps this is not pan-Southasian. In my school days a Sikh
>>>     batchmate asked me why Bengali fathers called their daughters or
>>>     girls of their daughter's age 'Ma!'
>>>     Calling a young woman 'Ma' is of course an honour as well as
>>>     sign of responsibility of protection. This is characteristic of
>>>     Bengali Muslims too. I have pleasant experience of that. Long
>>>     ago travelling for a night in the Madras Mail I got an 'Instant
>>>     ticket'. An 'Instant ticket' at that time assured entry without
>>>     the guarantee of a berth. A Muslim gentleman watched us checking
>>>     from berth to berth and at last assured my daughter on his own,
>>>     'For mother there will be no problem of a berth'. To me he said,
>>>     'Why! Your daughter is not my daughter?'
>>>     There is a famous story about Shvaji that a Muslim young woman
>>>     was captured by his men and brought before him. Shivaji told her,
>>>     'If my mother were like you I would have been a handsome man.'
>>>     That guaranteed protection.
>>>     Best
>>>     DB
>>>
>>>
>>>     ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>     *From:* Suresh Kolichala <suresh.kolichala at gmail.com>
>>>     <mailto:suresh.kolichala at gmail.com>
>>>     *To:* Howard Resnick <hr at ivs.edu> <mailto:hr at ivs.edu>
>>>     *Cc:* Indology List <indology at list.indology.info>
>>>     <mailto:indology at list.indology.info>
>>>     *Sent:* Thursday, 23 May 2013 7:28 PM
>>>     *Subject:* Re: [INDOLOGY] mAtAjI
>>>
>>>     This phenomenon is pan-South Asian. It is very common to address
>>>     women as 'mother' 'maa/amma/aayi' and men as 'father' 'baapu,
>>>     ayya, appa'. It is also common across linguistic families to
>>>     address sons and daughters endearingly as 'mother' and 'father'.
>>>
>>>     Suresh.
>>>
>>>     On Thu, May 23, 2013 at 9:31 AM, Howard Resnick <hr at ivs.edu
>>>     <mailto:hr at ivs.edu>> wrote:
>>>
>>>         Thank you, Matthew, for raising these key questions. Gaudiya
>>>         [Bengali] Vaishnava communities, expanding around the world,
>>>         typically follow and teach this "rule" of addressing women
>>>         as 'mother.'  Are they merely propagating a Bengali Hindu
>>>         custom? Or does it include Bengali Muslims? Is the custom,
>>>         to any degree, pan-Hindu? pan-South Asian?
>>>                 Thanks to Jonathan and Somadeva for their information.
>>>
>>>         Howard
>>>
>>>
>>>         On May 23, 2013, at 4:33 AM, Matthew Kapstein
>>>         <mkapstei at UCHICAGO.EDU <mailto:mkapstei at UCHICAGO.EDU>> wrote:
>>>
>>>         > This thread included the comment that in Bengal men
>>>         address even their daughters as Ma, and so far as I know
>>>         this is indeed the case.
>>>         >
>>>         > Two questions:
>>>         >
>>>         > Is this so widespread outside of Bengal?
>>>         > Among Bengalis, is the use confined to Hindus or is it
>>>         current among Muslims as well?
>>>         >
>>>         > Both of these questions, of course, are pertinent to the
>>>         issue of whether or not this should be
>>>         > considered 'Hindu' usage?
>>>         >
>>>         > Matthew Kapstein
>>>         > Directeur d'études,
>>>         > Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes
>>>         >
>>>         > Numata Visiting Professor of Buddhist Studies,
>>>         > The University of Chicago
>>>         >
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>>>         >
>>>
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>>
>>     -- 
>>     ----------------------
>>
>>     Richard Salomon
>>     Department of Asian Languages and Literature
>>     University of Washington, Box 353521
>>     Seattle WA 98195-3521
>>     USA
>>
>>
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-- 
----------------------

Richard Salomon
Department of Asian Languages and Literature
University of Washington, Box 353521
Seattle WA 98195-3521
USA



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