Book Reviews

Author(s): J W De Jong
Publisher: J W De Jong

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REVIEWS
131
und des Hinduismus' (pp. 1-203); Jozef Deleu, 'Die Mythologie des Jinismus' (pp. 205–284); Günter Grönbold, 'Die Mythologie des indischen Buddhismus' (pp. 285–508); Heinz Bechert, ‘Mythologie der singhalesischen Volksreligion' (pp. 509-656); Martin Pfeiffer, ‘Mythologie der indischen Primitivvölker' (pp. 657–772); Hermann Berger, Mythologie der Zigeuner' (pp. 773-823); K. V. Zvelebil, ‘Mythologie der Tamilen und anderer drawidisch sprechender Völker' (pp. 825—950); Inge-G. Dickmann und Konrad Fischer, 'Sach- und Namenregister (pp. 953-1040). In his preface (pp. VIII-XV) Heinz Bechert introduces the work and outlines the nature of the contributions, which differ greatly according to their topics and the present state of scholarship. It seems that the selection of the materials has been left mostly to the discretion of the contributors. In the contributions by Volker Moeller and Günter Grönbold much space is given to iconography. According to Bechert neither iconography nor symbolism have been included in later contributions. It is also necessary to note that the first part was published as early as 1965 and the last only in 1982. As Bechert remarks, scholarship has made much progress during this period. It would therefore have been useful if the date of each contribution had been indicated. Only Zvelebil's contribution carries a date (1974).
Each contribution is preceded by an introduction followed by a bibliography and a description of the plates. The work contains six maps, most of them accompanied by detailed explanations. Almost all articles contain detailed bibliographical information. In other respects there are great differences in the way the contributors have treated their respective topics. The introductions by Volker Moeller, Jozef Deleu and Günter Grönbold are brief. Heinz Bechert and Kamil Zvelebil were forced to venture into largely unknown territory and to rely a great deal on their own researches, whereas Volker Moeller and Günter Grönbold were faced with a quite different problem: how to incorporate as fully as possible the results of the research done in the fields of Vedism, Hinduism and Indian Buddhism. Bechert remarks that the contribution by Volker Moeller would be better entitled as “Die Mythologie der vedischen Religion und des arisch-sanskritischen Hinduismus" because his treatment of Hinduism is complemented by Zvelebil's study of the mythology of the peoples who speak Dravidian languages. However, even taking into account this limitation which has not always been observed (see for instance the entry on Aiyanār, pp. 36-37), one cannot but feel that an adequate treatment of the mythology of the Vedic religion and Aryan-Sanskrit Hinduism would only have been possible if much more space had been given to this topic. Moreover, it would probably have been preferable to have divided it between two authors, one for the Vedic religion and one for Hinduism. Even taking into account it is probably Volker Moeller's contribution that was published in 1965, it is far from reflecting the state of scholarship even twenty years ago. For instance, the Vedic