Encyclopaedia Mundarica

The Encyclopaedia Mundarica was conceived by the Jesuit missionary John Hoffmann during his long tenure in the Chota Nagpur region of India, beginning in the late 19th century. Driven by an exhaustive desire to document the language, culture, and social customs of the Munda people, Hoffmann dedicated decades to collecting oral traditions and linguistic nuances. His work was intended to preserve a complex tribal culture that was rapidly changing under the pressures of colonial administration and external migration.

The publication process was an immense undertaking, spanning many years and involving the collaboration of numerous local informants and colleagues. Hoffmann’s approach was meticulously philological, aiming to capture the functional and cultural context of every word, which resulted in a monumental set of volumes. While originally produced for scholarly and missionary utility, the encyclopaedia is now widely regarded by linguists and anthropologists as one of the most comprehensive dictionaries of any Austroasiatic language ever compiled.