CALAND, Willem. Brielle (Den Briel), Zuid Holland 27.8.1859 — Utrecht 23.3. 1932. Dutch Indologist. Professor in Utrecht. Son of the water engineer Pieter C. and Helena de Jonge. Educated in the Hague. Studied from 1877 classical philology under Cobet at Leiden, became interested in Kern’s lectures. In 1880 candidate and 1883 Ph.D. Leiden, with a thesis on Roman numismatics. In 1882-87 teacher in Maastricht, and from 1887 Conrector at the Gymnasium of Breda. Devoted his free hours for Indological and related research. From 1897 member of the Akademie van Wetenschappen. From 1903 taught Indology (and Iranian and IE philology) at Utrecht, first as a Lektor, then from 1906 as eo. Professor and from 1917 as ordinarius. Retired in 1929/30. Married 1883 Jenny Elisabeth van Hettinga Trompp, one daughter. Suffered long time of articular rheumatism, which finally killed him.
Although in the first phase of his scholarly career Caland discussed Indo-Iranian (Avestan linguistics) and even IE (rituals for the dead) questions, he soon concentrated on Vedic religion and ritual and became one of the foremost specialists of the Brāhmaṇa and Sūtra literature and a pioneer of Sāmavedic research. His other interests included classical Sanskrit literature, early European accounts of India, comparative religion and ethnology, Lithuanian, numismatics, and violin playing. As a scholar he was very productive. Because of health problems he never visited India.
He was a popular teacher and many students wrote their doctorates under him: Gaastra (1906), Eelsingh (1908), Raabe (1911), Salomons (1913), A. de Jong (1917), Muusses (1920), Gelder (1921), Harting (1922), Rahder (1926), Raghuvira (1929), and Bake (1930), further students e.g. P.-E. Dumont, Gonda and Kuiper.
Publications: Diss. De nummis M. Antonii IIIviri vitam et res gestas illustrantibus commentatio. 96 p. Lugd. Bat. 1883; two numismatic articles in Zeitschrift für Numismatik 12, 1884 & 13, 1885.
– Über Totenverehrung bei einigen der indogermanischen Völker. 81 p. V.K.N.A.W. Afd. Letterk. 17. Amsterdam 1888; Altindische Ahnencult. 266 p. Leiden 1893; Die altindischen Todten- und Bestattungsgebräuche. 194 p. V.K.N.A.W. Afd. Lk. N.R. 1:6. Amsterdam 1896; Altindisches Zauberritual. 196 p. Ibid. 3:2. Amsterdam 1900 (Kauś.S. 7-52 translated); Altindische Zauberei. Darstellung der altindischen “Wunschopfer”. 157 p. Ibid. 10:1. Amsterdam 1908.
– Zur Syntax der Pronomina im Avesta. 66 p. V.K.N.A.W. Afd. Letterk. 20. Amsterdam 1891; “Beiträge zur Kenntniss des Avestâ”, KZ 30, 1890, 534-547; 31, 1892, 256-273; 32, 1893, 592-595; 33, 1895, 300-304, 459-466; Het Parsisme. 35 p. Baarn 1913.
– “Een indogermaansch lustratiegebruik”, VKNAW 4. Reeks 2, 1898, 275-325.
– “Zur Exegese und Kritik der rituellen Sūtras”, ZDMG 51-58, 1897-1904; 61, 1908 (Kl. Schr. 23-120); Über das rituelle Sūtra des Baudhāyana. 65 p. A.K.M. 12:1. Lp. 1903; “Zum Atharvavedalitteratur”, WZKM 18, 1904, 185-207.
– Edited: The Pitrmedhasūtras of Baudhāyana, Hiraṇyakeśin, Gautama. 133 p. A.K.M. 10:3. Lp. 1896; The Baudhāyana Śrauta Sūtra. 1-3. 435+298+125 p. B.I. 163. Calcutta 1904-1923; De litteratuur van den Sāmaveda en het Jaiminīyagrhyasūtra. 15+98 p. V.K.N.A.W. Afd. Lk. N.R. 6:2. Amsterdam 1905, new ed. with transl. The JGS belonging to the SV. 80+63 p. Lahore 1922; Die Jaiminīya-Saṁhitā mit einer Einleitung über die Sāmavedaliteratur. 127 p. Ind. Forsch. 2. Breslau 1907; Der Ārṣeyakalpa des Sāmaveda. 270 p. A.K.M. 12:3. Lp. 1908; The Kāṭhakagrhyasūtra with extracts from the three commentaries. 474 p. Lahore 1925; Vaikhānasasmārtasūtram, the domestic rules and sacred laws of the Vaikhānasa school. 145 p. B.I. 242. Calcutta 1927; the same translated, 237 p. B.I. 251. Calc. 1929; Vaikhānasa Śrautasūtra. 408 p. B.I. 265. Calcutta 1941.
– With V. Henry: L’Agniṣṭoma. Description complète de la forme normale du Sacrifice de Soma dans le culte védique. 1-2. 57+257+520 p. P. 1906-07.
– Translated: Das Vaitānasūtra des Atharvaveda. 135 p. V.K.N.A.W. Afd. Letterk. N.R. 11:2. Amst. 1910; Das Śrautasūtra des Āpastamba. 1.–7. Buch. 270 p. Quellen der Rel.gesch. 8. Göttingen–Lp. 1921; – Buch 8.–15. and – 16.–24. und 31. Buch. 468+461 p. V.K.N.A.W. Afd. Lk. N.R. 24:2 & 26:4. Amst. 1924-28.
– Over taal en zeden der Litauers. 61 p. Utrecht 1913; “Die vorchristlichen baltischen Totengebräuche”, Archiv f. Rel.wiss. 17, 1914, 476-512.
– “Over en uit het Jaiminīya-Brāhmaṇa”, MKNAW 5:1, Amsterdam 1914, 1-106; Das Jaiminīya-Brāhmaṇa in Auswahl. Text, Übersetzung, Indices. 326 p. V.K.N.A.W. Afd. Lk. N.R. 19. Amsterdam 1919.
– Edited: A. Rogerius, De open deure tot het verborgen heydendom. 44+223 p. ’s-Gravenhage 1915; Twee oude Fransche verhandelingen over het Hindoeisme. 195 p. V.K.N.A.W. Afd. Lk. N.R. 23:3. Amsterdam 1923; Ziegenbalg’s Malabarisches Heidentum. 291 p. Ibid. 25:3. Amsterdam 1926; B. Ziegenbalg’s Kleinere Schriften. 87 p. Ibid. 29:2. Amsterdam 1930; Wollebrandt Geleynssen de Jongh, Remonstrantie. 15+127 p. ’s-Gravenhage 1929.
– Edited: Sāvitrī en Nala. Twee Episoden uit het Mahābhārata. 165 p. Utrecht 1917, also in German U. 1917; Een onbekend Indisch tooneelstuk (Gopālakelicandrikā). 158 p. V.K.N.A.W. Afd. Letterk. N.R. 17:3. Amsterdam 1917.
– Translated, with A. A. Fokker: Drie oude Portugeesche Verhandelingen over het Hindoeïsme. 216 p. V.K.N.A.W. Afd. Letterk. N.R. 16:2. Amsterdam 1915.
– Translated: Verhalen van een vampier. 116 p. Amsterdam 1923; Boeddhistische verhalen. 95 p. Utrecht 1923.
– Mitteilungen “über das Vādhūlasūtra”, AO 1, 1922, 3-11; 2, 1924, 142-167; 4, 1926, 1-41, 161-213; 6, 1928, 97-241; “On the sacred books of the Vaikhānasas”, MKNAW 65, Amsterdam 1928, 229-244.
– With Raghu Vira, edited: The Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa in the Kāṇvīya recension. 474 p. Lahore 1926-39; Vārāha Śrautasūtra. 160 p. Lahore 1933.
– Translated: Pañcaviṁśa-Brāhmaṇa. The Brāhmaṇa of Twenty Five Chapters. 31+661 p. B.I. 255. Calcutta 1931; Śāṅkhāyana Śrautasūtra. Ed. by Lokesh Chandra. 483 p. Nagpur 1953.
– Kleine Schriften. Hrsg. von M. Witzel. 33+786 p. Glasenapp-St. 27. St. 1990.
Sources: *H. van der Hoeven, Biogr. Woordenboek van Nederland 3, 1989; *J. van Manen, JASB 29, 1933, clxxxviii-cxc; J. Rahder, Levensberichten van de Maatschappij der nederlandsche Letterkunde te Leiden 1932-1933, 26 p. (with bibliography by N. Fukushima); *J.Ph. Vogel, Academielevensbericht founded on Caland’s autobiographical notes from 1931, Jaarboek der K.N.A.W. 1933, 129-160, also in JRAS 1932, 731-733; “een bescheiden onderkomen” 1981, 84-94; life and bibliography in Kleine Schr.; Wikipedia with photo; photo in Sardesai.