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Padre Leopoldo von Kinder: the Mystery of the Amazing Linguist from Colombia
Las Vegas, NV
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Leopoldo von Kinder, a linguist who lived in Colombia, South America, contended that carvings at nearby La Yunga Rock are Phoenician characters. Terry Howard and Gail Howard at the rock
Padre Leopoldo von Kinder: the Mystery of the Amazing Linguist from Colombia
By Gail Howard
Leopoldo von Kinder, a man of immense knowledge, taught Semitic languages at the University of Ulm in Germany and had three doctorate degrees, including one from the Vatican. Padre von Kinder could speak and write poetry in 320 languages and was still learning 100 new words each day before breakfast when my sister, Terry Howard, and I met him in Popayan, Colombia, in 1961. To this day, he remains a fascination to me, and I am trying to find out more about him.
Gregorio Hernandez de Alba, an archeologist in Bogota, had told me and my sister about the mysterious La Yunga rock near Popayan and referred us to Dr. Jaime Valencia, director of Indian affairs, (Asuntos Indigenas) in Popayan, who drove us in his jeep to see it.
The rock lies 20 miles west of Popayan in a wilderness named La Yunga. The 40-cubic-meter boulder has 267 signs carved on its flat side. Local Indians have long feared the stone, believing that demons etched the marks with their claws.
Dr. Valencia then informed us that Padre Leopoldo Von Kinder had deciphered the markings as Phoenician from 180 B.C. After seeing the boulder, we wanted to meet von Kinder and learn more. Dr. Valencia drove us to his house. A young woman answered the bell and invited us to be seated in the parlor.
Padre Leopoldo von Kinder entered the room. Attired in a long black robe, he carried himself with grace and dignity. Although in his late 60's, he had twinkling blue eyes and soft, very white hands.
Von Kinder told us that six of the signs carved in the rock and repeated several times were "without doubt Phoenician characters" He said one phrase translated to "I have arrived this far" or "Here I am"
Von Kinder believed the Phoenician language was already degenerating when the La Yunga inscription was carved, which may account for the crudeness of the markings. He placed the date near the end of the Second Punic War – 202 B.C. -- when Hannibal was defeated by the Romans at Zama. In 146 B.C., the Phoenician colony of Carthage was destroyed. The language lasted a few more centuries as a dialect in North Africa then disappeared.
This professor of linguistics told us that grammatical pattern is more important than the actual words which can change over time. Von Kinder lived among the 126 surviving Huitota Indians on the Putumayo River for six months, long enough to learn their language. He discovered that Huitota had a unique grammatical construction found only in Semitic languages, such as Hebrew and Phoenician. In 1936, the Colombian Government published Leopoldo von Kinder's book, Gramatica Y Vocabulario De La Lengua Huitota (A Grammar and Vocabulary of the Huitota Language.)
If von Kinder's Phoenician theory were proved to be correct, then neither Columbus nor the Vikings would be the first to touch American soil. He was waiting for his claim to be officially authenticated by etymologists at Berlin University, and he was planning to publish his complete translation of the Phoenician signs on the La Yunga rock. Meanwhile, the padre answered his critics, "Amanecera y veremos" (Dawn will come, and we shall see) and "Truth is the daughter of Time"
In his library, the padre had 320 foreign language grammar books and Bibles in 150 languages. Hidden behind his language books was a collection of 500 detective stories and mysteries – his only entertainment.
The padre-linguist told us that the world's oldest language is Sumero-Akkadian. "It existed before the Deluge," he said. "It was already a dead language at the time of Moses. After the destruction of the Tower of Babel, it was dispersed into 40 languages. Of those 40, only Sanskrit, Aramaic, Chinese, Assyrian-Babylonian and Egyptian hieroglyphics are known today"
After several intriguing visits with the padre, we were told about his visit in Bavaria with the famous mystic Theresa Neumann (who later was canonized as a saint). "Scientists had observed Theresa Neumann over a period of time and verified that she never ate or drank anything," von Kinder told us. "She was guileless and candid with everyone who sought her out, revealing only the truth as she knew it intuitively. She told some priests things that made them weep, feel embarrassed or ashamed"
Von Kinder described Neumann as "very plain, but god-like" He said that he laughed at her accent, which seemed strange to him. Then, she informed him of a vision she saw about him. Theresa Neumann said that von Kinder would be going to Colombia and that he would die there. His 40-year-old wish would be realized because he would die for the Catholic Church – a martyr's death by firing squad. Soldiers would be lined up. They would shoot, but he would not fall. Finally, one would come up and shoot von Kinder in the head, and he would fall. "Write this down in your journals," he told us. "When the time comes, which may be soon, you will know this had been foretold"
In von Kinder's childhood, his schoolmaster had also had a vision. He told his class that one of the students would die for his country – and one did die in World War II – and another would die a martyr for the Church. Von Kinder intuitively knew then the he would meet that second foretold death.
Padre Von Kinder confided to us that he had always felt suppressed by the political maneuvering within the Church. He believed he was shoved into an ineffectual position by his ecclesiastical superiors. He wore two rings, one ruby and one sapphire, which were allowed to be worn only by bishops or those who had received a doctorate in the Vatican.
With his three doctorate degrees, it was understandable how Leopoldo von Kinder would create enemies among his colleagues, whom he could put to shame with his intellectual prowess. Now that he was retired, he said, the priests don't bother him, "but give me some 25 hours in each day for my own studies"
When Terry and I said our final goodbyes, the gentle Padre von Kinder told us, "You have brought sunshine into my house" As we walked down the street, I looked back and saw him waving. My eyes welled up with tears, and I could barely see as we walked back to our hotel.
Today, his mystery remains as I search for what happened to this man. If anyone knows more, please contact me.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gail Howard traveled the world nonstop for 12 years throughout her 20s and early 30s, exploring the world's most remote corners. The experiences described on Gail Howard's nine travel adventures Web sites are taken directly from letters and photos she sent home while traveling in 130 countries. Gail Howard is better known as the author of Lottery Master Guide and four other lottery systems books. Click here for links to all ten of Gail Howard's web sites: http://www.smartluck.com/gailhoward-lottery-bio.htm
Here are two other references to Leopoldo von Kinder. I hope that more people come forward to honor this kind and gentle man whose capacity for knowledge seemed limitless.
Grama´tica y vocabulario de la lengua huitota (Open Library)
by Leopoldo von Kinder Published in 1936, Imprenta del departamento (Pasto) ... By statement: por el rdo. padre Leopoldo von Kinder ... Language: Spanish ...
www.openlibrary.org/b/OL6383106M
Grama´tica y vocabulario de la lengua huitota, [WorldCat.org]
Author: [Leopoldo von Kinder] -- Related Subjects: [Witoto language.] ... Responsibility: por el rdo. padre Leopoldo von Kinder . ...
www.worldcat.org/oclc/6937730
Padre Leopoldo von Kinder: the Mystery of the Amazing Linguist from Colombia
By Gail Howard
Leopoldo von Kinder, a man of immense knowledge, taught Semitic languages at the University of Ulm in Germany and had three doctorate degrees, including one from the Vatican. Padre von Kinder could speak and write poetry in 320 languages and was still learning 100 new words each day before breakfast when my sister, Terry Howard, and I met him in Popayan, Colombia, in 1961. To this day, he remains a fascination to me, and I am trying to find out more about him.
Gregorio Hernandez de Alba, an archeologist in Bogota, had told me and my sister about the mysterious La Yunga rock near Popayan and referred us to Dr. Jaime Valencia, director of Indian affairs, (Asuntos Indigenas) in Popayan, who drove us in his jeep to see it.
The rock lies 20 miles west of Popayan in a wilderness named La Yunga. The 40-cubic-meter boulder has 267 signs carved on its flat side. Local Indians have long feared the stone, believing that demons etched the marks with their claws.
Dr. Valencia then informed us that Padre Leopoldo Von Kinder had deciphered the markings as Phoenician from 180 B.C. After seeing the boulder, we wanted to meet von Kinder and learn more. Dr. Valencia drove us to his house. A young woman answered the bell and invited us to be seated in the parlor.
Padre Leopoldo von Kinder entered the room. Attired in a long black robe, he carried himself with grace and dignity. Although in his late 60's, he had twinkling blue eyes and soft, very white hands.
Von Kinder told us that six of the signs carved in the rock and repeated several times were "without doubt Phoenician characters" He said one phrase translated to "I have arrived this far" or "Here I am"
Von Kinder believed the Phoenician language was already degenerating when the La Yunga inscription was carved, which may account for the crudeness of the markings. He placed the date near the end of the Second Punic War – 202 B.C. -- when Hannibal was defeated by the Romans at Zama. In 146 B.C., the Phoenician colony of Carthage was destroyed. The language lasted a few more centuries as a dialect in North Africa then disappeared.
This professor of linguistics told us that grammatical pattern is more important than the actual words which can change over time. Von Kinder lived among the 126 surviving Huitota Indians on the Putumayo River for six months, long enough to learn their language. He discovered that Huitota had a unique grammatical construction found only in Semitic languages, such as Hebrew and Phoenician. In 1936, the Colombian Government published Leopoldo von Kinder's book, Gramatica Y Vocabulario De La Lengua Huitota (A Grammar and Vocabulary of the Huitota Language.)
If von Kinder's Phoenician theory were proved to be correct, then neither Columbus nor the Vikings would be the first to touch American soil. He was waiting for his claim to be officially authenticated by etymologists at Berlin University, and he was planning to publish his complete translation of the Phoenician signs on the La Yunga rock. Meanwhile, the padre answered his critics, "Amanecera y veremos" (Dawn will come, and we shall see) and "Truth is the daughter of Time"
In his library, the padre had 320 foreign language grammar books and Bibles in 150 languages. Hidden behind his language books was a collection of 500 detective stories and mysteries – his only entertainment.
The padre-linguist told us that the world's oldest language is Sumero-Akkadian. "It existed before the Deluge," he said. "It was already a dead language at the time of Moses. After the destruction of the Tower of Babel, it was dispersed into 40 languages. Of those 40, only Sanskrit, Aramaic, Chinese, Assyrian-Babylonian and Egyptian hieroglyphics are known today"
After several intriguing visits with the padre, we were told about his visit in Bavaria with the famous mystic Theresa Neumann (who later was canonized as a saint). "Scientists had observed Theresa Neumann over a period of time and verified that she never ate or drank anything," von Kinder told us. "She was guileless and candid with everyone who sought her out, revealing only the truth as she knew it intuitively. She told some priests things that made them weep, feel embarrassed or ashamed"
Von Kinder described Neumann as "very plain, but god-like" He said that he laughed at her accent, which seemed strange to him. Then, she informed him of a vision she saw about him. Theresa Neumann said that von Kinder would be going to Colombia and that he would die there. His 40-year-old wish would be realized because he would die for the Catholic Church – a martyr's death by firing squad. Soldiers would be lined up. They would shoot, but he would not fall. Finally, one would come up and shoot von Kinder in the head, and he would fall. "Write this down in your journals," he told us. "When the time comes, which may be soon, you will know this had been foretold"
In von Kinder's childhood, his schoolmaster had also had a vision. He told his class that one of the students would die for his country – and one did die in World War II – and another would die a martyr for the Church. Von Kinder intuitively knew then the he would meet that second foretold death.
Padre Von Kinder confided to us that he had always felt suppressed by the political maneuvering within the Church. He believed he was shoved into an ineffectual position by his ecclesiastical superiors. He wore two rings, one ruby and one sapphire, which were allowed to be worn only by bishops or those who had received a doctorate in the Vatican.
With his three doctorate degrees, it was understandable how Leopoldo von Kinder would create enemies among his colleagues, whom he could put to shame with his intellectual prowess. Now that he was retired, he said, the priests don't bother him, "but give me some 25 hours in each day for my own studies"
When Terry and I said our final goodbyes, the gentle Padre von Kinder told us, "You have brought sunshine into my house" As we walked down the street, I looked back and saw him waving. My eyes welled up with tears, and I could barely see as we walked back to our hotel.
Today, his mystery remains as I search for what happened to this man. If anyone knows more, please contact me.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gail Howard traveled the world nonstop for 12 years throughout her 20s and early 30s, exploring the world's most remote corners. The experiences described on Gail Howard's nine travel adventures Web sites are taken directly from letters and photos she sent home while traveling in 130 countries. Gail Howard is better known as the author of Lottery Master Guide and four other lottery systems books. Click here for links to all ten of Gail Howard's web sites: http://www.smartluck.com/gailhoward-lottery-bio.htm
Here are two other references to Leopoldo von Kinder. I hope that more people come forward to honor this kind and gentle man whose capacity for knowledge seemed limitless.
Grama´tica y vocabulario de la lengua huitota (Open Library)
by Leopoldo von Kinder Published in 1936, Imprenta del departamento (Pasto) ... By statement: por el rdo. padre Leopoldo von Kinder ... Language: Spanish ...
www.openlibrary.org/b/OL6383106M
Grama´tica y vocabulario de la lengua huitota, [WorldCat.org]
Author: [Leopoldo von Kinder] -- Related Subjects: [Witoto language.] ... Responsibility: por el rdo. padre Leopoldo von Kinder . ...
www.worldcat.org/oclc/6937730
Gail Howard
Las Vegas, NV
800-945-4245