Sidney Endle

author

Sidney Endle

d. 1907

An Anglican missionary in Assam for more than four decades, this writer is remembered for close, respectful work with the Kachari (Bodo) people and for one of the earliest book-length English studies of their society and beliefs. His writing still stands out for its careful observation and unusual interest in local language and folklore.

1 Audiobook

The Kacháris

The Kacháris

by Sidney Endle

About the author

Born in Totnes, Devon, around 1840, Sidney Endle was educated at Totnes Grammar School and St. Augustine’s College, Canterbury. He went to Assam in 1864 and was ordained a priest in 1865, beginning what became a long career as an Anglican missionary and chaplain.

After the death of missionary F. Hesselmyer in 1869, he took charge of the Kachari Mission at Tezpur. He spent about 43 years working among the Kachari Baras, now more often called Bodos, and became known for taking their language, traditions, and religious life seriously at a time when that was far from common.

Endle also wrote important scholarly works, including Outline Grammar of the Kachári (Båṛå) Language (1884) and The Kacháris, published after his death with an introduction by J. D. Anderson. He died in 1907, and his work remains valuable both as missionary history and as an early record of Bodo language and culture.