Dr Danister L. Perera

A case presentation for the

UNESCO Workshop on ICH From 10th to 17th March 2013

Palm leaf manuscripts

An information source Sociology, politics, anthropology, epistemology,

material culture, environment, religious and aesthetic views etc.

A knowledge repository Buddhism, arts, medicine, rituals, crafts, social

institutions, language, law, agriculture, cookery etc.

A cultural repertory

An intellectual property

A valuable and untapped resource-base of intangible cultural heritage

Where they are?

Temple libraries

Private custodies Traditional owners

Collectors

Government institutes Museums

Archives

Libraries

Nongovernment agencies

Foreign countries

Palm leaf manuscripts in Foreign

Countries

They are in museums, libraries, private collections

etc.

Reported in UK, France, Italy, Netherlands etc.

How it happened?

Looted during invasions

Acquired under colonial period

Exploited unofficially and secretly

Donated by owners

Bought for money but illegally exported

Pros and Cons of Foreign Collections of

Palm Leaf Manuscripts

Well-preserved and

catalogued

Classified and kept in

order

Sometimes open for

research

Sometimes digitized

Internationally

recorded

Out of national

catelogues

Culturally displaced

No ownership or royalty

for IPR

Probable commercial

exploitations

Physical accession is

limited

Study of MSS in British Museum

Based on the catalogue prepared by Mr. K.D.

Somadasa, published by Department of Cultural

Affairs, Government of Sri Lanka in 1964

Only medical manuscripts were enlisted

Allied subjects like astrology, demonology, ritual

healing are excluded

Authenticity of the content is verified through

other catalogues and published textual references

Results and Discussion

Total number of MSS recorded form British

Museum is around 4000 of which 134 were

identified as medical manuscripts

Number of folios belong to these medical

manuscripts are 9936.

As a percentage this is 3.35%

Medical

3%

Total

97%

Comparative analysis

Number of medical MSS recorded from temple

libraries is 424. Percentage of total is around 1%.

MSS available in private custodies are not recorded.

Some unpublished catalogues gives different

numbers. IIM -472

GWAI -50

BMARI -592

National Archives

National Museum

Language and Texts

Most of the MSS are written in Sinhala (79) or

Sanskrit Sinhala (48) mixed language

Some Sinhala MSS are written in verse form and

some are in poses

Four MSS are in Sanskrit

Two MSS are in Pali Sinhala mixed and one is in

Sinnhala Sanskrit and Tamil mixed

Authentic Texts The well-known texts like Yogaratnakaraya, Yagarnavaya,

Sarartha sangrahaya, Bhesajja Manjusava, Sarasankshepaya are

available in complete versions

The bigger MSS having more than 150 folios are given below.

These 16 MSS share 5432 folios which is 54.66% of total.

Name of the MSS Acc. No. Folios

Sarasankshepa 6612(105) 179

Sarasankshepa 6612(106) 184

Yogarnava 6612(110) 196

Bhejya kalpaya 6612(3) 200

Vattoru pota 6612(90) 210

Yogaratnakaraya 1049 221

Vattoru pota 6612(87) 289

Varayogasaraya 6612(108) 321

Name of the MSS Acc. No. Folios

Yogarnava 6612(96) 334

Varayogaratnakaraya 6612(112) 362

Sararathasangraha 6612(1) 401

Varayogaratnakaraya 6612(111) 418

Bhejjamanjusa 6612(2) 433

Yogaratnakaraya 4142 457

Rasasamhita 6612(58) 550

Bhejjamanjusa sannaya 12137 717

Subjects Versatility

62 MSS are general medicine books containing

therapeutics for various kinds of diseases

18 MSS are materia medica books which describe

medicinal plants and other materials

10 MSS contain disease diagnosis methods and

patient examination techniques

Others belong to various subjects like surgery, fever

medicine, snakebite treatments, pediatrics,

obstetrics, wounds, veterinary while some of MSS

are giving knowledge on professional education

and pharmacy.

Availability and Uniqueness

Most of the known named texts are available in Sri

Lanka

Some texts are not reported

The MSS are under name of Vattōru Veda Pota, Vattōru

Pota or Veda Pota can have tradition-specific unique

knowledge.

There are 34 such MSS which approximately more

than 25% of total MSS

Number of folios is 1777 which is 17.88% of total

number of folios.

Most of these MSS need a special attention because

they can have decoded knowledge.

Some Research Works

Indigenous medical texts as exclusive intellectual sources of Sri Lankan tradition: A review on recorded palm-leaf manuscripts in temples

Historical evolution and cultural context of generic measuring system used in indigenous medicine: A comparative analysis

Linguistic and cultural traits reflected by equipages, utilities and applications in indigenous medical lore: An epistemological overview