During
the summer of 2005, the conservation and digitisation of 400 rolled palm
leaf manuscripts with clay seals (fig. 01, below) housed at the Asa Archives
in Kathmandu was carried out over a period of 6 weeks.
fig.
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The
Asa Archives is a public library named after the late Mr Asha Man Singha
Kansakar, father of the late Mr. Prem Bahadur Kansakar (1917-1991), a
prominent activist, social worker, educationist and Newar writer who had
founded several social, cultural, literary and educational institutions.
Their personal collections and later additions of the manuscripts became
the base of the Archives which opened to the public in 1987. The archives
houses more than 6,700 manuscripts, including Buddhist and Hindu texts,
medical texts, manuals of magic and necromancy, astrology, astronomy,
Vedic, Purana and Tantric text. Land grants written on rolled palm leaf
manuscripts with clay seals are unique to Nepal.
The Asa
Archives is one of the very few institutions in Nepal to have digitised
nearly its entire collection of manuscripts. The one exception was the
collection of the rolled palm leaf manuscripts which were not digitised
because of the difficulty of even opening them without causing damage.
An important matter for consideration was in what form the objects should
be housed after the conservation. From the conservator’s point of
view, ideally they should retain the original form. However, for easier
access to the text and to avoid further damage during the unrolling and
rolling, keeping the objects flat was also considered.
This problem was solved by digital photography which was to be carried
out as soon as the conservation treatment of each roll was finished in
order to prevent unnecessary unrolling more than once.
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The Rolled Palm Leaf Manuscripts
“Since palm leaf is not native to Nepal, one can presume that the
tradition of writing in this medium was introduced into the country from
the Indian plains probably during the Lichchhavi period (330-879 AD)”
(Pal & Meech-Pekarik, 1982, p. 95).
Leaves of Talipot (Corypha umbraculifera Linn) and Palmyra (Borassus flabellifer
Linn) were both found among the manuscripts in the Asa Archives. Talipot
is far superior as writing material; longer, wider, lighter in colour with
a smooth and supple surface, whereas the Palmyra leaf is shorter, narrower,
thicker, corser and tends to become brittle and prone to physical damage.
There are approximately 1000 catalogued and 300 uncatalogued rolled palm
leaf manuscripts in the archives, making it the largest collection of its
kind in Nepal. They are land grant documents commonly called tamsuk
in both Nepali and Newari (Nepal Bhasa). The oldest tamsuk among
the 400 conserved is dated 1337AD (Newari Samvat 457) and they run up to
the 17th century. The languages used are Nepali and Newari (Nepal Bhasa)
mixed with Sanskrit. The scripts generally used are Bhujimmola, Devanagari
and Prachalita.
Out of the 400 tamsuk the longest was 1m 27cm excluding the part
which was folded several times under the seal. The shortest complete manuscript
was 25.7cm. The average length was 55.2cm. The natural shape of a palm leaf
is generally widest in the middle and tapered towards both ends. The width
in the middle varied between 1.5cm and 5.5cm.
At the head of each tamsuk, an unfired dark grey clay seal varying
in design and in size between 8mm and 2.8cm, is affixed over a knot of palm
leaf strips which secured
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fig.
02 |
the folded
part of the document (fig. 02). Sometimes there were short
texts written here, but quite often they were blank.
The tail end is generally cut off a little and folded once. This folded
line was found to be weak and many were broken off completely.
A few tamsuk show half a design of intricate patterns at either
the head or the end of the document.
“The agreement was written in two identical copies on the right and
the left side of a single strip of palm leaf, the two copies being separated
by the fleuron. Upon ratification of the agreement, each party was issued
with one part” (Kölver & Shakya, 1985, p. 26).
The text was normally written on one side only but occasionally codicils,
brief notes or numbers were added on the verso.
The text was written on the surface, presumably with a reed pen and carbon
based ink, rather than incised.
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Condition
of the tamsuk
151 rolls out of 400 (38%) were damaged to a various extent by mice (figs.
03 and 04, below). Unexpectedly only 12 rolls were damaged by insects (fig.
05, below). A few suffered from mould damage especially around and underneath
the seals.
fig. 03 |
fig. 04 |
184 rolls (46%) had previous cellotape repairs. Sometimes the entire surface
of the palm leaf was covered with cellotape (figs. 06 and 07, below).
The clay seals of 175 rolls (44%) were either completely missing, separated
from the palm leaf strip on which the seal was partially imbedded, or cracked.
Many manuscripts suffered numerous vertical cracks, folds and tears as the
result of the rolls having been pressed down over the years.
Surprisingly the condition of the text itself was found generally sound,
apart from some smudges or frayed surface making the text illegible.
Conservation
Aims
The aim of the conservation for this project was to stabilise the objects
to prevent any further damage, and to prepare them for digital photography.
Therefore the minimum intervention was to be carried out for the actual
physical conservation which was concentrated on cleaning, removing all
the previous repair tapes, joining and repairing the fragments, treating
mould, stabilising folds by providing support from verso, consolidating
frayed layers and parts and consolidating or joining the damaged clay
seals.
It was hoped to find the most suitable storage method for the conserved
manuscripts where the fluctuation of the temperature and humidity is significant
and no artificial environmental control is a possibility.
Conservation
Procedures
In order to unroll the tamsuk without damaging them, it was necessary
first to humidify them. Prior to humidification, the measurement of the
diameter of each roll was taken so that when the treatment and the photography
was finished it could be rolled back to the original diameter, which varied
from 1.8 cm to 6cm.
Humidification was carried out in a shallow polypropylene tray large enough
to fit nine tamsuk. 300cc of filtered water was added to 6 layers
of 55g/M2 local hand made Lokta paper (Daphne bholua), a sheet of Capillary
matting was placed over this and another 50cc water added. A sheet of
Sympatex was placed on top of the Capillary matting. A sheet of Bondina
(unwoven polyester) was placed over this, then 9 tamsuk. A sheet
of glass was placed over the tray. The use of Sympatex together with Capillary
matting allows the humidity to reach the objects uniformly without the
risk of liquid penetration (fig. 08, above).
The duration of the humidification was 90 minutes which was found to be
sufficient for the tamsuk to be opened without difficulty. They
were then transferred and sandwiched between two sheets of Bondina and
four layers of blotter, the outer two of which were sprayed damp with
filtered water (fig. 09, above). A wooden board was placed with weights
which were stone mortar and pestles wrapped in heavy Lokta paper for protection
(fig.10, above). This process was necessary to keep the rolls flat for
further conservation treatments and subsequent photography.
The both surfaces
of the palm leaves were cleaned with cotton swabs moistened with ethanol,
avoiding the text area. All the cellotape, masking tape and other old
repairs were removed and residue cleaned mostly with acetone (fig.11,
above). All the tears were repaired using 100% Kozo fibre Japanese papers
of different weights which were toned with Cartasol K dyes (cationic,
direct dyes developed especially for predominantly wood-free pulp paper)
in various shades. The dyes have been used in the British Library for
quite some time, have shown good colour fastness and are stable. The vertical
folds and creases were also supported with repair paper from the verso
(figs. 12 and 13, above). The loose or faulty seal attachments were also
strengthened (fig. 14 and 15, below).
Methyl cellulose
was chosen as an adhesive mainly in consideration of climatic conditions
in Kathmandu, where during the summer monsoon months relative humidity
stays around 60% or over and the temperature 28-310 C.
Cracked or broken seals
were repaired using Paraloid B72 in acetone (figs. 16,above and 17, below).
Photography,
Measuring, Record Keeping and Storage
The camera used was Fuji Fine Pix 52 Pro with Nikon Lens AF-S NIKKOR 24-85mm.
For palm leaves over 66cm, two photographic frames were taken and carefully
joined together
at the editing stage. The photograph of the verso was also taken when
there was writing of any kind. Separate close up photographs were also
taken for each seal which might render further research easier. The measurements
of the length and the width of three parts (head, middle and tail) were
recorded before the tamsuk was rolled back in the same way starting
from the left seal side so that both the seal and the text could be protected.
The record of the diameter of each roll prior to the humidification was
referred to, and the same diameter retained as far as possible. The roll
was tied temporarily with a piece of twisted Lokta paper cord and left
to air dry until next day (fig. 18, below).
Completely dried
manuscripts were wrapped in 14g/M2 Lokta paper softened by hand-squeezing.
New digital catalogue numbers were recorded on the archival label and
pasted on the Lokta wrapping sheet. Another label of the same number was
also attached inside each compartment of the alkali buffered archival
box custom designed and assembled in Japan to accommodate 80 rolls with
double outer walls which act as a buffer for the change of temperature
and relative humidity in the storage room (fig. 19, above). It is extremely
important to provide the safe enclosure which can sustain the stable micro-climate
especially in countries where there is no other means of controlling the
environment of the entire buildings. The double wall structure constructed
with strong archival board with a tight fit lid should also discourage
further attack by mice and other insects. The polypropylene coated board
keeps out atmospheric pollution and is waterproof.
Inside the lid, a sheet of SHC (Super Humidity Controlling) board is incorporated
which acts as buffer for the humidity fluctuation to certain degree as
well as absorbing the harmful gasses emitted from the objects themselves.
Conclusions
Having treated 400 rolls in various unravelled states we had a rare opportunity
to observe closely how the structure of the sealed manuscripts was made.
fig.
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One
can imagine the kayasthas (official scribes) in Mediaeval Nepal
carefully choosing a prepared and polished palm leaf, short or long, wide
or narrow depending on the length of the text he is about to record, from
a bundle of palm leaves which must have been carried from Indian plains
partly on the backs of men over passes and through jungles. He would then
write out the document, fold the head part of the leaf several times and
make a small incision for the palm leaf strip to go through and tie a
knot to secure the folded part. Finally, he would take a small amount
of round soft clay to impress his particular seal over it (fig. 20). When
the seal was dry the palm leaf would be rolled tightly for safe keeping.
What we have now under safekeeping is the collection of rolled palm leaf
manuscripts covering a period of several hundred years.
Approximately one third of the collection at the archives was stabilised
and future damage and deterioration minimised as far as possible. They
are all now housed in the archival boxes.
The very clear digital images of all the texts, seals and any additional
writings on the verso have been recorded.
It is hoped that this project will continue for the next two years. When
it is finished, reseachers will have a fuller access of the contents of
land grants of the Kathmandu Valley, and it is not improbable that this
could shed new light on historical, economical and social conditions of
the period.
The
project for 2005 was partially funded by the Japan Foundation.
The following companies kindly supplied the materials at no cost.
Japan Archival Enclosures Co., Ltd. specially designed and assembled archival
boxes.
Masumi Corporation supplied various papers for repairing.
Clariant Japan Co., Ltd. supplied Cartasol K dyes.
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