Dr Danister L.

Perera

A case presentation for the
UNESCO Workshop on ICH
From 10
th
to 17
th
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Some unpublished catalogues gives different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 Vattru Veda Pota, Vattru
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