Manuscript Cultures
New episodeWritten Artefacts of Nepal
28 November 2022
Nepal's manuscript collections are exceptionally diverse, both in terms of scripts and languages as well as materials used. In short videos, Bidur Bhattarai explains how these collections are preserved. The latest one shows traditional techniques to protect raw clay seals in palm-leaf documents.
Episode 5: Traditional Techniques of Protecting Clay Seals in Nepalese Rolled Palm-leaf Documents
The new video on ‘Traditional techniques of protecting clay seals in Nepalese rolled palm-leaf documents: A brief overview’ is now available. In this episode, Bidur Bhattarai talks about a ‘land-related contract’ produced in Kāṣṭhamaṇḍapanagara (what is today Kathmandu) in 1571. Among other things, the manuscript illustrates the traditional practice and culture of keeping these fragile documents safe.
The video is the fifth part of ‘Written Artefacts of Nepal – Preservation and Documentation’, a series of short films that offers a brief and accessible introduction to Nepalese written artefacts, exploring their diversity and uniqueness in terms of writing, supports, materials, forms, and texts. The first episode provides a general overview of preservation work carried out at the Tribhuvan University Central Library. In the second episode, Bidur Bhattarai introduces a rolled palm-leaf document with a raw clay seal. The third episode is about a Buddhist manuscript that is written on nīlapatra (‘black paper’) using ‘gold-like’ ink. The fourth episode presents the techniques used for cleaning and wrapping the manuscripts, how to prepare an acid-free customised E-Flute phase box (‘archival box’), and the long-term strategies for manuscript archiving. All episodes are available in Nepalese with English subtitles.
The CSMC has been engaged in safeguarding the valuable manuscript collections of Nepal since 2018. The project entitled 'Preserving the Written Cultural Heritage of Nepal' is generously supported by the German Foreign Office and the Gerda Henkel Foundation.