ETHAS 049217

Birmanie ms. "Kammavaca" ivoire

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049217
Buddhist manuscript of the Kammavaca
Myanmar (Burma)
18th century
Ivory
Himavati donation in 1990
A questionnaire used for the ordination of the monks, this luxurious manuscript in the Pāli language is written in square Burmese characters (“tamarind seeds”). It is one of the very first Buddhist texts to be translated into a Western language, because it was published in English as early as 1799.

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Writing

Asia has yielded the earliest signs of writing, through which man managed to materialise his discourse and so – by definition – emerge from Prehistory. Writing is also a decisive factor in identity and social cohesion. One of the very first writing systems is cuneiform, which appeared in Mesopotamia (Iraq) about 3500 BC.

Manuscripts

Handwritten texts provide a precious and moving testimony, because they directly reflect the materialisation of their authors’ thoughts. Writing materials varied: plant fibres, animal skins (parchment), engraved metal, dried or fired clay, etc. The oldest document on paper comes from China and dates from the 1st century AD.

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