Preservation of Palm-leaf Manuscripts in Gianyar Bali

DREAMSEA, Gianyar – The DREAMSEA digitisation team managed to save 68 palm-leaf manuscript bundles with a total of more than 2,000 digital images obtained. This collection of manuscripts is owned by I Wayan Wandra who is one of the traditional leaders in the village of Sukawati.

This digitisation was carried out on April 14-20 2002 led by I Gede Gita Purnama A.P. (Academic Expert) with team members namely Ida Bagus Ari Wijaya (Assistant of Academic Expert), Tedi Permadi (Photographer), and Dewa Ayu Carma Citrawati (Assistant Photographer).

The condition of the manuscript is poorly maintained and stored in a wooden crate placed on the ceiling of the building with a semi-open wooden architecture. Before the digitisation begins, the manuscript is cleaned and sorted by length. This treatment is done to make the shooting process easier and to produce good images.

The manuscript cleaning process was assisted by a group of final year students from Udayana University and Penyuluh Bahasa Bali (Balinese Language Instructor) staff. The involvement of students from universities and Balinese language activists is a form of community assistance by DREAMSEA.

All manuscripts are made from palm leaves with text using Balinese script. The contents of the text include kakawin, chronicles, healing spells, ceremonial requirements, and other Hindu-Balinese religious treatises.