Burmese fortune teller's book, 1800-1900?

1800/1900

1800-1900

Burma

Written on paper label attached to first leaf: "No. 2542, Old Burmese book bought from an old fortune teller at the Sule pagoda. His father, grandfather and his ancestors further back were all fortune tellers and this book had come down through these generations. Rangoon, January, 1905." The Sule Pagoda is a Burmese stupa located in the heart of downtown Yangon, occupying the centre of the city and an important space in contemporary Burmese politics, ideology and geography. According to legend, it was built before the Shwedagon Pagoda during the time of the Buddha, making it more than 2,500 years old.

Item #58 in the Asian Manuscript Collection. Formerly classed as MsC 913.

Burmese

Fortune-telling

Early Manuscripts Digital Collection
Asian Manuscripts Collection

MSC0913

xMs U584bu

http://aspace.lib.uiowa.edu/repositories/2/resources/787

Height of Binding (mm): 60
Width of Binding (mm): 180
Binding dimensions: 60 x 180 x 40 mm
Height of Leaf (cm): 6
Width of Leaf (cm): 18
Leaf Dimensions: 60 x 180 mm
Number of Leaves: 78

Material: Palm leaf
Form: Palm leaf

Physical Description: 3 leaves ticketed at corners. Palm-leaf manuscripts are manuscripts made out of dried palm leaves. Palm leaves were used as writing materials in South Asia and in Southeast Asia dating back to the 5th century BCE, and possibly much earlier. Their use began in South Asia, and spread elsewhere, as texts on dried and smoke treated palm leaves of Borassus species (Palmyra palm) or the Ola leaf (leaf of Corypha umbraculifera or the talipot palm).

Provenance: Bought from an old fortune teller at the Sule pagoda, Rangoon, January, 1905.

University of Iowa. Libraries. Special Collections Department

2017-05-27

Material in the public domain. No restrictions on use.

Contact the Special Collections Department at The University of Iowa Libraries: http://www.lib.uiowa.edu/sc/contact

ui:31858061964916 index.cpd

Text

Palm leaf

tiff
jp2