Das Mustang ARCHIV: Untersuchung von handschriftlichen Dokumenten durch ethnographische Studien der Papierherstellungstradition in Nepal
Zusammenfassung der Projektergebnisse
This project aimed to identify and classify, through microscopic study, the paper varieties of archival documents from community and private archives in Mustang, Nepal. It contributed to reconstructing the history of paper in the particular environment of Mustang and Nepal. Altogether 330 items were sampled and examined from the archives of Dzar, Lubrak, Geling, Lower and Upper Tshognam. Most documents were dated: while the majority are from the mid-19th to the mid-20th centuries, a few are from the early 18th century. These works are mostly secular, consisting mainly of letters, community documents, and contracts. For every document approximately 20 images were made: recto and verso, Dino-Lite digital microscopic documentation for texture, microscopic images of the fibres composing the paper and close-ups of validation marks. The images were recorded in 3 different formats: tiff, jpeg and png. To obtain a visual overview, posters with all those images were prepared using InDesign. The documents were examined with a view to identifying the names of scribes and other parties involved, developing a methodology for identifying scribal hands, imaging seals and matching fingerprints. We recorded digital prints (mainly thumbprints) and applied a fingerprint recognition software to attempt to match fingerprints on different documents. Features such as size, the procedure for folding, number of lines per page, and the presence or absence of margins were recorded and then used for typologies and for identifying particular categories of document. Most documents are composed of Daphne and Stellera fibres alone or mixed with each other or with a small addition of other fibres. In general, these were very homogeneous when considering the dates when the documents were produced. However, there are a few exceptions, especially in the Lubrak archive, that are composed of wood pulp and grasses, clearly showing that those documents are more recent. The main types of documents were written on paper made from: 1) pure Daphne sp. fibres; 2) pure Stellera sp. fibres; 3) Daphne sp. mixed with Stellera sp. fibres; 4) previous compositions with an addition of cotton or hemp recycled fibres; 5) wood pulp; and 6) a variety of grasses. The results of the codicological study as well as scientific analysis of the paper were organized into a solid repository of data (geographical and periodical catalogue) covering two centuries, with data for earlier works. All data were entered into the repository of the Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures; selected images were uploaded to the website of the TibStat project co-directed by Charles Ramble. Information gathered from the manuscripts were compared with book production practices still used in the region, using secondary literature and interviews with craftsmen. Active places of papermaking workshops were mapped during fieldwork in Mustang and neighbouring areas. Papermaking technology, methods, tools, and raw materials being used were also documented. Both interviews and the process of papermaking were recorded in the form of short video sequences (altogether 1.5h), which were then subtitled with English translations. Furthermore, specimens of plants such as Daphne, Edgeworthia and Stellera used in papermaking were collected. They provided a helpful reference for fibre analyses. Additionally, to estimate the distribution of these species the collection of plants in the Godavari Botanical Garden Herbarium were photographed, together with the maps where the specimens were found. This interdisciplinary project combined textual and codicological analysis of archival documents with ethnographic and botanical fieldwork and exploration of manuscript cultures in Mustang. The resulting chronological typology of paper and database is the first reference for the history of manuscripts in the region and is of immediate use to Tibetologists, anthropologists of the region, paper historians and conservators around the world. In a long-term perspective, this project has the potential to sustain aspects of local material culture, to change perceptions of Tibetan writing and techniques of document and book production, as well as to make a major contribution to our understanding of the cultural history of Mustang.
Projektbezogene Publikationen (Auswahl)
- “Tibetan documents in the archives of the Tantric Lamas of Tshognam in Mustang, Nepal: An interdisciplinary case study,” Revue d’Études Tibétaines 39, (Paris: the UMR 8155 (CRCAO) of the CNRS, 2017), 266–341
Agnieszka Helman-Ważny and Charles Ramble
- 2018. “Archives from Tibet and the Himalayan Borderlands: Notes on Form and Content.” Alessandro Bausi et al. (eds), Manuscripts and Archives Comparative Views on Record-Keeping. Studies in Manuscript Cultures 11. Berlin: De Gruyter, 19–40
Charles Ramble
(Siehe online unter https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110541397-003) - 2018. “Producing ‘South Asian’ Tibetan Documents in Highland Nepal, 19th to 20th Centuries: The Emergence and Disappearance of a Local Diplomatic Tradition.” Simon Cubelic, Axel Michaels and Astrid Zotter (eds). Studies in Historical Documents from Nepal and India. Heidelberg: University Publishing, 111–133
Charles Ramble
- 2019. “Local knowledge of paper reconstructed from the fibre analyses of the Mustang archival documents.” Marisa Ferrando (ed.) IPH Congress Book 21/2016: The Paper Road from Xàtiva and Valencia to the Mediterranean countries and to the New World, the Valencian Institute of Conservation, Restoration and Research, and the University of Valencia
Agnieszka Helman-Ważny
