Browsing by Author "Nishanthi, Menaka"

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Historically valuable Dutch plate in the library of the University of Sri Jayewardenepura
(Centre for Heritage Studies, University of Kelaniya, Kelaniya, Sri Lanka., 2019) Nishanthi, Menaka
The Dutch who arrived in Sri Lanka for the first time in 1602 AD were working to oust the Portuguese who were ruling the coastal provinces of Sri Lanka. At that time, the Portuguese were looking to take over the entire country, including the upcountry. In 1638, King Rajasinghe, who was ruling the Kingdom of upcountry, signed an agreement with the Dutch in 1638 in Batticaloa to oust the Portuguese. King Rajasinghe of the kingdom of upcountry thought that the Portuguese were to be expelled from Ceylon and although the Dutch aimed to expand trade and power on the island. The Dutch succeeded in expanding the trade and power of the Island by tricking the king into changing the terms of the treaty. They have issued various commands for different situations and functions during their reign. The Library of the University of Sri Jayewardenepura commenced with small book collections in the Maligakanda Pirivena in 1959 and nowadays it is one of the leading libraries of universities in the country. The University of Sri Jayewardenepura Library has received these Dutch Plates during its inception. The main objective of this study is to educate the readers about these Dutch Plates as well as provide the necessary environment for the researchers who wish to study these Dutch Plates. The purpose is to highlight the need for conservation in order to preserve historically valuable Dutch Plates. The Methodology used for this research is the visual observation and it adapts the content analytical technique using the primary data included in the Dutch Plate in the Library of the University of Sri Jayewardenepura. Twenty out of the Dutch Plates in the possession of the Sri Jayewardenepura University Library were used as samples for this research. These are from the 18th century and are written in Sinhala conjunct character. The style of the essay on Palm leaf manuscripts can be seen in this Dutch Plate. The Dutch plate also features the Kundalaya (෴), which is used at the end of a sentence when writing the folios in the Palm leaf manuscripts. Analysis of the Dutch Plate's conclusions made it clear that the Dutch contained various orders or decrees in the administration and trade of Sri Lanka. Analysis of the contents of the Dutch plate shows that it contained various orders or decrees issued by the Dutch for the administration and trade affairs of Sri Lanka.
Traditional conservation methods used to preserve indian palm leaf manuscripts: a literature review
(The Library, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2023) Nishanthi, Menaka
Manuscript preservation is an important subject for librarians, archivists, curators, and scholars who care about manuscripts. Palm-leaf manuscripts are more prone to deterioration due to their organic character, making preservation issues severe. Therefore, palm leaf manuscript preservation presents a significant challenge to custodians worldwide. The preservation of manuscripts of the palm leaf has been a major concern since the advent of technology. The objective of this study was to investigate the identification of traditional conservation methods and their use in India. This study used secondary selective Indian sources such as books, journal articles, conference papers, websites, reports of different projects, and case studies to find relevant literature. The literature was analyzed based on two time frames: the variety of palm leaves and the traditional methods used to preserve Indian palm leaf manuscripts. In addition, this study revealed that various traditional plants (herbs) were used to protect the Indian palm leaf manuscripts from insects, pests, and fungi. Dry leaves, dry leaf packs and their powder, and branches and roots of medicinal plants have been used to prevent the destruction of palm leaf manuscripts. Various oils obtained from medicinal plants have been preserved by applying them directly to the surface of manuscripts. As a result, herbal plants have been recognized as traditional preservation methods for the degradation of palm leaf manuscripts. Therefore, to preserve palm-leaf manuscripts for a longer period of time, traditional methods of preservation need to be used.