Dear colleagues,

However interesting the evidence for non-palmleaf writing materials in early Southeast Asia, it must not be ignored that the epigraphical passage cited by Dominic explicitly mentions palmleaf (riktapattra). I think we have to come to terms with some use of 'earth' in the contexts of writing on palmleaf. Further evidence for such a practice is furnished in some passages cited in this interesting article on manuscript culture of early Java:


I attach the article hereto. The sources are in Old Javanese and in Old Sundanese language; the context is explicitly that of writing on one or the other type of palmleaf (the local term lontar comes from rontal 'leaf of palm', where tal = tāla); the word for 'earth' is tanah, which still means 'earth' in Malay/Indonesian. Aditia Gunawan briefly discusses but does not solve the problem of what purpose 'earth' would serve in writing on palmleaf.

Best wishes,

Arlo Griffiths
École française d'Extrême-Orient, Paris
Université Jean Moulin – Lyon 3