Item #391 Kammavaca; Burmese Manuscript
Kammavaca; Burmese Manuscript
Kammavaca; Burmese Manuscript
Kammavaca; Burmese Manuscript

Kammavaca; Burmese Manuscript

19th Century. 16 Palm leaves (5 ¼ x 23 inches). Each lacquered in red with elaborate overall decoration in gilt, 14 leaves with lines of black/dark brown lacquer text in square script (known as 'magyi-zi) recto and verso, two leaves with text on one side only, the earliest kammavaca consisted of folios made of plain palm leaves, each of which had four lines of square-inked script on a gold or silver background." ("Kammavaca) as per these. With a pair of thick red lacquered teak boards, gilt decoration on outer surfaces. Unbound as issued. Upper teak board has minor loss to one corner, everything else in amazing condition as per original.

Once the property given as a gift to Canadian diplomat in India by a Burmese friend. Kammavaca: Burmese Buddhist ordination manuscripts. Kammavaca is a Pali term describing an assemblage of passages from the Tipitaka – the Theravada Buddhist canon – that relate to ordination, the bestowing of robes, and other rituals of monastic life. A Kammavaca is a highly ornamental type of manuscript usually commissioned by lay members of society as a work of merit, to be presented to monasteries when a son enters the Buddhist Order as a novice or becomes ordained as a monk. The novitiation ceremony of a Buddhist monk is an important family ritual, the main purpose being to gain merit for their future life. A novice may remain a monk for as long as he wishes, whether for one week or one season of lent or even for life, and he may undergo the initiation ceremony as many times as he likes. The most important Kammavaca were prepared for the upasampada (higher ordination), the ritual for the ordination of a Buddhist monk. Item #391

Price (USD): $2,500.00