https://blogs.bl.uk/asian-and-african/2023/07/manuscript-textiles-weaving-the-thread-of-faith.html Skip to main content * Catalogues & Collections * Discover & Learn * What's on * Visit * Business Support * Shop * Join THE BRITISH LIBRARY Asian and African studies blog * All our blogs * Latest posts * Batak * Bugis * Burmese * Javanese * Malay * Persian * Thai * About this blog Search this blog [ ] Search Search Main Previous post Next post 03 July 2023 Manuscript Textiles: Weaving the Thread of Faith This blog post on the use of manuscript textiles in Thailand and Laos, illustrated by examples in the British Library's Southeast Asian collections, is by Chevening Fellow Methaporn (Noon) Singhanan, who also took all the photographs of the items. Thai and Lao manuscript textiles have a rich history that dates back to at least the 18th century. Buddhist teachings and scriptures, written on palm leaves or paper, were highly valued, and often adorned with intricate designs, illustrations, and calligraphy. Manuscript textiles were created to protect and preserve these texts from dust, humidity and insects and, as a result, many were transformed into beautiful pieces. Luxury manuscript textile from northern Laos Luxury manuscript textile from northern Laos, made from a re-used tube skirt of exquisite quality, combining a silk and silver-thread tapestry (border) with a large piece of Ikat fabric (main body) and a cotton waistband. Ca. mid-20th century. British Library, Or 16886 Manuscript textiles were fabrics, usually made from finely woven cotton or silk, occasionally also hemp, using a variety of weaving techniques, such as tapestry and ikat. They were created in many different shapes and patterns and often were a mixture of materials, for example silk brocade with cotton lining. Sometimes they included repurposed monk's robes, ritual cloths, curtains and women's skirts. Another type of weaving used bamboo slats interwoven with colourful cotton yarn and pieces of fabric in order to provide greater strength. Manuscript wrapper using bamboo slats that were inserted while weaving the textile with red, green, black and white cotton yarns Manuscript wrapper using bamboo slats that were inserted while weaving the textile with red, green, black and white cotton yarns. It was used to wrap ten palm leaf bundles containing Buddhist scriptures in Northern Thai Dhamma script, dated between 1827-74. British Library, Or 12401/B-C For centuries, textiles have been an integral part of women's lives in Thailand and Laos. From spinning raw cotton into yarn to weaving cloth, women have played a significant role in the creation of textiles. Often women planted the cotton shrubs, picked the cotton and dyed the yarn themselves. Textile production was a way for women to earn money and contribute to their families' income. In addition to their economic importance, textiles also held cultural significance. Traditional clothing and fabrics often reflected a community's values, beliefs, and history. Women were responsible for preserving these traditions by passing down textile-making techniques from generation to generation. These manuscript textiles ranged from the luxurious to simple, and the materials used and their quality often reflected the wealth of the person offering the item. Decorative elements of these textiles include innovative geometric patterns and nature motifs. Detail of a handwoven cotton shoulder cloth re-purposed as a manuscript wrapper Detail of a handwoven cotton shoulder cloth re-purposed as a manuscript wrapper with diamond pattern in red colour on white background, with a simple red-and-black border design. Used to wrap ten palm leaf bundles with texts on the perfections of the Buddha in Northern Thai Dhamma script, ca. 1880-1920. British Library, Or 16865 Manuscript textiles were highly appreciated works of art due to the time and skill required to create them by hand, and enjoyed an exceptional level of popularity in Northern Thailand and Laos during the 18th and 19th centuries. They showcase the skill and creativity of the master weavers who created them, offering a glimpse into the rich history and traditions of the area. Manuscript textiles also provided an opportunity for women artisans to express their devotion to their faith through weaving. The textiles were believed to carry the energy and power of the teachings they encased. Detail from a handwoven silk-and-cotton manuscript textile depicting two large butterflies surrounded by colourful geometric patterns Detail from a handwoven silk-and-cotton manuscript textile depicting two large butterflies surrounded by colourful geometric patterns. Originally this was either a bedroom curtain or a shoulder cloth, then re-used to wrap palm leaf bundles. Northern Laos, ca. mid-20th century. British Library, Or 16597 In Theravada communities in Southeast Asia, the main form of accruing merit for men was to be ordained as a monk for a period, during which they learned to study and copy the scriptures. Although ordination remained an option for women, it was not widely practiced and even forbidden in some monastic orders. This meant that most women at that time could not study the scriptures in the formal way men did. Instead, the Buddha's teachings were learned orally, and female devotees acted as patrons of the monastic communities and devoted themselves to supporting the Sangha (monastic order) in other forms. Since weaving has been a strongly gendered profession in Northern Thailand and Laos, creating cloths to store and preserve the scriptures was considered an important form of accruing merit for women. Weavers had to learn to use a variety of techniques in order to create beautiful fabrics. Materials were selected carefully, and an elaborate cloth woven with a meditative state of mind counted as a valuable offering to honour the Buddha. Handwoven fabrics made in this way were therefore more refined and of a higher quality than handicrafts used in everyday life. Creating textiles on the basis of belief and faith in Buddhism was regarded as one of the Dhamma practices, with the hope that the produced virtue will contribute to a happy rebirth in the next life. Detail from a handwoven manuscript textile depicting the popular chicken-and-ancestor motif Detail from a handwoven manuscript textile depicting the popular chicken-and-ancestor motif. Northern Laos, ca. mid-20th century. British Library, Or 16597 The copying of manuscripts preserved the Buddhist teachings that were written down and passed on for centuries. Manuscripts were also used in meditation and prayer and were considered sacred objects. Manuscript textiles, which were used to wrap up the manuscripts in order to prevent damage by dirt, dust, intense sunlight, or insects, were thus comparable to protecting the Buddha's words. Sponsoring and offering manuscripts to a Buddhist temple has traditionally been an important and widely practised way of making merit, and as a result one would be re-born in fortunate circumstances. Anisong (Pali: anisamsa) manuscripts praising the benefits of meritorious acts and gift-giving enjoyed great popularity across Thailand and Laos, and were often themselves presented to monasteries alongside other manuscripts with beautiful cloth wrappers. Anisong texts frequently mention the virtue of creating scriptural manuscripts as a special meritorious act. It is believed that "one script character yields the same merit as the creation of one Buddha image" (Peltier 2014: 183). Many Anisong manuscripts specifically mention the importance of offering textiles to wrap scriptures. A frequently found quote is: "A person who offers manuscript textiles will have a prosperous life full of barns, clothes, and plenty of food. The person who provides the manuscript cloth will go to the celestial palace, which will be decorated with various precious gems after their death" (Wichian 2006: 315). In Lao culture, a common practice was to re-purpose tube-skirts (Pha Sarong or Sinh) or shoulder cloths (Pha Biang) - often the most luxurious a person or family owned - as manuscript wrappers. An explanation for this practice is that "... people donated Pha Sarong or Sinh because their son or daughter had died when they were very young. Their children thus had had no chance to wear beautifully woven clothes, so during their funeral ceremony the parents did not burn beautiful Sinh cloth with the bodies, but instead produced palm-leaf manuscripts wrapped with Sinh cloth to make merit for their dead children in the hope that in the next life they would live long enough to wear plenty of these clothes" (Legends in the weaving 2001: 89). Handmade cotton cords with loops used to string three bundles of a palm leaf manuscripts containing Buddhist texts in Pali language with plain wooden covers Handmade cotton cords with loops used to string three bundles of a palm leaf manuscripts containing Buddhist texts in Pali language with plain wooden covers. Central Thailand, 19th century. British Library, Or 4888 In addition to the manuscript wrappers, people could offer a cord made from silk or cotton yarn, which was used to string palm leaves together to create bundles or volumes of palm leaf scriptures. A method of binding palm leaf books going back to the first millennium was to put a looped cord through a hole that was drilled through the palm leaves on the left side; another hole on the right side was often left empty for ease of flipping the leaves while reading. Northern Thai and Lao Anisong manuscripts often contain a dedicatory phrase like "whoever offers the cords to string the palm leaf manuscript will dwell with the wise and not lose their treasures" (Wichian 2006: 319) or "Whoever ties a rope to a book will have a lot of wealth and infinite perseverance" (Wichian 2006: 315). 07 Or 4890 combined Handmade cotton cords with tassels, no loops, in dark red colour used to string five bundles of palm leaf manuscripts containing a Pali grammar, with lacquered and gilded covers. Central Thailand, 19th century. British Library, Or 4890 A white cotton cord mixed with long hair to string a palm leaf manuscript, with dedicatory inscription mentioning a woman from Lamphun Province as donor A white cotton cord mixed with long hair to string a palm leaf manuscript, with dedicatory inscription mentioning a woman from Lamphun Province as donor. Northern Thailand, 1949. British Library, Or 16985H Manuscript textiles were not only works of art in and of themselves, but also mirror the social status and beliefs of the people who created them. For Northern Thai and Lao women the act of weaving wrappers and cords was analogous to the act of weaving the thread of faith, thus ensuring the preservation and continuation of the Buddha's teachings. Many of the practices and beliefs relating to manuscript textiles described above are still in use in Northern Thailand and Laos today. Since 2015, there has been a campaign with local communities and students to revive the custom of creating and offering traditional manuscripts with textiles at Lampang Province's Pongsanuk Temple. There are now many workshops and cultural events taking place in Northern Thailand to teach about making manuscript textiles in various techniques. 09 wrapper making Creating manuscript textiles using colourful yarns by intertwining them with bamboo sticks. Methaporn Singhanan, Chiang Mai, Thailand, November 2020 (photo courtesy of cchdhmaayehtukrungsrii Jod Mai Hed Krungsri) Methaporn Singhanan, Chevening Fellow at the British Library 2022-23 Ccownwork References and further reading Andaya, Barbara Watson. Flaming womb: repositioning women in early modern Southeast Asia. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, c2006. Arthid Sheravanichkul. Narrative and gift-giving in Thai Anisamsa texts. Buddhist narrative in Asia and beyond. Edited by Peter Skilling and Justin McDaniel, Bangkok: Chulalongkorn University, 2013, pp. 37-46. Gordon, Alec and Napat Sirisambhand. Evidence for Thailand's missing social history: Thai women in old mural paintings. International Review of Social History, 47(2), pp. 261-275. Legends in the weaving - phaaeiphniimiihamnaan [Pha phae ni mi tamnan]. Vientiane: The Japan Foundation Asia Center, 2001 Peltier, Anatole-Roger ed. `aanisngsklumchaatiphanthuaith ainphuumiphaakhlumnamokhngaelasaalawin ['Anisong klum chattiphan Thai nai phummiphak Lum Nam Khong lae Salawin] = Anisamsa in Tai Buddhism = Les Anisamsa dans le Bouddhisme Tai. Chiang Mai: Mahawitthayalai Ratchaphat Chiang Mai, 2557 [i.e. 2014] Seeger, Martin. Gender and the path to awakening: hidden histories of nuns in modern Thai Buddhism. Copenhagen: NIAS Press, 2018 Sundara, Ajahn. Women in Theravada Buddhism. British Library, 2019 phaah`khamphiirwadkhngkhaaraam: prawatisaastr(thii`yaak)b`kelaa [Pha ho khamphi Wat Khongkharam: prawattisat (thi yak) bok lao]. 2557 [i.e. 2014] wiechiiyr surinta; `uair aichywngkh [Wichian Surinta; 'Urai Chaiyawong]. `aanisngslaannaa: kaarpriwrrtaelasaarasangekhp ['Anisong Lanna: kanpariwat lae sara sangkhep]. Chiang Mai : Sathaban Wichai Sangkhom, Mahawitthayalai Chiang Mai, 2549 [i.e. 2006] `uair khammiphaa [`Urai Khammipha]. phaah`khamphiiraiblaan: sraththaaaelapraarphnaaaehngstriiaithy [Pha ho khamphi bailan: sattha lae prarop na haeng sattri Thai]. Nakhon Rachasima: King Rama IX Commemorative Library. Posted by Annabel Gallop at 1:47 AM Tags Laos, South East Asia, Thai Asian and African studies blog recent posts * New display of Islamic manuscripts in the Sir John Ritblat Treasures Gallery * Manuscript Textiles: Weaving the Thread of Faith * EFEO Java-Bali Palmleaf Manuscripts Digitisation Project * Henry Alabaster's 'Catalogue of Siamese manuscripts' (1): royal edicts and books of laws * Provenance histories of Batak manuscripts in the British Library (3): From the BM to the BL * Bollinger Javanese Manuscripts Digitisation Project completed * Better than a Pearl: a letter to the Bayinkan of Burma from the people of Mergui * World Bee Day * Animals in William Marsden's The History of Sumatra * Drawings of a gharial, llama and tiger for Lady Hasting Tweets by blasia_africa Archives * July 2023 * June 2023 * May 2023 * April 2023 * March 2023 * February 2023 * January 2023 * December 2022 * November 2022 * October 2022 More... 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