Persian knife

[Ren Ren]

Originally Posted by Sajen

Hi Ian,

I know these knives only from South India and Sri Lanka but never have seen examples from Burma. Would you mind sharing pictures from examples you have seen?

Best regards,
Detlef

That was a great question, Detlef! When I saw these scribe knives from Sri Lanka a few years ago, I sent a photo of them to some Buddhist friends in Thailand. They told me that there are many types of sacred Buddhist knives in Thailand, but that there are none like them. They also explained that in their country, sacred texts on palm leaves have not been copied by hand for a long time, but are printed using the woodcut method, from engraved wooden blocks. Unfortunately, I have not had the opportunity to find out how this is done in Burma, but all these years this thought has not left my head.
Sincerely, Serge

[Sajen]

Originally Posted by Ren Ren

That was a great question, Detlef! When I saw these scribe knives from Sri Lanka a few years ago, I sent a photo of them to some Buddhist friends in Thailand. They told me that there are many types of sacred Buddhist knives in Thailand, but that there are none like them. They also explained that in their country, sacred texts on palm leaves have not been copied by hand for a long time, but are printed using the woodcut method, from engraved wooden blocks. Unfortunately, I have not had the opportunity to find out how this is done in Burma, but all these years this thought has not left my head.
Sincerely, Serge

Hello Serge,

I know that the Bali Aga people still write on palm leaves which get sold to tourists but I can't remember how the script gets written. But I have no knowledge how it's done in Burma, so my question.

Best regards,
Detlef

[Ian]

Detlef,

My recollection of Burmese scribe knives dates back to the late 1990s when I was shown six or so examples by a dealer in Hong Kong (IIRC). Unfortunately, I don't have pictures. He was unsure what they were used for, but in retrospect they were scribe knives. I do recall that one or two had typical Burmese "bubble script" inscribed on the handles. I was not particularly interested in small Burmese knives at that time, and did not acquire them.

Apparently, there are some differences between old Tamil and Burmese manuscripts. I have read that the Tamil palm leaves were shorter than the Burmese, although the scribing technique was similar.

Ian