MALAY MEDICINAL KNOWLEDGE ON A NIPAH-LEAF (Nypa fruiticans) MANUSCRIPT: A DESCRIPTIVE STUDY

Abstract

Numerous Malay medical manuscripts have been discovered in the collections of libraries such as national libraries, institutions such as museums, and personal collection of old texts. These valuable resources have brought new light to the study of science and literature of the Malays particularly in the field of medicine. Amongst these collections, one medical text which belongs to the Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur is considered a remarkably unique text as it is written on a nipah-leaf (Nypa fruticans) material. A case as such is unusual considering the common material used in other discovered Malay medical manuscripts is paper. We present here a descriptive study of the manuscript, coded IAMM 1998.1.3370. This is a complete text that ends with a colophon supplying the name of the author, and date of writing. The manuscript contained interventions and prescriptions for numerous health problems (n=79) such as diabetes, malaria, and others. It was prepared as a book form by stitching several nipah leaves together to form several cut square pages bound with a cloth. Nasakh calligraphy was used and the text was written using black and red inks with the latter used to indicate a shift to a new topic. The manuscript is in a dilapidated condition due to several factors such as age, and material used. Considering the valuable information in the manuscript, there is a necessity for the preservation and conservation of this manuscript before the content is lost forever.

Keywords: Malay medical manuscript, palm-leaf, Nypa fruticans, nipah, Malay medicine