EAP now has over one million images available online!

We have four new online collections this month which has taken the total number of images available in our collections over the one million mark; EAP201, EAP279, EAP295, EAP529. These collections come from India, Lesotho in Southern Africa, Grenada and Mongolia.

EAP201 surveyed and digitised collections of Hakku Patras in Andhra Pradesh, one of the 28 states of India. Hakku Patras are documents which grant folk performers and artisans the right to carry out certain activities in specific villages and areas.  These performers are prohibited from performing in a region not assigned to them. Within their region they carry out folk performances and perform religious rituals, for providing these services they are paid renumerations (katnam).

EAP201/1/5/8 Image 1

The project found the details for many Hakku Patras held by nomadic and non-nomadic performing communities. The documents are inscribed on copper plates or written paper. The contents of Hakku Patras contain the name of the village, performing community, date of the sanctioning of the grant and the form of the performance.

EAP279 digitised the Matsieng Royal Archives, Lesotho. The Royal Family of Lesotho has been based there continuously since the founding of Matsieng, which has been a 'royal hub' of the Basotho kingship and chieftainship. The documents cover material dating from the early 19th century. The archives include records of historical, political, legal and economic significance.

EAP279/1/2/34 Image 159

The project digitised two main collections of documents. The first are Bewis (Bewys) records dating from 1942-1973, these records are certificates of ownership which were issued by chiefs to animal owners as a proof that they are the rightful owners of their animals. When acquiring or disposing of an animal the person had to apply for bewis from his chief. Even when a person was selling wool, mohair, skin or hides he had to have a bewis. The chief on his part had to satisfy himself that the animal had not been stolen. Bewis were issued for cows, horses, donkeys, sheep and goats as proof of ownership. It was mandatory for owners of animals to have bewis.

The second series of documents relates to the chieftaincy. These records include correspondence between the office of the paramount chief and the principal and ward chiefs, correspondence between the paramount chief and the resident commissioner, complaints between the chiefs and complaints between chiefs and the public.

EAP295 digitised the unique historical archives of Grenada. The material provides a micro-vision of how Grenada was transformed in the late eighteenth century by imperial conflicts, the expansion of plantation slavery and revolutionary politics. The two main sources of records are from Government House and the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court records reveal the multi-racial alliances and conflicts that marked slave society while the Government House correspondence shows the local negotiations and conflicts that shaped the prolonged transition to a free society during the mid-nineteenth century.

During Hurricane Ivan in 2004 the Grenada Public library lost part of its roof and the Government House correspondence became displaced and out of order. The project had to reorder this material chronologically before digitising it. 

The material at the Supreme Court Registry was far better preserved than at Government House as it was relatively unaffected by Hurricane Ivan. Loose-leaf documents previously identified as connected to the eighteenth century French Deeds formed the initial focus of in situ digitisation in the Supreme Court Registry. Digitisation also covered some of the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registers.

EAP295/1/1/1 Image 3

EAP529 set out to digitise the 19-20th century collection of Buddhist Manuscripts from Dambadarjaa monastery in Mongolia. The communist purges from 1937-1938 saw the destruction of many monasteries in Mongolia. The Dambadarjaa monastery, one of the first three monasteries in Mongolia which was built between 1761 and 1765, was reduced to two temples and two shrines from an original total of 25 buildings.

Today, what remains of the monastery is subject to structural aging and is in a critical condition since no repair works have been undertaken since the 1930s. One of the temples holds around 1,500 Buddhist manuscripts and ritual items used in the religious service for the public. All the manuscripts are subject to damage by mice, temperature fluctuations and fire.

The project focused on 200 of the most old and fragile Buddhist Manuscripts dating from 1860-1920s. All 200 manuscripts were repackaged in fire-proof and acid-free containers, while 51 of the manuscripts were selected for digitisation and can now be viewed online.

EAP529/1/1 Image 3

Check back next month to see what else has been added!

You can also keep up to date with any new collections by joining our Facebook group.

 
Many of you may realise that it is Chinese New Year – the Year of the Horse. It is also the Lunar New Year for Mongolians, known as Tsaagan Sar. So it seemed appropriate for today’s blog to include images of horses that make up part of the Mongolian photographic archive EAP264.

For a nomadic culture, the horse is of paramount importance and it is very hard when thinking of Mongolia, not to visualise herdsmen riding across the Steppes on their sturdy steeds. The rider being almost motionless as the horse travels at great speed.

EAP264/1/8/6/18 A young herdsman tending a herd of cattle on a pasture (location unknown) [1940s]

The only truly wild horse (known as the Przewalski or Takhi breed) can be found in Mongolia and is known for having short legs and averages 13 hands in height.

EAP264/1/7/9/62 Takhi - a wild horse grazing on a plain [1930s]

There have also been attempts to rear cross-breeds and the photographs below show what magnificent animals they can be.

EAP264/1/8/6/134 A horse farm raising cross-breed horses, Ulaanbaatar [1930s]

EAP264/1/8/6/135 A horse farm raising cross-breed horses, Ulaanbaatar [1930s]

The horse is an essential part of the traditional economy for herders. Not only is it the main form of transport (though now often replaced by motorbikes) but it also provides important produce.

EAP264/1/8/6/69 A herdsman helping his wife in milking a mare (location unknown) [1940s]

During the summer and autumn months, mares’ milk is fermented to produce the slightly alcoholic drink ‘airag’ - a very popular and refreshing seasonal beverage. It holds a special place in society and is regularly passed around during gatherings, often when songs about horses are sung. It is extremely impolite to refuse a sip of it when offered.

Horse-racing is one of the most popular competitive sports and it is often done during the summer Naadam festivities. The jockeys are boys and girls aged about 8-11, and the distances they cover depends on the age of the horse. Two year old horses will race about 15km while six and seven year olds will race up to 30km.

EAP264/1/3/4/98 A jockey boy-a winning rider near the grandstand in the Naadam field at Yarmag [1951]

It is gruelling for both the horses and the jockeys. The winning jockey is named ‘leader of ten thousand’ (tümmy ekh) and they are offered a bowl of airag, often also sprinkled on the jockey and horse as an act of good luck. For the horse that comes last in the two year old category all is not lost as it has a song sung to it.

EAP264/1/3/2/8 The winner-jockey boy tastes airag-fermented mare’s milk at the Naadam festivities [1950]

The horse is the most revered out of all herded animals. This can be seen in the traditional game ‘shagai’ which uses four sheep ankle bones a bit like dice. The way the bones land represents either a camel, goat, sheep or horse.  If the bone lands with the concave sides showing, it represents either a goat or camel and is considered unlucky, if it settles on a convex side it represents a sheep or horse and they are deemed lucky. And of course if you toss ‘four horses’ you will have the best luck of all.

EAP would like to wish you all good fortune during this Year of the Horse.

Happy new year from the Endangered Archives Programme! To celebrate the start of 2014 we have four new online collections available with over one hundred thousand images. Two of these collections come from India with the other two collections originating in China and Indonesia.

The first collection is EAP143, this project preserved Shui manuscripts in China. These are considered to be one of the few remaining types of documents in China that are written in a hieroglyphic style.

The manuscripts give a rare insight into Shui culture as well as being useful for studying history, anthropology, folklore and even palaeography in general. Shui manuscripts are written, kept and taught by the native priesthood. The manuscripts are used in rituals, as well as in teaching the next generation of priests. The contents of the manuscripts cover a variety of topics including Shui knowledge on astronomy, geography, folklore, religion, ethics, philosophy, art and history.

The project surveyed about twenty villages in Libo County and a selection of approximately 600 Shui manuscripts was chosen and then digitised; these are now available to view online.

EAP143/2/118 – Image 9

EAP208 set out to digitise palm leaf manuscripts from northern Kerala, India. These documents, which are in a fragile and endangered condition, contain several insights into areas of knowledge such as ecology, agriculture, science, art (the arts) and spirituality.

The project was successful in digitising 275 manuscripts with over 50,000 images.

EAP208/15/37 – Image 21

EAP281 located and identified Lepcha manuscripts in Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Sikkim in India. The Lepcha people are local to Sikkim but represent a minority of the population in Sikkim and neighbouring areas. The culture and language has been diminishing for over a century as many young Lepcha give preference to learning English or Nepalese and are less interested in their traditions.

The Lepcha people have their own indigenous script which dates back to the 18th century. The manuscripts reveal the earliest stages of Lepcha literary heritage. The oldest handwritten materials that have so far been identified were written in the second half of the 19th century. Many of the manuscripts contain texts of a Buddhist nature, a smaller number of texts reflect older Lepcha traditions. The project successfully digitised 40 manuscripts and located many more.

EAP281/1/5 Image 9

EAP329 digitised private collections of Acehnese manuscripts located in Pidie and Aceh Besar regencies. These had been surveyed by a previous pilot project EAP229. The content of the manuscripts is a part of Acehnese history with regards to lifestyle, the kingdom of Aceh, and the war against colonialism. They also relate to Islamic knowledge and Islamic mysticism (Sufism) and its order. The project successfully digitised 483 manuscripts with over 46,000 images.

EAP329/1/17 Image 1

Check back next month to see what else has been added!

You can also keep up to date with any new collections by joining our Facebook group.

This month we have had five new projects go up online, including EAP139 the photographic collection of Liberian president William V.S. Tubman, EAP333 parish archives from Peru and EAP334 Wolof Ajami manuscripts from Senegal. There are also two collections from Indonesia, EAP276 Ambon manuscripts and EAP280 Old Javanese and Old Sundanese palm-leaf manuscripts.

EAP139 preserved the photographic archive of William V.S. Tubman who was Liberia’s longest running president (1944-1971). Tubman’s presidency was marked by great changes in the economy, politics and social environment of Liberia and the African continent. The Tubman photographic collection contains over 5,500 photographs from the period of his presidency; including inspections, formal receptions and inaugurations. There are also photographs of state visits to other countries in Africa, as well as to Europe and the United States of America. Below is a photograph of President Tubman in 1954 riding in a motorcade with then Vice-President Richard Nixon.

EAP139/1/26 – Image 130

EAP333 collected and preserved parish archives in the Huacho diocese in Peru. The project digitised baptism, marriage and burial registers from thirteen parishes, dated from the 16th century up to 1940. The rest of the ecclesiastical documents are divided into three categories: confraternities, pastoral inspections, and curates. These contain records of petitions, visitations to parishes by bishops or their representatives and documents related to administrative or litigious matters.

Below is an example of one of the records included in the curates series, it is of a complaint made by the interim priest of a parish, Antonio Meléndez Méndez, against the inspector Francisco Cuadros, the mayor Melchor Dávila and the trustee Manuel Amaya for their behaviour in using the cemetery as an enclosure for three hundreds pigs.

EAP333/1/3/487 Image 1

EAP334 preserved Wolof Ajami manuscripts in Senegal. Ajami is a term applied when Arabic script is used to write African languages. The project team successfully digitised 5,494 pages, copying 29 manuscripts from 15 collections. The manuscripts primarily consist of Wolofal (Wolof Ajami) materials written by the members of the Muridiyya Sufi order founded in Senegal in 1883.

EAP334/8/1 – Image 163

EAP276 digitised 182 manuscripts and lithographs from the Indonesian islands of Ambon and Haruku, these covered a variety of topics such as genealogies, epic tales, poetry, prayers, sermons, and official documents.

EAP276/11/1 - Image 6

EAP280 preserved rare Old Javanese and Old Sundanese palm leaf manuscripts from Ciburuy in West Java, Indonesia.  The manuscripts appear to date from the 15th to 17th centuries, and cover a range of subjects, including pre-Islamic religion, poetry, and historiography.

EAP280/1/2/5 – image 5

Check back next month to see what else has been added!

You can also keep up to date with any new collections by joining our Facebook group.

This month we have had another six projects go up online, containing over 100,000  images. These projects were EAP054, EAP264, EAP265, EAP503, EAP531 and EAP548.

EAP054 digitised items from Jacques Tousselle’s Cameroonian photographic studio. He was a photographer who worked in Mbouda, West Cameroon. His main business was photographing individual portraits created for identity cards, though he also took family portraits and other scenes. The black and white photograph industry of Cameroon effectively came to an end after 1998 with the introduction of new identity cards. These were issued with instant photographs, removing the largest custom of rural photographers. The project digitised some 20,000 negatives and preserved them for future research. The archive shows some fascinating images and represents a record of life in this area from the 1970s to the 1980s.

EAP054/1/21 – Image 60

EAP548 is a pilot project which digitised narrative and ritual texts, paintings and other performance related material belonging to the Buchen of Pin Valley, India.
The Buchen are performers of specialist rituals, travelling actors and disciples of the 14th-15th century ‘crazy saint’ Thangtong Gyalpo. They reside in the culturally Tibetan Pin Valley in Spiti, North India. Buchen households possess individual ‘archives’, collections of written story texts, texts of exorcism/healing rituals, thangkas and other ritual paraphernalia. This project surveyed all active and dormant Buchen households and produced a report of their archival holdings. It also surveyed performance related objects such as masks, costumes, statues and musical instruments. A sample of digital images of these items is now available to view on the EAP website.

EAP548/1/2/2 – Image 1

EAP531 is another pilot project which surveyed manuscripts of the Cham people in Vietnam. The Champa kingdom was eliminated by the Viet in 1720, though their culture remains in the surviving large communities of Cham people in Vietnam. The project surveyed some of these communities along with archives and museums to discover remaining Cham manuscripts. These contain rich information about Cham customs, religious practices, literature and daily activities. Manuscripts still in existence are mainly from 50 to 150 years old. A selection of manuscripts were sent by the project and can be viewed online.

EAP531/1/2 - Image 133

EAP265 surveyed and digitised Tifinagh rock inscriptions in the Tadrart Acacus Mountains, in south western Libya. Tifinagh is a Tuareg word indicating the traditional writing still in use throughout the Sahara desert. The inscriptions are a remarkable record related to the history, both ancient and modern, of the Acacus Mountains. According to research carried out in other North African regions (i.e. Morocco, Tunisia, Mauritania, Algeria), the age of those scripts range from the second century BC up to recent times. In contrast to what has been done elsewhere the Libyan rock scripts of the Tadrart Acacus had never been the object of systematic investigation. As a result of this project, one of the largest Tifinagh collections available so far has been recorded, creating over a thousand digital images which are now available to view on our website.

EAP265/1/51 – Image 1

EAP503 digitised notarial records from the city of Riohacha, on the Caribbean coast of Colombia, and the peninsula of La Guajira. These records document the region’s rich commercial and social history. They contain land and property documents, commercial records pertaining to the commercial exchanges among the Spanish, foreigners, and indigenous Guajiros, records relating to the slave trade, such as selling and purchasing of slaves as well as manumission documents (when slave owners freed their slaves). There are also wills and testaments of the most important families of the region, showing the social and political alliances existing at that time. The project also digitised ecclesiastical and notarial records in Lorica, Colombia.

EAP503/3/1/6 – Image 8

EAP264 digitised the glass plate collections of the Archives for Cinema, Photography and Sound Recording in Mongolia. Over 10,000 glass plate negatives were digitised. These negatives cover an impressively wide range of topics and contain some captivating images.

The collection has images relating to the military, public health, rural life, archaeology, prominent individuals, people who were politically repressed during the 1930s, historical documents, construction works, industrial development, Mongolia's contribution to the victory of WWII, culture, religion and politics. As the original items are fragile the digitisation allows these materials to be accessed without further damaging the glass plate negatives.

This project was recently featured in our previous blog post by Jody comparing 1930’s Mongolia with the present day, you can read this blog to find out more about this fascinating collection.

EAP264/1/8/11 – Image 57

Check back next month to see what else has been added!

You can also keep up to date with any new collections by joining our Facebook group.

Today Ulaanbaatar looks like any other capital city with its high rise buildings stretching ever upwards and its traffic either at a complete standstill or creeping along at a snail’s pace.

 

But this development has been a fairly recent one as can be seen from the captivating photographs that were digitised as part of EAP264. The images date from the 1930s to the 1950s and include various aspects of Mongolian life before the Stalinist purge of 1937-8, making this a vital resource for any historian interested in the region.

EAP264/1/9/2/73

This picture shows a different part of the capital. The Megzid Janraiseg, a two storey Tibetan style temple, towers above its neighbouring buildings and yurts (‘ger’ in Mongolian). It is part of Gandantegchinlin Monastery complex and was built in 1912/13 to house a large copper sculpture that was erected in the hope that it would improve the eyesight of the 8th Jebtsundamba (Bogd Khan) the religious ruler of the country.  Sadly the copper was smelted down in 1938 and it was not until 1996 that a replacement 26.5 metre tall sculpture restored the building to its original function.

Mongolian religious architecture can be divided into different types: ‘Khiid’ a Tibetan style of monastic complex built on a mountain side; and ‘sum’ or temple influenced by Chinese architectural aesthetics.  The ‘khüree’ refers to a national style – Ulaanbaatar previously being known as Ikh Khüree or ‘Great Camp’.

During the purge, it is estimated that 2,265 monastic buildings were destroyed and between 22,000 -35,000 people killed, 18,000 of whom were monks. Close to Ulaanbaatar stood Manzushir Khiid but only its remnants remain.

This 20th century painting by artist Jugder  shows the size of the complex and how the monastery used to look. The photograph below testifys to it having been a thriving religious centre up until the 1930s.

 

EAP264/1/9/4/64 People gathering at religious ritual in Manzushir monastery, Central Mongolia [1930s]

Other photographs within the collection illustrate how fascinating Mongolian religious architecture was. There were wood buildings that were influenced by the circular ger shape, others by Chinese architecture and then there was the most fascinating of all - a hybrid of several types put together.

EAP264/1/9/5/76 A ger style temple in Ongiin Gol monastery, Central Mongolia [1930s].

EAP264/1/9/2/100 Hyatad Sum monastery, Ulaanbaatar

EAP265/1/9/5/11 A temple in Ongiin Gol monastery, Central Mongolia [1930s]. A ger inspired upper storey on a Tibetan style building.

From the 1920s, modern buildings started being constructed in the capital,often in collaboration with soviet architects. By the 1940s, the buildings had a classical European style as can be seen by the photograph of the State Opera House designed by Gerhard Kozel and which still stands today.

EAP264/1/12/1/64 Building the State Opera House 

The State Opera House as it is today

By the 1950s Mongolia was producing its own architects and it was B. Chimid who was instrumental in the planning and design of the 20th century city. These two bird’s eye views of Sukhbaatar Square shows how the city centre has developed into the place it is today.

EAP264/1/12/3/20

But perhaps my favourite photograph that makes up the architectural collection (and there are many, many other topics to explore) is this photograph of a branch of the Mongol Bank taken in the 1930s at Yamag, very close to Ulaanbaatar – I have a rather sad feeling that it is no longer standing. 

EAP264/1/12/1/53

Do browse through the collection of EAP264 photographs, there are series on art and culture, festivals, the military, nature, religion - the list goes on and on.

We have been busy this month with six projects going up online EAP165, EAP023, EAP248, EAP526, EAP217 and EAP191. These have produced over 167,000 images which are now available to view on our website.

The first project is EAP165, this project rescued two photographic collections on glass plate negatives from Guatemala, dated from the 1890s to 1930s.

The Yas-Noriega collection is the product of two photographers. Kohei Yasu emigrated from Japan to Guatemala in 1877 where he converted to Catholicism and changed his name to Juan José de Jesús Yas. With his godson José Domingo Noriega they photographed portraits of families and individuals from all different classes and ethnic groups in Guatemala. Their photos also provide a record of local traditions and the landscape of the region at that time. In particular Juan José de Jesús Yas was known for his interest in photographing clergy and other scenes of Catholicism in Guatemala.

EAP165/1/10 Image 75

The Tomás Zanotti collection is dated from around the same period. Zanotti migrated from Italy to Guatemala in the 1890s; he also photographed portraits of families and individuals from all different classes and ethnic groups. The pictures were taken in his studio, in the subjects homes or doing activities of their choosing, these photographs show the social and cultural change occurring in the region at that time.

EAP165/2/21 Image 44

Both collections are currently held at the The Center for Mesoamerican Research (CIRMA). When they arrived at CIRMA many of the glass plate negatives were in poor condition. During the project the negatives were cleaned and packaged and are now kept in a special photographic storage area at CIRMA. The digital copies will allow greater access to these materials without causing further damage to the originals.

EAP023 and EAP248 were pilot and major projects which digitised Marathi manuscripts. Marathi is an Indo-Aryan language which is used predominately in the Indian state of Maharashtra. There is inscriptional evidence extending back to A.D. 1012 and literature beginning in the 13th century. The texts are mainly religious in their subject matter but they also give a great deal of evidence about everyday life in pre-modern India. Some relate to sciences such as medicine, astronomy, engineering, and horse breeding. They are great resources for intellectual, social and religious history.

EAP023/1/1/1 – Image 30

EAP023 focused on the collections held at the Marathi Manuscript Centre in Pune. EAP248 digitised collections in two other institutions, the Prajna Pathshala in Wai and the Anandashram in Pune.

EAP248/1/52 Image 4

EAP526 digitised the endangered monastic archive at May Wäyni, in Tigray, Ethiopia. The collection consists of 91 manuscripts; most were produced from the last two hundred years but are copies of much older texts.

The manuscripts contain material valuable for the study of Ethiopian and Eastern Christian monasticism, containing rare Christian literature, biblical and liturgical texts. The manuscripts show texts relating to the history of the monastic community and its foundation as well as historical documents relating to the history of Ethiopia and the church from the 15th to 20th century.

The old church of May Wäyni and its storage facility recently collapsed and the manuscripts had been stored in a primitive hut, lying on the floor or on rough benches. Types of damage included mould, ravages of mice, caterpillar holes, water damage, burning, and detached and torn folios. The project allowed the material to be cleaned, packaged and removed to improved storage conditions.

EAP526/1/41 Image 185

EAP217 digitised endangered archival material written in the south dialect of the indigenous Yi language in Yunnan, China. The project successfully digitised nearly 600 volumes of Yi manuscripts from the public collection in Kunming and private collections in Xinping, Yuanyang and Mengzi, dating from the 18th to the early 20th century.

The archives are important materials for research on the indigenous Yi people in Southwest China. The language has survived for six centuries but is now endangered. The archives cover a wide range of topics including calendars, epics, history, medicine, philosophy, ritual, geography, literature and music. This material written in the Yi language is not available in either Chinese or other languages.

EAP217/1/5 – Image 8

EAP191 digitised periodicals of French India that were published in Pondicherry between 1800 and 1923. These publications include fragile periodicals that were published in Pondicherry under the French colonial administration, reflecting the daily realities of colonial life in Pondicherry. Some material in this collection has not been placed online due to copyright restrictions, this material can be viewed in the British Library Reading Rooms.

EAP191/1/1/2 Image 5

Check back next month to see what else has been added!

You can also keep up to date with any new collections by joining our Facebook group.

This month one project went up online. EAP310 ‘The digital documentation of manuscripts in the temples of Thadrak, Tshamdrak and Nyephug'. The project digitised the entire manuscript collections of those three temples as well the manuscript collection of an additional temple, Phurdrup Gonpa.

Thadrak Temple, which is a couple of hours climb from the Bhutanese capital (Thimphu), has about seventy titles relating to philosophy, language, meditation and rituals as well as over 26 biographical and historical volumes. Little is known about Thadrak itself but it is said to have once been a thriving religious centre.

EAP310/2/1/86 – image 2

Tshamdrak temple in Chhukha district was founded by Ngawang  Drupa (1682-1748) and has been the main seat of the successive incarnate lamas of Tshamdrak. The temple has 98 volumes of the Kanjur canon as well as 222 volumes of the Tanjur canon. It also houses a set of the 46 volume manuscript Nyingma  Gyubum, as well as many terma texts including those of Sangye  Ling pa, Ratna Ling pa and Pema Ling pa. There is also a 21 volume set of hagiographies of the Drugpa Kagyu hierarchs. Besides being a prominent religious centre in western Bhutan, Tshamdrak also has a reputation for its excellence in the art of drumming.

EAP310/4/2/23 – Image 1

Neyphug monastery was founded by terton Ngawang Dragpa (1525-1599) in 1550 and has remained the main seat of the successive incarnate lamas of Neyphug. Although a fire in 1864 gutted the main residence and destroyed many historical records, it only partially damaged the main temple and the manuscript collection remained unharmed. Neyphug holds a set of the Kanjur canon created in the seventeenth century during the time of the second Neyphug lama. Books in Neyphug also include the writings of the Bhutanese chief abbot and historian Je Khanpo Yon tan Thaye  and of Neyphug's founder Ngawang Dragpa.

EAP310/2/2/27 – Image 1

The collection of the Phurdrup Gonpa Temple consists of the entire Ka-gye texts of Nyangral Nyi ma O-zer, as well as the Gongdu texts of Sangye Ling pa, and other religious and philosophical literature. Most of them are gter ma texts which are said to have been rediscovered after they were hidden in the 8th century by Padmasambhava and his disciples.

EAP310/3/2/14 - Image 15

The project created over 160,000 digital images, which are now available to view online. As well as making this previously inaccessible material available to scholars the project also ensured its preservation. The books were previously held in precarious physical conditions and were vulnerable to damage. As part of the project, the book shelves were cleaned, book covers changed and the general storage conditions were improved.

Check back next month to see what else has been added!

You can also keep up to date with any new collections by joining our Facebook group.