This is a new thread opening as in the coming years there will be a lot on this subject.
"The past is a place to learn even if the future is different."
H.H. The Aga Khan - 2013, September 28 - quote from
http://www.ismaili.net/heritage/node/31904
Satpanth Heritage and Khojki scripts, books and manuscripts
Satpanth Heritage and Khojki scripts, books and manuscripts
Last edited by Admin on Sun Feb 19, 2017 11:45 am, edited 4 times in total.
http://www.ncs.org.uk/recentprojectsful ... %253D%253D
(No date was mentioned and this text was removed from their page.)
Decontamination and Digitisation Project
The Institute of Ismaili Studies
This is an ongoing two year decontamination and digitisation project for the Institute of Ismaili Studies collection of 600 Khojki manuscript books of the 18th and 19th centuries.
Khojki is a derivation of Gujarat and the language of the Indian Ismaili communities. The collection consists of stab-bound cloth and leather covered manuscripts of religious tracts, theology and administrative information from local groups. The manuscripts have been hand bound, often with extensive additional material included into the back of a binding, making for some unique bindings that present a variety of problems for digitisation.
The Institute approached NCS to consider what the conservation issues were with the collection, being in many cases quite badly damaged by insect and mould infestations and advanced chemical degradation of machine-made papers. In addition a white powder had been scattered sporadically throughout the manuscripts and was believed to be a pesticide. The first advice we gave them was to stop handling the items and to get specialist analysis to determine the nature of the pesticide and establish the risk to the staff of skin contact and inhalation of the powder and any mould deposits.
With the help of ChirLabs, an analytical company based in Oxford University’s Begbrooke Science Park, a range of analysis was used to ascertain its composition, tough initially to be DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane). Raman scattering spectroscopy, RADR FTIR, ultra performance liquid and gas chromatography analysis showed that the substance was a dry clay mineral based powder with low level traces of the pesticide Lindane. Lindane and its isomers can be hazardous and it needed to be carefully and safely removed from each manuscript to avoid health risks to users and cross contamination within collections. We recommended also that the manuscripts be digitised both for cataloguing and research use as a Lindane residue imbued into the paper itself may continue to be a risk.
The moulds were sampled and cultured by Environmental Building Solutions Ltd, well know mycobiology specialists, and their nature and risks established. While none were ‘toxic mould’ nevertheless they presented a hazard in quantity and so need to be removed along with the powder as part of a decontamination cleaning programme.
The manuscripts are now being cleaned with soft brushes on a Bassaire extraction unit with an ultra-fine ULPA filter, to remove the powder and fine dust before digitisation. Personal protective clothing is being worn during this time to avoid exposure to the conservator. Digitisation is being carried out with a camera assembly (built by Icam Archive Systems Ltd) and with dedicated software. The NCS team is capturing the primary images as uncompressed .tif files and producing additional varying file sizes and JPEGs, allowing for a variety of future uses of the images at the Institute. Where applicable, watermarks are also being captured for the client using a light sheet.
Due to the idiosyncratic nature of the bindings, occasionally we come across manuscripts where the binding style or fragility of the object prevents sympathetic digitisation in its present state. Some covers are so stiff that they are not able to open fully and the peculiar binding of others has lead to text being stitched into the gutter of the book itself rendering whole parts illegible. In these instances each book is considered on a case by case basis to come up with a strategy to allow the book to be digitised. In some cases this has meant temporary removal of original leather thongs and sewing which are then reassembled after cleaning and digitising. In addition to some difficult bindings, some manuscripts have pages stuck or fused together by insect larval activity or by inks and sizes. Those made using handmade papers are generally strong but those with western-style machine made papers are frequently found to be exceptionally brittle and deeply discoloured.
Logistics mean NCS receives small batches of manuscripts (approximately 25 at a time) at the Albemarle Street studio and work on these before returning them along with the digitised images and receiving the next batch. This allows a steady but manageable workflow and output that can dovetailed in with other large scale and ongoing projects. The project also includes the measuring of all manuscripts so that bespoke archival housing can be made at a late date if necessary.
An important feature of this project is the integration of conservation and digitisation processes. Doing it this way, instead of carrying them out as separate phases by different people, the time and cost of the project is lower. By utilising the knowledge and skills of the conservators to digitise as well as treat items, handling is safer and any potential problems during digitisation can be identified as they work and remedied, with less risk of damage.
We will report further on this project in blogs as individual conservation issues arise, and a selection of images can be seen in the Gallery to the right.
-------------------------------------------------
Admin's Notes: The iis Catalogue of Indic Manuscript is expected to be completed in early 2020.
(No date was mentioned and this text was removed from their page.)
Decontamination and Digitisation Project
The Institute of Ismaili Studies
This is an ongoing two year decontamination and digitisation project for the Institute of Ismaili Studies collection of 600 Khojki manuscript books of the 18th and 19th centuries.
Khojki is a derivation of Gujarat and the language of the Indian Ismaili communities. The collection consists of stab-bound cloth and leather covered manuscripts of religious tracts, theology and administrative information from local groups. The manuscripts have been hand bound, often with extensive additional material included into the back of a binding, making for some unique bindings that present a variety of problems for digitisation.
The Institute approached NCS to consider what the conservation issues were with the collection, being in many cases quite badly damaged by insect and mould infestations and advanced chemical degradation of machine-made papers. In addition a white powder had been scattered sporadically throughout the manuscripts and was believed to be a pesticide. The first advice we gave them was to stop handling the items and to get specialist analysis to determine the nature of the pesticide and establish the risk to the staff of skin contact and inhalation of the powder and any mould deposits.
With the help of ChirLabs, an analytical company based in Oxford University’s Begbrooke Science Park, a range of analysis was used to ascertain its composition, tough initially to be DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane). Raman scattering spectroscopy, RADR FTIR, ultra performance liquid and gas chromatography analysis showed that the substance was a dry clay mineral based powder with low level traces of the pesticide Lindane. Lindane and its isomers can be hazardous and it needed to be carefully and safely removed from each manuscript to avoid health risks to users and cross contamination within collections. We recommended also that the manuscripts be digitised both for cataloguing and research use as a Lindane residue imbued into the paper itself may continue to be a risk.
The moulds were sampled and cultured by Environmental Building Solutions Ltd, well know mycobiology specialists, and their nature and risks established. While none were ‘toxic mould’ nevertheless they presented a hazard in quantity and so need to be removed along with the powder as part of a decontamination cleaning programme.
The manuscripts are now being cleaned with soft brushes on a Bassaire extraction unit with an ultra-fine ULPA filter, to remove the powder and fine dust before digitisation. Personal protective clothing is being worn during this time to avoid exposure to the conservator. Digitisation is being carried out with a camera assembly (built by Icam Archive Systems Ltd) and with dedicated software. The NCS team is capturing the primary images as uncompressed .tif files and producing additional varying file sizes and JPEGs, allowing for a variety of future uses of the images at the Institute. Where applicable, watermarks are also being captured for the client using a light sheet.
Due to the idiosyncratic nature of the bindings, occasionally we come across manuscripts where the binding style or fragility of the object prevents sympathetic digitisation in its present state. Some covers are so stiff that they are not able to open fully and the peculiar binding of others has lead to text being stitched into the gutter of the book itself rendering whole parts illegible. In these instances each book is considered on a case by case basis to come up with a strategy to allow the book to be digitised. In some cases this has meant temporary removal of original leather thongs and sewing which are then reassembled after cleaning and digitising. In addition to some difficult bindings, some manuscripts have pages stuck or fused together by insect larval activity or by inks and sizes. Those made using handmade papers are generally strong but those with western-style machine made papers are frequently found to be exceptionally brittle and deeply discoloured.
Logistics mean NCS receives small batches of manuscripts (approximately 25 at a time) at the Albemarle Street studio and work on these before returning them along with the digitised images and receiving the next batch. This allows a steady but manageable workflow and output that can dovetailed in with other large scale and ongoing projects. The project also includes the measuring of all manuscripts so that bespoke archival housing can be made at a late date if necessary.
An important feature of this project is the integration of conservation and digitisation processes. Doing it this way, instead of carrying them out as separate phases by different people, the time and cost of the project is lower. By utilising the knowledge and skills of the conservators to digitise as well as treat items, handling is safer and any potential problems during digitisation can be identified as they work and remedied, with less risk of damage.
We will report further on this project in blogs as individual conservation issues arise, and a selection of images can be seen in the Gallery to the right.
-------------------------------------------------
Admin's Notes: The iis Catalogue of Indic Manuscript is expected to be completed in early 2020.
Last edited by Admin on Sat Jun 15, 2019 10:52 pm, edited 3 times in total.
The Manuscripts Collection of the Ismaili Heritage Society
The Manuscripts Collection of the Ismaili Heritage Society is the second largest known AVAILABLE Khojki Manuscripts Collection and is much bigger than the Harvard University Khojki Collection - There are other private collections, possible bigger but they are not available to the public:
There are presently about 200+ Khojki manuscripts, 100 photocopies of Khojki manuscripts for which we do not have any originals, about 200 Khojki printed book and lytho and 5 Farsi manuscripts in our collection.
The biggest Khojki manuscript of the Ismaili Heritage Society collection counts 1,323 pages.
The oldest manuscript so far in our collection is dated 1773 AD
There are 7 original manuscripts with the seal of the Imam.
The same seal of the Imam can be found in 3 special manuscripts, one written in Persian, one near a page written in Arabic in the middle of a Khojkji manuscript and one written in Khojki. All those are originals that we will be making available in 2016-2017 Inshallah.
This collection has the only known Khojki manuscript containing the name of the author of the "Kalame Mowla".
We also have a very large collection of copies of manuscripts and other documents [20,000+ pages]. One of them is a letter written by Imam Aga Hassanali Shah to the British in 1851 upon learning of the demise of his mother, Pir Bibi Sarkar Mata Salamat.
More will be added here in the future.
Hazar Imam said that sometimes our documents have been buried "on purpose". Is it not the obligation of every Ismaili to unearth as many Ismaili documents as possible? is it not our responsibility to recreate our history and fill the gaps left in History?
If you can help us in collecting more manuscripts and documents or in cataloguing/transcribing/translating Khojki, please contact us on this email with the title "Manuscript Help" on your email.
[email protected]
Thanks you.
Admin.
There are presently about 200+ Khojki manuscripts, 100 photocopies of Khojki manuscripts for which we do not have any originals, about 200 Khojki printed book and lytho and 5 Farsi manuscripts in our collection.
The biggest Khojki manuscript of the Ismaili Heritage Society collection counts 1,323 pages.
The oldest manuscript so far in our collection is dated 1773 AD
There are 7 original manuscripts with the seal of the Imam.
The same seal of the Imam can be found in 3 special manuscripts, one written in Persian, one near a page written in Arabic in the middle of a Khojkji manuscript and one written in Khojki. All those are originals that we will be making available in 2016-2017 Inshallah.
This collection has the only known Khojki manuscript containing the name of the author of the "Kalame Mowla".
We also have a very large collection of copies of manuscripts and other documents [20,000+ pages]. One of them is a letter written by Imam Aga Hassanali Shah to the British in 1851 upon learning of the demise of his mother, Pir Bibi Sarkar Mata Salamat.
More will be added here in the future.
Hazar Imam said that sometimes our documents have been buried "on purpose". Is it not the obligation of every Ismaili to unearth as many Ismaili documents as possible? is it not our responsibility to recreate our history and fill the gaps left in History?
If you can help us in collecting more manuscripts and documents or in cataloguing/transcribing/translating Khojki, please contact us on this email with the title "Manuscript Help" on your email.
[email protected]
Thanks you.
Admin.
Last edited by Admin on Sat Jun 15, 2019 10:54 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Lesser known treasures of Khojki Documents
One of the lesser known treasures of Khojki Documents is a publication in 1926 of the Pir Pandiyat e Jawanmardi, the Farmans of Mowlana Mustansir Billah, with the text written in Khojki Script. There are two languages side by side: The first column gives the text of the Pandiyat in Farsi (Persian) language which is believed to be the original language in which the Farman was made. The adjacent column in right gives the text in Sindhi/Katchi translation.
it is believed that around 120 or 130 books were published in total in the Khojki Script mostly in the early 1900s'.
This book was published by the then Recreation Club Institute at the Khoja Sindhi Printing Press on Dongri Street at Bhimpura in Mumbay.
"Pir Pindiyat-i Jawan-mardi" is the only book given the title of PIR. These are the Farmans of Imam Mustansiribillah II - This books hold the law and guidance for the Ismaili Jamat.
There is an English translation by Ivanow in PDF format on http://ismaili.net/heritage/node/29335
The beginning of the text gives the titles of Imam Mustansir so they appear the same on both column.
The top first page introduction, as in most Khojki Ismaili Manuscripts, says
Allah Toahar
Bismillahhie Rahmanir Rahim
This is followed by the Title:
Pandiyat Wado Imam Mowlana Aga Shah Mustansirbillah Zaban mubarak farmayun ahe so likhiyasi
it is believed that around 120 or 130 books were published in total in the Khojki Script mostly in the early 1900s'.
This book was published by the then Recreation Club Institute at the Khoja Sindhi Printing Press on Dongri Street at Bhimpura in Mumbay.
"Pir Pindiyat-i Jawan-mardi" is the only book given the title of PIR. These are the Farmans of Imam Mustansiribillah II - This books hold the law and guidance for the Ismaili Jamat.
There is an English translation by Ivanow in PDF format on http://ismaili.net/heritage/node/29335
The beginning of the text gives the titles of Imam Mustansir so they appear the same on both column.
The top first page introduction, as in most Khojki Ismaili Manuscripts, says
Allah Toahar
Bismillahhie Rahmanir Rahim
This is followed by the Title:
Pandiyat Wado Imam Mowlana Aga Shah Mustansirbillah Zaban mubarak farmayun ahe so likhiyasi
This is the first page of Pir Pandiyati Jwanmardi in Farsi language but Khojki script from an Ismaili manuscript dated 1804AD found recently in Bhuj area in Kuch. Gujarat.
The Heritage Society will be releasing scans of most of its manuscripts collection after 2017 in celebration of the Diamond Jubilee of our Imam-e-Zaman Noor Mowana Shah Karim, Aga Khan IV.
The Heritage Society will be releasing scans of most of its manuscripts collection after 2017 in celebration of the Diamond Jubilee of our Imam-e-Zaman Noor Mowana Shah Karim, Aga Khan IV.
Last edited by Admin on Sat Jun 15, 2019 10:56 pm, edited 3 times in total.
You can download the booklet describing each of the 20 Ismaili manuscripts exhibited at Carleton University from this link below:
http://ismaili.net/timeline/2017/ottawa-pamphlet-4.pdf
Display of Manuscripts dated 1700’s to early 1900’s from Ismaili and offshoot branches
The Heritage Society’s manuscript display is a tapestry of inks, colours, designs, styles, scripts, bindings and rare texts.
The Heritage Society has, since its first SOS Khojki Conference in 1990, expanded its collection of Ismaili manuscripts. Its 30 years of continuous effort has resulted in one of the largest accessible collection of Khojki Satpanthi Ismaili manuscripts.
The Satpanth denomination includes Satpanthi Guptis & Ismailis loyal to The Aga Khan, as well as ismailis who branched out such as Athias and ImamShahis.
Satpanthi manuscripts in Khojki and Gujrati scripts generally contain Dua (Prayers), Ceremonies, Ginans (Gnosis), History, Farmans, Astrology, Mathematics, Hadiths, Qisas, Records, accounts of the community and a variety of other subjects.
The manuscripts on display include the oldest text of Kalame Mowla, unpublished ginans, prayers of the Athias, the 73 prayers of the Imam Shahis, Dua of the Ismailis as recited by Pir Shabuddin Shah, Farmans of Aga Janghi Shah, illustrated ImamShahi manuscripts, correspondence in various languages from previous Imams with their original seals.
Exhibited at:
The 2nd International Ismaili Studies Conference – Mapping a Pluralist Space in Ismaili Studies, Carleton University, Ottawa. March 10, 2017
Last edited by Admin on Tue Apr 25, 2017 9:16 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Update on the Ismaili Heritage Collection:
The oldest manuscript now in our collection is in Gujrati and is dated AD 1744
it was found among Satpanthi Athias of Ahmedabad area in January 2017.
More manuscripts and khojki books have been added. Some of the ismaili/satpanth manuscripts found are in Hindi Devnagri scripts and Gurmukhi and need knowledge in those script to identify the dates and content. Any help is welcome.
The Khojki books including Litho and duplicates or different editions of the same books are about 220 in number. Some printed before Lalji Devraj. Included in the collection, the 1934 editions of Mukhi Lalji Devraj's 6 books of ginans approved by Mowlana Sultan Muhammad Shah.
There are also between 200 and 300 Gujrati books on Ismailism including several editions of Nurun Mubeen.
We are aiming to have a complete catalogue. Would you like to help?
[email protected]
The oldest manuscript now in our collection is in Gujrati and is dated AD 1744
it was found among Satpanthi Athias of Ahmedabad area in January 2017.
More manuscripts and khojki books have been added. Some of the ismaili/satpanth manuscripts found are in Hindi Devnagri scripts and Gurmukhi and need knowledge in those script to identify the dates and content. Any help is welcome.
The Khojki books including Litho and duplicates or different editions of the same books are about 220 in number. Some printed before Lalji Devraj. Included in the collection, the 1934 editions of Mukhi Lalji Devraj's 6 books of ginans approved by Mowlana Sultan Muhammad Shah.
There are also between 200 and 300 Gujrati books on Ismailism including several editions of Nurun Mubeen.
We are aiming to have a complete catalogue. Would you like to help?
[email protected]
Last edited by Admin on Sat Jun 15, 2019 10:57 pm, edited 2 times in total.
We do not buy manuscripts.
It has happened that some people ask money and we have always preferred not to take any manuscripts from them. Even recently it happened in some remote cities of Gujarat and we said no. Paying for manuscripts in my opinion is not needed. Manuscripts belong to history, not to people. We are only trustees and therefore no one should say "my" collection.
Further we would not put on Ismaili Heritage any scans of manuscripts for which we have not personally seen the originals, unless from credible institutions.
Ultimately, putting a manuscript online involves trust from the reader based on personal reputation of those making them available. In this era of Kaljug where there are so many forgeries, even in signatures and dates, one can never be too cautious.
By certifying the authenticity of the scans, the Heritage Society will reassure people that those have been thoroughly verified to be true to the originals and scans do not contain any manipulations or tempering. We may be a little bit late to release but they will be released according to standards
Admin
It has happened that some people ask money and we have always preferred not to take any manuscripts from them. Even recently it happened in some remote cities of Gujarat and we said no. Paying for manuscripts in my opinion is not needed. Manuscripts belong to history, not to people. We are only trustees and therefore no one should say "my" collection.
Further we would not put on Ismaili Heritage any scans of manuscripts for which we have not personally seen the originals, unless from credible institutions.
Ultimately, putting a manuscript online involves trust from the reader based on personal reputation of those making them available. In this era of Kaljug where there are so many forgeries, even in signatures and dates, one can never be too cautious.
By certifying the authenticity of the scans, the Heritage Society will reassure people that those have been thoroughly verified to be true to the originals and scans do not contain any manipulations or tempering. We may be a little bit late to release but they will be released according to standards
Admin
Last edited by Admin on Sat May 25, 2019 12:47 pm, edited 2 times in total.
-
shivaathervedi
- Posts: 1107
- Joined: Mon Feb 01, 2016 10:39 pm
Just an input:
How I personally collected few rare books and other material on Ismailism.
FROM KABARIYAS IN KARACHI (those vendors who sell old or junk items including books).
From those KABARIYAS I purchased TARIKH E IMAM E MUBIN, both parts of KALAME IMAM E MUBIN of MSMS, old Ginans books printed before partition, Some other rare books in Urdu, Sindhi, Gujrati and Khojki. Many magazines printed in 40's 50's and 60's. At that time they were very cheap from one Rupee to 10 Rupees. Still I am looking for KABARIS to collect Ismaili and Islamic books.
Now adays these KABARIS have become smart and selling for higher prices but still they are worth.
Now how those KABARIS got that treasure. Obviously from Ismailis who wanted to get rid of those books and sold for few Rupees not knowing what precious treasure they are throwing away. In my opinion such kind of material should be deposited with ITREB so that they should take care of precious material, books or manuscripts.
How I personally collected few rare books and other material on Ismailism.
FROM KABARIYAS IN KARACHI (those vendors who sell old or junk items including books).
From those KABARIYAS I purchased TARIKH E IMAM E MUBIN, both parts of KALAME IMAM E MUBIN of MSMS, old Ginans books printed before partition, Some other rare books in Urdu, Sindhi, Gujrati and Khojki. Many magazines printed in 40's 50's and 60's. At that time they were very cheap from one Rupee to 10 Rupees. Still I am looking for KABARIS to collect Ismaili and Islamic books.
Now adays these KABARIS have become smart and selling for higher prices but still they are worth.
Now how those KABARIS got that treasure. Obviously from Ismailis who wanted to get rid of those books and sold for few Rupees not knowing what precious treasure they are throwing away. In my opinion such kind of material should be deposited with ITREB so that they should take care of precious material, books or manuscripts.
If you would have read this thread since beginning, you would be aware that the IIS has scanned 600 Khojki manuscripts recently.nuseri wrote:YA ALI MADAD:
it is good and to have passion for manuscript collection.
I have few questions
1.Has MHI ( 49th IMAM) has made Any open or else to search,retrieve and publish data of khojki/ etc manuscripts?.
I had a meeting at the iis around Feb 2001 where several seniors of the IIS were present (I mean directors and Senior Academics). Azim Nanji mentioned that Mowlana Hazar Imam had told him in last December that he was very concerned that they had not yet made any catalogue of the Khojki manuscripts in their collection. The Imam wanted this to be done as soon as possible.
Dr Nanji asked me if I could help in this regards and what were my recommendations, which I shared with all of them. My proposal, if followed. would have landed them a catalogue before December 2001.
Now 16 years have passed, I was hoping they would complete that catalog by this Jubilee but I have still not seen anything.