The Dharma of Planting and Knowledge of the Gods
Copy by Made Oka Salain (2024)
Transcription by Ida Pedanda Made (1937)
Gifted to Steve Lansing (Circa 1980)
Lontar Palm-leaf
Dimensions: 37.5 x 4 cm (Leaves Per Sheet)
This traditional lontar (palm leaf) manuscript was written by carving letters onto the prepared surfaces of palm leaves and rubbing them with ash to darken the inscriptions.
Translated Passage: "If these ceremonies are not performed at the Ulun Swi temple, and the Masceti temple, and to Rambut Sedana, the rice terraces will not be productive, nothing will be sufficient, there will be short measures, not enough to eat or drink, because the essences will be taken back by the deities of Gunung Agung and Batur, so the realm will be consumed by drought, there will be plagues and epidemics, humans will be distressed, by the god who reigns in the Ulun Swi temple."
The text focuses on knowledge about the gods who play a role in farming. It highlights the responsibilities of farmers to acknowledge the gifts of Dewi Sri, Goddess of Rice and Fertility, and Dewi Danu, Goddess of the Lake, through calendrical offerings and rituals.