Anisong (Ānisaṃsa) Manuscripts from Luang Prabang (Laos) in a comparative perspective: Transformation in the age of printing

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This project studies a corpus of manuscripts bearing one of the most popular and widespread Buddhist writings in Laos and Thailand, namely preaching or homiletic texts called anisong. Manuscripts containing anisong texts, written on palm-leaf or mulberry paper, are used in various kinds of ceremonies carried out by monks and novices. Acting as an incentive for offerings made to monasteries and the community of monks (sangha), they serve an important function in the social and economic relationship between laity and sangha. The main corpus of anisong manuscripts to be studied is from Luang Prabang, the ancient royal capital of Laos where the practice of anisong is still alive. This corpus, which for a greater part is accurately dated, is augmented by anisong manuscripts from northern Thailand, northeastern Thailand, and neighbouring Tai speaking areas in eastern Myanmar and southwestern China. The project seeks to address the following questions: What do the paratexts (notably the often lengthy colophons) reveal about the scribes, sponsors and donors of the manuscripts, their social background and personal aspirations? How have these cultural practices related to anisong changed over time, in particular in the age of printing? Moreover, the project investigates the transformation in the regional manuscript culture(s) in the Dhamma script cultural domain with regard to the materiality, such as changes of writing support and writing substances, but also to script, book form and visual organization. Finally, the socio-economic aspects for the production, circulation, and usage of anisong manuscripts especially in those areas where the local manuscript culture has been a living tradition until present day.