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A Comparative Study of the Understanding of Undergraduates in the Knowledgebase on the Palm Leaf Manuscripts in Sri Lanka

Received: 21 October 2020    Accepted: 9 November 2020    Published: 26 April 2021
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Abstract

The recent advances in the information and technology world, have transformed the role of local and foreign education sectors. When considering the local education system, it is clear that the indigenous qualities we have inherited from our ancestors should be preserved in an era of decay. Indigenous knowledge is far more spoken of and holds higher value than just knowledge itself. Across the world, special attention is focused not just on knowledge, but on indigenous knowledge. Therefore, it must be acknowledged that the words and the ideas of the indigene are of great importance. Indigenous knowledge, rather than traditional knowledge, is a cultural heritage of every human society. Thus, indigenous knowledge is specific to a particular geographical area. That indicates that, the knowledge possessed by the people living within a certain geographical area or region is their traditional knowledge or indigenous knowledge. Sri Lanka: a country which has an ancient history in writing traditions preserves its uniqueness through palm leaf manuscripts. It can be considered that palm leaf manuscripts have vastly contributed in the process of presenting the local historical knowledge from generation to generation. The Palm Leaf Manuscripts contain a wealth of knowledge related to various subject areas. The research asked whether Sri Lankan university students were aware of Palm Leaf Manuscripts. It examined the students' understanding on why Palm Leaf Manuscripts are a locally valued heritage that should be preserved. A sample of undergraduates from the Department of Library and Information Science, History and Archeology from the University of Kelaniya was obtained for this purpose. The main data collection instrument used was the questionnaire method, and primary data was collected through distributing the questionnaire to the undergraduates of each department using the random sampling method. Secondary data was collected through the printed sources which were considered relevant to the research. Data analysis showed that they had a general understanding of Palm Leaf Manuscripts.

Published in International Journal of Sustainability Management and Information Technologies (Volume 7, Issue 1)
DOI 10.11648/j.ijsmit.20210701.12
Page(s) 11-14
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Palm Leaf Manuscripts, Indigenous Knowledge, University of Kelaniya, Undergraduates

References
[1] Alahakoon, C. N. K. (2003). Management, conservation and preservation of palm-leaf manuscripts: a research study based on selected collections in Sri Lanka. Unpublished M. L. S. thesis. University of Colombo.
[2] Allepola, deepanjani, (2007), ThalpathLiweema, Central Cultural Fund, Department of Cultural Affairs, Colombo" Sri Lanka.
[3] Blackburn, Anne M. (2002). “Notes on Sri Lankan Temple Manuscript Collections,” Journal of the Pali Text Society XXVII: 1–59.
[4] Cabral, L. M. Udaya Prasad, Muthurajah Norman Ravikumar, and Thankavadivel Ramanan. (2018). "Developing a Strategic Program for Safeguarding Palm-Leaf Manuscripts in Sri Lanka." Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, IFLA WLIC, August 24-30, 2018.
[5] Gunaratne, Mahendra. (2006). “Manuscript Writing on Palm-leaves,” at http://www.lankalibrary.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?f=68&t=2873.
[6] Gunawardana, sirani (1997), palm leaf manuscripts of Sri Lanka, sarvodaya vishwaleka, Colombo.
[7] Kumar, D. Udaya, G. V. Sreekumar, and U. A. Athvankar. (2009). "Traditional Writing System in Southern India - Palm Leaf Manuscripts." Design Thoughts: 2-7.
[8] Lagamuwa, A., (2006), Art of writing palm leaf manuscripts in the Sri Lanka, Ministry of Cultural, Baththaramulla.
[9] Lagamuwa, āriya, (2006), Palm Leaf Manuscript Culture in Sri Lanka, Department of Cultural Affairs, Colombo. Sri Lanka.
[10] Ranasinghe, P. (2008). Preservation and Provision of Access to Indigenous Knowledge in Sri Lanka, World Library and Information Congress: 74th Ifla Conference and Council, Québec, Canada,, [Online], Available at: https://archive.ifla.org/IV/ifla74/papers/106-Ranasinghe-en.pdf, [accessed on 04 June 2018].
[11] Ranasinghe, piyadāsa, (2010), Foreword of the An Annotated Bibliography of Palm Leaf Manuscripts in the Library in the Colombo national museum, Hettige NilanthaIndika, Department of National Museums"Colombo' Sri Lanka.
[12] Somadasa. K. D.(ed.) (1959-64) Lankave Puskola Pot Namavaliya, parts I and II, Colombo: Government Printers.
[13] Sumangala, H. & Batuvantudave, P. (2015), Mahavanshaya sinhala, Buddhist Cultural Center: Dehiwala.
[14] Van Dyke, Yana. (2009). "Sacred Leaves: The Conservation and Exhibition of Early BuddhistManuscripts on Palm Leaves." The Book and Paper Group Annual 28: 83-97.
[15] Vidyodaya and Vidyalankara University Act No. 45, 1958, section 2 (1).
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  • APA Style

    Bopeththe Somananda. (2021). A Comparative Study of the Understanding of Undergraduates in the Knowledgebase on the Palm Leaf Manuscripts in Sri Lanka. International Journal of Sustainability Management and Information Technologies, 7(1), 11-14. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijsmit.20210701.12

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    ACS Style

    Bopeththe Somananda. A Comparative Study of the Understanding of Undergraduates in the Knowledgebase on the Palm Leaf Manuscripts in Sri Lanka. Int. J. Sustain. Manag. Inf. Technol. 2021, 7(1), 11-14. doi: 10.11648/j.ijsmit.20210701.12

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    AMA Style

    Bopeththe Somananda. A Comparative Study of the Understanding of Undergraduates in the Knowledgebase on the Palm Leaf Manuscripts in Sri Lanka. Int J Sustain Manag Inf Technol. 2021;7(1):11-14. doi: 10.11648/j.ijsmit.20210701.12

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijsmit.20210701.12,
      author = {Bopeththe Somananda},
      title = {A Comparative Study of the Understanding of Undergraduates in the Knowledgebase on the Palm Leaf Manuscripts in Sri Lanka},
      journal = {International Journal of Sustainability Management and Information Technologies},
      volume = {7},
      number = {1},
      pages = {11-14},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijsmit.20210701.12},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijsmit.20210701.12},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijsmit.20210701.12},
      abstract = {The recent advances in the information and technology world, have transformed the role of local and foreign education sectors. When considering the local education system, it is clear that the indigenous qualities we have inherited from our ancestors should be preserved in an era of decay. Indigenous knowledge is far more spoken of and holds higher value than just knowledge itself. Across the world, special attention is focused not just on knowledge, but on indigenous knowledge. Therefore, it must be acknowledged that the words and the ideas of the indigene are of great importance. Indigenous knowledge, rather than traditional knowledge, is a cultural heritage of every human society. Thus, indigenous knowledge is specific to a particular geographical area. That indicates that, the knowledge possessed by the people living within a certain geographical area or region is their traditional knowledge or indigenous knowledge. Sri Lanka: a country which has an ancient history in writing traditions preserves its uniqueness through palm leaf manuscripts. It can be considered that palm leaf manuscripts have vastly contributed in the process of presenting the local historical knowledge from generation to generation. The Palm Leaf Manuscripts contain a wealth of knowledge related to various subject areas. The research asked whether Sri Lankan university students were aware of Palm Leaf Manuscripts. It examined the students' understanding on why Palm Leaf Manuscripts are a locally valued heritage that should be preserved. A sample of undergraduates from the Department of Library and Information Science, History and Archeology from the University of Kelaniya was obtained for this purpose. The main data collection instrument used was the questionnaire method, and primary data was collected through distributing the questionnaire to the undergraduates of each department using the random sampling method. Secondary data was collected through the printed sources which were considered relevant to the research. Data analysis showed that they had a general understanding of Palm Leaf Manuscripts.},
     year = {2021}
    }
    

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    AB  - The recent advances in the information and technology world, have transformed the role of local and foreign education sectors. When considering the local education system, it is clear that the indigenous qualities we have inherited from our ancestors should be preserved in an era of decay. Indigenous knowledge is far more spoken of and holds higher value than just knowledge itself. Across the world, special attention is focused not just on knowledge, but on indigenous knowledge. Therefore, it must be acknowledged that the words and the ideas of the indigene are of great importance. Indigenous knowledge, rather than traditional knowledge, is a cultural heritage of every human society. Thus, indigenous knowledge is specific to a particular geographical area. That indicates that, the knowledge possessed by the people living within a certain geographical area or region is their traditional knowledge or indigenous knowledge. Sri Lanka: a country which has an ancient history in writing traditions preserves its uniqueness through palm leaf manuscripts. It can be considered that palm leaf manuscripts have vastly contributed in the process of presenting the local historical knowledge from generation to generation. The Palm Leaf Manuscripts contain a wealth of knowledge related to various subject areas. The research asked whether Sri Lankan university students were aware of Palm Leaf Manuscripts. It examined the students' understanding on why Palm Leaf Manuscripts are a locally valued heritage that should be preserved. A sample of undergraduates from the Department of Library and Information Science, History and Archeology from the University of Kelaniya was obtained for this purpose. The main data collection instrument used was the questionnaire method, and primary data was collected through distributing the questionnaire to the undergraduates of each department using the random sampling method. Secondary data was collected through the printed sources which were considered relevant to the research. Data analysis showed that they had a general understanding of Palm Leaf Manuscripts.
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Author Information
  • Department of Library and Information Science, Kelaniya University, Kelaniya, Sri Lanka

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