During July we received material from the following six projects, based in Asia and Africa:

Preservation through digitisation of endangered Armenian rare books and making them accessible on the web (phase 1)

Locating and identifying Lepcha manuscripts as a first step towards their preservation

The tifinagh rock inscriptions in the Tadrart Acacus mountains (SW Libya): an unknown endangered heritage

Ibadi private libraries in the Mzab Heptapolis, Algeria

Preserving early print literature on the history of Tamilnadu

And this project from China - Preservation of the last hieroglyphic manuscripts in China: Shui archives in Libo, Guizhou. The writing system used in Shui manuscripts has been identified as one of the few surviving hieroglyphics in China.

 

 

It is not surprising that many of the archives we receive are written in endangered languages and scripts. Preserving copies of these records safeguards not only the information and knowledge they contain, but also the languages used by groups to express and describe these things. This is such a valuable resource. Access should be preserved for peoples such as the Shui whose culture, religion, folklore, history, philosophy and knowledge these manuscripts record. Saving these records also provides a significant resource for students of linguistics and palaeography.

The digital copies of Shui manuscripts created by this project are available at the British Library and the University Library of Sun Yat-sen University. The originals are with their private owners and county archives. Further resources and information relating to Shui hieroglyphics in Libo can be found at the China Museum. And, work on recording and documenting endangered languages is being done by the Endangered Languages Project at the School for Oriental and Asian Studies.

Lynda