[Archery: Two Treatises]
Overview
This treatise consists of two texts, a secular manual that teaches and promotes the sport of archery and its use for the Muslim solider, so that he can become a superior human and athlete.
Dates
- Creation: 1150 A.H. / 1737 C.E.
Creator
- Seyyed Meer Alavi (Author, Person)
- Yoola Qydas Ka-istaheh Saksineh (Scribe, Person)
Language of Materials
The manuscript is in Persian, in Nasta'liq script; there are a very small number of notations in English and Sanskrit.
Conditions Governing Access
No access restrictions.
Conditions Governing Use
Spencer Library staff may determine use restrictions dependent on the physical condition of manuscript materials.
Extent
1 volume : Binding title is in English and states "Archery: Two Treatises." ; Volume measures 23 cm tall.
Scope and Contents
The manuscript begins by praising Allah and makes the transition to claiming the learning of archery is the soldier's way of following in the footsteps of the prophets that came before him. These prophets all, as the book suggests, were masters of archery and took pride in martyrdom for Allah.
The first six folios of this manuscript have been written by a different scribe from the rest of the volume. Almost three full folios in the beginning are praising Allah and the remaining three are dedicated to questions and answers about the form of the body while using a bow and arrow, the tension of the bow and how to hold it, and other general questions about archery. The words "Question" / "سوال" and "Answer" / "جواب" have been written in red ink, while the rest of the text is written in black. "Chapter" divisions in this manuscript are written seamlessly into the text and not given special attention.
A new scribe writes the remaining pages in the manuscript. On the left-hand page of folio 7, both the handwriting and color of the page change noticeably. Throughout the manuscript and upon entering the second section in the middle of the book, the same format of question-and-answer pages appears, but this time the words meant to be written in red ink have not been added, although there are gaps in the text suggesting the intention for their addition. It therefore appears the manuscript was never completed.
The book was written during the reign of Mohammad Shah (1719-1748 CE), also known as Shah Jahan. The author of the first text is unknown. The writer of the second text was identified on Spencer Research Library's original acquisition note as Seyyed Meer Alavi, of Indian descent. Both texts have been inscribed by Yoola Qydas Ka-istaheh Saksineh, also from India, except for the first seven pages, which were written in a different hand.
Physical Location
MS C33
Custodial History
The first few bifolia in this manuscript are blank and look as if they have been added during a conservation process. A blue piece of paper precedes the first folio, which has notes written in ink in Sanskrit. There are also two legible markings written in pencil in English: the number '36' and the word "Tirnamah," which literally translates from Farsi to "book of arrow."
The last bifolio of the manuscript contains writings in Farsi and Sanskrit which have been, in comparison to the orientation of the rest of the manuscript, written upside down. On the right, it is noted that "Sheikh Ahmad Khod-dast" "شیخ احمد خوددست" revised the manuscript in December 1873. On the left, Sansksrit writing appears on the bottom, and at the top there is a note in Farsi that the book has "9 pictures," but there is only one hand-drawn illustration.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Acquired by KU Libraries' Department of Special Collections before October 1953.
Physical Description
All text in the manuscript is written inside a golden illuminated border. The first folio is illuminated minimally: a half-dome frames the written text and the phrase "Bismillah e Rahman e Rahim" / "بسم الله الرحمان الرحیم" meaning 'in the name of Allah' is given special attention as it is placed inside a golden rectangle that acts as the base for the half-dome. The rest of the text follows underneath this frame. Starting a book with the name of Allah is customary for most Perso-Islamic manuscripts. Another folio like this appears 2/3 of the way through the book to signify the start of an independent section with similar content.
The binding is in good shape, and most folios are in order, as can be verified by the catchphrases and the Hindu-Arabic numeral foliation. A few pages have been repaired with small pieces of white tape, but most are damage-free.
Some leaves have blank sections that were, as the text leads to believe, intended for illustrations.
There is one drawing/illustration of two bows, around leaf 23, which details the name of the tools' different parts.
- Title
- Guide to the MS C33 Collection
- Subtitle
- [Archery: Two Treatises]
- Author
- Finding aid created by yf. Finding aid encoded by mwh.
- Date
- 2023-11
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- Finding aid written in English.
- Finding aid permalink
- https://hdl.handle.net/10407/0119119932
- Preferred citation
-
[Archery: Two Treatises], MS C33, Kenneth Spencer Research Library, University of Kansas
Repository Details
Part of the University of Kansas. Kenneth Spencer Research Library Repository