British Library Endangered Archives Programme (EAP)
Jaffna Protestant Digital Archive
EAP835: Jaffna Protestant digital archive – Pilot project
EAP971: Jaffna Protestant digital archive – Major project
This collection of digitized documents from institutional and private archives spans the late-eighteenth to mid-twentieth centuries. Items include church record books with registries of baptisms and marriages, religious tracts, school magazines, instructions, reports and correspondence about missionary activities and ordinations, many papers related to Alexander Johnston, and two needlework samplers with Bible quotations in Tamil and English. Many documents are in English, but there is also a significant number of Tamil compositions, including translations of English texts on medicine and Christianity, as well as original Tamil works of prose and poetry, mostly on Christian topics, with many intended to be used as textbooks or readers in schools.
Malay Manuscripts from Sri Lanka
EAP450: Manuscripts of the Sri Lankan Malays – Pilot project
EAP609: Digitising Malay writing in Sri Lanka – Major project
This collection consists of digitized documents from private, family, and mosque archives from the mid-nineteenth to the late twentieth century. Items in this diverse collection include songs, poetry, stories, theological writings, tales of Islamic prophets, prayer books, diaries, family records, letters, mosque and land deeds, and grammar and writing primers. Languages used in the collection include Malay, Arabic, Arabu-Tamil, Tamil, Javanese, English, and Sinhala.
Jaffna Bishop’s House Manuscripts
EAP700: Preservation of the manuscripts of the Jaffna Bishop’s house – Pilot project
EAP981: Preservation of the manuscripts of the Jaffna Bishop’s house – Major project
EAP1222: Preservation of the manuscripts of the Jaffna Bishop’s house – Major project (final)
This collection of digitized documents from the Jaffna Bishop’s house are from the late eighteenth to the mid twentieth century. It consists of personal memoirs and diaries, chronicles, account books, church registers (of baptisms, marriages, confessions, missionary appointments), land deeds, correspondence, council minutes, sermons, newspaper clippings and more, ranging from the eighteenth to the twentieth centuries, with some copies of works from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Most documents relate to Catholic missionary efforts in northern Sri Lanka. Over half of the items are in French, but there are also many others in English, Tamil, Latin, Portuguese, Sinhala, and Dutch.
Sri Lankan Tamil Palm-Leaf Manuscripts
EAP1056: Survey and digitisation of individual manuscript collections in Northern Sri Lanka – Pilot project
EAP1260: Digitisation and Cataloguing of Sri Lankan Tamil Palm-Leaf Manuscripts – Major project
This collection of digitized documents from public libraries and private collections contains palm-leaf manuscripts that range from the eighteenth to twentieth centuries, although many are copies of older works. Most texts are in the Tamil language, but many are also in Sanskrit written with the Grantha script. These items include astrological texts (including personal birth charts), grammatical works, land records, and medical treatises from the Ayurveda and Siddha traditions, including multiple copies of Cekarācacēkaram—one of the earliest extant Tamil works composed in Sri Lanka. There are also many religious works including mantras, mythology, temple histories, and ritual instructions (including for weddings and funerals). This part of the collection reflects the diversity of Hindu traditions in Sri Lanka. In addition to texts about Siva, Murugan, and Ganapati, there are several works related to the Shakta and Tantric traditions of goddess worship, as well as some relevant to Vishnu.
