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numbering on the left-hand margins of the eave s were of little use because of the numerous gaps. The nature of a book of notes ’ lacking a regular order, makes the Uncertainty of the sequence of the leaves t CSs re grettable than it would be in a his- ncal text or a poem. A new numbering Wlt h Arabic numbers (la-49b) has been Written on the photocopies for practical Purposes.

In the Javanese text the items or para graphs are separated from each other by P a das, punctuation marks mostly consist- 8 of two small circles with some embel- ushments. The presence of the inserted leaves ^ritten with an East Javanese script con- lr ms the statement that the buda script nianuscripts in the Mackenzie collection in e India Office Library originate from the strict of Pugër in the Eastern Comer of ava (see Ricklefs-Voorhoeve, Indonesian anuscripts in Great Britain, 1977, p. 65). e collection contains 24 manuscripts, all amaged. Photocopies of the remaining 23 Manuscripts are not yet available. The contents of IOL Jav. 53-k, the origi- n& l of LOr 14.492, suggest an affinity to the J^hgious speculations on gods and spirits ° c ated in limbs of the humen body fre quently found in Javano-Balinese tuturs. e appearance of the pafica rësi, epical er °es and Tutur Mèijët also points in that lre ction. No specific Buddhist deities are U'entioned, in contradistinction to the Rasa arita text in buda script (Bodleian Li- r ary, Oxford, Ms Jav. b.1 (R), Ricklefs- V °orhoeve, p. 177, LOr 14.436, which ori ginates from West Java and shows Bud- h'st inspiration.

The Eastern Corner of Java, east of the Suméru massif, remained culturally united with Bali for many centuries after the con version to Islam of the coastal distrcits (Pasisir) of Central and East Java in the 16th century. It is quite possible that pre- Islamic religious centres like the dukuh of Purwasari mentioned in the Mackenzie manuscript IOL Jav. 53-z subsisted in the mountainous hinterland of Java’s Eastern Comer up to the middle of the 18th century. Holy books cherished as heirlooms and carefully preserved in the houses of ajars, masters of religious communities in the mountain villages, might originally be written or copied in the 17th century. The knowledge of buda script in some varieties was probably preserved as a heirloom by some pre-Islamic or archaic Islamic com munities both in West Java, Central Java and East Java well into the 19th century. Colonel Mackenzie reported that the 24 palmleaf manuscripts were brought him in 1812 “by the civility of a regent from a long deserted house in the distant forests, where they had lain neglected for many years”. The regent in question was probably the kyahi tumë^guq Pugër who is mentioned in the manuscript IOL Jav. 53-z. Some of the oldest manuscripts in the collection, in cluding the present tutur in buda script, might date from the 17th century. The beautiful photocopies of IOL Jav 53-k were originally sent to the present author by the Assistent Keeper of the de partment of Classical Indian languages of the India Office Library for inspection and identification. It was hoped at the time that the whole collection of 24 palmleaf manus cripts (not all of them in buda script.