dluwang

Ingredients

tree bark

Preparation Steps

Original Recipe Text

Dluwang is described as an indigenous substitute for paper made from tree-bark (p. 196). It was used for textblocks, endleaves, or paste-downs (p. 189). In some instances, the gatherings were bound prior to copying the text, which is unusual, because the 'treebark paper was crumbling' (p. 198, citing Or. 2118).

Evidence

"manuscripts from Southeast Asia often have dluwang endleaves or paste-downs instead of paper (in 31 instances in total)"

Remarks

The use of dluwang is thought to be confined to Java and Madura (p. 196, note 65). It often appears with a dark brown colour when an impregnating agent like persimmon fruit juice has been applied (p. 192, 197). The material is noted for being part of the 'Southeast Asian insular tradition' (p. 186, 201).