Complete antique Burmese Kammavaca, 19th century. Kammavaca is a Pali term describing an assemblage of passages from the Tipitaka – the Theravada Buddhist canon – that relate to ordination, the bestowing of robes, and other rituals of monastic life. A Kammavaca is a highly ornamental type of manuscript usually commissioned by lay members of society as a work of merit, to be presented to monasteries when a son enters the Buddhist Order as a novice or becomes ordained as a monk. The novitiation ceremony of a Buddhist monk is an important family ritual, the main purpose being to gain merit for their future life. A novice may remain a monk for as long as he wishes, whether for one week or one season of lent or even for life, and he may undergo the initiation ceremony as many times as he likes. The most important Kammavaca were prepared for the upasampada (higher ordination), the ritual for the ordination of a Buddhist monk. This full ‘Kammavaca manuscript’ consists of 16 palm leaf sheets, hardened with multiple layers of lacquer before being covered in gold and then decorated on all pages with Pali script on both sides with 6 lines each. Both lids are made of wood, the title page as well as individual leaves also feature additional, finely executed drawings in red lacquer. 24.25 x 6.25 x 3 inches