Sinhalese Ola collection

Collection

Identifier: 2010-023

Staff Only

Scope and Content

The collection consists of three Sinhalese olas or book manuscripts and accompanying description cards.

Dates

1570-1820

Conditions Governing Access

There are no restrictions on access. This collection is open to the public. However, these materials are extremely fragile and may only be viewed in person; no digitization is available. If you are interested in olas in general, the British Library Sinhalese Manuscripts Pilot Digitisation Project has some digitized and available online.

Conditions Governing Use

OHSU Historical Collections & Archives (HC&A) is the owner of the original materials and digitized images in our collections, however, the collection may contain materials for which copyright is not held. Patrons are responsible for determining the appropriate use or reuse of materials. Consult with HC&A to determine if we can provide permission for use.

Extent

1 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

Sinhala; Sinhalese

Additional Description

Abstract

The collection consists of three Sinhalese olas or book manuscripts and accompanying description cards.

Custodial History

McGill University staff, Pamela Miller and Dr. Richard Virr, Head and Curator of Manuscripts, Rare Books and Special Collections responded to an inquiry regarding the origin of the olas: "Dr. Casey Wood collected hundreds of olas during his travels in the 1920s in South Asia. He was primarily interested in medical texts but he acquired many other texts as well. Dr. Casey was a generous donor to McGill and many if not most of his collection of olas are held there. However, he gave examples (usually three) of medical olas to many of the medical libraries in North America. OHSU's examples would be the result of this distribution. There does not appear to be a list of the institutions or libraries that received olas from Dr. Wood. These books were probably the property of a Ceylon Verdala, or native doctor."