Marsden’s Malay Manuscripts: Reassessing a Colonial Collection

Abstract This article investigates European collecting of Malay manuscripts during the colonial era to address two inter-related questions: was this instrumental in destroying manuscript tradition, and are collections accurate representations culture? It makes case that while intervention certainly destructive, fact majority Malay-language literary texts survive only colonial-era collections. also considers whether collections, precisely because they high low Arabic religious (known as kitab ), unrepresentative culture nineteenth century earlier. Taking Marsden’s seminal collection its study, provides a fuller account how assembled, traces individuals known have acquired for Marsden. Newly documented remain situ Indonesia Malaysian institutions discussed counterpoint.