Traditional Malay black ink : formulation of the recipe and analysis on their characteristics

Abstract

The early Malay manuscripts can be traced dated back to the 16th century. The fact that those manuscripts have survived until today proves the durability and permanency of the Malay traditional ink. Alas, the documentation and description of such an indigenous ink making are scarce from the literatures. Even the few limited accounts of this invaluable heritage are merely referring to the ink’s ingredients. Not knowing the proportion of each ingredients and details of processes involved, the legacy of Malay indigenous ink making shall remain in the historical archives. Therefore, this work is dedicated to uncover and reproduce the legacy of Malay traditional ink recipe through several approaches, namely, inspecting the existing early Malay manuscripts, visiting the surviving traditional ink making home-industry, reproducing the ink formulation, verifying the formulation with scientific methods, and finally getting feedback from professional calligraphers pertaining to the quality of the reproduced ink. A total of 15 samples were examined, which include 3 samples of original Malay manuscript texts - Hikayat Nabi Yusuf (Mss Malay D.4), Hikayat Hang Tuah (Add. 12384) and Taj As-Salatin (Or. 15227), and 12 samples of Royal Malay letters from the British Library collections. They were examined using multi-spectral imaging apparatus (non-destructive method) to inspect the physical conditions of the writings and also to identify the types of pigments/dyes used. The present work emphasizes on the black ink since it was predominantly used in writings of the early manuscripts. Traditionally, the ink was produced from natural resources that were available within a particular locality. Thus, a black ink recipe attributed to the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia is chosen for this work. The ink is a water-based formulation with three main elements; colouring agent (soot and mangosteen charcoal), adhesive (cashew gum exudate from the bark of cashew tree (Anacardium occidentale) and additives (black pepper, salt and virgin coconut oil). Meanwhile, the European handmade paper (Magnani Platinum) was used as the ink substrate or writing medium as mostly those of the early Malay manuscripts. Practical guide on the black ink making was obtained from direct visit and observation at a traditional home-industry ink making located in Peuteuy Condong village, West Java Province, Indonesia. On top of that, in order to reproduce the selected Malay traditional black ink, a simple OFAT (one-factor-at-a-time) method was adopted to screen the optimum composition of colouring agent, adhesive and additive. The characteristics of each composition were tested by means of colloidal stability (up to one year), microstructure of ink particles and penetration depth into the paper matrix, viscosity and flowability. The optimum formulation was found to be 2 to 1 ratio of colouring agent to adhesive for 100 ml of formulation. The screened black ink formulation was further subjected to accelerated ageing test (interval period of 1, 2, 3, 6 and 12 days) and lightfastness tests i.e. resistance of ink from fading when exposed to light. The accelerated ageing test was conducted in accordance with ISO 5630-3:1996 standard procedure (moist-heat treatment at 80°C and 65 % of relative humidity), while the lightfastness test had been in accordance with ASTM D 3424-11 standard. The formulated ink underwent both accelerated ageing procedures without any significant changes in the visible reflectance and total colour difference spectra as compared to certain commercial carbon inks that showed considerable fading upon the lightfastness test. After all tests had been conducted, a panel of professional calligraphers from the Yayasan Restu Malaysia finally tested the formulated ink and pronounced their satisfaction over the quality of the ink. In addition, they suggested to further improve the flowability of the ink. In conclusion, these results that had been retrieved have empirically substantiated the legacy of the Malay traditional black ink in terms of its quality, durability, and permanency