Ensinaste-me na Serra a escrever
na casca da Bétula Branca
Mais tarde ofereci essa ciência ao Amor
e com surpresa ele aprendeu
Foi por isso que recebi as Cartas das Cascas
que guardo numa gaveta
Por causa de ti e de ti que não se amavam
Por causa de mim que amava os dois
Por causa da Bétula Branca
e dos seus costumes na Serra
Ainda bem que não me ensinaste a fazer chá
A Bétula Branca tinha perdido as palavras
e eu o encanto com que lhe toco
um encanto a segredar por trás das cascas
9.12.23
Most of us have heard about Ancient Egyptian papyri and Babylonian clay tables, but not so many people are familiar with Russian birch-bark manuscripts [Russian: gramota/грамота]. As the name suggests, these are documents written on pieces of the inner layer of birch bark, which was commonly used for writing before the mass production of paper. The birch bark was used for writing for many centuries and in various cultures. The oldest birch bark manuscripts date to the 1st century CE and are believed to originate from Afghanistan. Early Sanskrit writers in the first several centuries CE also mentioned the use of birch bark, and the bark of Himalayan Birch is still used today in India and Nepal for writing mantras.
ResponderEliminarWe see similar tradition in the Irish culture. According to legend, Irish native writing system called Ogham, or the “tree alphabet”, was invented by Ogma, who wrote a proscription on birch-bark to Lugh (Book of Ballymote). The first letter of Ogham is 'beith', and 'beithe' means birch.
The earliest Russian birch-bark manuscripts, found in Veliky Novgorod (Novgorod the Great), date approximately to the 9th century. Probably the most famous Novgorod birch-bark documents are notes and homework exercises which belonged to a boy named Onfim from the 13th century. He left his notes and homework exercises scratched in soft birch bark which got preserved by the clay soil of Novgorod. Onfim left 17 known birch bark items, 12 of them have illustrations and 5 only texts.
Since 1951 more than 1100 pieces of birch bark with writing on them have been found, and the number is growing.
In Russia the birch bark manuscripts are called beresta (pl. beresty), and the academic field that studies them is called berestology. The great number of beresty found shows a high rate of literacy among the population at that time.
( https://www.archaeolog.ru/ru/press/articles/o-nakhodke-novoy-berestyanoy-gramoty-v-velikom-novgorode?fbclid=IwAR3co7sbxKmZ_io_MMstvycKmWpbtqu5Y_SjY1_Ackl1sNZK_K8vtaAd7Ns)