Page 916 - Proceedings Collega2023

At this stage, a simple one-factor-at-a-time (OFAT) approach was adopted i.e. the effect of modifying a
single factor was observed while putting the other factors constant. The ink formulation was tested for its
sedimentation and drying absorption. Finally, the feedbacks of professional calligraphers of Malaysia were
sought on the quality of the screened black ink formulation.

Materials
Wan Ali (1988) described the following black ink recipe based on his personal communication with
Lebai Kassim Abbas from Pasir Mas, Kelantan. In the Malay culture a lebai refers to a learned person in
religious knowledge or a mosque servant. Lebai Kassim learned the ink making technique from Islamic
religious schools (pondoks) where he attended.

Table 1
Lebai Kasim’s black ink recipe
Ingredients Procedures (boiling method)

• 5 cups of soot/lamp black

• Fistful ground cashew Dried cashew gum and black pepper
gum
were pounded into powder form.
• Exiguous mangosteen Water was then added in a vessel that
charcoal
contains the dry ingredients. Salt and
• 1 teaspoon ground black coconut oil were added at this stage.
pepper
The ingredients were boiled until they
• 5 litre pure water became homogenised.
• A pinch of salt
• A drop of coconut oil

According to Lebai Kassim the soot could also be replaced with cobwebs (spider web) or ash. As
mentioned by Wan Ali in his MA thesis “An Introduction to Malay Palaeography” there are many types of
fruit rinds were used, but the rinds from mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana L.) and rambutan (Nephelium
lappaceum) were the most preferred. This original recipe shall thereupon be labelled as T1R1.

The procedures as stated in Table 1 are in close resemblance to those practiced by the Indonesian
traditional ink making workshop in Cianjur, West Java. According to the ink maker there, the most important
formulation of the ink (mangsi gentur) is the carbon to vehicle ratio i.e. the soot to glutinous rice
composition. They adopted a 1:1 ratio. However, direct comparison with Lebai Kassim’s formulation is not
possible due to different units used – 5 cups of soot against a fistful of ground cashew gum. Besides, the
quantity of mangosteen charcoal was not mentioned.

Reproducing the traditional black ink formulation can be divided into two stages. The first stage is
to prepare the raw materials, namely, soot, mangosteen charcoal and cashew gum. Soot and mangosteen
charcoal serve as the carbon source or the black pigment while cashew gum acts as the vehicle or binder.
The remaining ingredients – black pepper, salt and coconut oil, are the additives that can be readily
obtained. The second stage is to screen the optimum proportion for each ingredient so as to achieve the
required ink performance and consistency.

International Conference on Local Wisdom of the Malay Archipelago (COLLEGA 2023) Page - 903 -