palm-leaf manuscript
Historical term for manuscripts written on dried palm leaves, used in South and Southeast Asia for Buddhist scriptures and other texts.
This palm-leaf manuscript is a copy of a Buddhist scripture discovered in Sri Lanka.
Variant spelling using 唄 (song) instead of 貝 (shell); less common.
From Chinese 貝葉／贝叶 (bèiyè), originally referring to palm leaves used for writing, especially Buddhist scriptures. The Japanese reading ばいよう is the on'yomi of the kanji.