The original is a bamboo cylinder of three internodal sections, 135.5 cm in length x 8.4 cm in diameter, with 17 lines of text continuous over the three sections, in the rencong script in Pasemah Malay. (Q 72 AS 1852). See M.C. Ricklefs and P. Voorhoeve, 'Indonesian Manuscripts in Great Britain: addenda et corrigenda', BSOAS, vol.45, pt.2, 1982, p.312. The text begins with the seram formula. Following the transcription is a note by Dr. Voorhoeve:

"This text is a prayer formula or incantation, or rather a series of incantations. These prayers are uttered on solemn occasions such as a marriage or a funeral ceremony ... They refer to the origin of things and of human beings especially, always in a combination of old ideas and concepts of popular Muslim mysticism ... The descent of the human soul (kundu) is symbolized as the descent of nine buildings".