12 - 13 OCTOBER 1999
JAKARTA, INDONESIA
Indonesian Manuscripts
On 12 and 13 October 1999 Manassa ('Masyarakat Pernaskahan Nusantara') held its third international symposium on Indonesian manuscripts at the Cultural Centre Taman Ismail Marzuki in Jakarta.
By EDWIN WIERINGA
In the midst of a heated and tense Jakarta, eagerly awaiting the upcoming presidential election, seventeen speakers and more than a hundred participants gathered together in the Cultural Centre Taman Ismail Marzuki to discuss the more tranquil world of Indonesian manuscripts. The speakers came from different regions in Indonesia as well as from abroad, namely from the Netherlands, United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Malaysia.The first session on Tuesday had a rather Javanese character with Willem van der Molen discussing Surpanaka's rejection in the Old Javanese Ramayana, and I. Kuntara Wiryamartana talking about Old Javanese Parwa stories in the so-called Merapi-Merbabu collection, paying special attention to Jakarta manuscript Lontar 145. Elis Suryani took us to West Java, discussing magic elements in Sundanese literature, and Amir Rochkyatmo transported us to the eastern side of Java, examining the use of three regional languages in the Babad Besuki. After this, all other sections represented topics from various Indonesian regions: Annabel Teh Gallop drew attention to the sometimes confusing ways of dating in Malay seals; Sarwit Sarwono looked at a Rejang text contained in the Jakarta manuscript E4 peti 91; Sri Ratnawati analysed the linguistic peculiarities of a Madurese version of the tale about the Prophet's ascension to Heaven; Undang A. Darsa gave an overview of the contents of two Old Sundanese texts as contained in the Jakarta manuscript Kropak 406, and Ding Choo Ming reviewed the latest electronic technologies for the preservation of manuscripts. They were followed by Nurhayati Rahman, and later that day Sirtjo Koolhof, who both discussed the Buginese text I La Galigo.
On the second day I Nyoman Weda Kusuma dealt with the concepts of sagara and adri in Balinese religion; Edwin Wieringa talked about Batavian wayang stories, focusing on Van der Tuuk's manuscript collection in the Library of Leiden University; Abdul Syukur Ghazali looked at the theme of bull races in Madurese literature; Uli Kozok investigated the genesis of Sumatran scripts, especially the development of Batak characters; Sudibyo examined the psychotherapeutic effects of literary Malay texts, and, finally, La Niampe discussed the didactic-moralistic contents of a text called Ajonga Inda Malusa, written by Haji Abdul Ganiu at the court of Buton between 1824-1851.
The closing session on Wednesday afternoon was reserved for the presentation of four books, all published in Jakarta (in 1999), namely:
Henri Chambert-Loir and Oman Fathurahman, Khazanah Naskah: Panduan koleksi naskah-naskah Indonesia sedunia (isbn 979-461-331-0), an overview of all catalogued Indonesian manuscript collections in the world;
Edi S. Ekadjati and Undang A. Darsa, Katalog Induk Naskah-Naskah Nusantara, Jilid 5A: Jawa Barat: Koleksi lima lembaga (isbn 079-461-331-2), a catalogue of Sundanese manuscripts in five Indonesian collections;
Nurhayati Rahman and Sri Sukesi Adiwimarta (eds), Antologi Sastra Daerah Nusantara: Cerita rakyat suara rakyat (isbn 979-461-333-9), an anthology of regional Indonesian literatures, and
Uli Kozok, Warisan Leluhur: Sastra lama dan aksara Batak (isbn 979-9023-33-5), a book on Batak script.
During the conference, the National Library of Indonesia in Jakarta held a small exhibition, presenting illuminated manuscripts from all over the Archipelago. This presentation was accompanied by a bilingual (Indonesian and English) catalogue with many colour photos, describing the items exhibited in more detail. The catalogue, entitled Koleksi naskah pilihan Perpustakaan Nasional RI: Selected manuscript collection of The National Library of Indonesia, is edited by Sri Sumekar, Dady P. Rachmananta, and Nindya Noegraha, and published by the Perpustakaan Nasional RI (isbn 979-8289-89-7; xvi + 104 pp.; 28 cm.).
The next international symposium on Indonesian manuscripts organized by Manassa is planned to take place in Riau, Indonesia in July this year. Most of the papers of the third symposium will be published in the near future by Manassa in a volume with the proceedings. *
Dr Edwin Wieringa is affiliated to the Research School CNWS (Leiden), and member of the Research Group 'Kulturelle Diversität und die Konstruktion von Gemeinwesen in Südostasien' of the universities of Münster, Bonn, Bielefeld, and Cologne in Germany.
E-mail Manassa: suparta@makara.cso.ui.ac.id