A trip back in time with ancient manuscripts<\/p>\n
Moch. N. Kurniawan and Novan Iman Santosa, The Jakarta Post,
\nSingaraja, Bali<\/p>\n
The hot sun was about to set in the horizon while a mild breeze
\nswept Gedong Kitrya at the former palace complex of the northern
\nBalinese kingdom of Buleleng as if chanting a lullaby to the huge
\ncollection of lontar, palm leaf manuscripts housed in this quaint
\nbuilding.<\/p>\n
Gedong Kirtya is one of the country's few institutions that
\ncollects lontar but its importance lies in the fact its staff not
\nonly collect but also preserve, transcribe and transliterate the
\nmanuscripts.<\/p>\n
Lontar is an ancient type of document inscribed on palm
\nleaves, a kind of palmyra plant. A single document may be made of
\nseveral lontar leaves delicately and intricately carved on both
\nsides of the leaf. It may contain text or pictures on each side
\nof a single leaf.<\/p>\n
As a written document, lontar is comparable to those made of
\npapyrus reeds used by the ancient Egyptians.<\/p>\n
Gedong Kirtya boasts 6,500 lontar scrolls and also houses
\n8,200 titles of old books in its vast array of collection. Most
\nof the books date back to the 17th century and were written
\nmostly in European languages such as Dutch, French and English.
\nSome of the recent ones are written in Indonesian as well.<\/p>\n
According to the curator of Gedong Kirtya, I Gusti Bagus
\nSudiasta, the institution was established on June 2, 1928 by the
\nDutch governor of Bali and Lombok based in Singaraja, L.J.J.
\nCaron.<\/p>\n
\"It was named Stichting Liefrinck van der Tuuk to honor two
\nDutch scientists who dedicated their lives to studying Bali, F.A.
\nLiefrinck and N. van der Tuuk,\" Sudiasta told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
Both scientists were working under the auspices of the
\nBuleleng king, I Gusti Putu Djelantik, and the foundation's
\nestablishment received support from other Balinese kings as well
\nas some from Lombok. Those kingdoms contributed many of their own
\ncollections to the newly established foundation.<\/p>\n
The king later lifted replaced the name Stichting with Kirtya,
\nwhich literally means a foundation or an institution.<\/p>\n
Those kingdoms contributed many of their own collections to
\nthe newly established foundation.<\/p>\n
The lontar collection has been classified into seven divisions
\nof lontar themes. It includes Weda (Hindu holy books), religious
\nteachings, Wariga, Itihasa, Babad, Tantri and Lelampahan.<\/p>\n
The third division, Wariga, is essentially a compendium of the
\nbasic sciences of Wariga covering astrology and astronomy, and
\nTutur deals with religious teachings. Also included in the Wariga
\ndivision is Kanda, which compiles practical knowledge on such
\ntopics as traditional architecture, language, black magic and
\nwhite magic.<\/p>\n
One of the most important contents in the Wariga division is
\nUsada, which explains Balinese traditional medicine.<\/p>\n
\"The public can access our collection to get the information
\naccording to their needs. Most of them were written for pedanda
\n(Hindu high priests) and balian (Balinese traditional medicine
\nmen),\" said Sudiasta.<\/p>\n
\"We have transcribed some 3,000 titles and transliterated some
\n10 percent of them, but we need more staff to complete our job.\"<\/p>\n
The transcription and transliteration from ancient Balinese to
\nIndonesian allows people from all walks of life to get the
\ninformation they need from the lontar, unlike in the past when
\nthe contents were limited to only royal families and priests.<\/p>\n
Currently, the foundation has 10 staff members who all are
\nable to read and write the Balinese alphabet but there are only
\nfive who have mastered the art of inscribing lontar.<\/p>\n
The need for more staff equipped with the skill to inscribe on
\nlontar is becoming imminent as the center has yet to fully
\ncomplete its collection.<\/p>\n
\"There are some 300 titles that are not yet included in our
\ncollection according to our colleagues in the Netherlands. Local
\npura (temple) or individuals own most of the titles scattered
\nthroughout Bali.\"<\/p>\n
Gedong Kirtya's staff also have to make copies of lontar owned
\nby individuals to complete its collection as most of the owners
\nwill not allow the institution to have them.<\/p>\n
The staff must also work tirelessly to maintain and preserve
\nthe collection.<\/p>\n
\"We preserve our collection in a traditional way. For lontar,
\nwe apply a special traditional mixture to keep the inscriptions
\nreadable,\" said Sudiasta.<\/p>\n
Singaraja's hot and humid climate may likely worsen the
\ncondition of the library's important collections. In a tropical
\nclimate, preserving and caring for a library's collection
\nincluding ancient lontar manuscripts is costly and difficult.<\/p>\n
Natural enemies like animals, insects, mold, fungi as well as
\nother chemical substances caused by air pollution may gradually
\ndestroy the collections.<\/p>\n
\"While lontar can survive longer, we are really concerned with
\nour book collection. We can only keep them in closed shelves.\"<\/p>\n
The library was almost destroyed in October 2000, when
\nthousands of supporters of the Indonesian Democratic Party of
\nStruggle (PDI Perjuangan) ransacked and destroyed almost all
\ngovernment and public building in Singaraja.<\/p>\n
The PDI Perjuangan supporters were furious because party
\nchairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri had been defeated by
\nAbdurrahman Wahid in the presidential election.<\/p>\n
\"I cannot imagine if Gedong Kirtya had been burned down. It
\nwas lucky that all the priceless pieces were safe in the puri
\n(palace) next door, otherwise we could have lost pieces of our
\nheritage,\" one staff member recalled.<\/p>\n
Sudiasta admitted that younger Balinese did not show
\nenthusiasm to learn the contents of the lontar scrolls let alone
\nto learn the skill of making them.<\/p>\n
In an effort to increase students' interest in lontar, Gedong
\nKirtya organizes an annual nyastra Bali or Balinese literary
\nfestival for all students.<\/p>\n
The center also invites school students to make visits during
\nschool breaks so they can gain a better understanding of how to
\nmake and conserve lontar manuscripts.<\/p>\n
\"Such visits are an opportunity for our staff to introduce our
\ncollection to the students. This way we hope that some of them
\nwill want to learn the skills to work with lontar.\"<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/a-trip-back-in-time-with-ancient-manuscripts-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}