Holy scripts a sacred quest for Balinese man

Holy scripts a sacred quest for Balinese man

Jagadhita, Contributor, Denpasar

Some people collect stamps and coins, others paintings and
antiques. I Wayan Turun, meanwhile, prefers to collect holy
scripts written on palm leaves, or lontar.

He said he first became interested in holy scripts when he
used to sit and listen to his father read from lontar on the
verandah of their house.

"I was touched when I listened to him reading from the lontar.
I became interested and was determined to follow in his
footsteps," said Turun, who was born in Kesiman village, East
Denpasar, in 1952.

He began collecting holy scripts 25 years ago, when he was 27
years old, after inheriting some of the lontar in his father's
collection. With a great passion to learn more about these holy
scripts, he began traveling from puri (royal palace) to puri.

Turun now has a collection of 167 lontar, but not all of them
are original. Many of the owners are reluctant to part with their
holy scripts, which are usually passed down from generation to
generation. In cases like these, the best Turun can do is copy
the holy scripts onto palm leaves. But even this is not always
easy, as many people refuse to lend out their lontar.

Turun makes every effort to convince the owners that he means
their holy scripts no harm, but just wants to copy them so he can
record the history of the island, including its arts and culture.

"I keep on trying to make them understand my intentions,"
Turun said. "Holy scripts about life in ancient Bali, or Lontar
Baliaga, are the most difficult to find."

He said it was understandable that many people did not want
their lontar to leave their hands even for a second, considering
that they are often one-of-a-kind documents inherited from their
ancestors.

Turun enlists the help of many people, including Sulinggih
(Hindu religious figures), in trying to convince lontar owners to
lend him their holy scripts. Through their help, Turun has
managed to borrow some lontar from Gria Taman Sanur (Sanur Park
House), which at first was reluctant to lend out the holy
scripts.

Turun, however, said he had not been able to obtain any lontar
about black magic, or Lontar Pangiwa, to complement the Lontar
Pangiwa he inherited from his father.

He would like to acquire more lontar about black magic because
he is very interested in the subject.

"I want to learn about black magic just to know more about it,
not to practice it," he said.

He also believes there is a benefit to owning Lontar Pangiwa,
which he thinks can protect the other lontar.

Though he collects lontar, Turun refuses to be called a lontar
collector, saying that what he is doing is making a record of the
holy scripts.

"I am only trying to conserve our cultural heritage, doing
something that is rarely done by people," he said.

He plans to continue hunting for ancient lontar, especially
after noting that many aspects of life in Bali are not in
accordance with what is written in the holy scripts, such as the
tunes played by gamelan orchestras and the types of dances
performed at certain rituals.

Turun suggested that dancers study the Lontar Kerta Basa and
Lontar Perigel, which describe the gamelan and dances.

"The lontar talks about the meaning of dances, including the
kinds of dances that should be performed at certain rituals," he
said.

Turun, who understands ancient Balinese and Javanese, learned
to read and to write lontar from Ida Pedanda Rsi Penatih, Ida
Pedanda Kekeran and his grandfather, Kak Kenjing.

Due to his expertise, he often receives orders from the Bali
provincial government to write descriptions of temples or holy
places in Bali, though not on palm leaves, but rather on metal
plates.