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.