The secrets and specialty of the 'lontar' manuscripts

By Rosa Widyawan

JAKARTA (JP): For some ethnic groups, lontar was more than palmyra leaf. It also meant paper and manuscripts.

Its function was to record knowledge relating to local beliefs, reflecting the values of peace and happiness. Beliefs such as magical spells, holy mythology, epics or chronicles. In later development, profane literature such as law and legislation, architecture, construction, and medicines were written on lontar.

In Bugis, South Sulawesi, people used to write on lontar before the introduction of Islam and the concepts of modernism. Among Bugis and Makassar people, Attlolong is the most popular script. It records the family trees of noblemen.

The lontar writing and reading tradition was apparent in Javanese palaces such as Surakarta, Yogyakarta, and Cirebon. Unfortunately, society did not support and maintain the tradition, so it is now extinct in these places. Perhaps, the Javanese aristocrats preferred new information storage mediums, the so-called Chinese or Japanese papers.

Unlike Sulawesi and Java, Bali still maintains the tradition of lontar writing. On this paradise island, there is Mabebasan, a gathering where people read ballads, or sayings, and the accompanying interpretation of them. The Balinese have ceremonies like Maligia in Ngaben, or cremations which involve lontar reading to guide the spirit to the eternal world.

The most popular lontar in Bali is the Usada manuscript, about medicines, curtain methods, or pest control. Generally, Usada explains the use of medicinal plants and their magical spells. A part of Usada, the so-called Taru Permana lontar, for example, describes 100 kinds of medical plants. The Balinese also widely use lontar as a medium to write about horoscopes, to identify the characters of newborns.

The process of lontar manufacturing is somewhat time consuming. It begins with the identification of suitable palmyra leaves. The best are picked during Kartika, around September- October, and Kasanga or Kadasa, during March-April, before the full moon. The leaf picked in other months is either immature, or too old.

Selected leaves are wilted by exposing them to open air. After their color changes, their ribs are taken out, and then they are rolled and soaked in clean water for a day. Later, they are dried under the sun for three days. The dried leaves are rubbed with coconut husk to make them shiny, and the tips are cut.

Continuing, they are boiled for a night in a large water jar with itaran barks, root of sikapa, coconut husks, turmeric and gambier. The turmeric is included to avoid pest attack. Next morning, with the leaf becoming elastic, it is washed with clean water, rubbed with soft cloth, and dried in open air.

The lontar is then straightened by clamping it for 10 days, but some people treat them for two galungan ceremonies. (A galungan ceremony is conducted every 210 days). Still, others clamp the lontar for 310 days. When the lontar is dry enough, it is cut according to standard sizes. Holes are made at two ends by using a tool called cempurit, and they are bundled using thread. In making reading easier, some may loosen the string. Finally, the leaves' edges are painted red.

The ready-to-write lontar is placed on a small round table. In making the writing neat, the lontar is stripped with a pencil before it is engraved with two kinds of tools called pangrupak. One is for writing, the other for illustrations. The scratch is then polished with sap mixed with oil.

Normally, the manuscripts are stored in temples or houses. Those stored in temples deal with the history of that particular shrine. Other subjects are stored in houses, and from time-to- time they are taken to the temple to be read. The lontar are always stored in the ceiling, and before removal from their place of rest, one should make an offering and pray to Dewi Saraswati, the Goddess of Knowledge.

In the past, only those belonging to higher castes, such as Brahmana or Ksatria, had the right to read and write lontar. Today, anyone well trained can access the scripts.

With particular rites the lontar manuscript, wrapped in white cloth, is brought forth to create a sacred atmosphere. But it is not always read. Sometimes a priest might read the copy, written on another piece of paper.

The importance of the information on, and the artifactual value of lontar is illustrated by the 1988, local government established foundation, named the Documentation Center of Sanglah, formed to support the heritage.

There is another lontar center in Singaraja called Balai Lontar Gedong Kirtya. The latter was formerly called Kirtya Liefinch-Van der Took and was established in June 1928, and named under the resident Dutch expert on Balinese culture and civilization.

Both institution's aims are the preservation of Balinese lontar manuscripts and as such they collect, process, and disseminate information on the lontar. Most activities involve translating lontar, but include transferring them to other media such as microfiche and magnetic types. These institutions also cooperate with others, such as the Center for Scientific Documentation and Information at the Indonesian Science Institute, the Ford Foundation and IBM Corporation.

Unfortunately, there is currently a dispute on the methods used to preserve lontar collections. Most experts agree they should be handled in accordance with a proper preservation procedure, otherwise valuable, fragile manuscripts will become brittle.

But, some research suggests many lontar manuscripts, which are simply stored in ceilings without following any preservation procedures, can stay intact for more than 100 years. Perhaps the secret lies in the age-old manufacturing techniques.