Saving Manuscripts of ‘Nusantara’

KOMPAS/IDA SETYORINI

Titik Pudjiastuti

Indonesia has a wealth of ancient and original texts, including manuscripts. But Indonesia has very few researchers of ancient texts, and many ancient Indonesian manuscripts are left unread. Titik Pudjiastuti is one of the few researchers of historical manuscripts in the country.

Titik Pudjiastuti, 62, is a professor of Javanese Studies at the Cultural Studies department at the University of Indonesia (UI). She is a philologist and codicologist. She intends to rescue ancient manuscripts through digitalization.

Originally, Titik studied at the UI economics school and not the Faculty of Letters, which is now called the Cultural Studies department. But after one year, she transferred to the Faculty of Letters to pursue Javanese Studies.

“At that time, it was easier for students to change their program of study and major, not like today. Actually, my mother Ngastiah wanted me to study Java literature. My mother was annoyed every time she read news or heard about foreigners learning about the Indonesian culture. She wanted me to be like them,” Titik said on Monday (2/4/2018) at her office at UI in Depok, West Java.

During her economics program, Titik was quiet. But after moving to the faculty of letters, she became very active. “It seemed like I had found a new habitat,” said Titik.

Titik’s intensive exposure to manuscripts started when she was preparing her thesis on the Serat Yusuf. At that time, she knew nothing about philology. After graduation, she became a lecturer at her alma mater.

When she pursued her master’s degree in Leiden, the Netherlands, she became aware of philology. “Studying philology means studying codicology. For example, what was the manuscript made from? Was there a watermark to help determine when the manuscript was made? This knowledge could predict when a manuscript was made,” said Titik.

The more she learned about manuscripts, the more Titik grew passionate about the discipline. Moreover, Indonesia is very rich in original manuscripts, which are scattered throughout the archipelago.

Medicating goats

Of course, the manuscripts covered not only information or lore, but also other knowledge. The manuscripts were written in a variety of characters and languages, such as in the Javanese, Arabic, Pegon scripts and in the Javanese, Malay, Arabic, Dutch languages and others. The manuscript was written on paper, the leaves of the lontar palm, embatan (lontar palm with the stem) or daluang (made from the bark of Broussonetia papyrifera, or paper mulberry).

“There was a manuscript about how to cure a goat of a cold. There was also a manuscript on how to cure chicken with white feces,” said Titik, who has a doctoral degree in Javanese literature from UI.

Thus, she became convinced that Indonesia was a nation that was intelligent and had correctly recorded a variety of knowledge; as a nation, Indonesia was not dumb. “This is seen in the many foreigners who want to study manuscripts from the archipelago. They want not only to study [the manuscripts], but also to own them,” said Titik.

Her current project is to transform the manuscripts into a digital format to preserve them. Many manuscripts are in a poor condition or damaged. Some manuscripts have been sold to foreigners.

KOMPAS/IDA SETYORINI

Titik Pudjiastuti

Titik could not forbid anyone from selling the manuscripts they inherited from their parents. “I cannot afford to buy a manuscript for Rp 40 million to Rp 50 million. Even to photograph a manuscript, I have to pay Rp 2 million to its owner. It is not free,” she said.

She is presently focusing on manuscripts from eastern Indonesia. She has conducted research in Sorong and Fakfak in West Papua, Bima in West Nusa Tenggara, Ternate and Tidore in North Maluku, Jailolo in Maluku, Buton in Southeast Sulawesi as well as in Kalimantan. The author of the “Sajarah Banten” (history of Banten) dissertation is prioritizing eastern Indonesia, because many other researchers research western Indonesia, such as West Sumatra, Bali and Java.

Based on her experience, many families own ancient manuscripts they inherited through the generations. Yet, many do not understand the manuscript’s content. Many others have never seen the manuscripts because they keep the scripts in a box that is never opened.

“The manuscripts were considered sacred. Once, everyone in a royal family in eastern Indonesia was too scared to open a box of manuscripts. I obtained permission from the king to open it and take photographs. The ulema chanted prayers, trembling the whole time. Meanwhile, I spent time browsing through the manuscripts one by one and taking photos of them,” said Titik.

There were families who were reluctant to show their manuscript to others. They stored them in the loft under the roof or under the bed. “Those places are not good for storing manuscripts. They are too humid or too hot, and will damage the manuscript. It will be a pity if the manuscript is damaged before we can read their content,” she said.

In her hunt for manuscripts, Titik races against those who want to sell the valuable manuscripts to foreign collectors or academics. Titik cannot compete with the buyers, who offer very high prices for the ancient documents.

“Some neighboring countries do not have strong roots like Indonesia does. Thus, they are willing to spend hundreds of millions of rupiah to obtain a manuscript. We may share same characteristics with other countries in Southeast Asia. But our geographical and political differences mean that the manuscripts should stay in Indonesia,” she added.

For example, Titik said many foreign citizens, mainly from neighboring countries, have Indonesian ancestry. “It is normal that after they move to other countries, they feel they are entitled to inheriting [Indonesian] manuscripts. But we must remember that they are not Indonesian citizens anymore. Perhaps, in the future, they might not allow us to see the manuscript,” she said.

The digitized manuscripts are kept at the UI library. “I also report damaged manuscripts to the National Library, which then restores them,” said Titik.

Aside from research purposes, Titik also wants to transport history as recorded in the manuscripts into the future. This way, everyone could read the text and learn from it.

“I want to preserve these extraordinary manuscripts. The content reflects how noble and smart the ancestors of this nation were,” said Titik.