Preserving Ancient Manuscripts
Lulut Edi Santoso, 54, began collecting and preserving dozens of ancient manuscripts over the last decade. He wants the wider public to be able to study knowledge contained in the manuscripts.
Lulut Edi Santoso, 54, began collecting and preserving dozens of ancient manuscripts over the last decade. He wants the wider public to be able to study knowledge contained in the manuscripts.
Lulut exhibited some pieces from his collection of centuries-old manuscripts in the Ancient Manuscript Exhibition on Thursday (19/9/2019) at the Malang City Library in Malang, East Java. The bound manuscripts are of varying thicknesses and are written in the Pegon script, a localized variant of Arabic script, and Javanese script. Some of the manuscripts are extremely fragile.
The Great Dictionary of the Indonesian Language (KBBI) defines “manuscript” as a handwritten philological document. Philology is the science of a nation’s language, culture, public administration and history as contained in written materials.
"This is the Babad Demak manuscript written in the Pegon script. Although it is written in a [type of] Arabic script, it uses the Javanese language. So it is not the Quran. I have three Quranic manuscripts, but they are incomplete," Lulut said on Sunday (22/9/2019).
Some of the manuscripts are made of paper, but some are made of daluwang (wood bark) and animal hide. Lulut has a collection of 21 manuscripts, most of which are in good condition. The manuscripts represent diverse subjects, ranging from Sufism to history and literature, and to fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence).
Lulut said that the oldest manuscript in his collection was a compilation of Sufism and fiqh records that dated back to the 17th century. The others were younger, but still more than a century old.
He had some of the manuscripts digitalized last year using a digital archiving program called Dreamsea. The manuscripts include narrative poetry (digital code DS0031_00002), a compilation of scripts (DS0031_00005) and the Syatariyyah Tarekat, a Sufi book. The three manuscripts were all created in the 1800s.
The Dreamsea program was launched in December 2017 in cooperation between the Center for the Study of Manuscript Cultures at the University of Hamburg in Germany and the Center for Islamic Studies and Society at the Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University (UIN) Jakarta, and aims to digitize ancient manuscripts in Southeast Asia.
"The data identification is finished. In December, God willing, the digital duplication process will be completed. After that, it will be translated from the original script into the Latin alphabet by a separate team. Peers from the Javanese Language Community, colleagues in Kediri, Malang, Yogyakarta and Sukoharjo are ready [to help]," he said.
Hunting manuscripts
Lulut, who likes to read, became serious about collecting manuscripts in 2008. He obtained manuscripts from a number of regions, such as Malang, Nganjuk and Yogyakarta. Some were a family inheritance while others were purchased from their original owners at a high price.
Although his family and relatives had old manuscripts, Lulut found it difficult to obtain them. He persevered as he patiently asked his relatives to give him the old manuscripts. He said that he had finally obtained some manuscripts 10 years after he had asked for them. One tome was destroyed before his relatives could hand it over to Lulut.
"At that time, I received a message from my mother (Maseni, deceased) to ask an uncle in Nganjuk for a book made of animal hide. I asked the uncle. At first, he said no. Then Uncle said he had another book, ‘but you can’t have it’. Ten years later, my uncle gave me that book," he said.
Sometimes I find manuscripts by accident. A vegetable seller came by and offered an ancient book. I bought it for Rp 7 million, although he initially asked for Rp 8 million.
Lulut also hunts for old manuscripts at the used book market, although the results are not always optimal. A month ago, Lulut found a small Primbon Jawa (almanac).
"Sometimes I find manuscripts by accident. A vegetable seller came by and offered an ancient book. I bought it for Rp 7 million, although he initially asked for Rp 8 million," he said.
Lulut said that he had not read all manuscripts in his collection. In November 2018, UIN Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta philologist and Dreamsea assessor Dick van Der Meij came to examine Lulut’s collection at his house in Tegalgondo, Malang Regency.
It was during the visit that Lulut agreed to work with Dreamsea to digitize his collection of manuscripts.
Centuries-old manuscripts are generally fragile and easily damaged. Natural conditions, humidity and termites pose real threats to ancient manuscripts. One of the old books in Lulut’s collection, the Serat Ambiya, which contains hundreds of pages telling the stories of the prophets, was completely destroyed by termites. Only two pages have survived.
Lulut explained that old manuscripts were fragile because they were mostly made of paper and used ink from Europe and China that contained metals. The tips of pens that were used in the past were also sharp. "Once I had just obtained a dusty old book. I dropped the book to release the dust. But what happened was that the book disintegrated," he said.
Because of this, some people have come to buy the manuscripts. Almost every day someone asks to buy them, but I don’t have any plans to sell them so far.
The father of two said he collected and kept ancient manuscripts to preserved them. He hoped that, in the future, the younger generation would be able to look at and read what their ancestors left behind.
"Because of this, some people have come to buy the manuscripts. Almost every day someone asks to buy them, but I don’t have any plans to sell them so far," he said.
Lulut hopes that one day, someone will be willing to reproduce a limited number of copies of his manuscripts. In addition to their use in public studies, the copies could be kept in public libraries.
Lulut has loved books since he was a child, and collected them when he was in elementary school. He also created a private library at home that contains thousands of titles, including more than 500 volumes of Dutch Government Decrees that date from 1903 to 1959, under the era of the Unitary State of Indonesia.
"The Dutch Government Decrees contain about 200-2,000 pages. I got them from the plantation office in Jalan Mundu, Malang, and they include the Dutch government\'s report on plantations in the Dutch East Indies. [I] intend to hand them over to the relevant institutions, but the ones I have contacted have not responded," he said.
Lulut Edi Santoso
Born: Lamongan, 13 March 1965
Wife: Djoewarijah Boedisantosa, 54
Children: Two
Education: Master of Cultural Arts Education, Surabaya State University; Bachelor of Fine Arts, Malang State University; Diploma (Level 3) of Fine Arts, IKIP Surabaya; SMA Parlaungan Islamic high school, Sidoarjo; SMP Harapan junior high school, Lamongan; SDN Mendogo elementary school, Ngimbang, Lamongan