The Jakarta Globe, August 26, 2013.
Solo. A campaign by the Javanology Institute at Sebelas Maret University in this Central Java city to have Javanese and Balinese manuscripts returned to Indonesia from a library in the Netherlands has finally paid off.
Leiden University has agreed to send back approximately 100 manuscripts requested by the Javanology Institute.
Written in Javanese and Balinese characters on tree bark papers, palm leaves and leathers, the manuscripts are drawn from the Islamic Mataram and Surakarta kingdoms.
“We do not intend to retrieve the originals if the manuscripts aren’t able to be transported due to their fragility and age. In that case we would welcome copies instead, such as microfilms or other formats that can be read,” Sahid Teguh Widodo, head of the Javanology Institute, said on Saturday.
Together with Yogyakarta, the Surakarta kingdom is the heir of the Mataram kingdom, which formed the last major independent Javanese polity on Java before the island was colonized by the Dutch.
During colonial occupation, many manuscripts and artifacts from Java and Sumatra were taken to the Netherlands, and Sahid says that country’s collection is now richer than Indonesia’s.
The Javanese manuscripts include literature, religion, law, linguistics, history, wayang stories, poems and romance.
Sahid said having them in a library in Indonesia will mean those studying ancient Java will no longer need to travel to Leiden for their research.
Leiden University’s library for Javanese literature is no longer in full operation, Sahid said, and reclaiming the manuscripts was proving a difficult task as the Netherlands government was reluctant to part with its historical Indonesian artifacts.
“But we must acquire such manuscripts as many students here need them for reference to track back sources of Javanese art and culture,” he said.
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ma 26 aug 2013 - 23:26