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’’Lontar’’
Inscription in Ancient Times
Indonesia celebrates May 2nd as National
Education Day and May 21st as National Book
Day. Imagine how people used to learn before
there were books and schools, as we now
know. Centuries ago in prehistoric times
or Stone Age, stone was used as a tool to
write and read on. While in the Bronze Age,
they did it on a piece of bronze later known
as prasasti as saved at Bali Museum and
Penataran Sasih temple in Pejeng village
the regency of Gianyar. This continued until
the discovery of lontar (palm-leaf manuscript).
In essence inscription of writing only has
a limited space, so only key words were
used similar to SMS (Short Message Service).
Inscription is more durable than lontar
manuscript have a large capacity and can
consist of more than ten pages, and very
beneficial for the young generation to know
more about history, folklore, etc about
Bali in the past time.
The lontar writing tradition started around
the tenth century AD, during the reign of
Sri Gunapriyaddharmapatni and Dharma Udaya
Warmadewa. This tradition may actually have
started in the eighth century, under the
guidance of a priest named Rsi Markandeya.
The evidence for this is based on the discovery
of ‘Bhuwana Tattwa Maha Rsi Markandeya’,
which described the presence of Priest Markandeya
in the obtaining of new farming land in
Taro Village, Tegallalang.
According to that lontar, Priest Markandeya
went to Mount Agung to build a simple stone
shrimp with ‘pedagingan’ (magical
equipment) of Panca Datu (5 metals: silver,
copper, gold, iron and berumbun or a mixture
of those 5 different colours). This was
done so that he could get new farming land.
A lontar of a Priest Kuturan’s trip
to Bali around the tenth to fourteenth century
was also found. He introduced the so-called
desa adat system (customary village system)
with Pura Kahyangan Tiga; Pura Desa, Pura
Puseh, Pura Dalem. Pura Desa belongs to
all village members, Pura Puseh is generally
located in the centre of the village and
Pura Dalem is next to or near the Village
Cemetery.
In addition the other various stories such
as Ramayana, Mahabharata, Tantri Kamandaka,
Chronicle (Babad), inscriptions and various
teachings on ethics in the Balinese alphabet
has also been written on this kind of palm
leaf.
In Bali the development has not been as
intense as that made in book printing on
paper but the writing of scripts on lontar
leaves has become a measure of how Bali
still loves its ancestral cultural heritage
and preserves it well. Karangasem Regency
has many canters of lontar script copying,
such as those of Tenganan, Sidemen, and
Budakeling villages.
Other centers are located in Denpasar, while
the regencies of Badung, Gianyar, and Klungkung
are still starting out and limit works to
those for personal needs or to specific
orders. This is because this delicate work
takes a long time to finish, according to
Drs. I Wayan Sukayasa, a Balinese literature
scholar.
The tradition of lontar writing has been
preserved because Balinese communities in
the Desa Adat traditional village have to
have a written Awig-Awig regulation to preserve
peace and order in the village. The law
is promoted and inaugurated in a Pasupati
Awig-Awig religious ritual, attended by
all members of the Desa Adat and local officials,
from regent to village chiefs and public
figures.
The Awi-Awig village law appears during
the ceremony placed on a jempana bearing,
beautifully decorated, during a mass parade
conducted by the beleganjur musical troupe.
In this way, the village law is brought
to public eyes. The Balinese tend to be
more submissive to this rural regulation
in comparison to the law applied by the
higher authority of the Republic. This is
because the role of Awig-Awig in punishing
villagers is not only physical and material,
termed in Balinese as sekala punishment,
but also magical or niskala, in the form
of ritual and spiritual suffering as dictated
by the law of Karma Phala.
In line with the development of tourism
in Bali, there has lately been a new zest
for writing a variety of stories complete
with pictures of their characters painted
on lontar leaves in form of souvenirs for
tourists. One can find lontar scripts showing
tales of Ramayana, Mahabharata, and Tantri
Kamandaka on sale in art markets, art shops
and at tourist attractions.
Lontar scripts can be kept for two centuries
on condition that they are treated and stored
well. Old scripts are copied so that knowledge
is not lost and can be passed down to further
generations. The Balinese have managed to
preserve the ancestral custom of nyastra
and the Balinese alphabet written on lontar
leaf, amid the growth of a highly sophisticated
technology.
The Balinese have managed to preserve the
ancestral custom of nyastra and the Balinese
alphabet written on lontar leaf, amid the
growth of a highly sophisticated technology.
It has been a specific advantage and source
of pride for those Balinese who can concentrate
on literature and read and write ‘lontar’
containing various spiritual teachings.
Reading and Singing
Reading and singing wirama written in the
Balinese alphabet on Palmyra leaves or lontar
seem to be very firmly grounded and brings
spiritual calmness. The chorus groups which
sing literary (sastra) verse, known as nyastra,
have rapidly flourished on this island which
shown by established many groups called
‘Seka Santhi" come from various
sites in Bali.
This kind of activities also flourished
on TV broadcasting "Interactive Kidung",
whereby the TV public can hear Balinese
songs with greater attractiveness than of
the TV program. In addition Radio broadcasts
throughout Bali transmit similar programs
from the morning hours until late night.
Consequently, the Balinese atmosphere is
full of magical sounds coming from literature
lovers bringing peaceful thoughts and satisfied
listeners during the airing of ‘Gita
Shanti’.
Members of Sekaa Pesantian (Chorus Groups)
have accrued more self-confidence when airing
various spiritual songs (wirama) during
ceremonies both in temples and at the homes
of people arranging rituals. It is important
to keep sustaining Balinese art and culture.
In the other hand though this activities
it can give good impact for the young generation
to gain their love so it can flourish and
sustain until next generation.
So it would be great if you purchase a souvenir
in the form of lontar or a CD or cassette
of a pesantian group as a souvenir of your
visit to this Island of Thousand Temples.
(BTN/from many sources)
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