Balinese Life

From Lontar to Digital Media
Bridging the Ancient Manuscript to Future Generations

Just imagine that if the ancient Balinese had met Johann Gutenberg, who invented movable metal type, they might not need to write on pieces of palm leaf by sharp knife or stylus and then apply a mixture of lamp shoot to make it clear. Presumably, they would have written Balinese characters on paper easily. Unfortunately, they did not, so the Balinese remained to write on the palm leaf.

Lontar or palm leaf has served as the momentous medium to write or draw on, as paper was not invented yet at that time. Several great thoughts on philosophy, technical instruction, rituals and so on are written on this lontar. In Balinese language, the manuscript is then called lontar. Even today, those lontars are frequently referred to as endless resource of reliable information for particular needs. Some may only know them through its name but never see them in person, as they are not easily to obtain at bookstores. If available, they must be in the form of books whose content has been transliterated, from Balinese to Latin characters. It is because the fact that copying the lontar needs long time as it is still carried out manually. By and large, lontar is not made for sale or only duplicated for personal copy.
During the Dutch colonial administration, there was significant milestone to note. When formal education was introduced, people had another alternative to publicize their thoughts through some local publications such as Bali Adnjana, Surya Kanta, Djatajoe and Suara Indonesia. Today, a wide selection of publications is on offer with various categories. Other than national and international media, there are daily locally published newspapers like Bali Post, Nusa Bali and The Bali Travel News. They provide local, national and international news along with other favorite sections to their respective readers. Meanwhile, Sarad and Taksu carry news and many aspects on Balinese culture together with its people. The former also presents in-depth articles on the daily life and problems faced by the Balinese, about its customary village and religious practice.
In keeping with the development of the information technology and the industry, there is a growing demand of distributing information faster and more efficiently. The longer, the more affordable this facility is. Virtually all companies have operated their own and take advantage of a website for their business operation. By this, promotion can run more efficiently than conventional brochures. It can be accessed around the clock from anywhere worldwide. In the tourism industry, this Internet services have enabled the guests today to process their ticket and hotel reservation along with its payment with some clicks from home.
This digital technology is not only utilized for online services, but also for the off-line one. Instead of a printed brochure, one can now easily publish a digital multimedia brochure or interactive CD. It can help the marketing tasks to provide practical information about their products and services towards the potential clients.
If today there are some terms like e-mail, e-banking, e-payment, e-magazine, e-book (e denoting electronically generated) and so forth, one day it is not impossible arising an e-lontar. With digital process as above, the lontar manuscripts can also be saved in various storage devices like CD, DVD, flash disk or hard disk of which capacity has reached hundreds of gigabytes through the assistance of a scanner. In the future, when it’s required for re-writing will be easier as there has been its back up. In other words, these digital media can help bridging the next generation to retrieve the ancient manuscript they inherit if its original may possibly not last that long. (BTN/029)

Lontar Leaf as Means of Communication

For the Balinese people, Lontar or palm leaf plays an important role as a means of information and communication. It means that before the writing book (paper) was invented as a medium to write on, the Balinese used the lontar / palm leaf for this purpose.
Writing on lontar leaf is an ancient tradition performed by the Balinese ancestors hundreds years ago. And this tradition remains to exist up to these days. They will continue to write on lontar leaf, notably on writing the legislation of the customary village.
How would be if this lontar leaf gets decayed? How do they overcome this problem? Where can we see the one who remains to be deeply involved in this tradition? Of course, there are many. If you happen to be in Gianyar Regency, simply go to a small village, named Tojan Kanginan, near Blahbatuh.
There you will meet a balian or traditional healer, I Wayan Tusan alias Putu Pranata. Though his appearance looks a bit hair-raising, he is very much respected, so many people come to him for the needs of healing treatment or have a consultation on the healing method.
This man, born in 1957, is also frequently visited by foreign guests, like from America, Australia and India. They definitely want to read his lontar / palm leaf writings. At his home, he has a collection of around 100 bundles. Some lontars are specially retained and treated as sacred and sanctified articles.
Some of the lontars in his collection are the Usada (healing). This kind falls under several titles like the usada sari, usada punggung tiwas and many more. Similarly, there is a lontar pertaining prophesy used to predict or detect certain illness or position of someone who has disappeared mysteriously. Should you want to learn more about his lontar, you are always very welcome.
Other than I Wayan Tusan, in Gianyar also lives I Gusti Made Subur, who always uses the lontar leaf for the needs of handicraft products. This man braids the strings of lontar leaf to make some kinds of handicraft. His products consists of bags, wallets, hats, baskets (dust bin) and so on.
He has been deeply involved in lontar braiding handicraft since his childhood, around the 1970s. “I did it because my parents are also braiders,” he told Bali Travel News while adding that at the current times his products remain to be demanded by the markets. It is indicated by the many orders he receives.
The prices of his handicraft products are ranging from IDR 1,500 to IDR 45,000 and highly depend on its design and size. “Once in a while, I participate in an exhibition conducted at hotels and I once joined one that was held in Jakarta,” he said.
For the time being, his consumers are from France, Italy and Jakarta. Regarding the coloring process, he consistently uses traditional colors by burying the lontar leaf into the mud for three days and two nights. Afterwards, they are dried under the sun. Having well dried, they are buried again for two days, dried and boiled until its color turns brown.
In the meantime, a black color is obtained by the same process as that of brown, but on boiling should apply the rijasa leaf that has been finely pounded. It produces a natural black color. If he wants a color other than brown and black, like red, he makes use of red coloring agent and so with other colors. Are you interested to see handicrafts made from lontar leaf? Just come to his home at the hamlet of Bona Kaja in Bona Village, Gianyar regency.
There is another lontar craftsman. He specializes himself in making Balinese calendars written on lontar leaf in Balinese that is translated into English. This lontar is extremely best-selling, particularly to American and European guests. “Within a month, I can sell five sets of this calendar at IDR 50, 000,” said I Wayan Sumadia who lives at Jalan Letda Made Suta, Sukawati, Gianyar. (BTN/Ketut Budiarta)