This man can read and write 30 ancient Indonesian scripts, some as old as 500 years
JAKARTA: Diaz Nawaksara grew upwards during the rise of the Net and telecommunications.
When the 30-twelvemonth-quondam went to college, he decided to study data management, focusing on storing information through computational methods.
Only as mod every bit his educational qualification sounds, his chore nowadays involves something very ancient: Preserving Indonesian scripts that are as former as 500 years.
"I started in 2022 past studying the Javanese script first," Nawaksara recounted, referring to the native language of those from Republic of indonesia'due south and the world'due south most populated island of Java.
Today, he tin can read and write over thirty aboriginal Indonesian scripts. He understands fluently about half of the languages associated with these scripts.
It is a rare ability considering that most Indonesians tin only read one or two scripts.
Most Indonesians can read Latin, the script used for the national language Bahasa Indonesia as well as English. Others too know Arabic for reading the Koran or Chinese.
READ: Meet the Indonesian creative person who turns household waste material into shadow puppets
Nawaksara claimed that generally, information technology is quite easy to learn ancient Indonesian scripts.
"The transformation of a script from fourth dimension to fourth dimension tin can still be traced, maybe the problem is more on agreement the language and its meaning. Considering nigh of the languages in manuscripts are rarely used in daily chat.
"The (mastery of) vocabulary determines the fluency in reading the aboriginal manuscripts, regardless of the type of script," he told CNA.
Once an English language tutor and a tour guide, Nawaksara is now a freelance researcher who works to preserve ancient Indonesian scripts as well as history.
CHANCE Come across WITH JAVANESE MANUSCRIPT
Nawaksara was born and raised in Bandung metropolis, West Java. His parents are of Sundanese ethnicity.
His effort to read and write Javanese script came by run a risk.
He was ever drawn to antiques. Since inferior high school, he has been collecting items dating back to the fourth dimension earlier Indonesia's independence in 1945 such as old radios, gramophones and sacred daggers known as keris.
Upon completing his studies, he moved to Yogyakarta in primal Java to work as a bout guide and English language tutor in the city frequently dubbed as the cultural capital of Indonesia.
One day, he went to a local flea market and discovered an ancient Javanese manuscript.
He was intrigued by it and decided to buy it even though he could not read Javanese script. It turned out to be an ancient legislation manuscript of Yogyakarta'southward sultanate during the Dutch colonial times. The manuscript was known every bit rijksblad.
Coincidentally, his girlfriend was Javanese and could read the manuscript. She taught him how to read it.
"Luckily, I was as well passionate about languages so I could study it intensely and was focused.
"Subsequently a month, I could start writing it. And after 2, 3 months I could read it fluently," he said.
READ: Terminal monarchy in Indonesia - Rifts over a possible female person sultan
It marked the first of his quest to find other manuscripts and acquire different old Indonesian scripts.
"Since and so, I started collecting more than Javanese ancient books.
"A year later on, I stumbled upon an older script named Kawi script," he told CNA.
Kawi is considered the ancestor of Javanese script and is thought to be related to Indian scripts which evolved one-time during the 8th to 16th century.
In order to enhance his agreement, Nawaksara visited temples and museums that exhibited the script.
Ancient SCRIPTS GIVE ANSWERS ABOUT ANCESTORS
Nawaksara has since travelled all over Indonesia to notice ancient manuscripts and study the scripts. He said this led him to a meliorate comprehension of history.
In that location are over 600 ethnicities in Indonesia and knowing some ancient scripts leads to a improve agreement of how the diverse ethnicities in the land are related and even stretching to neighbouring countries such equally Malaysia and Singapore, he said.
He frequently buys ancient manuscripts to study them further. As they tin can command a price of as loftier as 500 million rupiah (United states$35,984), he sometimes bargains with the sellers and asks to rewrite them at a lower price.
The researcher has never forked out more than than 5 one thousand thousand rupiah for a manuscript.
During his search, he also found a sacred Balinese script believed to accept high spiritual values.
He loves knowing new things and giving the answers to people'south questions which he often finds by reading the ancient scripts.
Simply above everything, Nawaksara believes it is of import to know Indonesian ancient scripts and preserve them because it reflects a nation's identity.
"Many people don't know their ancestors and what their expertise was. They don't know considering they tin't read the source.
"When they tin read the manuscripts, it means they know more details about their ancestors."
Paraphrasing a quote by Indonesia'south first president and founding begetter Soekarno, Nawaksara said: "When being a Muslim, don't be an Arab. When being a Hindu, don't be an Indian. When beingness a Christian, don't exist a Westerner."
"It is all about identity," explained Nawaksara.
"Today, there are religious people who are lost considering they don't know their identity," he said.
This is likewise the reason why Nawaksara now wants to digitalise the scripts he knows so they will not go lost in time.
His information management expertise obtained during college helps him with this. He is working towards estimator keyboards and websites in aboriginal Indonesian scripts for the public in the hereafter.
For those who want to report ancient scripts, Nawaksara recommends joining a customs to make the procedure easier.
He also hopes that the authorities will be more than involved in preserving ancient Indonesian scripts.
"Equally much as possible, every bit soon every bit possible, the regime should consequence a law or a presidential decree that the Indonesian land owns these scripts."
Read this story in Bahasa Republic of indonesia here.
Source: https://cnalifestyle.channelnewsasia.com/asia/indonesia-ancient-script-preservation-language-182301
Post a Comment for "This man can read and write 30 ancient Indonesian scripts, some as old as 500 years"