Buda script

Summary

Buda Script or (Aksara Buda) or Gunung Script is an archaic script. Based on its shape, the Buda Script still has a close relationship with the Kawi script. This script was previously used on the island of Java (especially in West Java and Central Java) and Bali. This type of script is called the Buda script because it is considered to have originated from the pre-Islamic era which is called the Buddhist Age. The word Buda is based on the Buddha word. Manuscripts containing writing using the Buda script are commonly found in mountainous areas. Because of that, this type of script is also called the "Mountain script".

Buda Script
Aksara Buda

ᮃᮊ᮪ᮞᮛ ᮘᮥᮓ
ꦲꦏ꧀ꦱꦫ​ꦧꦸꦢ
A list of some of the letters in Buda script (West Java Model) found in Sanghyang Siksa Kandang Karesian manuscript
Script type
Time period
Circa 14th–18th centuries,[1] and present (optional & research)
DirectionLeft-to-right
LanguagesOld Sundanese language
Old Javanese language
Related scripts
Parent systems
Sister systems
Balinese
Batak
Baybayin scripts
Javanese
Lontara
Lampung
Makasar
Old Sundanese
Rencong
Rejang
[a] The Semitic origin of the Brahmic scripts is not universally agreed upon.
 This article contains phonetic transcriptions in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA. For the distinction between [ ], / / and  , see IPA § Brackets and transcription delimiters.

Name confusion edit

The mention of the Buda script appears in the book The History of Java by Thomas Stamford Raffles in 1817.[2] The mention of the Buda script or Gunung script was further suggested by Casparis (1975).[3] Based on the literature review, the name Aksara Buda or Aksara Gunung can refer to two script models, namely the script used in lontar manuscripts from the Merapi-Merbabu collection in Central Java,[4][5] and in gebang manuscripts originating from West Java.[3][6][7] It is interesting to note that the Arjunawiwaha[8][9] and Kunjarakarna[10] texts are contained in several manuscripts, the two texts of which are written in the Merapi-Merbabu Buda model script model and some are using the West Java Buda model script.[11]

Merapi-Merbabu's model edit

Merapi-Merbabu model script is used to refer to the script model used in the collection of manuscripts found on the slopes of Mount Merapi-Merbabu,[12] the shape of the script is distinctive, different from Javanese and Balinese script.[4] Manuscripts of the Merbabu collection (currently stored in the National Library of Indonesia) that use this script include Darmawarsa,[13] Gita Sinangsaya,[14] and Kunjarakarna,[10] which are written in Old Javanese language. In addition, there is a manuscript originating from the Pekalongan area that uses this model script and use Old Sundanese language, namely the Kala Purbaka manuscript.[15] One manuscript with this script model was found in Buleleng, Bali in 2019.[16] Texts written in this script generally contain an overview of Hindu-Buddhist religions with local beliefs, but in some parts there are elements of Islamic religion.[17]

 
Kakawin of Sutasoma lontar in Buda script

West Java's model edit

Various names for this script have been suggested by several ancient manuscripts, including K.F. Holle (1877) called it Kawi-squared script (Kawi-kwadraat-letter),[18] Pigeaud (1968) called it West Java's semi-cursive thick script,[19] while Casparis called it the Buda or Gunung script.[3] The confusion over the naming of the script model in the gebang script which is quite different was raised by Andrea Acri in his dissertation when discussing the Dharma Patanjala manuscript.[3] The manuscripts he worked on were traced from the Merapi-Merbabu collection in Central Java, but he further estimates that at first the manuscripts originated in West Java, where the tradition of gebang script writing was more developed. Therefore, he made a special alternative designation for the Buddhist script written on gebang leaves, namely the Western Old Javanese Script.[3]

The Buda script model originating from West Java is written on gebang leaf media (formerly known as nipah), using organic black ink.[20] The style used is thin. The manuscripts that use this model script use Old Sundanese language, such as Sang Hyang Siksa Kandang Karesian,[21] Sang Hyang Raga Dewata, Sang Hyang Tatwa Ajnyana, and Langgeng Jati.[22] In addition there are those who use Old Javanese language such as Sang Hyang Hayu, Dharma Patanjala, Arjunawiwaha, and Bhimaswarga.

Kakawin Arjunawiwaha which uses the West Javanese model of the Buddhist script is the oldest known manuscript (written in 1344 AD), originally from the Bandung area.[8][9][11] In Van der Molen's research, the Kunjarakarna manuscript in the collection of the Leiden University Library, LOr code 2266, which was written in the West Java model of Buda script, had the highest level of accuracy among the other manuscripts he studied.[10]

 
Buda script in the Old Sundanese Gebang manuscript

References edit

  1. ^ Iqrahanacaraka (2017). "Aksara Buda atau aksara Gunung" (in Indonesian).
  2. ^ Raffles, Thomas Stamford (1817). The History of Java: In Two Volumes. Black, Parbury, and Allen : and John Murray.
  3. ^ a b c d e Acri, Andrea (26 December 2018). Dharma Patanjala (in Indonesian). Kepustakaan Populer Gramedia. ISBN 978-602-481-056-6.
  4. ^ a b Pudjiastuti, Titik (2018). Kamus filologi. Indonesia. Badan Pengembangan dan Pembinaan Bahasa. Rawamangun, Jakarta. ISBN 978-602-437-549-2. OCLC 1121419519.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  5. ^ Katalog induk naskah-naskah nusantara: Perpustakaan Nasional Republik Indonesia (in Indonesian). Djambatan. 1990. ISBN 978-979-428-151-2.
  6. ^ Darsa, Undang Ahmad (1998). Sang Hyang Hayu: kajian filologi naskah bahasa Jawa Kuno di Sunda pada abad XVI (in Indonesian).
  7. ^ Ekajati, Edi Suhardi (2000). Direktori naskah Nusantara (in Indonesian). Yayasan Obor Indonesia. ISBN 978-979-461-334-4.
  8. ^ a b "Arjuna-Wiwaha : tekst en vertaling / door R. NG. Poerbatjaraka (Lesya) | OPAC Perpustakaan Nasional RI". opac.perpusnas.go.id. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  9. ^ a b Wiryamartana, I. Kuntara (1990). Arjunawiwāha: transformasi teks Jawa Kuna lewat tanggapan dan penciptaan di lingkungan sastra Jawa (in Indonesian). Duta Wacana University Press. ISBN 978-979-8139-07-9.
  10. ^ a b c Molen, Willem van der (2011). Kritik Teks Jawa: Sebuah pemandangan Umum dan Pendekatan Baru yang Diterapkan Kepada Kunjarakarna (in Indonesian). Yayasan Pustaka Obor Indonesia. ISBN 978-979-461-787-8.
  11. ^ a b Nurwansah, Ilham. "Naskah-naskah Gebang Kuno Beraksara Buda-Gunung" (in Indonesian). Archived from the original on 13 June 2020. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  12. ^ Setyawati, Kartika (7 June 2013). "Naskah-Naskah Merapi-Merbabu Koleksi Perpustakaan Nasional Indonesia: Tinjauan Awal". Jurnal Humaniora (in Indonesian) (1). doi:10.22146/jh.1987 (inactive 31 January 2024). ISSN 2302-9269.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of January 2024 (link)
  13. ^ Anjani, Anggita (2019). Lontar Darmawarsa: Edisi Teks dan Terjemahan. Jakarta: Perpustakaan Nasional RI bekerjasama dengan Manassa. ISBN 9786232001527.
  14. ^ Gita Sinangsaya : edisi teks dan terjemahan. Kriswanto, Agung (Cetakan pertama, Oktober 2012 ed.). Jakarta. 2012. ISBN 978-979-008-475-9. OCLC 839863323.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: others (link)
  15. ^ Gunawan, Aditia. "With Agung Kriswanto (2009) Kala Purbaka: Kisah Batara Kala dalam Teks Sunda Kuna". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  16. ^ Bali, Nusa. "Ditemukan Lontar Langka Beraksara Buda Satu-satunya di Bali". www.nusabali.com. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  17. ^ Kriswanto, Agung (1 July 2019). "Naskah-naskah Keislaman dari Skriptorium Merapi-Merbabu di Perpustakaan Nasional". Jumantara: Jurnal Manuskrip Nusantara. 10 (1): 24–45. doi:10.37014/jumantara.v10i1.23. ISSN 2685-7391. S2CID 213786098.
  18. ^ Holle, Karel Frederik (1882). Table van Oud-en-Nieuw-Indische alphabetten (in Dutch). W. Bruining & Company.
  19. ^ Pigeaud, Theodore Gauthier Th (1967). Literature of Java: Catalogue Raisonné of Javanese Manuscripts in the Library of the University of Leiden and Other Public Collections in the Netherlands. Leiden University Press.
  20. ^ Gunawan, Aditia (1 January 2015). "Nipah or Gebang?: A Philological and Codicological Study Based on Sources from West Java". Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde / Journal of the Humanities and Social Sciences of Southeast Asia. 171 (2–3): 249–280. doi:10.1163/22134379-17101004. ISSN 0006-2294.
  21. ^ Sewaka darma (Kropak 408) ; Sanghyang siksakandang karesian (Kropak 630) ; Amanat Galunggung (Kropak 632): transkripsi dan terjemahan (in Indonesian). Bagian Proyek Penelitian dan Pengkajian Kebudayaan Sunda (Sundanologi), Direktorat Jenderal Kebudayaan, Departemen Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan. 1987.
  22. ^ Atep Kurnia, Aditia Gunawan (2019). Tata Pustaka: Sebuah Pengantar terhadap Tradisi Tulis Sunda KUna. Jakarta: Perpustakaan Nasional RI & Manassa.