Carita Parahyangan ( en, Tale of Parahyangan,
official Sundanese script: ) is a text contained in a single manuscript written around the late 16th century, registered as Kropak 406 from the former collection of the Bataviaasch Genootschap voor Kunsten en Wetenschappen (Batavian Society of Arts and Sciences), now in the ''Perpustakaan National'' (National Library) in
Jakarta
Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coast of Java, the world's most populous island, Jakarta ...
. It was identified as early as 1882 by Holle as the "Carita Parahyangan", the name derived from
Parahyangan
Parahyangan ( su, ᮕᮛᮠᮡᮀᮠᮔ᮪; Bantenese: Priangan; Dutch: Preanger) is a cultural and mountainous region in West Java province on the Indonesian island of Java. Covering a little less than one sixth of Java, it is the heartla ...
highlands in
West Java
West Java ( id, Jawa Barat, su, ᮏᮝ ᮊᮥᮜᮧᮔ᮪, romanized ''Jawa Kulon'') is a province of Indonesia on the western part of the island of Java, with its provincial capital in Bandung. West Java is bordered by the province of Banten ...
, originated from
Sundanese
Sundanese may refer to:
* Sundanese people
* Sundanese language
* Sundanese script
Standard Sundanese script (''Aksara Sunda Baku'', ) is a writing system which is used by the Sundanese people. It is built based on Old Sundanese script (' ...
words which means "the abode of
hyang
''Hyang'' ( Kawi, Sundanese, Javanese, and Balinese) is a representation of the Supreme Being, in ancient Java and Bali mythology. This spiritual entity can be either divine or ancestral. The reverence for this spiritual entity can be found ...
s (gods)". Since that time the manuscript has received much scholarly attention.
The Carita Parahyangan tells the history of
Sunda Kingdom
The Sunda Kingdom ( su, , Karajaan Sunda, ) was a Sundanese Hindu kingdom located in the western portion of the island of Java from 669 to around 1579, covering the area of present-day Banten, Jakarta, West Java, and the western part of Centra ...
, from the early Galuh period in the early 8th century, during the era of Wretikandayun and
King Sanjaya, until the fall of Pakuan Pajajaran in the 16th century, the capital of Sunda kingdom under invasion by the
Banten Sultanate
The Banten Sultanate (كسلطانن بنتن) was a Bantenese Islamic trading kingdom founded in the 16th century and centred in Banten, a port city on the northwest coast of Java; the contemporary English name of both was Bantam. It is said ...
assisted by the
Cirebon
Cirebon (, formerly rendered Cheribon or Chirebon in English) is a port city on the northern coast of the Indonesian island of Java. It is the only coastal city of West Java, located about 40 km west of the provincial border with Central Java ...
and
Demak
Demak is on the north coast of Central Java province, on the island of Java, Indonesia.
* Demak, Demak, modern-day large town
* Demak Sultanate, sixteenth century sultanate
* Demak Regency
Demak ( jv, ꦢꦼꦩꦏ꧀) is a regency located in t ...
Sultanates.
The manuscript consists of 47 leaves of
lontar palm
''Borassus flabellifer'', commonly known as doub palm, palmyra palm, tala or tal palm, toddy palm, wine palm or ice apple, is native to South Asia (especially in Bangladesh & South India) and Southeast Asia. It is reportedly naturalized in Socot ...
leaf manuscript measuring ; each leaf contains four lines, written in Old
Sundanese script
Standard Sundanese script (''Aksara Sunda Baku'', ) is a writing system which is used by the Sundanese people. It is built based on Old Sundanese script (''Aksara Sunda Kuno'') which was used by the ancient Sundanese between the 14th and 18th ...
in
Old Sundanese language
Old Sundanese (Sundanese script: , Old Sundanese script: , Buda script: , ) is the earliest recorded stage of the Sundanese language which is spoken in the western part of Java. The evidence is recorded in inscriptions from around the 12th t ...
.
Content and translations
This manuscript consists of two parts. The larger part, the Carita Parahyangan proper, is a text on
Sundanese
Sundanese may refer to:
* Sundanese people
* Sundanese language
* Sundanese script
Standard Sundanese script (''Aksara Sunda Baku'', ) is a writing system which is used by the Sundanese people. It is built based on Old Sundanese script (' ...
kings and kingdoms from the pre-Islamic period. After earlier publication by Holle (1882a) and Pleyte (1914a) it was Poerbatjaraka /91919-21) who gave a complete transliteration of the manuscript. In 1962 Noorduyn (1962a, 1962b) devoted two important papers to the texts; in the first he managed to restore the order of the folio of the manuscript which was in disarray; in the second he gave an annotated transliteration and translation of the first part of the text. In a third paper Noorduyn (1966) published a number of additions and corrections to the earlier text edition, which were based on a careful rereading of the original manuscript.
Based on Noorduyn's restoration of the order of the leaves in the major part of the manuscript, a new transliteration, with a translation in Indonesian and notes, was published by Atja and Danasasmita (1981c). In 1995 Darsa and Ekadjati presented a new edition and translation of the manuscript. In this work the other part of the manuscript, called by the editors Fragmen Carita Parahyangan, was published for the first time. This is a text found on 13 leaves (lempir) or 25 “pages”; graphically the two texts are different insofar as the Fragmen has an irregular number of lines (3-6) per page, unlike the Carita Parahyangan proper which consistently has four lines writing per page. Moreover, there are minor scriptural differences between the two parts of the manuscript. The Fragmen contains “three main stories of rulers of
Sunda kingdom
The Sunda Kingdom ( su, , Karajaan Sunda, ) was a Sundanese Hindu kingdom located in the western portion of the island of Java from 669 to around 1579, covering the area of present-day Banten, Jakarta, West Java, and the western part of Centra ...
with capital city of
Pakuan Pajajaran
Pakuan Pajajaran (or ᮕᮊᮥᮝᮔ᮪ᮕᮏᮏᮛᮔ᮪/ Dayeuh Pakuan/Pakwan or Pajajaran) was the fortified capital city of Sunda Kingdom. The location is roughly corresponds to modern Bogor city in West Java, Indonesia, approximately around ...
”. Its second, larger part is quite interesting from the viewpoint of social and economic history (Darsa and Ekadjati 1995:6). In a more recent paper Darsa (1999) has discussed in more detail the relation between the two texts in Kropak 406; it is clear that at an early stage the two texts must have been brought together in a single manuscript.
References
External links
Carita Parahyangan Textfrom docs.google.com
See also
{{portal, Indonesia
*
Hinduism in Java
Hinduism has historically been a major religious and cultural influence in Java. In recent years, it has also been enjoying something of a resurgence, particularly in the eastern part of the island.
History
Both Java and Sumatra were subject t ...
*
Sunda kingdom
The Sunda Kingdom ( su, , Karajaan Sunda, ) was a Sundanese Hindu kingdom located in the western portion of the island of Java from 669 to around 1579, covering the area of present-day Banten, Jakarta, West Java, and the western part of Centra ...
*
Sunda Wiwitan
(from su, ᮞᮥᮔ᮪ᮓ ᮝᮤᮝᮤᮒᮔ᮪, Sunda Wiwitan, aboriginal Pasundan) Sunda Wiwitan is a folk religion and ancient beliefs adhered to by the Sundanese (including Baduy people, Bantenese, Cirebonese) in the western part of Java. ...
*
West Java
West Java ( id, Jawa Barat, su, ᮏᮝ ᮊᮥᮜᮧᮔ᮪, romanized ''Jawa Kulon'') is a province of Indonesia on the western part of the island of Java, with its provincial capital in Bandung. West Java is bordered by the province of Banten ...
Indonesian manuscripts
Sundanese language