Medang Kamulan ( "Predecessor of Medang" in

Old Javanese Old Javanese or Kawi is the oldest attested phase of the Javanese language. It was spoken in the eastern part of what is now Central Java and the whole of East Java, Indonesia. As a literary language, Kawi was used across Java and on the island ...

), also known as Medang Kabuyutan or Medang Kahiyangan was one of the historical and prominent Sundanese kingdoms located in western region of the Java island, centered in the

Sumedang Sumedang (former spelling: Soemedang) is a town in Western Java, Indonesia, approximately 46 km northeast of Bandung. It is the capital of Sumedang Regency. The town is just south of the volcanic Mount Tampomas, which is 1,684 m (5,52 ...

capital and its surroundings (especially in the range of

Mount Tampomas Mount Tampomas is a small andesitic stratovolcano in West Java, Indonesia. Young lava flows are found on the eastern flank of the volcano. The mountain was used as a source of construction rock to build the nearby Mrica Hydroelectric Dam projec ...

). Its territory also covers most of western areas of modern-day

central Java Central Java ( id, Jawa Tengah) is a province of Indonesia, located in the middle of the island of Java. Its administrative capital is Semarang. It is bordered by West Java in the west, the Indian Ocean and the Special Region of Yogyakart ...

and as far as eastern Java region. Its original name remains unclear, but the terminology is commonly used by the Javanese to imply a precursor of the Javanese kingdom of Medang which was later evolved as the Sundanese kingdom of

Tarumanagara Tarumanagara or Taruma Kingdom or just Taruma is an early Sundanese Indianised kingdom, located in western Java, whose 5th-century ruler, Purnawarman, produced the earliest known inscriptions in Java, which are estimated to date from arou ...

in early 5th century and eastern Javanese

Mataram Kingdom The Mataram Kingdom (, jv, ꦩꦠꦫꦩ꧀, ) was a Javanese Hindu–Buddhist kingdom that flourished between the 8th and 11th centuries. It was based in Central Java, and later in East Java. Established by King Sanjaya, the kingdom was rule ...

in early 8th century era which has strong ties with the Sumedang Larang Kingdom and later adopted the Islamic-based monarch system under the unified

Mataram Sultanate The Sultanate of Mataram () was the last major independent Javanese kingdom on the island of Java before it was colonised by the Dutch. It was the dominant political force radiating from the interior of Central Java from the late 16th cent ...

in late 16th century.

Terminology

The name of "" (originally written

scriptio continua ''Scriptio continua'' (Latin for "continuous script"), also known as ''scriptura continua'' or ''scripta continua'', is a style of writing without spaces or other marks between the words or sentences. The form also lacks punctuation, diacritic ...

ly as on inscriptions) is in fact an ancient Javanese given name, etymologically derived from the Old Javanese terminology which means " hepredecessor of Medang" or " heancestor of Medang"; commonly refers to the monarch (either empire or kingdom) entity which preceded the existence of the Medang Kingdom (a later developed kingdom established in eastern Java). According to some ancient Sundanese sources, these kingdom also known as the or which bear similar meaning as in Old Javanese terminology.

Historiography

There are many historical sources that mentioned about the existence of these specific kingdom, which mostly written in the native languages of both Sundanese and Javanese ethnic groups, namely in Old Sundanese and Old Javanese.

Old Javanese sources

Serat Centhini

The mentioned the location of a Medang Kamulan palace on the north-east of Kasanga mud volcano, which was the place where Jaka Linglung was said to be dead. Jayengresmi found it had become a dense forest while the ruin was nowhere to be seen.

Old Sundanese sources

Bujangga Manik

The Old Sundanese manuscript of mentioned the specific location of Medang Kamulan on the account of Bujangga Manik's story during his pilgrim's progress.

Chinese sources

Medang Kamulan appeared in Chinese record as ''Hasin-Medang-Kuwu-lang-pi-ya''; it was later digitized by van OrsoyVan der Meulen. 1977. ''Indonesia'' 23:87-111 page 101, footnote no. 56 in his article about the Javanese kingdom of ''Ho-Ling'' ( Kalingga) located in central Java.

References

Notes

{{Precolonial states in Indonesia Medang Kingdom Javanese mythology Hindu Buddhist states in Indonesia Central Java