The Talang Tuo inscription is a 7th-century
Srivijaya
Srivijaya ( id, Sriwijaya) was a Buddhist thalassocratic empire based on the island of Sumatra (in modern-day Indonesia), which influenced much of Southeast Asia. Srivijaya was an important centre for the expansion of Buddhism from the 7th ...
inscription discovered by Louis Constant Westenenk on 17 November 1920, on the foot of
Bukit Seguntang
''Bukit Seguntang'' or ''Bukit Siguntang'' (English: Seguntang Hill or Siguntang Hill) is a 29–30 metres high small hill located at the northern bank of Musi River and within the vicinity of Palembang, capital city of South Sumatra, Indonesi ...
near
Palembang
Palembang () is the capital city of the Indonesian province of South Sumatra. The city proper covers on both banks of the Musi River on the eastern lowland of southern Sumatra. It had a population of 1,668,848 at the 2020 Census. Palembang ...
.
This inscription tells about the establishment of the bountiful Śrīksetra park awarded by
Sri Jayanasa the king of Srivijaya, for the well being of all creatures.
The inscription was discovered in good condition with clearly inscribed scripts. Its size is 50 cm × 80 cm. It is a stone block and it is dated from 606 Saka (corresponds to 23 March 684), written
Pallava script
The Pallava script or Pallava Grantha, is a Brahmic script, named after the Pallava dynasty of South India, attested since the 4th century AD. As epigrapher Arlo Griffiths makes clear, however, the term is misleading as not all of the relevant s ...
in
Old Malay
Malay was first used in the first millennia known as Old Malay, a part of the Austronesian language family. Over a period of two millennia, Malay has undergone various stages of development that derived from different layers of foreign influen ...
. The inscription consists of 14 lines. Van Ronkel and Bosch are the first scholars who translated the inscription. Their work was published in ''Acta Orientalia''. Since 1920, the inscription has been stored in
National Museum of Indonesia
) is an archeological, historical, ethnological, and geographical museum located in Jalan Medan Merdeka Barat, Central Jakarta, right on the west side of Merdeka Square. Popularly known as the Elephant Museum ( id, Museum Gajah) after the elepha ...
,
Jakarta
Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the capital city, capital and list of Indonesian cities by population, largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coa ...
, under inventory number D.145.
Content
The writings on the Talang Tuwo inscription:
Translation
The translation according to
George Cœdès
George Cœdès (; 10 August 1886 – 2 October 1969) was a 20th-century French scholar of southeast Asian archaeology and history.
Biography
Cœdès was born in Paris to a family of supposed Hungarian-Jewish émigrés. In fact, the family was ...
.
Old Malay vocabulary
The inscription is among the earliest evidence of written archaic
Old Malay
Malay was first used in the first millennia known as Old Malay, a part of the Austronesian language family. Over a period of two millennia, Malay has undergone various stages of development that derived from different layers of foreign influen ...
language. Many words are still recognizable and intelligible with
Modern Malay (including
Indonesian and
Malaysian variants). The most significant differences are found in verbal affixes. While modern Malay and Indonesian use the prefix di- to mark passive, in Old Malay we find ni-. The same holds for the active prefix men- corresponding to Old Malay mar- or ma-. The modern possessive and object suffix -nya corresponds to the Old Malay -na. Old Malay words and their modern Malay and Indonesian counterparts are listed below, followed by their English gloss.
* = = moon
* = ''tatkalanya'' = while, during
* = ''ini'' = this
* = ''temu'', ''bertemu ''= meet
* = ''diperbuat'' = performed
* = ''sebanyaknya'' = amount of
* = ''ditanam'' = planted
* = ''di sini'' = here
* = ''nyiur'' = palm tree
* = ''enau'' = Arenga plant
* = ''rumbia'' = Arenga fibers
* = ''dengan'' = with
* = ''dimakan'' = being eaten
* = ''buahnya'' = fruits
* = ''tetapi'' = but
* = ''rajin'' = diligent
* = ''tahu'' = to know (knowledge)
* = ''aur'' = aur (a type of bamboo)
* = ''buluh'' = vines, may also means bamboo
* = betung (a type of bamboo)
* = ''telaga'' = pond, small lake
* = ''punyanya'' = belong to
* = ''marga'' = clan
* = ''suka'' = happiness, like
* = ''air'' = water
* = ''diminumnya'' = being drink
* = ''sebanyaknya'', ''sebanyak-banyaknya'' = as many as possible
* = ''buatnya'' = for them
* = ''huma'' = dry rice field or orchard
* = ''menghidupi'' = to bring life
* = ''perkara'' = issue, problem
* = ''barang'' = item
* = ''buatannya'' = made
* = ''curi'' (''pencuri'') = steal (thieve)
* = ''membangun'' = built
* = ''
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 foun ...
'' = spirit or gods
* = ''tetapi'' = but
* = ''rancak'' (preserved in
Minang) = beautiful, good
* = ''rupa'' = look, form
* = ''laki-laki'' = man/men
See also
*
Kedukan Bukit Inscription
*
Telaga Batu inscription
Telaga Batu inscription is a 7th-century Srivijayan inscription discovered in Sabokingking, 3 Ilir, Ilir Timur II, Palembang, South Sumatra, Indonesia, around the 1950s. The inscription is now displayed in National Museum of Indonesia, Jakarta, ...
*
Kota Kapur Inscription
Kota Kapur Inscription is an inscription discovered in western coast of Bangka Island, offcoast South Sumatra, Indonesia, by J.K. van der Meulen in December 1892. It was named after the village of the same name which is the location where this arch ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Talang Tuo
Srivijaya
Inscriptions in Indonesia
7th-century inscriptions
National Museum of Indonesia
History of Sumatra
Malay inscriptions