UNAIR NEWS –An interest in the preservation of palm leaves manuscript has prompted I Putu Ari Kurnia, an undergraduate student of Information and Library Science of Faculty of Social and Political Sciences 51动漫 to attend an annual conference organized by academics in his field.
At the 83rdInternational Federation of Library Association (IFLA) General Conference and Assembly held in Wroclaw, Poland on 19-25 August 2017, in presence of hundreds of academics as well as world librarians, Ari presented his success stories of digitizing palm leaf manuscripts from his home region of Bali.
The student from class 2014 should be proud because he was the only UNAIR and Indonesian delegate who presented the paper in the conference.
His paper entitled “Cultural Entropy on Digitizing Balinese Lontar Manuscripts: Overcoming Challenges and Seizing Opportunities” tells about the preservation and conservation strategy of literature or manuscripts made of palm leaves.
Ari said that the digitalization of the manuscript lontar was done manually.Each manuscript sheet was photographed one by one.In order to get the clear and sharp results, the photos were processed with a program.After that, metadata was given to be stored in a database.
The digitalization of manuscripts in Bali is carried out by a community called Hanacaraka Society, a community that engages in the conservation of lontar manuscripts.Ari also joined the community.Thus, it is not difficult for him to describe the practice of saving manuscripts of lontar conducted in Bali.
According to Ari, IFLA conference participants were interested in the paper he presented.Almost all new participants first saw the manuscript.Many of them were asking about the preservation program.
One of the Filipino professors in the same forum even felt very grateful to see the manuscript manifest.
“According to his account, the Philippines also has manuscript made of palm leaves.It’s just that it is no longer existing because many were destroyed during the war.So, he intended to reconstruct and revive the knowledge of manuscripts in palm leaves, “Ari explained.
IFLA Conference was not a new thing for Ari.In 2016, he was chosen as the speaker at the IFLA conference held in Ohio, USA.In the US, Ari gave an explanation about the method of finding information about kawitan (family tree) in Bali.
“Incidentally this year I tried to come back by submittingpaper.At the end of June I got a word thatmypaperqualified to be presented.I somewhat worried because of the competition.Many acquaintances of academics and practitioners from Indonesia did not qualify, “added the man born August 18, 1995.
What is the challenge?
Ari did not deny, the practice of digitizing lontar manuscript faced a number of obstacles and challenges.The obstacles and challenges come from the community itself.He considered, public attitudes toward the preservation of lontar manuscripts was only to maintain cultural heritage but it was not done with significant efforts.
For example, for religious ceremonies.Ari said, the implementation of religious rites did not affect the efforts of the preservation of lontar manuscripts.The condition of cultural entropy did not make the community maximize the existence of manuscript lontar that has been digitized.
“Whereas the core points of preservation activities are the sustainable use of information and knowledge in any media including the manuscript.However, due to people’s limitations on language and lontar alphabet, they are unable to use it again, “explained Ari.
Seeing that, he did not stay quiet.Ari with Hanacaraka Society preserved the lontar manuscripts in Java, Bali, and Lombok.Together with his community, he often held lontar writing classes including, organizing exhibitions on the manuscripts.
Last year in Sanur, Bali, the community worked together with one of the companies organizing an exhibition about the palm leaves.He and his team sought to eliminate the ‘sacred’ stigma on the palm leaves manuscript.The goal, to convey that the information written in manuscripts lontar can be used by anyone.
For example, knowledge of medicinal plants and methods of treatment (in Bali called usadha).There is also knowledge of architecture to astronomy astrology.
In 2016, it also had the opportunity to hold a palm leaves manuscript exhibition at the Ubud Writers and Readers Festival.
As members of the community and students who care about the preservation of manuscripts, he can also write on lontar.He confessed, since high school, he has participated in the competitions associated with palm leaf manuscript writing.
For him, lontar writing is not difficult as long as we practice diligently.“Some say that writing lontar is equivalent to yoga because the technique of breathing, concentration, hand gestures using a small knife to make strokes in the palm was like doing yoga.The more practice, the more smooth we could write, “said Ari sharing tips.
At the end of the interview, he hoped that the lontar manuscript would be more popular.The more knowledge society has on it, the community will be more concerned with the existence and preservation of the manuscript.(*)
Author: Defrina Sukma S
Editor: Binti Q. Masruroh
