The National Library and École française d’Extrême-Orient (EFEO) collaborated and held an international intensive course in Old Javanese on July 01-10, 2024. This activity took place at The Cangkringan Jogja Villas & Spa, Umbulharjo, Cangkringan, Sleman, Yogyakarta, and was attended by 25 participants from various backgrounds. Experts in the field of Old Javanese were present to train the participants to understand the intricacies of the Old Javanese language.
The Javanese Language, Literature, and Culture Study Program, Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Universitas Gadjah Mada (FIB UGM), participated in this activity. Two lecturers of the Javanese Language, Literature, and Culture Study Program, namely Nurmalia Habibah, S.S., M.A., and Zakariya Pamuji Aminullah, S.S., M.A., attended as lecturers. In addition, Haryo Untoro, a student from the same study program, became one of the participants in the intensive course.
For 10 days, the participants practiced the Old Javanese language. In the first five days, the first thing to understand was the morphosyntax of the Old Javanese language. The next five days, the participants began to explore works that use the Old Javanese language, such as Adiparwa, Kakawin Ramayana, Pararaton, Landa Inscription, and others. In addition, participants also participated in an excursion program to several ancient sites of the Hindu-Buddhist period, namely Sewu Temple, Plaosan Temple, and Ratu Boko Temple.
The intensive course in Old Javanese aims to train philologists in the field of Old Javanese and encourage international collaboration in this rare field. The field of Old Javanese plays an important role in revealing various treasures of the past, both in culture, knowledge, history, and other matters. Exploring these treasures is an effort to reveal the identity of the nation and improve the quality of education. To achieve these goals, cooperation from various parties is needed to realize the sustainability of the Old Javanese field and be relevant to the times.
Author : Haryo Untoro
