Yogyakarta, 30/4/2025 – Tuesday, April 15, 2025, in order to fulfill the mid-term exam assignment for the Productive Written Javanese Language course taught by Mas Imam Prakoso, students of Language, Literature, and Culture class of 2024 visited the Jogja Archives Diorama. The Jogja Archives Diorama is located at Jl. Janti No.Lt. 1, Banguntapan District, Bantul Regency, Special Region of Yogyakarta.

The Jogja Archives Diorama displays archives that have a long historical connection from the land of Yogyakarta, namely from the era of Panembahan Senopati to the present day. The archives on display are of various forms, from those in textual form, photographs, audiovisuals, and others. These archives are managed and exhibited with the aim that the general public can learn lessons related to the history of the Special Region of Yogyakarta.

To enter the Jogja Archives Diorama building, students must pay a fee of Rp20,000.00. Meanwhile, the general public must pay IDR 30,000.00, and foreign tourists IDR 100,000.00. If you bring a group of more than 20 people, not all of them can enter at once. When entering the room, all 44 students and 1 lecturer were divided into 2 groups and 2 sessions.

Of the 44 students of the 2024 class, there were some who had never visited this exhibition before. “When entering the diorama room, it was the first time I saw a fairly complete archive from the Mataram Kingdom era to the present era, each room was explained in detail by the officer, and the most interesting thing is that this place is very suitable for students of Literature, History, Anthropology, and other social science clusters, because there are so many sources of information related to the science that can be studied by students in these departments,” said Ma’ruf, one of the students who was visiting the Yogyakarta Archive Diorama for the first time.

The most interesting thing according to Ma’ruf was that when entering the first room, the students were immediately greeted with animations from the Mataram Kingdom era. There it is explained how the Mataram Kingdom was formed, then when entering the last room there is a simulation or depiction of the 2006 Bantul Earthquake, there visitors feel as if they felt the vibrations of the earthquake when the earthquake occurred. With this interactive diorama, it is hoped that students and the general public will be more enthusiastic about appreciating and exploring the history of their own hometown.

[Public Relation of Javanese Literature, Haryo Untoro]

Yogyakarta, 30/4/2025 – As part of the assignment for the Javanese Literature Treasury course taught by Mrs. Dra. Wiwien Widyawati Rahayu, M.A., Javanese Language, Literature, and Culture students from the class of 2024 visited the Lajang Watjan (re: Layang Wacan) exhibition located at Bentara Budaya Yogyakarta. This assignment began with a group assignment. The groups that were formed departed individually, because there were still 2 days left of the exhibition, namely the 18th and 19th.

In the exhibition, what students observed were various books and manuscripts. After observing, students chose one material object to reveal its contents. One of them is Babad Pagedongan. In addition to revealing the contents of the book or manuscript, there was also a 1-minute short video assignment as proof that students had visited the exhibition. In addition to books, there were old manuscripts displayed on the walls and could not be touched because of their age. However, there were still many new manuscripts placed on the exhibition table and could be read.

“It’s actually interesting, the nuance is vintage and ancient but unfortunately not all of them can be opened,” concluded David Sofyan, one of the students who visited the exhibition. The books or manuscripts that caught his attention the most were those that discussed primbon, some of these manuscripts were even in Javanese script.

David was interested in manuscripts or books that discussed primbon because in his hometown, the use of primbon is still very closely related to all aspects of the community’s life. Examples of activities that still use primbon to calculate good and bad days are weddings, agriculture, and other events. This can then be studied and compared with modern sciences in today’s era. For example, is the relationship between good and bad days for agriculture in primbon still relevant to the science studied by our friends in the faculty of agriculture. The next question that can be asked is whether Javanese society with its titen science can still be implemented in today’s era, and whether it is linear or in line with the science discovered by modern foreign scientists.

David said that the exhibition was fun, like a vacation because he went around looking at ancient manuscripts, and the nuances were very supportive in terms of arrangement and lighting. “It’s like stepping back in time to when these manuscripts were written,” he said.

[Public Relation of Javanese Literature, Haryo Untoro]

Yogyakarta, 30/4/2025 – Never losing its fun, day by day, the Codicology lectures feel more and more enjoyable. Including Monday, April 21, 2025 yesterday. In this eleventh meeting, Javanese Language, Literature, and Culture students of the 2023 class were invited to practice stamping and sealing.

However, before practicing making stamps, students listened to material about the use of stamps and sealings in letters from the past. A letter stamp itself is a printed image, writing, or a combination of both on a letter or other important document. Its function is as a marker/identifying symbol that represents a person or group to indicate validity. In addition, a letter stamp also functions as a guarantee of the integrity (seal) of a letter. Materials that can be used for letter stamps are wax, clay, soot, or ink.

A stamp is a tool with a surface carved with images, writing, or both that produces a stamp. The stamp material is made of hard materials such as metal or stone and elastic materials such as rubber. The shape of the stamp surface varies widely, it can be round, square, oval, hexagonal and other shapes such as flowers and swords. Meanwhile, the shape of the handle can be a grip or ring.

In addition, there is an explanation of the meaning of the position of the stamp in the letter. For example, the stamp of letters in Batavia made by the Dutch is located on the right side of the letter near the beginning of the text. The placement of the stamp position like this shows that the position of the sender of the letter is higher than the recipient. The position of the letter stamp that is above and parallel indicates a partnership or with the same position. While a lower position, such as below the text of the letter indicates that the sender’s position is lower.

In this lecture, in addition to being introduced to the meaning of stamps and sealings in the past, students are also invited to practice making stamps with materials and tools provided by the lecturer. Thus, students can learn and know about making stamps.

[Public Relation of Javanese Literature, Haryo Untoro]

Source:

Kumar, Ann dan John H. McGlynn (ed). (1996). Illumination: The Writing Traditions of Indonesia. Jakarta: Yayasan Lontar

Mu’jizah. (2009). Iluminasi dalam Surat-Surat Melayu Abad ke-18 dan ke-19. Jakarta: Kapustakaan Gramedia Populer (KGP).

Mulyadi, Sri Wulan Rujiati. (1994). Kodikologi Melayu di Indonesia II. Depok: Lembaran Sastra Fakultas Sastra Universitas Indonesia.

Yogyakarta, 30/4/2025 – Towards the end of the last Ramadan, the social division of HMJ KAMASTAWA carried out an annual work program, namely Sosmas Berbagi. Sosmas Berbagi is an annual agenda of the social division of society which is generally carried out in the month of Ramadan every year, namely the distribution of alms to people in need in the form of consumption for breaking the fast.

This year, Sosmas Berbagi was held on Saturday, March 22, 2025. Together with members of the social division of society and representatives from other divisions, they left campus and went around Kotabaru and Gejayan. From the funds collected amounting to one million rupiah, the social division distributed it in the form of heavy meals, namely fried chicken rice and iced tea.

It was decided that the target recipients of this alms distribution were people who mostly live and work on the road. For example, online motorcycle taxi drivers, pedicab drivers, parking attendants, and others.

The journey started at around 16.40. The team that left was divided into two, one towards Kotabaru, one towards Gejayan. However, not long after, rain suddenly fell heavily. Finally, the social team was forced to take shelter on the side of the road for about 20 minutes, waiting for the rain to at least ease a little. After the rain had eased a little, the social team continued the mission, but to anticipate more rain, all members wore raincoats.

Thank God, despite the weather constraints, the social team managed to complete their work program and was welcomed by the community who received it. Hopefully, with this work program, the HMJ KAMASTAWA social team can continue to play a role as a trusted partner in non-profit social activities in the long term.

[Public Relation of Javanese Literature, Haryo Untoro]

Yogyakarta, 6/5/2025 – On Tuesday (March 25, 2025), Dr. Arsanti Wulandari, M.Hum., a lecturer from the Javanese Language, Literature, and Culture Program at the Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Universitas Gadjah Mada (FIB UGM), discussed the life of Prince Diponegoro as depicted in the Babad Ngayogyakarta during the first session of the Nusantara Manuscript Literacy Class. The event was organized by the Center for Library Information Services and Nusantara Manuscript Management (Pujaasintara) of the National Library of the Republic of Indonesia (Perpusnas RI), under the theme “Another Side of Diponegoro: The Prince from Two Perspectives.”

In her presentation, Dr. Arsanti examined the manuscript Serat Babad Kawiwitan Djumenengipun Kanjeng Sultan Kaping 4-Kaping 5, housed at the Sonobudoyo Museum, Yogyakarta, under the code SB 169. This manuscript was originally composed during the reign of Sultan Hamengkubuwana V and later recopied during the era of Hamengkubuwana VII.

Within the Babad Ngayogyakarta, the life of Prince Diponegoro is detailed extensively, tracing the early years of Hamengkubuwana IV (verses 1–20) through the outbreak of the Java War (verses 21–48). Dr. Arsanti highlighted various exemplary qualities of Prince Diponegoro, particularly in the realm of education. Diponegoro emphasized three key areas of instruction for Hamengkubuwana IV: mastery of Javanese script and culture through literary works, proficiency in Arabic script and religious knowledge, and the acquisition of Malay and English for effective communication.

In addition to Dr. Arsanti Wulandari, Dr. Sudibyo Prawiroatmodjo, M.Hum., a lecturer from the Indonesian Language and Literature Program at FIB UGM, also served as a speaker, offering insights into Prince Diponegoro from the perspective of the Babad Kedhung Kebo. Notably, the session was also attended by Prof. Dr. Peter B.R. Carey, a distinguished historian renowned for his extensive research on Southeast Asian history, particularly the Java War and Prince Diponegoro.

The webinar proceeded smoothly and was marked by enthusiastic participation. Numerous questions from attendees reflected a strong interest in exploring Prince Diponegoro’s historical legacy through different manuscript sources.

The Nusantara Manuscript Literacy Class aims to uncover and elevate valuable knowledge contained within the Nusantara manuscripts. This information is expected to enrich academic fields and provide broader benefits to society. More broadly, the initiative supports the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly in advancing quality education and fostering partnerships to achieve shared objectives.

[Public Relation of Javanese Literature, Haryo Untoro]