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, 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]

Yogyakarta, 6/5/2025 – With the aim of improving understanding related to lectures, the lecturer of codicology, Dr. Sri Ratna Saktimulya, M.Hum. brought Javanese Language, Literature, and Culture students of the 2023 class to visit three libraries; the Widyabudaya Keraton Ngayogyakarta library, the Sonobudoyo Museum library, and the Widyapustaka Pura Pakualaman library.

This field lecture started in the morning at 08.30 until the afternoon at 15.00. Students were asked to gather in the parking lot of the Keraton Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat before 08.30 for joint preparation and direction. The first destination visited was the Widyabudaya library. There, students were invited and accompanied by abdi dalem to look around and get to know the rooms in the library such as the reservation room, archive room, depo-archive room. In addition, students were also given manuscripts to observe their physical condition according to the material that had been taught such as the paper material, the illumination contained in the manuscript, and others.

Continued with the Sonobudoyo Museum library, students are guided to get to know various manuscripts made from various materials such as paper and wood, and are shown the process of digitizing manuscripts and how to care for manuscripts. Then in the Widyapustaka library, students are shown a manuscript care system by maintaining a stable temperature and conducive to manuscripts, especially those that are quite old.

In the physical condition of Javanese manuscripts, various illuminations are often found in them. Pudjiastuti, Mujizah, Ikram, et al. (2018) explained that the term illumination was originally used to refer to decorations on manuscripts in the form of gold. But later, the term then developed its use and referred to images (decorations) in manuscripts. There are several models of illumination in manuscripts, such as pepadan (a picture that shows the change of pupuh tembang), rubrication (red coloring of a word or sentence that makes an important idea), and wedana (image illumination in the form of text framing ornaments) (Saktimulya, 2015).

By organizing this field study, students are expected to increase their knowledge and experience about manuscripts, starting from the process of creating and managing ancient manuscripts as well as knowing various valuable collections in the fields of Javanese language, literature and culture. Furthermore, students are also expected to understand the existence of manuscripts and archives themselves, namely as part of historical sources and a direct description of the cultural life of their time. This can help students contribute to the development of knowledge in this field.

Author: Fega Achillea Maydena

Editor: Haryo Untoro

Bibliography

Pudjiastuti, T., Mujizah, Ikram, A., & Kramadibrata, D. (2018). Philological Dictionary. Ministry of Education and Culture.

Saktimulya, S.R. (2016). Manuscripts of the Pakualaman Scriptorium. Jakarta: Gramedia Popular Library

Yogyakarta, 5/5/2025 – As part of its support for students’ interests and talents in Japanese culture, the Japanese Language and Culture Study Program at the Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Universitas Gadjah Mada, consistently offers various academic enrichment opportunities — one of which is the shuuji (Japanese calligraphy) class.

This class serves as a platform for students who are passionate about the artistic expression of Japanese characters, while also deepening their understanding of the cultural values embedded in the practice. Beyond the classroom, the activity also encourages students to actively participate in national-level competitions.

On April 26, 2025, two students from the Department of Japanese Language and Culture — Putri Mega Asmarani and Barra Taura Nursa’id — represented FIB UGM in a national shuuji competition hosted by Widyatama University in Bandung. The competition was part of the annual Widyatama Japan Matsuri, which brought together students from various universities across Indonesia — including UGM, UNAIR, UB, UNPAD, and others — in a shared celebration of Japanese language education and cultural appreciation.

The Faculty of Cultural Sciences provided full support for the students’ participation, including technical, administrative, and logistical assistance for inter-provincial travel. This support reflects the faculty’s ongoing commitment to nurturing both the academic and personal development of its students.

Although the competition did not yield the expected results, the experience proved immensely valuable. In addition to refining their calligraphy skills, students had the opportunity to broaden their perspectives and build meaningful connections with peers from across the country.

[Public Relation of Japanese Literature, Barra Taura Nursaid]

Yogyakarta, 5/5/2025 — The fate of a culture, including its language and literature, ultimately rests in the hands of its people. Acknowledging this, the Study Program of Javanese Language, Literature, and Culture, Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Universitas Gadjah Mada (FIB UGM), held a special event on Wednesday, April 30, 2025, featuring Drs. Suhartoyo, a passionate advocate and observer of Javanese literature and culture. Drs. Suhartoyo, himself an alumnus of the program, actively manages Majalah Belik, a Javanese-language magazine, and is involved in the Javanese Literature and Culture Association (Paguyuban Sastra dan Budaya Jawa, Pasbuja) Kawi Merapi.

On this occasion, Drs. Suhartoyo encouraged students to boldly explore ideas and create literary works. He shared several practical writing tips, including writing down ideas immediately without waiting for perfection, reading more literary works or similar writings as references, daring to experiment, and, importantly, refraining from being overly critical of one’s own work. “Please, write anything you wish. Do not worry about whether the work is good or bad, because it can always be revised later. Most importantly, do not become the harshest critic of your own creations,” he advised.

As part of the Creative Javanese Writing course, students were given time to produce written works, whether in Indonesian or Javanese. Moreover, they were provided the opportunity to present their creations publicly. The students’ enthusiasm was evident, as shown by the large number of participants eager to read their works aloud.

As a gesture of appreciation, Drs. Suhartoyo presented the Study Program of Javanese Language, Literature, and Culture with souvenirs in the form of the latest edition of Majalah Belik and an anthology of short stories (cerkak). The event concluded warmly with a group photo session, capturing a moment hoped to ignite continued enthusiasm for literary creation.

Through this activity, it is expected that students and the younger generation will be increasingly motivated to dare to create, particularly in the realms of local language, literature, and culture. The works they produce are not merely forms of self-expression but also play a crucial role in preserving (nguri-uri), enlivening (ngurip-urip), and developing the nation’s cultural heritage. It is time for the next generation to understand that the courage to create is a tangible expression of national responsibility. By continuing to create, we collectively strengthen the nation’s identity and contribute positively to society. So, let us Dare to Create!

[Public Relation of Javanese Language, Literature, and Culture, Haryo Untoro]