CANDRASANGKALA: THE BALINESE ART OF DATING EVENTS. HANS HÄGERDAL
[email protected] Department of Humanities University of Växjö Sweden 2006 1 Introduction 2 Babad Gumi 13 Babad Bhumi 42 Korn 1 74 Korn 2 93 Korn 3 100 Korn 4 105 Korn 5 113 Babad Tusan 132 Tattwa Batur Kalawasan 140 Pangrincik Babad 147 Sara Samuscaya Pakenca 156 Anjang Nirartha 164 Pasasangkalan 167 Pawawatekan 182 Postscript: Pasangkalan 198 Genealogies 201 Unpublished sources 204 Literature 206 2 INTRODUCTION Elements of Balinese historiography. History has deep roots on Bali, however one defines the word. To be more exact, Bali has a wider scope of historiographical continuity than anywhere else in Southeast Asia except for Vietnam and perhaps Burma. Pending some previous scholarly statements regarding the Balinese perception of time and the historical past, that are found in the anthropological literature about the island, such a statement may seem rather rash. However, it remains an astonishing fact. On Balinese soil historical texts were preserved and cherished; they informed ever new generations about ancient kingdoms far back in time, to the Javanese dynasties of Airlangga and Ken Angrok up to a thousand years ago. Certainly, these dynasties were mainly non-Balinese, but this is irrelevant for the self- perception of the Balinese elite groups, who found inspiration and raison d’être from tales of ancient Javanese realms. As against this, the genuinely historical memory barely goes back before the 13th century in Thailand, the 14th century in Laos and Cambodia, and the 15th century in the Malay world. Historical traditions from Java, Aceh, South Sulawesi and Maluku cease to be merely legends and start to take on a somewhat more plausible shape in about the 15th or 16th century.