S. Robson The Kawi classics in Bali In: Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde 128 (1972), no: 2/3, Leiden, 308-329 This PDF-file was downloaded from http://www.kitlv-journals.nl Downloaded from Brill.com09/26/2021 09:11:45PM via free access THE KAWI CLASSICS IN BALP hese notes are the product of observations made in Bali in the second half of 1971, wkhin the framework of a project for Tthe completion1 of the Old Javanese-English dictionary being compiled by Professor P. J. Zoetmulder SJ. This project was set up on the initiative of the Royal Institute of Linguistics and Anthropology, Leiden, and was subsidized by the Netherlands Foundation for the Advancement of Tropical Research, The Hague. During my stay in Bali I was the guest of the Lembaga Pufbakala dan Peninggalan Nasional (Bali Branch) in Bedaulu, Gianyar. The stay included a ten- day visit to the island of Lombok.1 The notes must be regarded as preliminary, because within the space of six months it was impossible to do more than obtain. an im- pression, one hopes fairly reliable, of an elusive subject. Tthere is undoubtedly much more ithat could be done, and indeed should be done as soon as possible, in view of the rapid rate of cultural change in Bali. The aimi of the notes is to discuss the study and use of Old and Middle Javanese literature. At the same time I must stress that, 'because of the great extent of regional variation in Bali, these observations have to be taken as specific to the Kabupaten of Gianyar, unless stated otherwise.2 The literature that has been called Old Javanese and Middle Java- • I wish here to acknowledge my indebtedness to all those who helped me in Bali. I am particularly grateful for the generous help of the Head and staff of the Bali Office of the Lembaga Purbakala dan Peninggalan Nasional, as well as to the following persons: I Gusti Ngurah Bagus, Ida Bagus Gede, Tjokorda Gede Pemajun, I Gusti Ngurah Ketut Sangka and I Made Gerija. My special thanks go to I Ketut Lagas and the other members of the mabasan group in Pliatan. Finally an inadequate expression of gratitude for the unfailing patience and helpfulness of Drs. Made Sutaba. 1 The population of the central-western part of Lombok, around Cakranëgara and Mataram, is Balinese of Karagasém descent, and numbers around 40,000. 2 In any reports about Bali it is essential to take geographical factors into account. For example, information collected in North Bali cannot be taken as automatically valid for South Bali. Downloaded from Brill.com09/26/2021 09:11:45PM via free access THE KAWI CLASSICS IN BALI 309 nese in the publications of Western scholars is in Bali called Kawi — no distinction appears to be made corresponding to what are termed Old and Middle Javanese literature. Nevertheless the Balinese divide Kawi literature into the genres kakaiwin, kidiw, and parwa. The first two are forms of poetry and the last prose. It seems scarcely necessary to describe further the contents of these categories, as this has already been done elsewhere.3 However, these notes must also involve some reference to Literary Balinese, as a clear-cut distinction is difficult. Besides the above division, poëtica! literature can be divided into three kinds on the basis of the metrical system used. The terms are sëkar agët), sëkar madya and sêkar alit, corresponding to the metrical systems of the kakawin, the tëryihan kidwq and the macapat kidwq respectively, in a manner similar to the Javanese terminology.4 The terms te^ahan and macapat, however, are apparently not general in Bali. These metrical systems will be mentioned again shortly. I have used the word Classics in view of the fact that the works concerned have stood the test of time and are still esteemed today. Having been composed in Java between the 9th and 15th centuries, or more recently in Bali, they have continued to be handed down and have not been lost. In these nötes I intend only to discuss works of literary art, and not works of a technical nature. Even though the Kawi Classics are essentially an inheritance from earlier, more or less obscure, times, and are couched in a language, Javanese, which is quite distinot from colloquial Balinese, they. are nevertheless also prodücts of a Hindu society and tradition, and hence are not foreign to modern Bali. In faot the Classics are not dead survivals from the past, buit are a living part of the present, still playing an active role in society. While cultural change threatens to overtake them, there are at the same time moves afoot to ensure the continued preservation and study of at least a centain proportion of the better known works. The various works of classical literature are contained in lontar (or rontal), palm-leaf manuscripts, of which collections are kept by persons belonging to a variety of social groups.5 In my experience owners are 3 In a forthcoming work by P. J. Zoetmulder entitled Kalangön. 4 Sëkar agëv,, madya and alit are alus terms, but corresponding kasar ones do not appear to be current. 5 A number of these works have been edited and translated, but the majority still await scholars' attention. Downloaded from Brill.com09/26/2021 09:11:45PM via free access 310 S. O. ROBSON reluctant to allow an outsider to view their complete collection, although they may be willing to bring out a particular work for inspection, probably one in good condition, and so it is difficult to estimate the extent of a collection, the type of wórk represented, or the condition of the manuscripts. Furthermore, lists of works contained in a collec- tion are rarely kept, and owners seem to have little interest in making such lists. Manuscript collections are not common these days: we have no way of comparing the situation today with that, say, 50 or 100 years ago, but I have the impression that interest is waning.' Although it is of course impossible to produce statistical evidence, in my opinion the distribution of maniuscript collections can be described as follows. Beginning at the top of the social scale, probably the most literate group in society is that of the Brahmanas. It is this group that supplies the pëdanda (Brahmanic priests), and it is in their homes (griya) that collections of manuscripts are most often to be found. The type of manuscript found obviously to some extent reflects thedr religious preoccupations, and concerns ritual, medicine, magie and so on, although kakawin are not neglected. Secondly, we find colleotions of manuscripts in the homes (purï) of noblemen and princes, who belong tö the second and third ranks of the triwaqsa, the satriya and gusti (or wesya). Their manuscripts again reflect their interests: the works are mainly kakawin, with a few kiduq, parwa or babad, all these being prized for their instructional value. Manuscripts are also occasionally owned by persons outside the triwatqsa {wor$ jaba or sudra), principally by temple priests (pëmaqku or mmyku), medicine-men (balian), or those in positions of authority (e.g. përbëkët). The type of manuscript kept by these is mixed: for example, the priests may keep kidim,, the medicine-meri usada (also called wisada), and others works on fighting-cocks, their marks and the favourable times to fight them (pëtyayam-ayaman). But all in all, the most popular form of Hterature seems to be the kakawin. Most collections consist of only a few works, passed down fröm father to son. On the other hand, thère are reports of collections in Kumënuh and Singaraja numbering mamy hundreds of manuscripts. It would be difficult to make an accurate survey, although this would be extremely valuable for purposes of documentation. Apart from private collections, there are in Bali also those of the Gëdong Kirtya in Singaraja and of Udayana University in Denpasar. In my opinion there are still works in private hands that have not been, and are Downloaded from Brill.com09/26/2021 09:11:45PM via free access THE KAWI CLASSICS IN BALI 311 probably never likely to be, copied and included in public collections.6 The fact of the survival of manuscripts down to the present, through the vicissitudes of the Dutch conquest of Bali, the Japanese period, the Revolution, the abortive coup of 1965 and, lately, the tourist invasion, immediately raises the question of their continued survival into the future. This depends on their continued recopying, which in turn depends on people's interest, because copying a manuscript, including the preparation of the leaf, takes months of hard work. To pay someone else to do the work is clearly beyond the means of most, so that whether the work is done depends entirely on one's own ability, leisure and love of classical literature. And so it is often after retirement that men take up the study of literature and start copying the works that seem most important to them. But such people are few and far between: in the course of six months I met only three whó were actively engaged in copying manu- scripts. Their work was of excellent quality, and obviously motivated by a love of the subject. One, an elderly nobleman of Klungkung, described to me how he went about producing a copy of a work that he wished to have. Having selected the work, he would borrow from others at least two, and preferably three, copies of it, so that in case of doubtful readings he could compare them and choose the best reading, thus eliminating errors.