Brilio.net/en - Indonesia's34 provinces are home to over 1,300 tribes, as recorded by the 2010 national census. All of these tribes have passed on their oral and traditions, both oral and written.
But as oral traditions become established myths, the adoption of Latin script for the unifying Indonesian language threatens the long-term survival of ancient indigenous writing forms. Some, like Javanese, are commonplace (just take a look at any street sign in Yogyakarta), but it is far from the only one.
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The script letters (aksara) differin each region of the archipelago and while every ethnicity has its own language and writingonly a few are maintained in compulsory school curricula.
Indonesian scripts are usually written from left to right without space (scriptio continua), and are generally Abugida, inwhich consonantvowel sequences are written as a unit. They come from the family of languages that started in asia and spread to Southeast Asia, where they formed their own identities.
Here are just 10 ancient scripts:
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1. Pallava
Pallava is the most commonly used script found inoldIndonesian inscriptions. Examples include theMulawarman Inscription in Kutai, East Kalimantan, and the Tarumanegara Inscription in West Java. Pallava, or Pallawa, came from the Pallava Dynasty that reigned in southern India between the fourth and ninth century. Pallava can used for several different languages like Tamil, Sanskrit, Saurashtra and OldJavanese.
2. Kavi
Kavi, or Kawi, is interpreted asancient Javanese, but its actual meaning is the poet. It is generally categorized into three phases: Early Kawi, Late Kawi and Majapahit (referring to the old Javan empire) that was in usefrom the eighth to the 15th century. Kawi became the root of many letters known in Indonesian and is used to write both Sanskrit and OldJavanese.
3. Sunda
Sundanese people in West Java had been using the standard Sunda script, developed from the ancient version, since the 17thcentury. The scriptis famously found carved on papyrus frombetween the 14thand18thcentury.
4. Java
Thanks to the emphasis on tradition in Central and East Java, the Java script is still going strong all the way back to its origins inthe 13thcentury. Because of the arrangement of the first first five letters, people also call this script as Hanacaraka,Carakan orAnacaraka. There is still one media outlet that publishes initthemagazine Djaka Lodang.
5. Bali
Bali script is similar to Java scriptand has been in use since the 10th century. It has 47 letters formed through combinations of18 consonants and seven vowels. Letters are divided into five groups based on pronunciation, calledwarga aksara. The division is based on Panini Sanskrit writing conventions.
6. Sasak
This is the old language of the Sasak people in Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara. There are four types: Jejawan (derived from Java script and called Baluq Olas), Swalalita (which forms the Aksara Murdha), Rekan (used to symbolize Arabic sounds) and Carakan. Sasak script was used for both Sasak and Kawi languages and is found on papyrus manuscripts.
7. Lontara
Lontara script originated with the Bugis ethnic group centered on Makassar, South Sulawesi. The characters are believed to emulate thenatural elements: fire, water, wind and earth. Lontara script was written on papyrus (calledlontar) using a stick. As the Bugis were great seafarers it was largely used for documenting maps, trading laws, contract letters and journals.
8. Batak
Batak is an ethnic groupin North Sumatra, whosescript is called Surat Batak, literally "Batak letter". Batak sub-tribeshave their owntheir own styles: Angkola-Mandailing, Karo, Pakpak-Dairi, Simalungu and Toba. Surat Batak is similar to other Sumatranscripts likeSurat Ulu in Bengkulu and South Sumatra, Surat Incung in Kerinci and Had Lampung. Surat Batak is still used by Batak people, especially by the datu (tribal elder).
9. Lampung
Lampung is locatedon the southern tip ofSumatra. Itsscript is called Had Lampung, andwas influenced by Pallava and Arab scripts. It is famous for love lettes but was also used to write official documents, laws and manuals onmantras, magic spells, offerings, leadership, life andmedicine. It was also used forromantic andmysticalIslamic poetry. Lampung script has been found on everything from bamboo strips to buffalo horns.
10. Kaganga
Kaganga script is used in several states in the southern part of Sumatra; some of which are Rejang, Lampung, and Rencong. The name derivesfrom its three first letters, just like the Javanese/Balinese/Sundanese hanacaraka; but the original term used to call this script is Surat Ulu. It was developed from Pallava and Kavi script duringthe time of the Srivijaya Kingdom, a hugely influential city-statebased at modern-dayPalembang in South Sumatra that existed from the seventh to the 14th century.