Bali Language Month 2022: Hundreds of Palm-Leaf Manuscripts Preserved

TheIndonesia.co - Bali continues to preserve hundreds of palm-leaf manuscripts owned by communities and individuals in an effort to protect cultural heritage.

During Bali Language Month 2022 on February 1-28 in Geria Dauh Buruan, Denpasar, the preservation of palm-leaf manuscripts becomes one of the highlights. It also includes 70 palm-leaf manuscripts owned by the geria (house) which were put together to tell a story. The kekawin, usadha, and arjuna wiwaha manuscripts were cleaned with special solution, such as alcohol, lemongrass oil, and candlenut oil.

“The palm-leaf manuscripts are quite well-treated, especially kekawin ones, because they are still often used at the geria in yadnya ceremonies and others,” coordinator of Denpasar’s Balinese language instructor Wayan Yogik Aditya Urdhahana said on Sunday, February 6, as reported by Antara.

A team of 15 instructors were tasked with cleaning the manuscripts from dust and applying a mix of alcohol and lemongrass oil on the leaves, as well as candlenut oil to darken the letters.

During preservation effort from 2016 to 2022, the team managed to record 791 manuscripts which were put together based on stories they tell, and they are located across the city of Denpasar, including Sanur, South Denpasar, East Denpasar, and North Denpasar.

Urdhahana said these manuscripts are owned by individuals and groups or communities like dadya, geria, and balian who are eager to get their manuscripts preserved. However, the limited solution is an obstacle faced by the instructor team because it’s quite expensive and isn’t affordable for some people.

One of the many manuscript owners, who is also one of the penglingsir or elder figures in Geria Dauh Buruan, Ida Bagus Putu Dirga said treatment for palm-leaf manuscripts is extremely important, especially since they are barely used these days, let alone be treated.

“These manuscripts must be preserved [because] they are important sources of knowledge for the next generation,” Dirga said.

The collections, which were passed down from his great-grandfather, are still neatly stored to this day. Dirga said some of the manuscripts were lost after being borrowed, and he has heard that some of them are being sold – an appalling act that authorities should look into.

Despite this, Dirga said the younger generation at the geria has started reading the manuscript collections, and regeneration seems to be going well on the protection and preservation of palm-leaf manuscripts.