Poerbatjaraka

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Prof. Dr.
Gajah Mada University
  • University of Indonesia
  • Udayana University

    • Poerbatjaraka (alternative spelling: Purbacaraka, 1 January 1884 – 25 July 1964) was a

    philologist and professor, specialising in Javanese literature. The eldest son of a Surakarta royal courtier in the Dutch East Indies, he showed interest in Javanese literature at an early age, reading from books in the court's collection. Despite attending only primary school, his knowledge of Dutch and Javanese literature allowed him to take a position at the colony's Archaeology Service, and then at Leiden University in the Netherlands. He was allowed to obtain a doctor's degree at Leiden. He then returned to the colony to work at a Batavia (today Jakarta) museum, cataloguing Javanese texts and writing scholarly works. After Indonesia's independence, he became a professor at the universities of Indonesia, Gajah Mada, and Udayana
    .

    Names and titles

    It was common for a Javanese gentleman of Poerbatjaraka's time to change names and be given new titles throughout his life.

    Raden Mas Lesya (also spelled Lesja and Lesyo, meaning "funny").[2] When he served at the court he became known as Lesya Atmopradonggo.[2] After his first move to Jakarta, he became known as Poerbatjaraka and was later granted the additional title Ngabehi.[1]

    The spelling of his adult name, "Poerbatjaraka", was Dutch and the one he always used.

    latest spelling system), or "Purbatjaraka" (using the Republican Spelling System).[2] The first part of the name, Purba or Poerba, was from Sanskrit purwa ("first"), and his father's name prefix.[1] The second part, tjaraka or caraka was from hanacaraka, the name of the Javanese script, meaning ambassador or envoy.[3]

    Early life and family

    Poerbatjaraka was born as

    master of the robes, a barber, a divination doctor, and a composer.[1]

    Lesya attended the

    Hendrik Kern. It was a gift from a Dutch official to Pakubuwana, who did not read Dutch, and gave it to Purbadipura. Once, when literary-minded courtiers had a discussion about Old Javanese poems, his insight from the book allowed him to solve a problem in explaining difficult passages, contradicting the more senior courtiers. This caused him serious trouble as it was not his place to do this. He began to feel uncomfortable at court and wrote to the Dutch resident (the top colonial official in Surakarta). This correspondence resulted in an appointment in Batavia, the capital of the Dutch East Indies, with the colony's Archeological Service.[4]

    Career

    Dr. G. A. J. Hazeu, for whom Poerbatjaraka worked as an assistant at Leiden University.

    In 1910, Poerbatjaraka moved to Batavia to take the Archaeology Service position.

    Nusantara").[3]

    He then returned to Batavia and worked at the Museum of the Royal Batavian Society of Arts and Sciences (today the National Museum of Indonesia), and catalogued the museum's large collection of Javanese texts, accumulated over nearly a century. While doing this, he wrote monographs on several groups of manuscripts, containing their Dutch summaries and indexes of names.[3] In Batavia, he also met the future historian of Java, H. J. de Graaf, to whom he gave weekly lessons in Javanese culture and language between 1927 and 1930. De Graaf later considered Poerbatjaraka his "revered teacher" and praised him for "unveil[ing] some of the secrets of your people".[6]

    After

    Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies in 1963.[7] In 1964, the Indonesian Journal of Cultural Studies published a volume of twenty-six articles in his honour to mark his 80th birthday.[1] On 25 July of the same year, he died in Jakarta.[8]

    Scholarly style and works

    Gajah Mada University, Yogyakarta
    .

    With limited formal education, Poerbatjaraka was largely an

    autodidact.[9] Early in his career, he was criticized as "amateurish", and lacking a "scholarly accurateness".[9] According to the Javanese literature scholar Th. Pigaud, he made up for this with his extensive knowledge of Javanese literature, of all things Javanese in general, and by his zeal for Javanese studies.[9] As he matured, he gained respect among both Europeans and his fellow Indonesians.[9] His works combined the scientific method—which was uncommon among Indonesian native authors at his time—with his intimate knowledge of his subjects as an insider.[10] He was often critical of the text and manuscript that he worked on, noticing spelling errors, and preferring to compare multiple sources before publishing a manuscript.[11] Pigeaud said that his works and his behaviour often showed a sense of humour characteristic of a punokawan (jesters in Javanese wayangs).[12] During his retirement in Jakarta, he did not stop working.[13] De Graaf said that during this period he was "quietly but indefatigably studying and publishing".[13]

    According to his biography by Indonesia's Education and Cultural Ministry, he published seventy-nine works throughout his life, while Pigeaud put the number at seventy-three.[8] His works focus on the epigraphy of old Javanese literature.[14] They were written mostly in Dutch and, after Indonesia's independence in 1945, he also wrote in Indonesian and Javanese.[15]

    Among his notable works, he published studies on

    Bharatayudha.[16] His study on the Ramayana established that, based on language, metrics, titles of officials and description of a temple, the Old Javanese version of the epic poem originated at the end of the ninth or the beginning of the tenth century. This finding was later confirmed by other studies, including one by Hooykaas.[14] Later in his career, he published Kapustakan Djawi ("Javanese Literature"), which surveyed eighty-four old and modern Javanese literary works.[17] He also published what he intended to be the first volume of Riwajat Indonesia ("The History of Indonesia"), covering the country's history up to the eighth century.[17] No further volume was published until his death.[17][18]

    Personal life

    Poerbatjaraka was born into the royal family of Surakarta. His father, Kanjeng Raden Mas Tumenggung Purbadipura, was close to Sunan Pakubuwana IX and raised his son and heir, Pakubuwana X. The name Poerbatjaraka, meaning "First Ambassador," was given by Pakubuwana X, who allowed him to be sent to Leiden, Netherlands as a representative. On his return, Poerbatjaraka was commanded by Pakubuwana X to marry Bendara Raden Ayu Roosinah Poeger, a daughter of Gusti Pangeran Haryo Poeger of the Yogyakarta royal family, in order to calm the tension between the two courts. A Javanese noble of great standing, he was proud of his Surakarta aristocratic heritage, as he was well remembered for always wearing Surakarta royal court clothing until his death. Throughout his life, Poerbatjaraka never hesitated to share his knowledge and wisdom, as he was always willing to help his many relatives. Members of the Poerbatjaraka family descended from Sunan Pakubuwana X of Keraton Surakarta, Sultan Hamengkubuwana VI of Keraton Yogyakarta and Prince Mangkunegara I of Keraton Mangkunegaran. [12]

    References

    Citations

    1. ^ a b c d e f Pigeaud 1966, p. 405.
    2. ^ a b c d e van der Meij 2006, p. 1.
    3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Pigeaud 1966, p. 407.
    4. ^ a b Pigeaud 1966, p. 406.
    5. ^ a b tirto.id.
    6. ^ Ricklefs 1985, p. 192.
    7. ^ Pigeaud 1966, pp. 407–8.
    8. ^ a b van der Meij 2006, p. 2.
    9. ^ a b c d Pigeaud 1966, p. 409.
    10. ^ van der Meij 2006, pp. 1, 3.
    11. ^ van der Meij 2006, pp. 5–8.
    12. ^ a b Pigeaud 1966, p. 408.
    13. ^ a b Ricklefs 1985, p. 199.
    14. ^ a b Hall 1961, p. 141.
    15. ^ Anderson 2006, p. 213.
    16. ^ Hall 1961, pp. 136, 141.
    17. ^ a b c Hall 1961, p. 155.
    18. ^ Pigeaud 1966, pp. 411–412.

    Bibliography

    • JSTOR 27860637
      .
    • JSTOR 27863672
      .
    • van der Meij, Dick (2006). "Prof. Dr. R.M. Ng. Purbatjaraka Tokoh Jawa Dalam Dunia Ilmu Pengetahuan Kesusastraan Jawa" (in Indonesian). Perpustakaan Nasional Indonesia (The National Library of Indonesia). Archived from the original on 22 August 2017. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
    • "Poerbatjaraka". tirto.id. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
    • ISBN 978-979-3780-40-5
      .
    • Hall, Daniel George Edward (1961). Historians of South East Asia. Oxford University Press.
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