DISCUSSION FORUM-08
Hello mas Toni
Here a reaction of mine (and from
Fred Eiseman
B. Junior) about the
hanacaraka.
I don't know much about the Java script,
but I know that it is different from
the
Balinese script. Certainly the characters
that are shown on the page you suggested
are quite different than those Balinese
use.
I don't think it is accurate to say,
as the
author did, that the Balinese use the
same
script as the Javanese do. I also think
that
it is totally inaccurate to accuse
the Dutch
of a sort of conspiracy to eliminate
this
part of Balinese culture. Historically,
it
is well known that the Dutch did exactly
the opposite - tried to encourage Balinese
culture so that it would attract tourists-
and money.
Balinese script, and I suspect Javanese
script
too, have largely disappeared for the
simple
reason that it is about as useful to
young
Balinese people as learning Egyptian
or Mayan
hieroglyphics. Or studying integral
calculus.
Or learning how to speak Urdu. Remember
that
Balinese script is a required course
in all
public schools in Bali. So kids have
a chance
to learn it. The fact that they don't
simply
means that they don't find it to be
relevant
to the year 2000. It doesn't mean that
the
Dutch Colonialists committed some wicked
deed by robbing the locals of part
of their
culture.
with regards
Ed vos, Netherlands
Dear Ed vos
and Mbah Landa,
Well, I don't want to be accused of
being
"beastly to the Dutch" or
anyone
else for that matter. I am really more
like
the 'beauty' than the 'beast' : ).
Perhaps
my shocking lack of diplomacy toward
some
of my correspondents can be explained
thusly.
The Indonesian people continue to suffer
from low self-esteem and perceived
inferiority
when compared to their former colonial
masters.
It isn't simply that this makes Indonesians
unhappy. It's that it causes us to
devalue
ourselves, our culture, and, most importantly,
our future. Yes, I do attribute this
directly
to the colonial legacy. There is no
way I
can sugar-coat this for my sensitive
European's
brothers and sisters. There is no way
to
say it diplomatically. Indonesians
were taught
to see themselves and their culture
as less
valuable than those of their colonial
masters.
It has been accurately pointed out
that the
Indonesian aristocracy had an equal
role
in the demise of the Carakan alphabet
and
many other acts of cultural suicide.
True.
But what enabled or percipitated the
Javanese
aristocracies to adopt Western things
and
Western values? Those of you who really
know
the Javanese mindset know that the
upper
class tries to align itself with Europe
because
it perceives Europe as superior. To
this
day, upper class Indonesian trip all
over
themselves to look Western. They build
European
style houses and serve Nescafe instant
coffee
to guests and they regard European
culture
and language as superior to their own.
This
shame in themselves is tragic and culturally
crippling. And it is the result of
the colonial
legacy. Certainly, Indonesia had no
such
sense of cultural inferiority prior
to being
conquered and subdued by Europeans.
Some of my European corespondents have
suggested
that this is our own fault. The gist
of their
argument seems to be why are we doing
this
to ourselves? To answer that question,
I
would like you to briefly consider
America.
It has been a great education for me
to live
in the United States of America and
learn
about the struggles of African - Americans
to put behind them the destruction
of slavery.
After hundreds of years of slavery,
and a
little more than a hundred years of
legal
freedom from slavery, it is only since
the1960s
that African-Americans have begun to
look
at the cultures of Africa as valuable
and
a source of pride. This is both a lesson
and a reason for Indonesians to be
encouraged.
All over the world, people who have
been
conquered and subdued display substantially
the same symptoms. In India, South
Africa,
Latin America and also among Native
- Americans
in the U.S. the pattern is virtually
identical.
They devalue themselves and their own
culture.
Some of the oppressed collaborate with
their
oppressors. And only after years of
struggle
do they begin again to view themselves
and
their culture with pride.
Why does it bother me so much when
Europeans
say that it is our fault that we have
abandoned
our culture and turned to the West
for an
identity? It is not that I am looking
for
guilt or apologies from the Dutch.
I have
heard both guilt and apologies before
from
Europeans and, really, I couldn't care
less.
I am looking for something far less
costly
yet far more valuable than an apology.
I
am looking for the truth and mutual
respect.
When one blames the victim for the
crime,
one is offering neither truth nor respect.
Enough editorializing. Now for the
facts
of the case.
I read and write the alphabet and both
languages
fluently and I wish to assure you that
the
basic letterforms of ancient Javanese
and
Balinese are the same, almost without
exceptions.
The Balinese letterforms look a bit
Italicized
in terms of font style when compared
to Javanese.
For example:
These are examples of one of the three
letterforms,
which are not the same
The Javanese alphabet is a model of
efficiency.
It is easier to read and write Javanese
and
Balinese in their original alphabet.
For
example, to write just 2 letters in
Javanese
can require as many as 9 letters in
the Latin
alphabet.
For example: 
pronounced "nyangking" (to carry
something by hand).
The idea that we adopted the Latin
alphabet
because it was better or more "relevant"
for Indonesians is incorrect. The decision
was made in the middle of the 19th
century
before our current global economy.
In that
time period, being able to read and
write
one's own language efficiently must
have
seemed to Indonesians highly relevant.
The
change to the Latin alphabet was substantially
for the purpose of helping the Dutch
make
money. In our current global economy
the
Latin alphabet probably does have more
utility.
However, when the decision was made
in the
19th century, that was not the case.
This decision to adopt the cumbersome
Latin
alphabet was a contributing factor
in the
steady decline of the use of Javanese.
We
have now reached the sorry state of
affairs
where most Javanese cannot read and
write
in their own language. It would be
wrong
to suggest that the Dutch are solely
responsible
for this. That would be a grotesque
over
statement. However, it would also be
inaccurate
not to acknowledge colonialism as a
contributing
factor in the decline of this beautiful
and
irreplaceable language.
No, it was not a Dutch conspiracy to
destroy
Javanese culture. It was a carefully
conceived
plan to exploit Java in whatever way
necessary
to make money for the Netherlands.
You said
that "Historically, it is well
known
that the Dutch did exactly the opposite
-
tried to encourage Balinese culture
so that
it would attract tourists- and money."
That is exactly right. Whenever preservation
helped the Dutch make money, they preserved.
And whenever destruction helped the
Dutch
make money, they destroyed. Their principal
purpose was to make money. Again, I
don't
know of any way to say this sweetly
so as
not to offend Europeans. Would it help
if
I acknowledge that a small percentage
of
Europeans did take active steps to
preserve
our culture for no reason other than
that
they understood its value? Would it
also
help if I remind you that I do not
hold any
currently living European responsible
for
any of this? Perhaps I should also
write
some essays on the past and present
mistakes
of Indonesia. Allah knows we have made
more
than our share.
Yours respectfully,
Mastoni
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