UNS — Malay Philology Research Group of Indonesian Language and Literature Program Faculty of Cultural Studies (FIB) Universitas Sebelas Maret (UNS) Surakarta held an online international conference on Thursday (21/10/2021). The International Conference on Nusantara Cultural Studies that discussed national culture invited six speakers from six countries who discussed the topic of manuscripts and culture.
These speakers are Prof. Paul Edwin Wieringa from University of Cologne, German; Prof. Awang Azman Awang Pawi from University of Malaya, Malaysia; Ampuan Haji Brahim from Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Brunei; Dr. Djusmalinar from Prince Songkla University, Thailand; Prof. Bani Sudardi from Universitas Sebelas Maret, and Dr. Nguyen Thanh Tuan from Vietnam National University. The conference was also attended by around 100 participants and supporting presenters.
Speaking in the first session, Dr. Nguyen Thanh Tuan discussed studies on the culture of Raglai tribe in Vietnam. “Raglai is one of 54 tribes in Vietnam in Malayo-Polynesia family in Southeast Asia. They migrated to nusantara, especially East Borneo,” Dr. Nguyen explained. He also explained that according to Raglai law, daughter would inherit their parents’ or grandparents’ fortune, especially the youngest child. Sons have no right to inherit the fortune as they are considered an outsider in the family.
The second speaker, Prof. Paul Edwin Wieringa, shared that old manuscripts contain rich interpretations to be re-discovered. He also explained that in Germany, it is relatively easy to acquire such manuscripts because people are generally unaware of such manuscripts. “Manuscripts can be acquired through auction or purchase; it was around 40 Euros for one manuscript,” Prof. Paul Edwin explained.
The last speaker in the first session, Prof. Bani Sudardi, discussed the acculturation of Javanese and Chinese cultures in the Gunung Kawi tomb complex, Malang District. The Professor in Cultural Studies UNS explained that the belief and rites performed in the tomb is a combination of animism and Islamic belief that has a strong root in Javanese community culture. He added that both Muslims and Chinese pilgrims to the site believe the prophecy and grace from the site.
The last three speakers, Prof. Awang Azman Awang Pawi, Dr. Jusmalinar, and Ampuan Haji Brahim, discussed the importance of cultural studies in daily life, the retelling of classical stories through hypogram as preservation of literary works, and the architecture and values of Malay Islam reign respectively.
“The values of Malay Islam reigns are among others, virtuous, wise, polite, customary, always grateful, simple, responsible, humble, and generous. Then respect and obey the law, respect teachers, hate and fear doing evil and immorality, be fair, don’t lose yourself, dare to uphold the truth, obey the king, and respect brotherly relations among human beings,” Ampuan Haji Brahim from Universiti Brunei Darussalam explained. Humas UNS
Reporter: Bayu Aji Prasetya
Editor: Dwi Hastuti