thumb|Copy of stele written in Kawi script

Old Javanese or Kawi is an Austronesian language and the oldest attested phase of the Javanese language. It was natively spoken in the central and eastern part of Java Island, what is now Central Java, Yogyakarta and East Java Provinces, Indonesia.

As a literary language, Kawi was used across Java and on the islands of Madura, Bali, and Lombok.

History

The oldest example written entirely in Ancient Javanese, called the Sukabumi inscription, is dated 25 March 804 CE. This inscription, located in the district of Kepung in the Kediri Regency of East Java, is a copy of the original, dated some 120 years earlier (only this copy has been preserved). Its contents concern the construction of a dam for an irrigation canal near the river Śrī Hariñjing (now shortened to Srinjing). This inscription is the last of its kind to be written using Pallava script; all consequent examples of Old Javanese are written using Kawi script.

Development

Old Javanese was not static, and its usage covered approximately 800 years – from the Kalingga kingdom until the founding of the Majapahit empire in 1292. The Javanese language which was spoken and written in the Majapahit era already underwent some changes and is therefore already closer to the Modern Javanese language.

Austronesian origins

The most important shaping force on Old Javanese was its Austronesian heritage in vocabulary, sentence structure, and grammar that it shared with its sister languages in Southeast Asia.

Sanskrit influence

The Indian linguistic influence in the Old Javanese language was almost exclusively Sanskrit influences (approximately 25–40%). There is no evidence of Indian linguistic elements in Old Javanese other than Sanskrit. This is different from, for example, the influence of Indian linguistics in the (Old) Malay language.

Sanskrit has had a deep and lasting impact on the vocabulary of the Javanese language. The Old Javanese–English Dictionary, written by Professor P.J. Zoetmulder in 1982, contains approximately 25,500 entries, no fewer than 12,500 of which are borrowed from Sanskrit. This large number is not an indication of usage, but it is an indication that the Ancient Javanese knew and employed these Sanskrit words in their literary works. In any given Old Javanese literary work, approximately 25% of the vocabulary is derived from Sanskrit.

Influences

Medieval poems written in Old Javanese using the Kawi script continued to be circulated within the courts of Kartasura, Surakarta, and Yogyakarta. The poems were called layang kawi (Kawi books) or kakawin and were held in high regard. Starting in the 18th century, literature inspired by Old Javanese was written using the modern Javanese language and verse.

Consonants

There are twenty consonants in Old Javanese which are written as b, c, d, ḍ, g, h, j, k, l, m, n, ñ, ŋ, p, r, s, t, ṭ, w, and y in Latin transliteration. The consonant ñ sometimes is written as the digraph ny and IPA ɲ, while the consonant ŋ sometimes is written as the digraph ng. from which is taken the National motto of Indonesia: "Bhinneka Tunggal Ika". Although often glibly translated as "Unity in Diversity", it is more correctly rendered as "[although] scattered, remaining [as] one"—referring to the scattered islands of the archipelago nation, not as an expression of multicultural solidarity as may be perceived in modern times.

A more modern work is the poem "Susila Budhi Dharma", by Muhammad Subuh Sumohadiwidjojo, the founder of Subud. In this work, he provides a framework for understanding the experience of the latihan kejiwaan.

List of famous poems, epics and other literature

Famous poems, epics and other literature include:

  • Shivagrha inscription, 856
  • Kakawin Ramayana ~ 870
  • Kakawin Arjunawiwaha, mpu Kanwa, ~ 1030
  • Kakawin Kresnayana
  • Kakawin Sumanasantaka
  • Kakawin Smaradhana
  • Kakawin Bhomakawya
  • Kakawin Bharatayuddha, mpu Sedah and mpu Panuluh, 1157
  • Kakawin Hariwangsa
  • Kakawin Gatotkacasraya
  • Kakawin Wrettasañcaya
  • Kakawin Wrettayana
  • Kakawin Brahmandapurana
  • Kakawin Kunjarakarna, mpu "Dusun"
  • Kakawin Nagarakertagama, mpu Prapanca, 1365
  • Kakawin Arjunawijaya, mpu Tantular
  • Kakawin Sutasoma, mpu Tantular
  • Kakawin Siwaratrikalpa, Kakawin Lubdhaka
  • Kakawin Parthayajna
  • Kakawin Nitisastra
  • Kakawin Nirarthaprakreta
  • Kakawin Dharmasunya
  • Kakawin Harisraya
  • Kakawin Banawa Sekar Tanakung
  • Pararaton (16th century), a chronicle of the kingdoms of Sighasari and Majapahit
  • Tantri Kamandaka, a collection of fables based on the Panchatantra

Prominent authors

The following are notable authors of literary works in Kawi.

  • Mpu Kanwa (11th century)
  • Mpu Sedah (12th century)
  • Mpu Panuluh (12th century)
  • Mpu Dharmaja (12th century)
  • Mpu Monaguna (12th century)
  • Mpu Triguna (12th century)
  • Mpu Tantular (14th century)
  • Mpu Prapanca (14th century)
  • Mpu Tanakung (15th century)

Inscription

The earliest written records in an indigenous language found in Java are indeed in (Old) Javanese.

  • Karangtengah inscription (824 CE)
  • Tri Tepusan inscription (842 CE)
  • Shivagrha inscription (856 CE)
  • Mantyasih inscription (907 CE)
  • Turyyan inscription (929)
  • Anjuk Ladang inscription (935/937)
  • Terep inscription (1032)
  • Turun Hyang II inscription (1044)
  • Kambang Putih inscription (1050)
  • Banjaran inscription (1052)
  • Malenga inscription (1052)
  • Garaman inscription (1053)
  • Sumengka inscription (1059)
  • Hantang/Ngantang inscription (1135)
  • Mula Malurung inscription (1255)
  • Kudadu inscription (1294)
  • Tuhañaru/Jayanagara II inscription (1323)
  • Waringin Pitu inscription (1447)

Nevertheless, there are exceptions to this pattern of language distribution in the epigraphical record. There are several inscription using Old Javanese language on the island of Sumatra, by editing three short epigraphs.