MESSAGE

The Director General of Culture

Ministry of Education and Culture of the Republic of Indonesia

Assalamualaikum Wr.Wb.

Greeting and Prosperity to all of us.

First of all, I would like to extend our deeply-felt gratitude to God Almighty and
congratulations on the publication of the book Catalogue of Indonesian Manuscripts
Collection Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin.
Indonesia as the largest island-nation in the world is blessed with many rich cultures
and languages. This is a heritage bestowed by the diversity of ethnic groups living all
across the nation. This diversity consists of numerous ethnic groups each with it's own
identity and characteristic, which are reflected in its language. Indonesia is a culturally
rich nation.
Language as the main tool of communication is part not only of an oral tradition, but
also a written one that is expressed through the use of various scripts in manuscripts.
Even so, every manuscript is unique, there is no manuscript that is identical with one
another because each is the witness of a cultural world.
As cultural heritage of the archipelago, Indonesia manuscripts are created, produced,
and found in almost every region in Indonesia, from Aceh to Papua. Every region has
diverse types of manuscripts; some of them are in form of codex (books), palmleaf
bamboo, rattan, tree bark, and scroll (rotulus). The form of writing is also diverse, some
of it is in prose, macapat, sinrilik, poem, couplets, and many other ways of writing with
differing language depending on the writer.
In the present days, Indonesia manuscripts are spread in many places home and abroad;
in possession of libraries, museums, or private collections. Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin is
one of the places where Indonesian manuscripts are kept abroad, especially in
Germany. In this library, Indonesian manuscripts that are kept are from Aceh, Bali,
Batak, Bima, Bugis, Java, Kalimantan, Lampung, Lombok, Makasar, West Sumatra,
and West Java in languages of Bali, Batak, Bima, Buginese, Banyuwangi, Jawa, Jawa
Kuna, Lampung, Makasarese, Melayu, Minangkabau, Sasak, Sunda, and Temate which
are written in Javanese, Buda, Bali, Jawi, Pegon, Lontara, Arabic, Kaganga, Cacarakan,
Surat Batak, and Romanized scripts.
The printing of the Catalogue of Indonesian Manuscripts - Collection Staatsbibliothek
zu Berlin are hopefully not only information tools about Indonesian manuscripts that
are kept abroad, but also - what is more important - become a bridge of knowledge.
 Jakarta, December 2016

Director General of Culture

Ministry of Education and Culture of the Republic of Indonesia

H.E. HILMAR FARID