Using Primary sources

The Laguna Copperplate Inscription

Transcription and Translation
 The Laguna Copperplate Inscription
The Laguna Copperplate Inscription was found in
1989 near the mouth of the Lumbang River near
Laguna de Bay , by a man who was dredging sand to
turn into concrete.
Suspecting that the artifact might have some
value, the man sold it to an antique dealer who, having
found no buyers, eventually sold it to the National
Museum of the Philippines, where it was assigned
to Alfredo E. Evangelista, head of
its anthropology department
Antoon Postma
(28 March 1929 – 22 October 2016)
Dutch anthropologist who married into and lived
among the Hanunuo, a Mangyan sub-tribe in
southeastern Mindoro, Philippines.
He is best known for being the first to decipher
the Laguna Copperplate Inscription, and for
documenting the Hanunó'o script, paving the
way for its preservation.
 Background of the LCI
The LCI bears the Saka date of 822 or 900AD
Proof that the LCI did not originate from Java:
1. Copperplate inscriptions from the same era
in Java bear the name of the King (at that
time was King Balitung) and are charters or
Royal Decrees
2. CI from Java were written in OJ language
 Some notes about the LCI
1. The script used was the aksara Kawi or Kawi
script – originated in Java and widely used
across Southeast Asia from 8AD- 1500AD
2. The language used was Old Malay, Old
Tagalog, and some Old Java words
3. The LCI bore the date saka warsatita 822
waisakha – the Saka was a dating system
(calendar)