Dissertation
Learning from the Scribes: A Study of the Old Javanese Uttarakāṇḍa from the Merapi-Merbabu Tradition
On the 7th of July, Yosephin Apriastuti Rahayu successfully defended a doctoral thesis. Leiden University Centre for Linguistics congratulates Yosephin on this achievement!
- Author
- Yosephin Apriastuti Rahayu
- Date
- 07 July 2026
- Links
- Leiden University Repository
The Old Javanese Uttarakāṇḍa is a literary prose work from the 10th century, composed during the reign of Dharmawangśa. At least two traditions of Old Javanese Uttarakāṇḍa texts have been identified: the Balinese tradition and the Javanese tradition, more precisely the one found in the Mount Merapi and Mount Merbabu area of Central Java. Three editions of the Old Javanese Uttarakāṇḍa have been published, yet none have incorporated manuscripts from the Javanese tradition, even though it may be assumed that each tradition possesses its distinct characteristics. This dissertation seeks to investigate the transmission of the Old Javanese Uttarakāṇḍa in Java and the quality of the work produced by the Javanese scribes, allowing us to understand the contributions that can be expected from the Old Javanese Uttarakāṇḍa text within the Javanese tradition. The scribes are the main focus of this dissertation. From the scribes, we learn about the relationships among manuscripts, the development of the script, the spelling conventions, and, most importantly, the nature and character of the scribes themselves.