The History of Java, v. 1-2

CHAPTER VIII.

The extensive prevalence of the Javan language, and its connexion with the languages of continental India, were not overlooked by those intelligent Europeans who visited these islands at an early period; for we find Valentyn[122] quoting the authority of Flaccourt, who published in 1661, and the Portuguese Jan de Barros, for conclusions with regard to the extent of Javan commerce in remote ages, drawn from the resemblance then traced between the languages of Java and those of Madagascar and Ambon (Amboina.) "The Javans," observes this author, "must doubtless have visited Coromandel and Malabar, for the high or court language is, in three parts out of four, derived from the Sanscrit or Brahminical language. Many Malabar words also enter into the composition, and it is besides composed in a great measure from the Dekan, which is the ancient language of India, in the same manner as the Sanscrit is the sacred language."

The alphabet has been exhibited, though imperfectly, by Valentyn, Le Brun, and Reland, and an Alphabetum Bantemense is said to have been found amongst the posthumous papers of the learned Hyde; but the language does not appear to have been regularly cultivated by Europeans until within the last very few years. Some of the outlines of the Javan mythological stories had previously appeared in a Dutch dress, in the transactions of the Batavian Society; and these, with the translation of the Lord's Prayer in the high and low languages, published by Valentyn, some short vocabularies, and a short comparative view of the Javan and Malayan languages, which appeared in a Dutch work entitled "Begin en vortgang den Oost Ind Compen," or the Rise and Progress of the East-India Company, are the only contributions to our knowledge of Javan literature with which I am acquainted.

The native population of Java, Madúra, and Báli, islands most intimately connected with each other in every respect, use exactly the same written character, and it appears that one generic language prevails throughout these islands. Of this generic language, however, there are four dialects, differing so materially from each other as to be generally considered separate languages. It is, however, rather by admixture of other languages than by mere difference of dialect that they are distinguished. These dialects or languages are the Súnda, spoken by the inhabitants of the mountainous districts of Java west of Tégal; the Jáwa or Javan, which is the general language of Java east of Chéribon, and throughout the districts lying on the northern coast of the island; the Madúra and the Báli, being the dialects or languages belonging to those islands respectively.

How far these dialects or languages radically assimilate with each other, and justify the opinion that one generic language prevails throughout, may be determined by an inspection of the annexed vocabulary[123]. The Lampung is added on account of the vicinity of that part of Sumatra to Java, and the intimate political connection which at all times subsisted between the people; and in order to enable the reader to compare them all with the prevailing language of the Archipelago the Maláyu is prefixed. Under the Javan is included the Bása kráma, or polite language, which will be more particularly noticed hereafter.

In this vocabulary such words only have been introduced as are used in conversation, and in ordinary epistolary composition; but the inhabitants of these islands possess further a classic language, altogether distinct from the ordinary languages of the country, and which is to them what the Sanscrit is to the Pracrit language of Hindustan, and what the Pali is to the Birman and Siamese. This language is termed Káwi[124]. The annexed vocabulary, No. 2[125], which affords a comparison between the Sanscrit, the Pali, and the Káwi, will shew how nearly these languages are allied.

These two vocabularies may serve to convey a notion of the extent, peculiarities, and antiquity of the Javan language, which will be found as intimately connected with the Maláyu, or general language of the Archipelago, on the one hand, as it is with the Sanscrit and Pali on the other.

The Súnda language, though now confined to the mountainous districts, seems to have been formerly, and probably down to the period immediately preceding the revolution occasioned by the Mahomedan conversion, the general language of the western districts, and is perhaps the most ancient vernacular language of the country. It is a simple uncultivated dialect, adapted however to all the purposes of the simple and uneducated mountaineers who speak it, and has perhaps escaped the influence of foreign innovation, from the peculiar nature of the country and the independent character of that race. It possesses a considerable portion of Maláyu words, and some of Sanscrit origin; the latter being, generally speaking, proper names or terms of art and science or polity, have probably been borrowed from the eastern or proper Javans, in common with whom the Súnda people have adopted a B'hasa dálam, or Bása kráma, which, however, is by no means extensive. The Súnda, with reference to the Javan, may be viewed in much the same light as the Welch is to the English. The proportion of the people who now speak it does not exceed one-tenth of the population of the whole island; the remaining nine-tenths speak Javan.

The language of Madúra, which is again divided into the dialects of Madúra proper and Sumenáp, will be found to contain many words in common with that of Súnda, but a much more extensive portion of Maláyu, varied in the termination by a peculiarity of dialect.

The languages of Báli are intimately connected with those of Java and Madúra. In the historical part of this work it will be shewn that it was in Báli the ancient religion, and with it the literature of Java, took refuge in the fifteenth century of our æra; and although, from the difference which is at this day found to exist between the vernacular languages of the two countries, as well as in their institutions, it is evident that the language, literature, and institutions of Java were there engrafted on a more rude and savage stock, still it is chiefly to Báli that we must look for illustrations of the ancient state of the Javans. The relation of the political revolutions by which these islands have been convulsed at different periods of their history, will, in a great measure, account for the distinctions of language which at present exist; while, at the same time, these distinctions and peculiarities must serve to confirm many of the facts, for which we should otherwise have only the authority of tradition to rely.

At Bantam the language is much mixed with Maláyu and Súnda. The language in ordinary use at Batavia and its immediate vicinity is a jargon of Dutch, Portuguese, Chinese, Javan, and Maláyu, the latter forming the principal component. In Bógor and Chai-ánjur, the Súnda is pronounced in a more drawling manner than in Chéribon, where it is probably most correctly spoken, as in the word náh, what? which at Chéribon is pronounced short and sharp, naù. At Tégal the Javan words are in like manner lengthened in pronunciation, while at Semárang they are spoken short and full. At the courts of Sura-kérta and Yugya-kérta, the words are pronounced short, strong, and full. In the provinces east of Surabáya, the language partakes much of the Madurese, and in the extreme district of Banyuwángí, the Báli is discernible.

The alphabet of Java is peculiar: it consists of twenty consonants (y and w are of the number), termed aksára or letters. In common with all other characters properly Indian, these letters may be considered as syllables, composed of a consonant and an inherent vowel sound, which is invariably expressed, unless contradicted by a particular sign.

Besides the aksára, there are twenty auxiliary characters, termed pasáng'an, which in this application means corresponding or similar. They have the same power as the aksára against which they stand, except that they are only used in connexion with and immediately after the aksára, for the purpose of suppressing their inherent vowel sound. Three of them are always placed after the aksára, the others below them.

When the inherent vowel sound in the aksára is not contradicted, the aksára is termed lagána. The vowel sound in this case is that of a in "water," or of o in "homo;" the o being at present invariably used at the native courts and their vicinity for the inherent vowel of the consonant, instead of a. The latter, however, is still preserved on Madúra, Báli, and in the districts of Java, west of Tégal, and was doubtless the original inherent vowel. The consonant sounds correspond with the sounds usually attributed to the English consonants, with the exception of a second d and t, which correspond with similar sounds in the Devanágari alphabet; ch, which is used as ch in "church;" nia, and ng', which latter is frequently used as an initial letter.

Besides these there are five vowel signs, which supplant the inherent vowel. These signs are termed sandáng'an, the clothing or dress. The répa consist of certain contractions of consonants and other signs used in composition. These, with a pángkun, or sign of elision, corresponding with the báris máti of the Malayu, which has no sound of its own, but being placed at the end of a word or sentence denotes its termination in a pure consonant, and some few other marks corresponding with the Devanágari, complete the orthographical arrangement, which though complex and intricate, is remarkable for its precision.

Some of the letters occasionally occur under a capital, or rather peculiar form, for they are of the same size; but these are seldom used, and when they are, it is not as capitals are employed in European languages. They are principally found in proper names, and titles of office, and are placed alike in the beginning, middle, or end of a word.

The annexed table is intended to exhibit the powers and application of the different letters and orthographical signs. No. 1. exhibits the characters now in general use. No. 2. contains the square characters in which the Káwi is usually written, and in which the different inscriptions in that language, cut in stone and copper, are found. No. 3. contains specimens of the varieties which the alphabetical characters have at different times assumed, arranged, according to the judgment of the native writers, in the order of their relative antiquity.

AKSÁRA JÁWA, or LETTERS of the JAVAN ALPHABET.

The Javans write from left to right. Every consonant (aksára) is written separately, not being joined to that which precedes it, and no space is left between the words. One or two short diagonal lines are used at the close of every poetical stanza, and sometimes a comma, and this is the only mark in the language which simply indicates a stop.

In Java the natives usually write with Indian ink upon paper manufactured by themselves, as already described, and sometimes on European and Chinese paper; but in Báli the natives invariably use an iron style, and cut the letters on a prepared palm leaf, in the same manner as in Western India. This practice is still partially continued in some of the more eastern parts of Java, and was no doubt, at a former period of their history, general throughout the island. The leaf is called lóntar (from ron a leaf, and tal the palm tree, the first and last letters being transposed), and the leaves or manuscripts are strung together to form books in the same manner as on continental India. Of these I have several specimens, containing nearly all the interesting compositions of the country.

As in the Maláyu, by far the greater proportion of primitive Javan words are dissyllables, pronounced with a slight stress or accent on the former of the two. There are a great number of derivative words, formed after the same manner as those in the Maláyu, by prefixing or annexing certain inseparable and otherwise non-significant particles. Compound words, formed by the junction of two or more significant terms, are frequently met with, though they by no means form an extensive portion of the language.

Many words, in their primitive sense, are not confined to one particular part of speech, but are common to two or more. Nouns, as in the Maláyu, cannot be said to possess the distinctions of either gender, number, or case. The males and females of all animals are, with few exceptions, as in the instances Pútra​—Pútri, Déwa​—Déwi, Bramána​—Bramáni, and some few others, denoted by adding to the general terms words applicable to the different sexes. Number is not denoted by any variety of termination or change in the form of the noun, but by separate words, expressive of plurality or singularity; a duplication of the singular sometimes occurs, though rarely, to denote plurality. Where the terms bíji, ékor, buáh, képing, &c. are used in the Maláyu to specify a particular number, the term wíji is used indiscriminately in the Javan, whatever may be the thing spoken of. The nouns have no cases.

The adjectives are indeclinable, and generally follow the noun; and these are sometimes formed from nouns by prefixing a particle. The comparative degree is sometimes formed by prefixing a word meaning higher or larger, but more frequently by placing adverbs, significant of "with," before that with which the comparison is made, as if we should say "by the side of." The superlative degree is formed by annexing adverbs signifying "very, exceedingly, entirely, alone."

The cardinal numbers are placed sometimes before and sometimes after the nouns to which they are attached. When prefixed, they undergo, for the sake of the sound, a variety in their termination, or drop the first syllable. The ordinals are formed by prefixing a distinguishing word to the cardinals. Ten characters, which are all either alphabetical letters or signs slightly altered in form, serve to express all numbers, the notation being decimal, and the numerals being combined in the same manner as the Indian and Arabian.

The pronouns of the first and second person are always significant, and vary with the relative rank of the parties. There is no proper pronoun of the third person, but a word signifying "alone, self," with the addition of the possessive particle, is used as a personal pronoun of the third person. The personal pronouns may all be used as possessive pronouns, by being placed as such after the noun to which they belong. The relative and demonstrative pronouns correspond very nearly with those of the Maláyu.

With regard to the verb, it may be noticed that many of the observations in Mr. Marsden's grammar, on the nature and formation of the different parts of the Maláyu verb, are applicable to the Javan. It belongs rather to the detail of the grammar to point out these; but it may be remarked, that the use of these inflexions in the Javan appears to be so varied and undefined, that it is impossible, without a much more extensive knowledge of the language than Europeans at present possess, to make out a perfect conjugation, or to lay down any fixed rules for them. All that could perhaps be done, in the present state of the language and of our knowledge of it, would be to give a number and variety of correct idiomatical expressions in the Javan, by which their nature and irregularity may be shewn; and our present limits do not admit of this.

The Javan language has never been reduced within the grammatical rules adopted by Europeans, nor have the Javans themselves any notion of grammar. The construction is generally simple and regular; but owing to prosodial refinements (every writing of importance being written in verse), syllables and words necessary to express a perfect sense are often omitted; at other times, unnecessary syllables or words are added, and letters at the beginning, middle, and end of a word are transposed. Hence, and also from the usual ellipsis of the verb transitive and personal pronouns, the meaning of many passages appears obscure.

The language is remarkable for the profusion of words which it contains, for the minute distinctions and shades of meaning, and the consequent extent of synonymes, and for difference of dialect.

Of the profusion of words it may be observed, that the Javan, in this respect, may be put in competition with many of the more cultivated languages of Europe and Asia, and that a dictionary would perhaps be far from complete, if it comprehended less than twenty thousand.

Of the extent of synonymes, and the minute shades of distinction which are found in this language, some notion may be formed from the extracts from the Dása Náma which are annexed[126]. In order to facilitate the acquirement of the language, it is usual to collect all the words in the different dialects, with their synonymes, and to connect them together by stringing them in classes following each other, according to the natural chain of our ideas. Thus, after commencing with the word man, and giving an explanation of every word in the vernacular, polite and Káwi languages, applicable from his birth to his death, as infant, boy, youth, and the like, it proceeds to woman, child; from thence to the deities, afterwards to the various avocations of mankind, &c. This collection of synonymes is called Dása Náma, literally the "ten names," a term probably given to it on account of few important words in the language having less than ten synonymes. Children are no sooner taught to know the letters of the alphabet (which they first describe on the sand), and to connect them in syllables and words, than they are instructed in the Dása Náma, without a partial knowledge of which, no youth is considered competent to enter upon any public office, or can advance to a knowledge of the written compositions of the country. These collections are varied in their contents and order of arrangement, according to the acquirements and notions of the compiler. As books of reference they may be considered to supply the place of dictionaries, and if less convenient for this purpose than works alphabetically arranged, they have certainty an advantage over them, in the comparative facility with which their contents are impressed on the memory.

But there is no feature in the language more deserving of notice than the difference of dialect, or the distinction between the common language, and what may be termed the polite language or language of honour. The latter contains many words of Sanscrit origin, and a portion of Maláyu; and in those instances in which it appears to have been borrowed from the vernacular language, which may perhaps be loosely estimated at a fourth of the whole, a slight alteration is commonly made in the orthography and pronunciation, to mark the distinction. To render this distinction intelligible to those who are not locally informed, it may be necessary to explain, that from whatever cause the distinction may have originated, so clearly is the line drawn on Java, between the higher and the lower classes of society, that on no account is any one, of whatever rank, allowed to address his superior in the common or vernacular language of the country. This language is exclusively applied when addressing an inferior, or among the lower orders or uneducated, where distinction of rank may not be acknowledged. Persons of high and equal rank, when discoursing among themselves, sometimes use the polite language, but in general they adopt a medium, by introducing words belonging to both branches of the language; and this is generally adopted by them in epistolary correspondence.

It is probable, that in the earlier stages of society, the terms of respect used towards a superior were comparatively few: that this second dialect, which now forms so extensive a branch of the general language, has been gradually formed with the growth of arbitrary power; and that, at one period, the extent of these terms did not exceed what is to be at this day found in the less cultivated dialects, and among the more independent races of Madúra and Súnda. Such, however, is their present extent in the Javan, that nearly one half of the words in the vernacular language, have their corresponding term in the Bása Kráma or polite language, without a knowledge of which no one dare address a superior; and although the general construction of the language, and its grammatical principles are not altered, so effectually is the language of inferiority contrasted with that of superiority, that it is possible to suppose a case in which a person might be well acquainted with one dialect, without being able to understand one sentence of the other.

It is not, however, to be inferred, that the one is studied and attained exclusively of the other, for while the one is the language of address, the other must be that of reply, and the knowledge of both is indispensable to those who have to communicate with persons of a different rank with themselves. Children are accustomed from their infancy to employ the polite language in addressing their parents and relations, and this added to the mode of instruction by the Dása Náma above described, early impresses upon their memory the corresponding terms to be used according to the occasion. The Bása Kráma, as has been before noticed, consists of a more extensive class of foreign words, and where different words from the common language have not been introduced, a variation in the orthography and termination is adopted; and the more effectually to render it distinct, not only are the affirmatives and negatives, as well as the pronouns and prepositions varied, but the auxiliary verbs and particles are different.

I have already mentioned, that besides the ordinary and the polite languages of the country, the inhabitants of these Islands possess a poetic or classic language, called Káwi. In this are written all the historical and poetical compositions of note, as well as most of the ancient inscriptions on stone and copper, which are found in different parts of the Island. In a short vocabulary already referred to[127], the relation of the Káwi to the Sánscrit and Páli is shewn; and in order to enable the Sánscrit scholar to extend the comparison, I have annexed a further vocabulary of Káwi words, with the meaning which the Javans at present attach to them[128].

At what period this language was introduced into Java, whence it came, and whether it was ever the sacred or vernacular language of any foreign people, remains to be decided. Of the words of which it is composed, as far as we may judge from the annexed vocabulary, and the compositions which have come down to us, nine out of ten are of Sánscrit origin, and less corrupted than the present Páli of Siam and Ava appears to be: if, therefore, it was ever the same language with the Páli, it must have been before the Páli was corrupted, and therefore probably at a very remote period.

In Báli the Káwi is still the language of religion and law; in Java it is only that of poetry and ancient fable. In the former, the knowledge of it is almost exclusively confined to the Bramána (Bramins); in the latter, a slight knowledge of it is deemed essential for every man of condition. In Báli, the ancient, mythological, and historical poems, are however preserved in more correct Káwi than on Java: and it is to the copies obtained from thence, that reference will be principally made in the observations which follow on Javan literature.

In noticing "the accessary tongues from whence the Maláyan acquired such a degree of improvement, as removed it from the general level of the other cognate dialects, and gave it a decided predominance in that part of the east," Mr. Marsden observes, "that the earliest, as well as most important of these, appears to have been, either directly or mediately, that great parent of Indian languages, the Sanscrit, whose influence is found to have pervaded the whole of the eastern (and perhaps also of the western) world, modifying and regenerating even where it did not create. That the intercourse, whatever its circumstances may have been, which produced this advantageous effect, must have taken place at an early period, is to be inferred, not only from the deep obscurity in which it is involved, but also from the nature of the terms borrowed, being such as the progress of civilization must soon have rendered necessary, expressing the feelings of the mind, the most obvious moral ideas, the simplest objects of the understanding, and those ordinary modes of thought which result from the social habits of mankind; whilst, at the same time, it is not to be understood, as some have presumed to be the case, that the affinity between these languages is radical, or that the latter is indebted to any Hindu dialect for its names for the common objects of sense[129]."

The same observations apply still more extensively to the Javan; and in the Káwi or classic language, we may presume to have discovered the channel by which the Javan received its principal store of Sanscrit words, for it is the practice, even at present, among the better educated of the Javans, for the party to display his reading, by the introduction, particularly into epistolary correspondence and literary compositions, of Káwi words, by which means the colloquial, but more particularly the written language of the country, is daily receiving fresh accessions of Sanscrit terms. From the vocabularies now presented to the public, and the account which will be given of their literary compositions, it will appear, that few languages, even on the continent of India, have been more indebted to the Sanscrit than the Javan. One original language seems, in a very remote period, to have pervaded the whole Archipelago, and to have spread (perhaps with the population) towards Madagascar on one side, and to the islands in the South Sea on the other; but in the proportion that we find any of these tribes more highly advanced in the arts of civilized life than others, in nearly the same proportion do we find the language enriched by a corresponding accession of Sanscrit terms, directing us at once to the source whence civilization flowed towards these regions. At what period, however, the light first broke in upon them, or at what period the intercourse first took place between the enlightened inhabitants of Western Asia and the islanders of this extensive Archipelago, is a question which, perhaps, may be more properly discussed, when treating of the antiquities and history of the country, and at best is involved in so much obscurity and fable, that much must be left to conjecture.

The letters of the Javan alphabet, as well as the orthographical signs, are decidedly on the principle of the Devanágari; but it is remarkable, that the letters of the alphabet do not follow the same order, notwithstanding that order is preserved in all the alphabets of Sumatra as well as in that of Celebes. This deviation has been considered presumptive of the alphabet having been introduced into the island anterior to the period when this order might have been established for the Devanágari itself, or before the refinement supposed to have been effected in that alphabet by the Bramins; but the deviation may, perhaps, be sufficiently accounted for, by the circumstance of a meaning being attached to the words formed by the order of the Javan alphabet as the letters are at present arranged, thus: hána charáka dáta sawála páda jayánia mága batáng'a; means, "there were two messengers disputing with each other, equally courageous, till they both died[130]." That this is not accidental may be inferred, not only from the common laws of chance, but from the probability of such an arrangement being preferred, both on account of its convenience, and in conformity with the spirit which in the Chándra Sangkála seeks to select such expressions for the particular numerals that are required, as may make a sentence.

Near the ruins of Brambánan and Sínga-sári, are still found inscriptions in the pure Devánágari character of a very ancient form. A specimen of these, together with one of the square Káwi, is exhibited in the accompanying plate, corresponding in size with the original. Annexed to each letter in the Devanágari character found on Java, is the modern character, and in the same manner the modern Javan letters are placed under the Káwi; and, in order to enable the reader to compare the forms of the consonants used in the alphabets of Ava, Siam, and Java, with the Devanágari, they have been placed against each other in another plate. It will be seen that many of the letters of the Káwi correspond so exactly with the square Páli of the Birmans, as to leave no doubt of their having originally been the same. It is probable, also, that were our acquaintance with the Páli more extensive, a similar coincidence would be found between the languages.

Upon the overthrow of the Hindu empire on Java, the natives may be considered to have lost most of their knowledge of the Káwi language; for although numerous compositions in it are still to be found among them, and these compositions are recited in their national entertainments, they would not be generally understood, but for the versions which have long since been rendered of them into the modern Javan. The Panambakán of Sumenap is perhaps, at present, alone entitled to be considered as a Káwi scholar, and he knows so little of the language as to acknowledge, while assisting in translating from it, that he was often under the necessity of guessing at the meaning.

The knowledge of the ancient characters seems, on Java, to have been for many years almost exclusively confined to the family of this chief, and it is stated, that they owe their knowledge of it, and of the Káwi language itself, to the circumstance of one of them having visited Báli, to which island it is that we must now look as the chief depositary of what remains of the literature and science which once existed on Java.

It is not unusual for the Javans, in carrying on any secret or political correspondence, to adopt a mystical language, known only to the parties themselves; and on occasions where attempts have been made to stir up the common people to commotion, scrolls have been distributed in various unintelligible characters, which, for the most part, appear to have had no other object but to impose on the credulity of those who were too willing to believe them sacred and mysterious. Were the characters intelligible, the mystery would cease, and the charm be dispelled. Of the manner in which the letters of the alphabet are applied in forming this mystical language, an instance is given at the conclusion of the vocabulary of Káwi words[131].

Unlike the Malayan, the Javan language owes little or nothing to the Arabic, except a few terms connected with government, religion, and science, which have been admitted with the religion and laws of Mahomet. The language, as well as the ancient institutions of the country, have been but little affected by the conversion. The Javan language was abundantly copious before the introduction of Arabic literature, and had few or no deficiencies to be supplied.

The general character of the language is strongly indicative of a former advanced state of civilization, and illustrates, in some degree, the present character of the people. It is rich and refined; it abounds in synonymes and nice distinctions; it is mixed and easily made to bend, and suit itself to every occasion; it is, in a high degree, expressive of power and servility[132].

As the languages of the whole Archipelago are so intimately connected with each other, and that of Celebes in particular is so little known, I have subjoined in an Appendix some further comparative vocabularies of the languages of Java, with some observations on the Búgis and Mangkásar nations[133].

For ordinary purposes, the Javans, as already described, use a modification of some of the letters of their alphabet as numerals, and a representation of these numerals has been given in the table of the Javan alphabet, page 404; but on occasions of importance, it is usual to employ certain signs or symbols in lieu of these ordinary numerals, and this practice appears to be of great antiquity among them. These symbols are termed chándra sangkála, "reflections of royal times," or "the light of royal dates," and consist in a certain number of objects, &c. either represented in design or named, each of which is significant of one of the ten numerals. Of the former class are said to be those found in most of the ancient buildings and coins, which in that case usually bear no inscription. The latter is found in most of the ancient inscriptions, and in such of the written compositions as possess any date at all, and is adopted in all proclamations and public writings by the sovereign of the present day.

The Appendix G. contains an account of these peculiar numerals, as far as they are at present understood by the Javans. In the use of them, they endeavour to select such objects from the list, as when read in succession, may afford some meaning illustrative of the fact the date of which is recorded; but this is not always attended to, or at least is not always to be traced. The date of the destruction of Majapàhit (1400), the most important in the history of Java, is stated as follows, the numbers being always reversed.