Animals in Javanese manuscript illustrations

Most Javanese manuscript illustrations of narrative poems and (pseudo)-historical chronicles (babad) depict only one part of the natural world: animals. Animals are portrayed in relation to the characters in the text they illustrate. Some illustrated Javanese manuscripts are discussed below in relat...

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Main Author: Dick van der Meij
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Universitas Indonesia, Faculty of Humanities 2022-04-01
Series:Wacana: Journal of the Humanities of Indonesia
Subjects:
Online Access:https://scholarhub.ui.ac.id/wacana/vol23/iss1/5/
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author Dick van der Meij
author_facet Dick van der Meij
author_sort Dick van der Meij
collection DOAJ
description Most Javanese manuscript illustrations of narrative poems and (pseudo)-historical chronicles (babad) depict only one part of the natural world: animals. Animals are portrayed in relation to the characters in the text they illustrate. Some illustrated Javanese manuscripts are discussed below in relation to the way in which they illustrate the natural world: these are the fictive narrative poems Serat Selarasa, Serat Panji Jayakusuma, Serat Asmarasupi, Serat Jayalengkara Wulang, and Serat Damar Wulan, and the poetic (pseudo)-historical chronicle Babad Perang Demak. It appears from the illustrations in the manuscripts discussed that in the narrative poems the wayang style is preferred and they depict animals differently from the babad for which the wayang-style is not used and whose illustrations tend to be more “realistic”. The focus in the narrative poems discussed here is on serpents, crocodiles, and elephants, and in the babad on all the animals featured.
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spelling doaj.art-7d264b5db7594dbeb9f0815507ff43252023-06-30T03:45:36ZengUniversitas Indonesia, Faculty of HumanitiesWacana: Journal of the Humanities of Indonesia1411-22722407-68992022-04-0123113115610.17510/wacana.v23i1.1125Animals in Javanese manuscript illustrationsDick van der Meij0DREAMSEAMost Javanese manuscript illustrations of narrative poems and (pseudo)-historical chronicles (babad) depict only one part of the natural world: animals. Animals are portrayed in relation to the characters in the text they illustrate. Some illustrated Javanese manuscripts are discussed below in relation to the way in which they illustrate the natural world: these are the fictive narrative poems Serat Selarasa, Serat Panji Jayakusuma, Serat Asmarasupi, Serat Jayalengkara Wulang, and Serat Damar Wulan, and the poetic (pseudo)-historical chronicle Babad Perang Demak. It appears from the illustrations in the manuscripts discussed that in the narrative poems the wayang style is preferred and they depict animals differently from the babad for which the wayang-style is not used and whose illustrations tend to be more “realistic”. The focus in the narrative poems discussed here is on serpents, crocodiles, and elephants, and in the babad on all the animals featured.https://scholarhub.ui.ac.id/wacana/vol23/iss1/5/javanese manuscriptsfictive narrative poems“babad”illustrationsanimals“wayang”-style.
spellingShingle Dick van der Meij
Animals in Javanese manuscript illustrations
Wacana: Journal of the Humanities of Indonesia
javanese manuscripts
fictive narrative poems
“babad”
illustrations
animals
“wayang”-style.
title Animals in Javanese manuscript illustrations
title_full Animals in Javanese manuscript illustrations
title_fullStr Animals in Javanese manuscript illustrations
title_full_unstemmed Animals in Javanese manuscript illustrations
title_short Animals in Javanese manuscript illustrations
title_sort animals in javanese manuscript illustrations
topic javanese manuscripts
fictive narrative poems
“babad”
illustrations
animals
“wayang”-style.
url https://scholarhub.ui.ac.id/wacana/vol23/iss1/5/
work_keys_str_mv AT dickvandermeij animalsinjavanesemanuscriptillustrations