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{{Short description|Oldest attested phase of the Javanese language}}
{{EngvarA|date=May 2021}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2021}}
{{Infobox language
|name=Kawi
|nativename={{jav|ꦨꦴꦰꦏꦮꦶ}} ''Bhāṣa Kawi''
|altname=Old Javanese
|states=[[Java (island)|Java]], [[Bali]], [[Madura]], [[Lombok]]
|region=[[Indonesia]]
|era=[[literary language]], developed into Middle Javanese by 13th–14th century
|familycolor=Austronesian
|fam2=[[Malayo-Polynesian languages|Malayo-Polynesian]]
|fam3=[[Javanic languages|Javanic]]
|script = [[Kawi script|Kawi]]
|iso2=kaw
|iso3=kaw
|glotto=kawi1241
|glottorefname=Kawi
|linglist=kaw
}}

'''Kawi''' or '''Old Javanese''' is the oldest attested phase of the [[Javanese language]]. It was spoken in the eastern part of what is now [[Central Java]] and the whole of [[East Java]], [[Indonesia]]. As a literary language, Kawi was used across Java and on the islands of [[Madura]], [[Bali]] and [[Lombok]]. It had a sizable vocabulary of [[Sanskrit]] loanwords but had not yet developed the formal ''krama'' language register, to be used with one's social superiors that is characteristic of modern Javanese.

==History==
While evidence of writing in Java dates to the [[Sanskrit]] ''[[Sanskrit inscriptions in the Malay world|Tarumanegara inscription]]'' of 450, the oldest example written entirely in Javanese, called the Sukabumi inscription, is dated 25 March 804. This inscription, located in the district of [[Pare, Kediri|Pare]] in the [[Kediri Regency]] of East Java, is actually a copy of the original, dated some 120 years earlier; only this copy has been preserved. Its contents concern the construction of a dam for an irrigation canal near the river Śrī Hariñjing (now shortened to [[Srinjing]]). This inscription is the last of its kind to be written using [[Pallava script]]; all consequent examples of Old Javanese are written using [[Kawi script]].

Medieval poems written in Old Javanese using the Kawi script continued to be circulated within the courts of [[Kartosuro|Kartasura]], [[Surakarta Sunanate|Surakarta]], and [[Yogyakarta Sultanate|Yogyakarta]]. The poems were called layang kawi (Kawi books) or kakawin and were held in high regard. Starting in the 18th century, literature inspired by Old Javanese were written using the modern Javanese language and verse.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Arps|first=Bernard|date=2019-09-02|title=The power of the heart that blazes in the world: An Islamic theory of religions in early modern Java|journal=Indonesia and the Malay World|volume=47|issue=139|pages=308–334|doi=10.1080/13639811.2019.1654217|issn=1363-9811|doi-access=free}}</ref>

==Development==
Old Javanese was not static, and its usage covered a period of approximately 500 years – from the Sukabumi (Kediri, East Java) inscription until the founding of the [[Majapahit empire]] in 1292. The [[Javanese language]] which was spoken and written in the Majapahit era already underwent some changes and is therefore already closer to the Modern Javanese language.

===Austronesian origins===
The most important shaping force on Old Javanese was its [[Austronesian languages|Austronesian]] heritage in vocabulary, sentence structure and grammar that it shared with its sister languages in Southeast-Asia.

===Sanskrit influence===
The Indian linguistic influence in Old Javanese language was almost exclusively [[Sanskrit]] influence. There is no evidence of Indian linguistic elements in Old Javanese other than Sanskrit. This is different from, for example, the influence of Indian linguistic in the (Old) Malay language.

Sanskrit has had a deep and lasting impact on the vocabulary of the Javanese language. The ''Old Javanese – English Dictionary'', written by professor [[Petrus Josephus Zoetmulder|P.J. Zoetmulder]] in 1982, contains approximately 25,500 entries, no fewer than 12,500 of which are borrowed from Sanskrit. Clearly this large number is not an indication of usage, but it is an indication that the Ancient Javanese knew and employed these Sanskrit words in their literary works. In any given Old Javanese literary work, approximately 25% of the vocabulary is derived from Sanskrit.

====Phonology====
Sanskrit has also influenced both the phonology and the vocabulary of Old Javanese. Old Javanese also contains the [[retroflex consonant]]s, which might have been derived from Sanskrit. That is disputed by several linguists, who hold the view that it is also possible that the occurrence of these retroflex consonants was an independent development within the Austronesian language family.

====Vocabulary====
A related question is the form in which Sanskrit words were loaned in Old Javanese. The borrowed Sanskrit words in Old Javanese are almost without exceptions nouns and adjectives in their undeclined form (Sanskrit ''lingga'').

==Writing system==
{{main|Javanese script}}
The Kawi script is commonly called ''hanacaraka''; the more correct term is ''Dentawiyanjana''. It is a syllabic alphabet consisting of 20 letters and ten digits and a number of vowel and consonant modifiers. The script of the island of Bali, heavily influenced by neighboring [[Java]], has a unique sub-form called [[Balinese script|Tulisan Bali]]. Prince Aji Caka (an Indian migrant) is credited with establishing the first known kingdom of Java, called Java Dvipa (Swarna Dvipa) and also introducing the Kawi language was and the twenty letters of the syllabic hanacaraka script.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Milestone of Indonesian History |url=http://www.apu.ac.jp/~gunarto/lang/mileston.html |website=[[Hary Gunarto]]'s webpage |publisher=Asia Pacific University}}</ref> The Javanese also credit the language to [[Aji Saka]], a legendary hero of Medang Kamulan Kingdom. The earliest known inscription of Kawi is found at [[Gunung Wukir Temple]] in [[Magelang]], [[Central Java]], [[Indonesia]].

==Usage==
Kawi is not truly extinct as a spoken language. It is commonly used in [[wayang golek]], [[wayang wong]] and [[wayang kulit]], in addition to high activities such as a Javanese [[wedding]], especially for the stylised meeting ritual of bride's parents with groom's parents in the ceremonies of [[Peningsetan]] and [[Panggih]]. Archaically or for certain nobles very strongly attached to tradition, it is used for the [[Midodareni]], [[Siraman]] and [[Sungkeman]] ceremonies of the [[Javanese people|Javanese]] wedding.

The island of [[Lombok]] has adopted Kawi as its regional language, reflecting the very strong influence of neighbouring [[East Java]]. Today, it is taught in primary school education as part of the compulsory secondary language unit of National curriculum. Traditionally, Kawi is written on [[Palm-leaf manuscript#Javanese and Balinese|lontar]] prepared palm leaves.

Kawi remains in occasional use as an archaic prose and literary language, in a similar fashion to [[Shakespeare]]-era [[English language|English]], which has such aesthetically and arguably more cultivated words as [[Thou|thy]], [[thee]], [https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/hast hast] and so forth.

==Literature==
{{main|Kakawin}}
There are many important literary works written in Kawi, most notably [[Empu Tantular]]'s epic poem, ''"Kakawin Sutasoma"'' (E.M. Uhlenbeck, 1964: "A Critical Survey of Studies on the Languages of Java and Madura", The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff), from which is taken the National motto of Indonesia: ''"Bhinneka Tunggal Ika"''. Although often glibly translated as "Unity in Diversity", it is more correctly rendered as "[although] scattered, remaining [as] one"— referring to the scattered islands of the archipelago nation, not as an expression of multicultural solidarity as may be perceived in modern times.

A more modern work is the poem ''"Susila Budhi Dharma"'', by [[Muhammad Subuh Sumohadiwidjojo]], the founder of [[Subud]]. In this work, he provides a framework for understanding the experience of the [[latihan]] kejiwaan.

Famous poems, epics and other literature include:
* [[Shivagrha inscription]], 856
* [[Kakawin Ramayana]] ~ 870
* [[Kakawin Arjunawiwaha]], [[mpu]] [[Kanwa]], ~ 1030
* [[Kakawin Kresnayana]]
* [[Kakawin Sumanasantaka]]
* [[Smaradhana|Kakawin Smaradhana]]
* [[Kakawin Bhomakawya]]
* [[Kakawin Bharatayuddha]], [[mpu]] [[Sedah]] and mpu [[Panuluh]], 1157
* [[Kakawin Hariwangsa]]
* [[Kakawin Gatotkacasraya]]
* [[Kakawin Wrettasañcaya]]
* [[Kakawin Wrettayana]]
* [[Kakawin Brahmandapurana]]
* [[Kakawin Kunjarakarna]], [[mpu Dusun|mpu "Dusun"]]
* Kakawin [[Nagarakertagama]], mpu [[Prapanca]], 1365
* [[Kakawin Arjunawijaya]], mpu [[Tantular]]
* [[Kakawin Sutasoma]], mpu [[Tantular]]
* [[Kakawin Siwaratrikalpa]], [[Kakawin Lubdhaka]]
* [[Kakawin Parthayajna]]
* [[Kakawin Nitisastra]]
* [[Kakawin Nirarthaprakreta]]
* [[Kakawin Dharmasunya]]
* [[Kakawin Harisraya]]
* [[Kakawin Banawa Sekar Tanakung]]

===Prominent authors===
The following are notable authors of literary works in Kawi.<ref name="kalangwan">{{Cite book |last=Zoetmulder |first=P.J. |year=1974 |title=Kalangwan: A Survey of Old Javanese Literature |location=The Hague |publisher=Martinus Nijhoff |language=English}}</ref>
* [[Mpu Kanwa]] (11th century)
* [[Mpu Sedah]] (12th century)
* [[Mpu Panuluh]] (12th century)
* [[Mpu Dharmaja]] (12th century)
* [[Mpu Monaguna]] (12th century)
* [[Mpu Triguna]] (12th century)
* [[Mpu Tantular]] (14th century)
* [[Mpu Prapanca]] (14th century)
* [[Mpu Tanakung]] (15th century)

==Scholars==
The first scholar to address Kawi in a serious academic manner was [[Wilhelm von Humboldt]], who considered it the father of all Malay-Polynesian languages. Furthermore, he deprecated misconceptions about Kawi being wholly influenced by Sanskrit, finding that Kawi did not use [[verb]] [[inflexion]], thus differing from Sanskrit's highly developed inflectional system. Kawi might have come from a very ancient settlement in the pacific side of Asia. In Kawi language, the meaning of a sentence must be grasped through word order and context. Humboldt further noted that Kawi utilizes [[Grammatical tense|tense]] distinctions, with past, present, and future, and differentiated moods via the [[Imperative mood|imperative]] and [[Subjunctive mood|subjunctive]].

Numerous scholars have studied the language, including the Dutch expatriate Indonesian Prof. Dr. Petrus Josephus Zoetmulder S.J., who contributed an enormous quantity of original texts and serious scholarly study to the language, and his pupil and associate, Father Dr. [[Ignatius Kuntara Wiryamartana]]. Other eminent Indonesian scholars of the language include Poedjawijatna, Sumarti Suprayitna, Poerbatjaraka and Tardjan Hadiwidjaja.

==See also==
*[[Bhinneka Tunggal Ika]]
*[[Johan Hendrik Caspar Kern]]
*[[Eugenius Marius Uhlenbeck]]
*[[Petrus Josephus Zoetmulder]]
*[[Old Malay]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* {{Cite book |last=De Casparis |first=J. G |title=Indonesian Palaeography: A History of Writing in Indonesia from the beginnings to c. AD 1500 |publisher=E. J. Brill |year=1975 |location=Leiden/Köln |author-link=Johannes Gijsbertus de Casparis}}
* {{Cite book |last=Florida |first=Nancy K. |title=Javanese Literature in Surakarta Manuscripts: Introduction and Manuscripts of the Karaton Surakarta |publisher=Cornell University |year=1993 |isbn=0-87727-603-X |location=Ithaca, N.Y.}}
* Wilhelm von Humboldt (1836). ''Über die Kawi-Sprache'' [On the Kawi Language] (in German): [https://books.google.com/books?id=EgYJAAAAQAAJ&printsec=frontcover Vol 1], [https://books.google.com/books?id=xfEUAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover Vol 2], [https://books.google.com/books?id=cwYJAAAAQAAJ&printsec=frontcover Vol 3]
* {{Cite book |author=Poerbatjaraka |author2=Tardjan Hadiwidjaja |year=1952 |title=Kepustakaan Djawa |location=Djakarta/Amsterdam |publisher=Djambatan}}
* {{Cite book |author=Avenir Stepanovich Teselkin |url=http://cmip.library.cornell.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=cmip;idno=cmip054 |title=Old Javanese (Kawi) |location=Ithaca, N.Y. |publisher=Modern Indonesia Project, Southeast Asia Program, Cornell University |year=1972}}
* {{Cite book |title=Bhomāntaka: the death of Bhoma |publisher=KITLV Press |year=2005 |editor-last=Teeuw |editor-first=A. |editor-link=A. Teeuw |location=Leiden |editor-last2=Robson |editor-first2=S.O. |series=Bibliotheca Indonesica, 32 |isbn=90-6718-253-2}}
* {{Cite book |last=Uhlenbeck |first=E.M. |title=A Critical Survey of Studies on the Languages of Java and Madura |publisher=Martinus Nijhoff |year=1964 |location=The Hague |author-link=E.M. Uhlenbeck}}
* {{Cite book |last=Zurbuchen |first=Mary S. |url=https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/41870 |title=Introduction to Old Javanese Language and Literature: A Kawi Prose Anthology |publisher=University of Michigan |year=1976 |location=Ann Arbor}} {{open access}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Zoetmulder |first1=P.J. |title=Kamus Jawa Kuna–Indonesia |last2=Robson |first2=S.O. |publisher=Instituut voor Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde and Lembaga Ilmu Pengetahuan Indonesia and PT Gramedia Pustaka Utama |year=1995 |isbn=979-605-347-0 |location=Jakarta |translator-last=Darusuprapta |author-link=Petrus Josephus Zoetmulder |translator-last2=Sumarti Suprayitna}}
*1992–1993, Bahasa parwa : tatabahasa Jawa Kuna: Yogyakarta: Gadjah Mada University Press. Bekerja sama dengan I.J. Poedjawijatna. Cetakan ulang dari edisi tahun 1954
* {{Cite book |last=Zoetmulder |first=P.J. |year=1950 |title=De Taal van het Adiparwa |location=[[Bandung]] |publisher=Nix |language=Indonesian}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Zoetmulder |first1=P.J. |year=1982 |title=Old Javanese – English Dictionary |location=The Hague |publisher=Martinus Nijhoff |last2=S.O. Robson |isbn=90-247-6178-6}}
* {{Cite book |last=Zoetmulder |first=P.J. |year=1974 |title=Kalangwan: A Survey of Old Javanese Literature |location=[[The Hague]] |publisher=Martinus Nijhoff |language=English}}

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20041207051056/http://www.bucalic.de/lontars/index.html About lontar] (palmleaf manuscripts).
*[http://sealang.net/ojed/index.htm Zoetmulder's Dictionary of Old Javanese] ([[SEAlang library]])
*[http://sealang.net/oldjava/ Old Javanese inscriptions] ([[SEAlang library]])
*[http://www.aa.tufs.ac.jp/en/training/ilc/ilc-list/20152 An Introduction to Old Javanese] at Tokyo University of Foreign Studies (A pdf primer in English, though the web page is in Japanese)

[[Category:Languages attested from the 9th century]]
[[Category:Javanese language]]
[[Category:Javanese culture]]
[[Category:Extinct languages of Asia]]

Kawi language - Revision history

UpdateBot at 07:27, 27 February 2022