Nusantara (term)

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File:Indonesian Archipelago and Students.JPG
A gilded map in the Hall of Independence, Indonesian National Monument, Jakarta. Also included are Sabah, Sarawak, and Labuan (states and a federal territory of Malaysia), Brunei, and East Timor (sovereign countries).

Nusantara is the Indonesian name for the region spanning the Indonesian Archipelago and the Malay Peninsula. It is an Old Javanese term that literally means "outer islands".[1] In Indonesia, it is generally taken to mean the Indonesian Archipelago.[2][3] Outside of Indonesia, the term has been adopted to refer to the Malay Archipelago.[4]

The word Nusantara is taken from an oath by Gajah Mada in 1336, as written in the Old Javanese Pararaton.[5] Gajah Mada was a powerful military leader and prime minister of Majapahit credited with bringing the empire to its peak of glory. Gajah Mada delivered an oath called Sumpah Palapa, in which he vowed not to eat any food containing spices until he had conquered all of Nusantara under the glory of Majapahit.

In a wider sense, Nusantara in modern language usage includes Austronesian-related cultural and linguistic lands, namely, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Southern Thailand, the Philippines, Brunei, East Timor and Taiwan, while excluding Papua New Guinea.[6]Template:Circular reference[7][8]Script error: No such module "Unsubst".

Etymology

The term Nusantara derives from a combined two words of Austronesian and Sanskrit origin, the word nūsa (see also nusa) meaning "island" in Old Javanese, is ultimately derived from the Proto-Malayo-Polynesian word *nusa with the same meaning,[9] and the word antara is a Javanese loanword borrowed from Sanskrit अन्तरा (antarā) meaning "between" or "in the middle",[10] thus creating a compound word of nūsa (“island”) + antara (“interval, interspace; other, another, different”) and together it means " the outer islands" as mentioned in the 14th century Old Javanese manuscript Pararaton and Nagarakretagama.[11]

Attestation

The oldest attestation of term is found in several Old Javanese literary works like Nagarakrtagama and Kidung Sunda. The most well known excerpt is perhaps from the Pararaton, a late Old Javanese (sometimes termed "middle Javanese") language text chronicling the royal east Javanese dynasty of Girīndra. In the relevant passage, the term is used in relation to the Palapa oath undertaken by the Majapahit mahapatih (grand regent) Gajah Mada:[12]Template:RpTemplate:Rp

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The word Nusantara was not only used by the Javanese and did not disappear after the fall of Majapahit. This word can be found in Malay Annals, a classic Malay literature written as early as 1612, but it remained known even in the 1808 manuscript:[13][14][15]

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However, Rudy Wiratama, a Javanese literature lecturer from Gadjah Mada University, argues that the name has been in use ever since the 1200s, during the time of the Singhasari Kingdom in East Java. But at that time, the term was used in the form of Dwipantara. Both it and Nusantara have the same meaning, as dwipa and nusa are synonyms for island.[16]

Ancient concepts

File:Majapahit Core and Provinces.svg
Majapahit Negara Agung (grand state) and Mancanagara (provinces) in eastern and central parts of Java, including the islands of Madura and Bali.
File:Majapahit Empire.svg
The extent of Majapahit Nusantara according to Nagarakretagama.

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In Javanese, Nusantara is derived Template:Etymology and antara, 'between'. It means "outer islands" or "other islands" (in the sense of "islands beyond Java in between the Indian and Pacific Oceans"), referring to the islands outside of Java under hegemony of the Majapahit Empire. The term is commonly erroneously translated as "archipelago" in modern times.[17] Based on the Majapahit concept of state, the monarch had power over three areas:

  1. Negara Agung, or the Grand State — the core realm of the kingdom where Majapahit formed before becoming an empire. This included the capital city and the surrounding areas where the king effectively exercised his government: the area in and around royal capital of Trowulan, port of Canggu and sections of Brantas River valley near the capital, as well as the mountainous areas south and southeast of the capital, all the way to the Pananggungan and Arjuno-Welirang peaks. The Brantas river valley corridor, connecting the Majapahit Trowulan area to Canggu and the estuarine areas in Kahuripan (Sidoarjo) and Hujung Galuh (Surabaya), is also considered to be part of Negara Agung.
  2. Mancanegara, the areas surrounding Negara Agung — this traditionally referred to the Majapahit provinces of East and Central Java ruled by the Bhres (dukes), the king's close relatives. This included the rest of Java as well as Madura and Bali. These areas were directly influenced by Majapahit court culture and obliged to pay annual tributes; their rulers might have been directly related to, allied with, and/or intermarried with the Majapahit royal family. Majapahit officials and officers were stationed in these places to regulate their foreign trade activities and collect taxes, but beyond this mancanegara provinces enjoyed substantial autonomy in internal affairs. In later periods, overseas provinces which had adopted Javanese culture or possessed significant trading importance were also considered mancanegara. The ruler of these provinces was either a willing vassal of the Majapahit king or a regent appointed by the king to rule the region. These realms included Dharmasraya, Pagaruyung, Lampung and Palembang in Sumatra.
  3. Nusantara, areas which did not reflect Javanese culture, but were included as colonies which had to pay annual tribute. This included the vassal kingdoms and colonies in the Malay Peninsula, Borneo,Script error: No such module "Unsubst". the Lesser Sunda Islands, Sulawesi,Script error: No such module "Unsubst". Maluku, New Guinea, and the Sulu Archipelago. These regions enjoyed substantial autonomy and internal freedom, and Majapahit officials and military officers were not necessarily stationed there; however, any challenges to Majapahit oversight might have drawn a severe response.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".

Nusantara concept in the 20th century

File:Indonesian archipelagic baselines.jpg
Modern Wawasan Nusantara, the Indonesian archipelagic baselines pursuant to article 47, paragraph 9, of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)

In 1920, Ernest Francois Eugene Douwes Dekker (1879–1950), also known as Setiabudi, proposed Nusantara as a name for the independent country of Indonesia which did not contain any words etymologically related to the name of India or the Indies.[18] This is the first instance of the term Nusantara appearing after it had been written into Pararaton manuscript.

The definition of Nusantara introduced by Setiabudi is different from the 14th-century definition of the term. During the Majapahit era, Nusantara described vassal areas that had been conquered. Setiabudi defined Nusantara as all the Indonesian regions from Sabang to Merauke.

Modern usage

Indonesia

Nowadays, in Indonesian, Nusantara is synonymous with either the Indonesian Archipelago or the national territory of Indonesia.[19] In this sense, the term Nusantara excludes Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, East Timor, and the Philippines. In 1967, it transformed into the concept of Wawasan Nusantara, or "archipelagic outlook," which regards the archipelagic realm of Indonesia (the islands and seas within/surrounding the country) as a single unity of several aspects, mainly socio-cultural, linguistic, political, economic, security-driven and defensive unity.[20]

Nusantara is also the name of the future capital of Indonesia.[21]

Outside Indonesia

In Brunei, Malaysia and Singapore, the term is generally used to refer to the Malay Archipelago or the Malay realm (Template:Langx) which includes those countries.

In a more scholarly manner without national borders, Nusantara in a modern language usage "refers to the sphere of influence of the Austronesian-related cultural and linguistic islands that comprise Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, the southernmost part of Thailand, the Philippines, Brunei, East Timor and perhaps even Taiwan, but it does not involve the areas of Papua New Guinea."[6]Template:Circular reference

Foreign Nusantara studies

The Nusantara Society in Moscow conducts studies on the Nusantara region's history, culture, languages and politics.

See also

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References

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External links

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  9. ↑ The word "nusa" in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Language Development and Fostering Agency — Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic Indonesia, 2016.
  10. ↑ Monier Williams (1899), “अन्तर”, in A Sanskrit–English Dictionary, […], new edition, Oxford: At the Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page 0043
  11. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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