COLIN MACKENZIE AS A COLLECTOR OF JAVANESE MANUSCRIPTS AND MANUSCRIPT BL MSS JAV. 29

Abstract

Among British collections of Javanese manuscripts, Mackenzie's, gathered between 1812 and 1816, excels in terms of the number of manuscripts and their generic diversity. Manuscripts of historical writings from Mackenzie's collection, in particular the different versions of the Mataram-Kartasura chronicle Babad Tanah Jawi (BTJ), are especially valuable. One such manuscript is BL MSS Jav. 29. Copied for Mackenzie by the Adipati of Lasem in 1812, it includes two compositions: a poem on the fiscal system of Lasem in the late 18th to the early 19th century and a version of BTJ. BL MSS Jav. 29 is significant in many respects. Its opening note contains information about Mackenzie as a collector and about Javanese attitudes towards their historical tradition. Marginal remarks left by a team of copyists provide interesting new data on the work of Javanese scribes. Especially important, however, is the fact that BL MSS Jav. 29 contains the earliest version of BTJ known at present. The original was written in the 1720s under the patronage of the spouse of Pakubuwana I, Ratu Mas Blitar, a famous political, religious and literary figure of the Kartasura era.

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