ALPHABET, LOCAL WISDOM AND HEROES

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The monthly discussion of the Pan-Sumatra Network for Heritage Conservation (Pansumnet) on 29 December 2021 was about the efforts of Rapanie Igama, a library expert,  to save the Ulu alphabet in the South of Sumatra. When I asked how many local languages, dialects, and alphabets exist in his area, the answer is astonishing: more than 70 dialects. And that is only in one province or area of South Sumatra! 

It was more astonishing when other language experts, Sarwit Sartono from the University of Bengkulu and Prof. Dr. Uli Kozok from Hawaii also joined and enlighten the audience about the Ulu alphabets. Those alphabets are actually the doors to much local wisdom about daily life that are actual now such as environmental issues, agriculture, and many more. It is a pity that very few people left who can understand the language and the content. 

We discussed a lot about the digitalization of the alphabet but finally, we drew a conclusion that digitalization is not only about using technology to recognize the alphabet but also how to understand and save the language and the content? There is no technology yet that could understand a language, it is a task for human beings, must be done by us, the people. 

What Rapanie Igama, Sarwit Sarwono, and Uli Kozok have done to research the local alphabet and language are very noble. They are heroes. Hopefully, their ideals will be inherited by their students and younger generations. Hopefully, one day there will be a group of younger generations who take action to digitize the language and the content, not only the Ulu alphabet but also any other local alphabet, dialects, languages, and contents. 

__________________________________

Melestarikan Aksara Ulu Sumatera Selatan

Rabu, 29 Desember 2021
19.00-21.00 WIB

Pembicara
Drs. A. Rapanie Igama, M.Si.
Pustakawan Ahli Madya, Dinas Perpustakaan Propinsi Sumatera Selatan

Moderator
Ir. Ari Siswanto, MCRP. PhD.
Prodi Arsitektur Fakultas Teknik - UNSRI

Media: Zoom Cloud Meeting dan Facebook Live Streaming
(Link Zoom akan dishare melalui email sehari sebelum acara)
Live Streaming di Facebook Page BWS:
https://www.facebook.com/berandawarisansumatra

Pendaftaran:
https://bit.ly/DBPDes
*sertifikat tersedia sesuai permintaan
Narahubung:
085262036767 (WA Only)

Diselenggarakan oleh Jaringan Sumatra untuk Pelestarian Pusaka (Pansumnet) dan Beranda Warisan Sumatra (BWS)

Diskusi Bulanan Pansumnet kali ini akan membahas pelestarian warisan tak teraga yaitu Aksara Ulu dari Sumatra Selatan. Propinsi ini kaya dengan khasanah filologika khususnya yang beraksara Ulu. Aksara Ulu digunakan dalam naskah-naslah lama yang dikenal sebagai gelumpay, surat buluh, dan kaghas. Naskah-naskah ini belum dilestarikan dengan baik. Mengenali aksara ulu dan varian-variannya adalah langkah pertama utk membuka khazanah pemikiran masa lalu naskah-naskah tsb.

Pembicara adalah Drs. A. Rapanie Igama, M.Si. yang bekerja sebagai Pustakawan Ahli Madya pada Dinas Perpustakaan Propinsi Sumatera Selatan. Beliau meneliti naskah-naskah beraksara Ulu sebagai kurator museum sejak tahun 1995. 

Beliau menerima  Anugerah Kebudayaan, kategori Pelestari, dari Menteri Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan RI, tahun 2016 dan Anugerah Seni Batanghari Sembilan, kategori Sastra, dari Gubernur Sumatera Selatan, tahun 2020.









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