A. Teeuw – författare

The Bhomantaka, or the Death of Bhoma, is a wide-ranging tale of the sweet romance of Samba and Yajnawati, of the defeat of the demon Bhoma by King Kresna and his minions in a truly monumental battle, and many more incidents and descriptions, a product of the sophisticated literary tradition of early Java. The poem is written in Old Javanese (composed by an author who does not mention his name or that of his king), in an idiom that presents many difficulties for the modern reader. This book contains an edition of the text, a translation, and an extensive explanatory introduction-enough to make the work accessible-and was produced by a team of two, both senior scholars of Old Javanese and experienced in producing readable English translations. It will become apparent in the course of reading that there are still numerous philological problems attaching to the text and its interpretation, but on the other hand it is also a fact that it contains many a passage of delightful poetry, philosophical teaching and other cultural information. As a result we get a glimpse of what Java was like perhaps eight and a half centuries ago, and of the thought-world of the Javanese of that age a world where legendary, mythological or divine beings do battle, and kings march out to restore the welfare of the realm. This publication takes its place in a long line, from the author via the copyists, in Java and in Bali, who faithfully and lovingly transmitted the work, down to the first edition of the text in 1852 and then the first translation in 1946. In this way a literary tradition of great value has been preserved for the future, and the KITLV Press now offers this contribution to coming generations of students of Old Javanese and to scholars of comparative literature around the world.

Preserved on undated palm-leaf manuscripts, Old Sundanese texts are generally in poor condition and unavailable to a wider audience. There are limited texts in any form of Sundanese, and only limited knowledge of Old Sundanese. In presenting three long Old Sundanese poems, Noorduyn and Teeuw, in a heretofore unequalled English-language study of Old Sundanese literature, bring to the light works of importance for further linguistic, literary and historical research.The three poems, The Sons of Rama and Rawana, The ascension of Sri Ajnyana and The story of Bujangga Manik: A pilgrim's progress were undiscovered before this book. The first two were found in a nineteenth-century manuscript collection of the former Batavian Society and are now in the National Library of Indonesia in Jakarta, while the third was donated to the Bodleian Library in Oxford as early as 1627, though it was not identified as an Old Sundanese poem until the 1950s.

In this book I have aimed at completeness in the sense that all publications known to me, which are wholly or partly devoted to Malay and Bahasa Indonesia (B.I.), or are important for the study of these languages, have been included. Popular publications in non-professional periodicals have been included only exceptionally. All the publications mentioned in the text are incorporated in the Bibliography (p. 91-157). The countless articles in four post-war, semi-professional periodicals in :'1alaya and Indonesia, Dewan Bahasa, Pembina Bahasa Indonesia. 11:1 edan Bahasa, Bahasa dan Budaja, are not mentioned separately in the Bibliography, but sections 33 to 36 contain a survey, as complete and systematic as possible, of the contents of these periodicals in so far as they pertain to the Malay language; nor have I discussed in the text or incorporated in the Bibliography several hundreds of titles of practical textbooks or school-books of Malay or B.I. which are of no importance to the scientific study of these language. These titles have been entered in a separate Appendix (p. 158--171). The fact that completeness was aimed at certainly does not mean that it has been achieved. Especially various recent writings from Indonesia and Malaya may have escaped my attention. Experience has also proved that publications on Malay sometimes appear in the most unexpected places. The qualification above: "publications ... devoted to ... , or impor­ tant for the study of" Malay and B.I. has been taken in a wide sense.

In this book I have aimed at completeness in the sense that all publications known to me, which are wholly or partly devoted to Malay and Bahasa Indonesia (B.I.), or are important for the study of these languages, have been included. Popular publications in non-professional periodicals have been included only exceptionally. All the publications mentioned in the text are incorporated in the Bibliography (p. 91-157). The countless articles in four post-war, semi-professional periodicals in :''1alaya and Indonesia, Dewan Bahasa, Pembina Bahasa Indonesia. 11:1 edan Bahasa, Bahasa dan Budaja, are not mentioned separately in the Bibliography, but sections 33 to 36 contain a survey, as complete and systematic as possible, of the contents of these periodicals in so far as they pertain to the Malay language; nor have I discussed in the text or incorporated in the Bibliography several hundreds of titles of practical textbooks or school-books of Malay or B.I. which are of no importance to the scientific study of these language. These titles have been entered in a separate Appendix (p. 158--171). The fact that completeness was aimed at certainly does not mean that it has been achieved. Especially various recent writings from Indonesia and Malaya may have escaped my attention. Experience has also proved that publications on Malay sometimes appear in the most unexpected places. The qualification above: "publications ... devoted to ... , or impor­ tant for the study of" Malay and B.I. has been taken in a wide sense.

The histQry of this book dates back exactly 20 years. When I first set foot on the shores O'f Indonesia in September 1947, I was, amongst other things, assigned the task 0'GBP teaching Malay literature in an advanced teacher-training course, with the instructiOon to' lay stress on modern literature. This was easier said than done, as very little had been written Oon the subject, and few materials were available to me. From this period I recall with great gratitude the regular and friendly contacts I had with Mr. Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana, whO' in many ways me with information and documentatiO'n. helped The editQrs of the magazine "Kritiek en Opbouw" found my lecture- nffies Qn some pre-war authors worth publishing. These articles, with an introduction on Bahasa Indonesia and some other additiQns, were subsequently coUected and published by Pembangunan under the title Voltooid Voorspel (Completed Prelude) (Djakarta 1950). The little book sold fairly quickly, but rather than publishing a new edition in Dutch the publisher was interested in bringing out an Indo~ nesian adaptation.Much material was added, the larger part of which had been CQllected by writing occasional reviews Qf Indonesian literary works for the Dutch newspaper Nieuwsgier in Djakarta. The text of the book was very conscientiously turned intO' Bahasa Indonesia by Anku Raihul Amar gl.