Page 14 - THE MELANESIA DIASPORA FILE CETAK ISI 10022017

INTRODUCTION

Taufik Abdullah

Cultural Situations in Geographical and Historical Diversity

“Like the moon of the sun, is the beauty of palace in incomparable Majapahit
The housing glooms, in such a fabulous arrangement, neatly grouped
Like the kingdom’s star light to other parts, especially Daha,
The countries in Nusantara World all bow down and abide by the Majapahit”

Then in the script he left, Nagarakrtagama, the Pujangga (the court poet), Mpu
Prapanca listed the names of the regions under the supremacy—more precisely—the
dominance of Majapahit, the great kingdom with center in the present day Trowulan. This
great 14th century poet also mentioned the names of the regions conquered by Majapahit.
He started the list of the regions from the Western part of Nusantara islands, continued to
the middle part and ended in the Eastern region.

“There goes the islands of Makassar, Buton, Banggawi
Kunir, Galiyan, and Selayar, Sumba, Solot, Muar
Besides, Wandan, Ambon, or Maluku, Waini,
Seram, Timor and other islands are adjacent”

By mentioning those regions—from the West to the East of Nusantara islands—the
script written in the Kawi language actually explains the question previously asked on how
everybody imagined the above poem.
Through various historical events recorded in so many inscriptions and scripts written
in the same period or one to two centuries afterwards—not just in oral traditions but also
and more importantly in the witnesses of so many foreign resource persons, then it can
be understood that the era of the Majapahit still stays in the memory of the inhabitants of
the islands, who have scientifically been named “Indonesia”—a set of islands in the Indian

14 Introduction

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