EDU ARTICLE: WHAT IS NUSANTARA?
We’ve been talking about becoming a Nusantara culture exporter to the world since day 1. But what exactly is Nusantara? Where is it?
Nusantara originates from Indonesia and refers to the part of the Maritime Waters in Southeast Asia. It means “outer islands” in old Javanese and is better known as the Indonesian Archipelago.
However, in the Malay realm, Nusantara is better known as the Malay archipelago which also involves several countries in Southeast Asia including Malaysia, Indonesia, Southern Thailand, the Philippines, and so on.
The word Nusantara comes from two words, “NUSA” which means “island” and “ANTARA” which means “between” which in this context means “outside”. So the combination NUSANTARA means “outer islands”.
The expression NUSANTARA is taken from the oath of a Javanese warrior, Patih Gajah Mada in 1336 as written in two old Javanese manuscripts namely Pararaton and Nagarakretagama.
“Sira Gajah Mada pepatih amungkubumi tan ayun amukita palapa, sira Gajah Mada : Lamun huwus kalah NUSANTARA ingsun amukti palapa, lamun kalah ring Gurun, ring Seram, Tanjungpura, ring Haru, ring Pahang, Dompo, ring Bali, Sunda, Palembang, Tumasik, samana ingsun amukti palapa.”
It means:
He Gajah Mada the Patih Amangkubumi did not want to break his fast, he Gajah Mada said: “If I have defeated (controlled) other islands (around Java where we stand), I (will) break my fast (do not eat food containing spices). If I have defeated Gurun, Seram, Tanjung Pura, Haru, Pahang, Dompo, Bali, Sunda, Palembang, Temasik, then I will (just) break my fast “.
Negarakertagama manuscripts have recorded that the archipelago today covers Sumatra, Kalimantan, Nusa Tenggara, part of Sulawesi, and the surrounding islands. And at that time, parts of Maluku Island, West Papua, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Southern Thailand, and even Southern Philippines were also included in the archipelago.
MODERN USAGE
For Indonesia, Nusantara is an area of waters/islands that are under the Indonesian state only.
This means that it is not included with other countries such as Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, and so on.
Nusantara is also proposed by the President of Indonesia Joko Widodo in 2017 to be used as the name of the new future capital of Indonesia that is set to be inaugurated in 2024.
However, in contrast to its use in the Malay world, Nusantara does not involve the influence of national borders, but it refers to the influence of the Austronesian cultural line and the linguistic archipelago that involves the countries within its area. It means that it has a broader meaning than just national borders.
If we dive into more details, every country that is in the Nusantara has some common points in various aspects such as culture, beliefs, language, lore, and even food. Combining them all, the Nusantara is rich with a uniqueness that is able to divert the world’s attention toward us.
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