Section II - Sloka Phenomena in Vignettes
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 20 November 2020
Summary
The conceptual and source foundation for the substantive part of this work have been laid in Section I. In addition to capturing the general meaning of the sloka phenomena, it has outlined the source material available for delving deeper into the key components of traditional Javanese law. Understanding them is facilitated by the concentration of the sloka phenomena in separate titles.
According to tradition, sloka constitute the oldest layer of the genre, one created Aji Saka dating back to the semi-mythological kingdom of Medhang Kamulan. Their flowering in recognizable form is witnessed by the contents of the Jugul Muda, whose reputation as an early stratum of legal titles is substantiated by sources from the early Independent Kingdoms era and communicated by literati from the late Kartasura period onwards. Sources dating from the mature Independent Kingdoms period of the eighteenthcentury attest to sloka as the font of Javanese law. At a more precise level the phenomena consist of sloka themselves, the basis of their authority (aksara), recycled parts and additions thereof (sinalokan), cryptic summaries of their meanings (prakara), and textual context (vignettes).
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- Information
- Javanese Way of LawEarly Modern Sloka Phenomena, pp. 65 - 66Publisher: Amsterdam University PressPrint publication year: 2019