Preface

Summary

It was during a workshop at the KITLV branch in Jakarta in 2009 that I first discussed the possibility of a revised, English language translation of the Old Javanese Tantu Panggĕlaran with Stuart Robson, now Adjunct Professor of Indonesian Studies in the School of Languages, Literatures, Cultures and Linguistics at Monash University, Melbourne, Australia. The text of the Tantu Panggĕlaran had for many years held a special interest for me, as it belonged, like Prapañca's Deśawarṇana and the Old Sundanese Bujangga Manik, to that small group of literary works which offered a wealth of topographical data. I had already taken advantage of Robson's lucid translation of the fourteenth century Deśawarṇana, published in 1995, when endeavouring to trace the course of King Rājasanagara's journey through eastern Java, and imagined that the same linguistic skills applied to the Tantu Panggĕlaran would help to draw this valuable text out of its vacuum and place it in a firmer historical and geographical context.

Happily, the idea was met with enthusiasm, and our discussion ended with a tentative plan to produce a joint publication, comprising an English translation, followed by a commentary focusing on historical topography. Professor Robson noted, however, that a new critical edition of the Tantu Panggĕlaran would hardly be possible, as the whereabouts of the two principal manuscripts used by Th. Pigeaud for his dissertation were no longer known. Instead, he said, it would be better to work directly from the romanized text of Pigeaud's 1924 publication, which includes all of the variants encountered in the five manuscripts originally consulted.

Although the interest sparked by this initial meeting led to further dialogue over the next few months, there were no concrete developments. Time went by and the communication became less frequent, and then ceased entirely, as various other commitments took precedence.

Such was the condition until 2015, when suddenly, without warning, Professor Robson wrote to enquire whether I was still interested in the Tantu Panggĕlaran, as he had completed a first draft of the translation and was willing to send it to me! This came as an unexpected surprise, and without hesitating I sent an enthusiastic reply, reconfirming my commitment to our joint project.