Sep 15, 2026

The Precarious Past in Premodern Java

Wayan Jarrah Sastrawan

Hosted by Natali Pearson

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Summary

The practice of history in premodern Java was profoundly influenced by precarious conditions of textual production and preservation: fragile manuscripts perished in the tropical environment, archival records were scattered far afield, and historical memories faded over many generations. InThe Precarious Past in Premodern Java, Wayan Jarrah Sastrawan examines how Javanese societies between the fifth and fifteenth centuries CE responded with distinctive strategies to record and transmit knowledge of the past.

Drawing on sources in Javanese, Sanskrit, Malay, and related languages from the Indonesian archipelago, Sastrawan provides a detailed account of diverse forms of history making in premodern Java, reconstructing a dynamic culture in which written and nonwritten modes of transmission coexisted and intersected. By situating these practices within broader discussions of global historiography, this book challenges modern assumptions about what counts as “history” and illuminates how societies have developed different ways of preserving and remembering the past.

A free ebook version of this title is available through Luminos, University of California Press’s Open Access publishing program. Visit here to learn more.

Dr Wayan Jarrah Sastrawan is a historian, lecturer and DECRA research fellow at the Australian National University, Canberra.

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Natali Pearson

Dr Natali Pearson is a DECRA Fellow and Senior Lecturer in Heritage Studies in the Discipline of Archaeology, School of Humanities, at the University of Sydney, Australia. Her research focuses on the protection, management and interpretation of maritime heritage in Southeast Asia.

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