Let's Know Your Script Ancient Sundanese (Ngalagena)

Let's Know Your Script Ancient Sundanese (Ngalagena) | HISTORY OF CULTURE | Also called the Sundanese script script script Ngalagena according to historical records has been used by the Sundanese from -14 up to century to century 18.Jejak Sundanese script can be seen on the stele inscription Kawali or also called Gede Astana created to commemorate the King Niskala Wastukancana ruled in Kawali, Ciamis, years 1371-1475. Kebantenan inscriptions contained in the copper plates, dating from the 15th century, also wearing the Ancient Sundanese script. The following inscription Kawali with Ancient Sundanese script (FIGURE 1)

There was no clear evidence of the beginning of Sundanese script was born, since when the Sundanese ancestors using this script. What is clear, before the 14th century, most of the inscriptions and kropak (papyrus manuscripts) written in other characters, such as the alphabet Pallawa (Monument Inscription the 4th century) and ancient Javanese script (Inscription Sanghyang Tread 11th century). His language was Sanskrit and ancient Javanese even Old Malay. Only in the 14th century onwards, Sundanese script is often used in rock media / inscriptions and manuscripts.

Just as the ancient texts in Javanese, who became the media is a leaf manuscripts Sundanese (ron) Christmas palm (Borassus flabellifer)-this is where the term was born rontal or palm-frond nor palm (Nipa fruticans), in which each leaves connected with a rope, can be a piece in the middle of a leaf or two pieces on the right and left leaf. Writing done with incised pangot pesos, a special knife, on the leaf surface, or incised ink through the pen. Ink from the soot, the questioner of palm or bamboo stick. Usually pesos pangot to square letters, while the ink-pen for the letters round.

Manuscripts that use script Sundanese Ancient and Ancient Sundanese also include Carita Parahyangan (known as Kropak registers 406) are written in the 16th century. There are interesting things in this Parahyangan Carita, in which there are two Arabic words, the dunya and intentions. This indicates that the spread of Arabic vocabulary, with Islam, had penetrated well into the unconscious author of the Carita. Similarly Bujangga Manik manuscript written and Sewaka Darma during which not much different, both of which recounts the spiritual journey of the hero in the face of death, when the body wadag (body) left the mortal nature, all wrapped up in a religious system is a mixture of Hindu, Buddhist, a Sundanese native beliefs.

Another title is Sanghyang Sisksakanda (ng) Karesian (also called Kropak 603), a manuscript of religious and society, written in 1518 AD There are also manuscripts Galunggung Commission (also referred to Kropak 632 or Manuscript Manuscript Ciburuy or MSA) is a new script found 6 pieces, which discusses the moral and ethical teachings of Sunda. This manuscript suspected age older than Carita Parahyangan; this is evident from the spelling, such as kwalwat, gwareng, anwam, and hamwa (in Carita Parahyangan spelled: old-fashioned, fried, anom, and Hamo). Here's the script Sewaka Darma (FIGURE 2).

Religious texts are usually written in a kabuyutan or mandala, which is the religious center of the Sundanese are usually located in the mountains, which is also an intellectual center. Mount Galunggung, Beetles, Ciburuy, and Jayagiri is an example of such kabuyutan. Now the role kabuyutan replaced by boarding.

After Islamization, Sundanese script being increasingly displaced. Gradually, the Arabic script was the one who dominated the world of writing, known by the letters pegon. Automatic, poets and writers no longer use the Sundanese script. This is evident from the use of Arabic letters in the text is arranged in Banten Sajarah macapat song in years 1662-1663, in which the Sultanate of Banten just a century stand. Other texts that use the letter is the Book Waruga pegon Jagat from Sumedang and Pancakaki Problems kabeh ancestor of Ciamis written in the 18th century, while the language used is Java.

Use Sundanese script increasingly eroded after the Latin script was introduced by Europeans during colonization in the 17th century onward. Not only that, the mastery of Sultan Agung of Mataram on Sunda regions resulted in the same century literatures were born to wear Sundanese or Javanese Javanese-Sundanese (Carakan), not the Sundanese script. Examples of Sundanese manuscripts written Carakan make use of language and script are Pakuan Chronicle or Chronicle Pajajaran written in 1816, where there is the story of Master Gantangan, in the reign of Prince Kornel (Aria Kusuma Dinata), Regent Sumedang. The contents of this chronicle describes the mindset of Sundanese people of cosmology and its relationship between man perfectly with the mandala power.

Sundanese script system

Sundanese script amounted to 32 pieces, consisting of 7 characters Voice or vowel (a, é, i, o, u, e, and eu) and 23 characters ngalagena or consonant (ka-ga-nga, his ca-ja, ta- da-na, pa-ba-ma, O-ra-la, wa-sa-ha, fa-va-qa-xa-za). Literacy fa, va, qa, xa, and za is a script-new script, which is used to convert the sound of Latin script. Graphically, the square-shaped Sundanese script with striking clarity, only a portion of the circular.


Voice Script is the writing that represents the sound of vowel phonemes that can act independently as a syllable that could occupy the position of beginning, middle, or end of a word. The following table script Voice Sundanese (FIGURE 3):

While the script is written in ngalagena silabis considered to represent the sound of the consonant phonemes and can act as a word or syllables that could occupy the position of beginning, middle, or end of a word. Each consonant is marked so that the sound ngalagena pamaeh his death. That way, it is silabik Sundanese script, in which writing can represent a word and syllables. The following table ngalagena script Sundanese (FIGURE 4):

There is also the marker vocals in Sundanese script, namely: panghulu (above), panyuku (below), pemepet (above), panolong (at right), peneleng (at left), and paneuleung (above). The following markers Sundanese script vocals in the system (FIGURE 5):

Besides pamaeh consonant, there are also variations in phoneme suffixes, namely checker (suffix-ng), pangwisad (suffix-h), and panglayar (suffix-r). There is also a stored phoneme insertions in the middle-tenngah words, namely pamingkal (insert-y-), panyakra (insert-r-), and panyiku (insert-l-). The following table phoneme insertions and variations of the suffix and the Sundanese script sign pamaeh.