This reconstruction of the royal library is the textual heritage of Palembang, where most of the manuscripts are little known, even to the descendants of the royal family. Speaking at an online public seminar in 2021, “Peluang pulang naskah Palembang” [Opportunity for the return of Palembang manuscripts], Sultan Fauwaz Diradja admitted that he knew very little about the royal manuscripts kept in Europe and hoped to learn more about it.
While local cultural activists stimulate public discourse by drawing attention to the allegedly looted manuscripts from Palembang, Sultan Fauwaz has responded more cautiously. This seemingly hesitant approach may be related to the dual sultanship in the sultanate’s revival since 2007 to this day, which Sultan Iskandar emerged as a contender, and hence, any claim to be heir of the kingdom is contested.
Meanwhile, cultural artefacts from Palembang were not among the 288 objects returned to Indonesia from the Netherlands in 2024, which are all from Bali and Lombok (Binswanger 2024). These dissonant voices represent the difficulty of dealing with such an issue. How then to deal with this heritage and colonial legacy?
This article invites us to ask such questions about the reconstructed library and to reflect on how the legacy of colonialism may be dealt with, both in scholarship and in related practical fields.
Manuscripts located:
- BL (British Library): Eur D742/1, ff. 58a.r–b.r
- Bodleian Libraries: Malay d.1
- EAP (Endangered Archives Programme): EAP 1454-2-6
- UBL (Universiteitsbibliotheek Leiden): Cod. Or. 2276 C, Cod. Or. 1895, Cod. Or. 1896, Cod. Or. 2283, Cod. Or. 2284, Cod. Or. 3375, Cod. Or. 3300, Cod. Or. 3301, Cod. Or. 6315, Cod. Or. 6672, Cod. Or. 7283, D Or. 270 A
- Leipzig (Universitätsbibliothek Leipzig): MS Gabelentz 52
- PNRI (Perpustakaan Nasional Republik Indonesia): Br 157 III; KBG 185; A 162; ML 5, ML 9, ML 10, ML 75, ML 514, ML 515
- RAS (Royal Asiatic Society): Malay 142 H, Raffles Java 28, Raffles Java 29, Raffles Java 31, Raffles Java 41
- SOAS: MS 11505, MS 12225, MS 12145
- SBB (Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin): Schoemann V 48.
