Beyond the page: Unearthing local wisdom in the Sundanese classic manuscript Wawacan Bermana Sakti

Abstract

Although the Sundanese manuscripts have been thoroughly studied, critical examination remains limited, and unearthing their underlying messages or wisdom could yield new insights. To fill the gap, this article examines the layered meanings of a traditional Sundanese folktale, Wawacan Bermana Sakti, by exploring how narrative motifs and symbolic codes articulate nature as an ecological, ethical, and spiritual concern within Sundanese society. Written in Pegon script between the 18th and 19th centuries, in verse form for performance as songs, Wawacan Bermana Sakti narrates the journey of Prince Bermana Sakti, an exiled prince who becomes a true king. Guided by Dundes’ folkloristics (2007) and Eco’s semiotics (1976), the analysis positions nature, in relation to the characters in the text, as a partner, the sacred, and power. This positioning is constructed through the recurring narrative structures examined in Dundes’ categories, while Eco’s semiotic lens reveals multilayered signs embedded in the various forms of nature as a partner, the sacred, and as power. The analysis indicates that the constructed nature has reflected an ethic of interdependence in which humans must learn from and live with nature. It can be assumed that nature has an enabling agentive quality that transforms Bermana Sakti into an accomplished leader. Wawacan Bermana Sakti anticipates ecological crises by perpetuating the notion that human survival and legitimacy depend on recognizing nature’s agency rather than subordinating it. Reflecting on the current ecological disaster, revisiting old manuscripts from various parts of Indonesia might shed light on local wisdom, which should be sustained as it may offer alternative solutions to contemporary issues at both the national and global levels.