Blackwell Reference Online

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The oldest inscriptions from the island of Bali, Indonesia, were found on copper plates dating from the beginning of the eleventh century ce . It is thought that the texts were originally written on palm leaves which were reproduced in size and shape by the copper plates. Typologically the Balinese writing is a syllabic alphabet of the Indic kind. It is derived from the Old Kawi script which in turn belongs to the northern Indian group of Brāhmī-derived scripts. This writing is traditionally associated with religious texts. After the Hindu-Javanese culture of east Java was replaced by Islam, Hinduism reestablished itself in Bali during the sixteenth century ( figure 2 ). The literary language of that time has continued up to the twentieth century, but is substantially different from modern spoken Balinese. Its use is diminishing as the number of those who can handle the script declines. The Balinese language is nowadays written both in its traditional script and in Roman letters. See also kawi script . Reading Stutterheim 1930; Casparis 1975. Figure 2 A section of the Ramayana in Balinese script incised on thin wooden plates held together by a cord ... log in or subscribe to read full text