○ Introduction
○ A Glimpse of the Exhibits
○ Mulavarman Stone and Vo Canh Stele
○ Kalasan Stone, Huwung Stone and Tanjung Tanah manuscript

Introduction

In the Malay Archipelago, the significance of writing and literacy has a long history. As with many traditional oral societies, the ability to read and write was and is very much revered and valued.

Scripts commanded great respect in traditional society. More than just a symbol of literacy, they were also associated with magical powers. 

With the arrival of Islam at the end of the 13th century, religious literacy took centrestage, emphasising the importance of reading the Qur’an and other religious texts. Jawi script was derived from the Islamic Arabic-Persian writing traditions and became the dominant form of Malay writing system. The use of jawi script was a key factor driving the emergence of Malay as the lingua franca of the region, alongside the spread of Islam.

The coming of European explorers and traders introduced a Latinised form of spelling and writing Malay, which became known as huruf rumi. Over the years, this has come to be the more widely used script, with jawi reserved primarily for religious writings.

Today, script literacy is practised and honoured as a living tradition. It includes Arabic script, for mastering religious scriptures, and romanised Malay script, which has become fundamental to the language and cultural, literary and socio-political discourses of the Malays.

Membaca dan menulis sudah berakar umbi di dalam masyarakat Melayu. Mereka yang celik huruf disanjung tinggi. Malah sesetengah masyarakat tradisional menganggap aksara bukan hanya sebagai simbol tulisan, tetapi sesuatu yang mempunyai kuasa sakti.

Dengan kedatangan Islam pada akhir kurun ke 13, keperluan membaca Qur'an dan kitab-kitab ugama menjadi keutamaan. Jawi yang berasal daripada huruf Arab-Parsi menjadi begitu penting dalam sistem tulisan Melayu dan penggerak utama dalam menjadikan bahasa Melayu bahasa perantaraan rantau ini. Status ini berubah dengan kedatangan penjajah Eropah yang mengenalkan huruf rumi.