Jakarta (ANTARA) - The "Tambo Tuanku Imam Bonjol" manuscript has been officially inducted in the Memory of the World (MoW) for Asia and the Pacific list, the National Library said in a statement released here on Thursday.

Head of the Indonesian National Archives (ANRI), Imam Gunarto, received the certificate stating that the manuscript has been included in the Asia and the Pacific MoW list from the Memory of the World Regional Committee for Asia and the Pacific (MOWCAP) leader Kwibae Kim.

The handover was carried out in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, on Wednesday (May 8, 2024).

"The Tambo Tuanku Imam Bonjol manuscript is one of the authentic records written by a native about the Paderi War and West Sumatra in the 19th century," a librarian from the National Library (Perpusnas), Aditia Gunawan, informed here on Thursday.

The manuscript was proposed by Perpusnas and the West Sumatra provincial government. It was selected after a vote involving the representatives of Australia and Tuvalu, Bangladesh, China, the Philippines, India, Malaysia, Mongolia, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam.

The manuscript was written by Naali Sutan Caniago, son of Tuanku Imam Bonjol, during his exile in Manado, North Sulawesi. The manuscript recounts historical events in Minangkabau in the 19th century and is considered the first Malay modern autobiography.

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The script is considered a pioneering work, both in terms of influence and the genre of writing. It also has significant historical relevance for pre-independence Indonesia and serves as a record of Minangkabau history in the 19th century.

Additionally, it presents a global narrative of Islamic movement between the Middle East and Southeast Asia in the 18th to 19th centuries.

"This manuscript is an irreplaceable reference," Gunawan said.

The Tambo Tuanku Imam Bonjol script also contains Imam Bonjol's personal reflections on the sacrifices and effects of the 34-year war.

Imam Bonjol also expressed deep regret and asked whether there were many rules in the Quran that had been violated during the war.

"Born in 1772 in West Sumatra, Tuanku Imam Bonjol was the leader of the Paderi war, one of the longest wars of the Minangkabau people against Dutch colonialism from 1803–1837," Gunawan informed.

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Translator: Indriani, Kenzu
Editor: Yuni Arisandy Sinaga
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