The Precarious Past in Premodern Java

Wayan Jarrah Sastrawan

University of California Press, 2026 - History - 208 pages

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The practice of history in premodern Java was profoundly influenced by precarious conditions of textual production and preservation: fragile manuscripts perished in the tropical environment, archival records were scattered far afield, and historical memories faded over many generations. In this book, Wayan Jarrah Sastrawan examines how Javanese societies between the fifth and fifteenth centuries CE responded with distinctive strategies to record and transmit knowledge of the past.

Drawing on sources in Javanese, Sanskrit, Malay, and related languages from the Indonesian archipelago, Sastrawan provides a detailed account of diverse forms of history making in premodern Java, reconstructing a dynamic culture in which written and nonwritten modes of transmission coexisted and intersected. By situating these practices within broader discussions of global historiography, this book challenges modern assumptions about what counts as "history" and illuminates how societies have developed different ways of preserving and remembering the past.

About the author

Wayan Jarrah Sastrawan is a historian and lecturer at the Australian National University.

Bibliographic information

• Title: The Precarious Past in Premodern Java
• Author: Wayan Jarrah Sastrawan
• Publisher: University of California Press, 2026
• ISBN: 0520422775, 9780520422773
• Length: 208 pages
• Subjects: History / Asia / South / General; History / Historiography; History / Study & Teaching; History / World