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The National Library during submitted the Tambo Tuanku Imam Bonjol manuscript as a Memory of the world in Ulaan Baatar, Mongolia (Photo : Perpusnas) - 

VOInews, Jakarta - Indonesia's documentary heritage, the Tambo Tuanku Imam Bonjol manuscript, is designated as one of the Memories of the World (MoW) for Asia and the Pacific.

The certificate was handed over by the leader of the Memory of the World Regional Committee for Asia and the Pacific (MOWCAP) Kwibae Kim to the Head of the National Archives Imam Gunarto accompanied by the Deputy for Library Material Development and Information Services of the National Library of Indonesia (Perpusnas) Mariana Ginting in Ulaan Baatar, Mongolia, on Wednesday (8/5/2024).

The manuscript proposed by the National Library and the West Sumatra Provincial Government was selected after following a voting process from meeting participants representing Australia and Tuvalu, Bangladesh, China, the Philippines, India, Malaysia, Mongolia, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.

According to a release received by Voice of Indonesia on Thursday (09/05/24), apart from the Tambo Tuanku Imam Bonjol manuscript, the designation of Memory of the World for Asia and the Pacific was also given to the Indarung Semen Padang archive proposed by PT Semen Padang, and the archive of the Indonesian Sugar Research Institute in 1887-1986 proposed by the East Java Library and Archives Office and the Indonesian Sugar Research Institute.

The National Library's first expert librarian, Aditia Gunawan, explained that the Tambo Tuanku Imam Bonjol manuscript is one of the authentic notes written by natives summarizing the history of the Padri War and West Sumatra in the 19th century.

He added, there are several reasons why this manuscript deserves to be designated as Memory of the World (MoW) for Asia and the Pacific. First, the Tambo Tuanku Imam Bonjol manuscript is a pioneering work, both in terms of influence and genre of writing.

"The work is in the form of a hypogram with actors narrating it directly," he explained from Ulaan Baatar.

Second, this manuscript has significant historical relevance in the pre-independence period of Indonesia and is evidence of Minangkabau history in the 19th century.

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

"Fourth, this text highlights the active role of women, a characteristic that is supported by the Minangkabau cultural background with its matrilineal kinship. "And fifth, as the only Minangkabau Malay handwritten work that reveals historical facts, this manuscript has an irreplaceable position as a reference for the future," he explained.

After the Tambo Tuanku Imam Bonjol manuscript was designated by MOWCAP, he explained, a follow-up program was needed that would make the manuscript easily accessible, widely known and preserved for future generations.

MOWCAP is a regional forum for the global Memory of the World (MOW) Program of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), which was founded in 1998.

In the Asia Pacific region, many libraries, archives and memory institutions are facing challenges. such as economics, climate and geography in maintaining the preservation of the collection.

MOWCAP aims to assist the preservation and universal access to documentary heritage in the Asia/Pacific region and also raise awareness of the existence and importance of this heritage//VOI