Saturday 13 April 2013

Kuningan

I spent the whole day reading Facebook about Cirebon and Kuningan in West Java, trying to learn Bahasa Sunda and not understanding a word! Anyway, I will write what I have learnt today so I can depend on my own notes later.

When I first did the eel research with the 'fish' lecturers of UPM, I came across 'Cili' and 'Chipangi' names. I wondered what the words were. Today I learnt a few more: Sanskreta, Ki Ageng, Mempawa, membabah, Medang, kerbo, Andi, and many more.

About Kuningan

Kuningan means yellow and not golden. It could refer to the sulphur deposits found in the area.

Bugis keris

The Bugis keris is laden with gold, especially the sheath and keris head. Where did the gold come from?

Gold 

How much gold is used in Cirebon and Kuningan? Which is the richer of the 2 cities?

Cirebon apparel

The official Cirebon male attire (kelambi Cirebon) has elaborate embroidered golden threads. The cloth cap is batik. The inner shirt is white satin. I didn't see the shoes. What do Cirebon women wear?

Facebook

I have just joined Cirebon Heritage in FB to see if I can get help about Cirebon and Kuningan. There is also a man by the name of Prabu Raksa Bumi Kusuma who writes about the actual history of the Malay Civilisation in this region (Nusantara), and highlights how the west changed our historical records and created misleading information about our history. He also highlights Singapore and its geographical significance. There is mention that the Arabs could be responsible for spread of Islam to Aceh and Minangkabau and onward to Cirebon. There are details of who are the Malays. There is also something on Filipino Malay. There is a lot on history and pre-history  details, a lot of stone inscriptions than any textbooks can cover. He also discusses about Imam Mahdi. That's enough.

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