DREAMSEA Launches the Database of Southeast Asian Digitised Manuscripts

Jakarta, DREAMSEA — After having assisted local society to digitize manuscripts in Southeast Asia for four years, DREAMSEA has launched its repository database on Friday, 1 October 2021. The launching was done via YouTube under the title “DREAMSEA Launch Southeast Asian Manuscripts Database”. 

From 2018 until 2021, DREAMSEA has executed 29 digitizing missions in various places in Southeast Asia. During these missions 4.274 manuscripts were digitized resulting in no less than 248.291 manuscript images.

The database is very useful for society at large and especially for academics, religious persons, librarians, and people active in the arts and creative industry who are now able to expand their professions based on the wealth of information the manuscripts contain. 

DREAMSEA is a cooperation between the Center for the Study of Islam and Society of the State Islamic University Syarif Hidayatullah in Jakarta and the Center for the Study of Manuscript Cultures of the University of Hamburg. It not only digitizes manuscripts but is also active in assisting manuscripts owners in improved manuscript treatment. 

Many stories and knowledge of the cultural heritage in Southeast Asia are recorded in the manuscripts. Unfortunately, at present, many manuscripts are in appalling conditions, not properly taken care of and threatened with extinction. These manuscripts need to be preserved and commitment is needed to safeguard them so that their contents can be understood and used by present and future generations.

The database of the manuscripts can be accessed through this link: https://dreamsea.co/repository

Reporter: Lilis Shofiyanti