Preservation as a Shared Responsibility: Collaboration for the Sustainable Preservation of Ambon Manuscripts

Abstract

Abstract The study supplements manuscript digitization, which often overlooks owners’ role in manuscript literacy, highlighting their integral connection to preservation efforts. This is particularly relevant concerning Ambon manuscripts in the former Hitu kingdom. The study’s primary objective is to discern optimal practices for sustainable preservation, emphasizing the community owners not as passive entities but as individuals possessing significant knowledge and skills, competencies which can be effectively employed to safeguard and uphold manuscripts. The data collection process encompassed comprehensive literature reviews on digital manuscript collections, interviews with owners, focus group discussions (FGD) involving the younger generation of heirs, FGD with Ambon manuscript researchers at IAIN Ambon, and observations on manuscripts and cultural practices within the community. The findings reveal notable aspects such as: 1) degradation occurs in Ambon manuscripts, both in their physical state and the transmission of knowledge post-digitization, which underscores a deficiency in knowledge transfer between manuscript users and owners, representing an ethical responsibility; 2) within Ambon society, old houses function as literacy centers for the community. Given the substantial quantity of manuscripts, these houses should be recognized as scriptoria and serve as foundational points for manuscript-based literacy development; and 3) traditional practices within owner communities indicate that manuscript knowledge/literacy extends beyond basic reading and writing skills. It encompasses a holistic and comprehensive understanding of knowledge, including its relevance to daily life, categorization, origins, literacy, preservation skills (particularly caring and copying), and utilization (for legitimacy, anticipation/conflict resolution, and even economic purposes).