ofthe SAME TREE

Jambi to the Lampungs and West Java. 21 Palas Pasemah was a collecting and
redistribution center for products from both the Lampungs and West Java,
while Ligor, also known by the toponym Tambralinga, was for centuries an
important east coast terminus in the transisthmian trade route. Even with
the limited number of inscriptions emanating from Sriwijaya, the nature and
placement of these royal commands inscribed in stone demonstrate the presence
of an ambitious polity in the late seventh century that sought to control
the important markets in the western archipelago.
Sriwijaya’s involvement beyond the Straits of Melaka can be inferred by
discovery of Old Malayu inscriptions in Java and the Philippines. The desire to
emulate Sriwijaya is evident in the manner in which ambitious rulers in Java
used Old Malayu to consolidate their positions. On the north coast of central
Java, the inscriptions invoke the gods of different regions, while another
found at Candi Sewu in the Kedu Plains to the south simply calls on the
spirit of Tandrum Luah, the protector spirit of Sriwijaya. 22 A ninth-century
inscription in Sanskrit and Old Malayu from Sojomerto in central Java mentions
a dapunta Selendra. 23 “Dapunta” is the title used in the inscriptions for
Sriwijaya rulers, and the Old Malayu used in this particular text could possibly
stem from the coastal Javanese version of the language. 24 This suggests
that Sriwijaya’s influence had come via the northern Javanese ports and that
its prestige had encouraged other rulers to adopt the Sriwijayan titulature.
Another Old Malayu inscription written in Pallava script and dated 942 CE
was found near Bogor in west Java. Although it refers to the restoration of a
Sundanese ruler by the order of a Javanese lord, it is written in Old Malayu. 25
From a close study of the language of these inscriptions, de Casparis is convinced
that “the use of Old Malay in Java reflects direct or indirect influence
from Sriwijaya.” 26
The discovery of an Old Malayu inscription at Laguna in Bulakan province
in the northern Philippines makes it the most distant evidence of Sriwijayan
influence thus far found. It is a copperplate inscription dated 900 CE
using a mix of languages to record the clearing of an individual’s debt. The
main language is Old Malayu (though not identical to that found in Sumatra
or Java), ceremonial forms of address are in Old Javanese, and technical
terms are in Sanskrit with simplified spelling and local affixes. The place
names in the inscription are all located on rivers and coasts with access to the
South China Sea and the outside world. The Laguna inscription is the first
indication that Old Malayu had developed a vocabulary to deal with matters
of debt and class distinction. 27 The ability of the language to express such
concepts is unsurprising since it evolved in Sriwijaya, where a list of occupations
recorded in the Sabokingking inscription suggests a well-differentiated
society.
56 Chapter 2