Deepening Islam Through Serat Ambiya

The Sonobudoyo Museum has ancient texts or manuscripts that tell the story of 25 Prophets, from Prophet Adam to Prophet Muhammad SAW. along with his relatives and friends. The manuscript is entitled "Serat Ambiya". Serat Ambiya is one of the masterpieces in the Sonobudoyo Museum. The manuscript is one of the written works from the past which is a benchmark for the culture of a nation. Serat Ambiya records Islam based on Javanese ecology.
This ancient manuscript was rewritten by the scriptorium during the leadership of Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwana V, namely R. Arya Suryamisena in Yogyakarta. The process of rewriting this manuscript started from February 28, 1844 to June 15, 1851. Serat Ambiya was written using Javanese script and Javanese language, the contents of which totaled 1,267 pages. One of the episodes is written about the story of the Prophet Ibrahim and Ismail who gave treasures to be sincere and surrender to God.
In Serat Ambiya there are beautiful illuminations and many ornaments in the form of wedana renggan (repeated structures) and charming wedana with various shapes and colors. The illuminations are placed at each turn of the story episode. The colors that dominate are red, green, blue, black, yellow and gold. The illustrations contained in it show Islamic and Javanese elements. In the acculturation of Javanese and Islamic culture, there are illuminations created to fulfill personal functions, social functions and physical functions. The personal function is as a forum for expressing the beauty of its creator. The social function is to increase the spiritual value of manuscripts, increase the attractiveness of studying ancient manuscripts, and communicate the messages in the manuscripts through illumination. Then the physical function is to beautify the physical appearance of the manuscript. As well as illustrative depictions of figures adapted from wayang characters. The depiction of the Prophet in this manuscript is with the green face of the figure Pandu. Then, the antagonist uses a Kaurava face with a red body.
Manuscripts need to be preserved and protected because these assets have important value in cultural, historical, religious and educational aspects. "Serat Ambiya" can be found and read digitally at the Sonobudoyo Office Library, Jl. Wijilan 27D, Panembahan, Yogyakarta.