The Tradition of Religious Books (Kitabs) Printing: Case Study of the Production and Reproduction of Religious Books (Kitabs) in Cianjur and Sukabumi, West Java, Indonesia

Abstract

Tulisan ini membahas fenomena penyebaran kitab-kitab cetak keaga­maan di Jawa Barat, khususnya di Sukabumi dan Cianjur. Jenis kitab ini biasanya menggunakan tulisan Arab dengan bahasa Sunda dan menggu­nakan aksara Pegon. Kitab-kitab cetak dari jenis-jenis itu diproduksi dan direproduksi, dan masih digunakan sampai hari ini. Oleh karena itu, fenomena ini dapat disebut sebagai “living tradition”. Pengumpulan data dilakukan dengan melacak dan merekam kitab-kitab yang diproduksi (disalin atau dikarang) dan direproduksi (dicetak atau digandakan) dengan metode seder­hana, yakni fotocopi dan pencetakan tradisional seperti stensil, sablon, dan "cetak toko". Tulisan ini bertujuan untuk memetakan dan merevisi kategorisasi kitab-kitab tersebut dari kajian terdahulu berdasarkan jenis karya, seperti karangan asli, tuqilan, terjemahan, syarḥ (penjelasan), khulasah (ringkasan) yang lain, dan juga berdasarkan bahasa dan aksara yang digunakan. Selain itu, tulisan ini juga mengamati lembaga-lembaga atau individu-individu yang masih mereproduksi buku-buku (kitab-kitab) keagamaan sederhana seperti perusahaan percetakan atau pesantren yang menerbitkan kitab-kitab tersebut. Pada akhir artikel ini, ada beberapa saran dalam upaya untuk melestarikan kitab-kitab cetak dan karya-karya tersebut.Kata kunci: kitab, jenis karya, pencetakan tradisional, Sunda, Pegon, Jawa Barat This paper discusses the phenomenon of the spreading of religious printed books (kitabs) in West Java, especially in Sukabumi and Cianjur, which are characterized by the use of Arabic writing in Sundanese (or known as Pegon script). The printed books (Kitabs) of those types are produced and reproduced, and are still used to this day. Therefore, this phenomenon can be called as a “living tradition”. Data collection was conducted by tracing and recording religious books (kitabs) that are pro-duced (rewritten or compossed) and reproduced (printed or duplicated) with a simple method, known as photocopying and traditional printing such as stencils, screen printing, and “shop printing”. This paper aims to map and revise the categorization of these Kitabs from previous studies based on the types of works including original essays, tuqilan (quotations), translation, sharh (explanation), khulaṣah (summary), or the other, and also based on the language and the script used. In addition, this paper also observes the institutions or individuals that are still reproducing these printed religious books such as the printing company or pesantren that publish such kitabs. At the end of this article, there are some suggestions in attempts to preserve those printed kitabs and the works.Keywords: Kitabs, type of work, traditional printing, Sunda, Pegon, West Java