Nusantara is theIndonesian name ofMaritime Southeast Asia (or parts of it). It is anOld Javanese term that literally means "outer islands".[1] InIndonesia, it is generally taken to mean theIndonesian Archipelago.[2][3] Outside of Indonesia, the term has been adopted to refer to theMalay Archipelago.[4]
The word Nusantara is taken from an oath byGajah Mada in 1336, as written in the Old JavanesePararaton.[5] Gajah Mada was a powerful military leader andprime minister ofMajapahit credited with bringing the empire to its peak of glory. Gajah Mada delivered an oath calledSumpah Palapa, in which he vowed not to eat any food containingspices until he had conquered all of Nusantara under the glory of Majapahit.The concept of Nusantara as a unified region was not invented by Gajah Mada in 1336. The term Nusantara was first used byKertanegara of Singhasari in Mula Malurung inscription dated 1255. Furthermore, in 1275, the termCakravalaMandala Dvipantara was used by him to describe the aspiration of united Southeast Asian archipelago underSinghasari and marked the beginning of hisefforts to achieve it. Dvipantara is a Sanskrit word for the "islands in between", making it a synonym to Nusantara as bothdvipa andnusa mean "island".[6][7] Kertanegara envisioned the union of Southeast Asian maritime kingdoms and polities under Singhasari as a bulwark against the rise of the expansionistMongol-ledYuan dynasty of China.[8]
In a wider sense, Nusantara in modern language usage includesAustronesian-related cultural and linguistic lands, namely,Indonesia,Malaysia,Singapore,Southern Thailand, thePhilippines,Brunei,East Timor andTaiwan, while excludingPapua New Guinea.[9][circular reference][10][11][failed verification]
The termNusantara derives from a combined two words ofAustronesian andSanskrit origin, the wordnūsa (see alsonusa) meaning "island" inOld Javanese, is ultimately derived from theProto-Malayo-Polynesian word*nusa with the same meaning,[12] and the wordantara is a Javanese loanword borrowed from Sanskrit अन्तरा (antarā) meaning "between" or "in the middle",[13] thus creating acompound word ofnūsa (“island”) +antara (“interval, interspace; other, another, different”) and together it means " the outer islands" as mentioned in the 14th century Old Javanese manuscript Pararaton and Nagarakretagama.[14]
Other attestations of term are found inSarwadharma inscription [id] (1269 CE),Adan-adan inscription [id] (1301 CE),Balawi inscription [id] (1305 CE).[6][15] Alongside the form ofDwipantara as found inCamunda inscription [id] (1292 CE).[15] Both it andNusantara have the same meaning, asdwipa andnusa are synonyms for island.[16]
Excerpts fromMula Malurung inscription [id] (1255 CE):
mwaŋ dumadyakěn wŕ ddhi niŋ yaśānurāga nira narāryya smi niŋ rāt. prakaśita riŋ nūśa para nūśa. tinūt i parāmadigwijaya nira narāryya smi niŋ rāt. an mahakěn samalělö niŋ sayawadwīpa mańůala. anūlūya ni nūsāntara
The Prabhu's position became stronger on the golden throne and became a test for the fame ofNarāryya Sminingrāt [id]'s virtues which was prominent throughout the entire Java Island and continued to [the entire] nusantara.
nakaikacchātra niŋ bhūwana sayawadwīpamaṇḍala. anuluyani nūṣāntara. an maṅkana panambaḥ saŋ rāmapati
as an umbrella that cover the world of Java, followed by Nusantara. Thus the Ramapati's words of worship
The most well known excerpt is perhaps from thePararaton, a late Old Javanese (sometimes termed "middle Javanese") language text chronicling theroyal dynasty of Singasari and Majapahit. In the relevant passage, the term is used in relation to thePalapa oath undertaken by theMajapahitmahapatih (grand regent)Gajah Mada:[17]: 384 : 363
Sira Gajah Madapatih amangkubhumi tan ayun amuktia palapa, sira Gajah Mada: "Lamun huwus kalah nusantara isun amukti palapa, lamun kalah ring Gurun, ring Seran, Tañjungpura, ring Haru, ring Pahang, Dompo, ring Bali, Sunda, Palembang, Tumasik, samana isun amukti palapa"
[Eventually] Gajah Mada became patih mangkubumi, [but] did not want toamukti palapa. Gajah Mada [swore], "If I have conquered the Nusantara Archipelago, [then] I willamukti palapa. If [I have] conquered Gurun, Seran, Tanjungpura, Haru, Pahang, Dompo, Bali, Sunda, Palembang, Tumasik, then I willamukti palapa."
The word Nusantara was not only used by the Javanese and did not disappear after the fall of Majapahit. This word can be found inMalay Annals, a classic Malay literature written as early as 1612, but it remained known even in the 1808 manuscript:[18][19][20]
Terlalu sekali besar kerajaan Baginda (Majapahit) pada zaman itu, segala seluruh Jawa semuanya dalam hukum Baginda, dan segala raja-raja Nusantarapun setengah sudah ta-luk kepada baginda
Very big was the kingdom ofBaginda (the king of Majapahit) at that time, all of Java was underBaginda's law, and half of the kings of the Nusantara archipelago were submissive toBaginda.
In Javanese,Nusantara is derived from nūsa 'island' andantara, 'between'. It means "outer islands" or "other islands" (in the sense of "islands beyond Java in between theIndian andPacific Oceans"), referring to the islands outside ofJava underhegemony of theMajapahit Empire. The term is commonly erroneously translated as "archipelago" in modern times.[21] Based on the Majapahit concept of state, the monarch had power over three areas:
In 1920,Ernest Francois Eugene Douwes Dekker (1879–1950), also known as Setiabudi, proposedNusantara as a name for the independent country of Indonesia which did not contain any words etymologically related to thename of India or theIndies.[22] This is the first instance of the termNusantara appearing after it had been written intoPararaton manuscript.
The definition of Nusantara introduced by Setiabudi is different from the 14th-century definition of the term. During theMajapahit era, Nusantara described vassal areas that had been conquered. Setiabudi defined Nusantara as all the Indonesian regions fromSabang toMerauke.
Nowadays, inIndonesian, Nusantara is synonymous with either theIndonesian Archipelago or the national territory of Indonesia.[23] In this sense, the term Nusantara excludes Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, East Timor, and the Philippines. In 1967, it transformed into the concept ofWawasan Nusantara, or "archipelagic outlook," which regards the archipelagic realm of Indonesia (the islands and seas within/surrounding the country) as a single unity of several aspects, mainly socio-cultural, linguistic, political, economic, security-driven and defensive unity.[24]
Nusantara is also the name of the futurecapital of Indonesia.[25]
InBrunei,Malaysia andSingapore, the term is generally used to refer to theMalay Archipelago or theMalay realm (Malay:Alam Melayu) which includes those countries.
In a more scholarly manner without national borders, Nusantara in a modern language usage "refers to the sphere of influence of the Austronesian-related cultural and linguistic islands that compriseIndonesia,Malaysia,Singapore, the southernmost part ofThailand, thePhilippines,Brunei,East Timor and perhaps evenTaiwan, but it does not involve the areas ofPapua New Guinea."[9][circular reference]
TheNusantara Society inMoscow conducts studies on the Nusantara region's history, culture, languages and politics.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of October 2025 (link)Seperkara lagi yang perlu dijelaskan ialah perbezaan istilah yang digunakan mereka bagi merujuk daerah yang mereka perkatakan. N. J. Krom (seterusnya Krom), misalnya, menggunakan istilah 'Nusantara', manakala Bernard H. M. Vlekke (seterusnya Vlekke) dan J.C. Van Leur (Van Leur) menamakan daerah kajian mereka sebagai "Indonesia". Meskipun terdapat perbezaan dari segi istilah, namun setelah diteliti adalah didapati cakupan perbincangan mereka rata-rata merujuk kepada daerah yang sama, iaitu daerah yang disebut olehAl-Attas dalam syarahan pengukuhan beliau yang bertajuk Islam dalamSejarah dan Kebudayaan Melayu (1972) sebagai "Kepulauan Melayu-Indonesia".
Konsep Nusantara dalam pemahaman warga Indonesia sangat berbeza dengan apa yang difahami rakyat Malaysia, bahkan hampir kesemua negara lain di Asia Tenggara termasuk Singapura...ketika kebanyakan penduduk Asia Tenggara merujuk Nusantara kepada wilayah Kepulauan Melayu atau negara di Asia Tenggara, penduduk Indonesia sebaliknya berpendapat Nusantara adalah Indonesia semata-mata.
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