FOX Plus ça change . . . Recent developments in Old Javanese studies and

The idea that the text changes, that people are consciously changing the text, and that such processes should be of interest to philology, runs counter to many earlier assumptions about the role of philology as a scientific method for establishing the 'original' text (Vickers 1984:4-5). [T]he kakawin poetry of ancient Java acquires its character as a meaningful literary text for present-day Balinese only through oral performance (Schumacher 1995:488). [K]ekawin philology as practised to date undermines the religious beliefs and values upon which kekawin composition has been based (Rubinstein 2000:225). 1 As noted in a special issue of Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land-en Volkenkunde (Van der Molen and Creese 2001), the study of Old Javanese texts has undergone significant changes in recent years. 2 In this article, I would like to consider some of the critical implications of these changes for the scholarly study of religion in contemporary Bali. London. His research interests are media and religion in Southeast Asia, and theoretical issues in Asian cultural and media studies. His previous article on the present subject was 'Substantial transmissions; A presuppositional analysis of " the Old Javanese text " as an object of knowledge, and its implications for the study of religion in Bali', Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land-en Volkenkunde 1 In a note on spelling, Rubinstein (2000:xiii) explained, 'I employ the Balinese spelling of kekawin, but when quoting from a Kawi source I use the Kawi spelling kakawin'. For consistency, I have reversed Rubinstein's convention, using the Kawi spelling in my own remarks, as it occurred most frequently in the sources cited in Fox 2003 – and to which I have had occasional cause to return. I have, however, retained the Balinese spelling (kekawin) when citing the work of others. 2 The volume carries the subtitle 'Old Javanese texts and culture'.