The development of modern history, which rests on the epistemology of modern science, has pushed aside the oral tradition which is the local knowledge of traditional communities. When this local knowledge is confronted by modern history through a critical approach, an assumption emerges that the oral tradition does not contain any logical truths at all. However, it is not enough that the description of Indonesian history, with its numerous dimensions, relies solely on written sources that are at times biased towards the interests of the elite and holders of power. This research investigates the importance of the oral tradition in the writing of history. The small narrations that have developed within the oral tradition present a characteristic of “history” which is different from that of the large narrations that are compiled by centres of power. The description of the history of the Jipang kingdom and its connection with Pajang in the 16th century, as recorded in the oral tradition of the Jipang (Blora) community, is different from the chronicles that were compiled by the court-centric, or keraton-centric, centres of power. The oral traditions, which reflects local culture, offers an alternative way of reading history.
Keywords: Oral tradition, Jipang, Pajang, AryaPenangsang, history.
