What's in a name? -- William Shakespeare. Name it's a gift before we all come into this world, here we are write a history about Indonesia's name.
Nusantara is an Indonesian word for the Indonesian archipelago.[21] It originated from Old Javanese and literally means "archipelago".[22] The name derived from the Old Javanese words of sanskrit origin nusa ("island") and antara ("in between") or antero ("the whole of" or "the collection of"); the combined word therefore connotes "collection of islands" or "archipelago".
The word Nusantara was taken from an oath by Gajah Mada in 1336, as written on an old Javanese manuscript Pararaton and Negarakertagama.[23] Gajah Mada was a powerful military leader and prime minister of the Majapahit Empire who was credited with bringing the empire to its peak of glory. Gajah Mada delivered an oath called Sumpah Palapa, in which he vowed not to eat any food containing spices until he had conquered all of Nusantara under Majapahit.
In 1920, Ernest Francois Eugene Douwes Dekker (1879–1950), proposed "Nusantara" as a new name for this country instead of "Indonesia". He argued that the name was more indigenously developed, which did not contain any words etymologically inherited from the name Indies, Indus or India.[24] This is the first instance of the term Nusantara appearing after it had been written in Pararaton manuscript.
The definition of Nusantara introduced by Douwes Dekker is different from its 14th century definition. During the Majapahit era, Nusantara was described as vassal areas to be conquered, the overseas possessions of Majapahit, in contrast with Negara Agung or the core of Majapahit. However, Douwes Dekker did not want this aggressive connotation, so he defined Nusantara as all the Indonesian regions from Sabang as far as Merauke. Although Douwes Dekker's proposal did not succeed, and the name "Indonesia" remained in use for the nation's name, the name "Nusantara" has been widely used in literature, printed and broadcast news materials and popular publications, thus it has become the synonym for Indonesia.
