About Historiography

Historiography is a word derived from the Latin history, Historia, which means history, evidence, wise and Graaf. While the literal understanding of historiography is the writing of history. However as a science, historiography is part of the history of science that studies the results from the writings or works of history from generation to generation, from age to age. Some even say that historiography is the history of history. With the historiography of science will be discussed the results of historical writing, from the man produces a work of history however simple shape, such as folklore, legends, myths, and so on until the work of modern history.

The problem is why people or historians should examine the results and what are the benefits of writing history. As mentioned upfront that the historical work will be studied in the historiography is that since humans produce works of history however simple. In a society that is still very simple or traditional, for example, that historiography is a cultural expression and reflection of the concerns of a social group that produced it. Such historiography has not in writing, but still in the form of literature that target inherited from generation to generation.

Furthermore, in a society that was slightly more advanced, in which historiography has been generated by the literati (poet), and kept maintained by the authorities, usually has a function to affirm the legitimacy of a dynasty or reinforce and maintain basic ideological values ​​which he rested from power. Such historiography are formed as a literary work with its varieties, such as the Babad Tanah Jawi, the Ramayana, or Maha Barata. For the historian of today would find it difficult to get information from it. Historiography of this kind could also form a record of events that are considered important to note, could then be used or used as a lesson about the legal and moral behavior. A striking example of that is the traditional Chinese historiography, which indeed has a tradition of recording important events, both events at the time of a dynasty still in power and the dynasties that preceded it. The same thing can be known in the Islamic tradition with a note that referred to by the term 'chronicle'. This kind of historiography is factual, because what is presented or written is already a record of events that have occurred in the past.

Then the latter is in an advanced society, the resulting history of modern historiography written critically (critical historical writing). In this case the historiography does not just stop at listing or presentation of facts, but continued with the interpretation or synthesis of the facts obtained in order to be prepared (reconstruction) of a historical tale of life and harmony. It required the methodology as a discipline.

From the above description can be concluded that each generation of an era that writes its own history, because every generation has a social attachment with their own cultural background (Cultuur gebudenheid), or the soul of his own era (geesttijd gebundenheid), which is reflected by the poet or historians in his works. By know attachment, then historians of today who read or even take advantage of historical works as a source of history, should be able to escape of the influence of culture and the soul era, from every historical work, so they can obtain credible information (facts history) of every work of history.