DISCUSSION FORUM-09
Mastoni,
Understanding the death of the
Javanese culture
is one of my pet projects that
I've been
trying to put into a book for
a long time.
Let me share some of my observations
here.
Your assertion that the Dutch
killed Javanese
culture is totally inaccurate.
I personally
think that Indonesian nationalism
as well
as the underlying Anti Javanese
sentiment
killed the Javanese culture.
Historically,
even though Javanese was spoken
by more people
in the archipelago, most of those
people
resided in the Island of Java
itself, whereas
Malay, the lingua franca which
became the
basis for Indonesian language
was spoken
in more area. With the rise in
education,
organization, during the Ethical
period early
in the Twentieth Century, Malay
became the
language of choice among the
educated few
because most of them didn't want
to use Dutch
and yet they cannot use their
local language
to communicate with some of their
brethrens
from the other islands. As the
result, this
totally inadequate lingua franca
became the
default national language.
The use of Latin script in Bahasa
Indonesia
actually was more the contribution
of the
Indos -those who were of mixed
parentage.
Most of these Indos were of Dutch
fathers
and native mothers. Most of these
Indos were
well educated by the standard
then. Most
of them had at least a MULO,
post primary
school, education. Because their
mothers
reared them, most of the Indos
also spoke
local dialects as well as Dutch
that they
learned in school. Most of the
newspapers
prior to 1920's were started
by these Indos.
They used the Malay in their
newspapers since
they saw other Indos primarily
as their readerships.
During that time, early 20th
Century, in
Malaya and Sumatra where Malay
was predominant,
Malay itself was written in Arabic
scripts
(Arab kembangan). However, because
most of
these Indos were not Muslims,
the use of
Arabic scripts was not favored.
Thus, it
came to be that Bahasa Indonesia,
an eastern
language, is written in Latin
alphabet.
During the National Youth Congress
- Sumpah
Pemuda, on October 28, 1928,
when the ferver
of nationalism was at its peak,
the youth
delegation agreed to push for
the use of
the Malay which will then be
known as Bahasa
Indonesia. The problem that I
discovered
during my research for a book
that I am still
trying to write is that during
this Youth
Congress, there was a clear Anti
Javanese
Sentiment abound. The name of
the country
itself for example was originally
proposed
to be Nusantara, but to many
of the delegates
from the other islands, the word
Nusantara
reminded them so much os the
domination of
the Javanese kingdom of Majapahit
during
the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Century.
There
was even a thought of calling
the country
Dipantara, which was an even
older name originated
with the Kingdom of Kediri also
of Java.
The name that was finally agreed
upon was
Indonesia, which is of English
origin, matching
perfectly with all of the other
islands groups
in the Pacific, such Melanesia,
Micronesia,
Polynesia, etc.
Suppossedly, the group which
pushed for the
use of the name of Indonesia
were dominated
by those students who had recently
returned
from their studies in The Netherlands
under
scholarships from the colonial
government.
In addition, the influence of
the old folks
from Indische Party such as Suwardi
Suryaningrat,
Douwes Dekker, Dr. Sutomo, etc.,
could not
be discounted. Unfortunately,
the Javanese
voice during this meeting was
not united.
In fact, many of the representatives
of the
Javanese were splintered into
the respective
organizations to which they belonged
such
as Jong Java. Notably absent
from such an
important gathering was the most
important
figure for Indonesian independence,
Soekarno
himself. He was jailed from 1927
to 1929
in the Sukamiskin Jail near Bandung.
Would
Soekarno had been able to congeal
the Javanese
consensus opinion? Only history
knows. The
absence of such an important
figure during
such an important nationalist
gathering made
me wonder if the colonial government
allowed
the congress to take place precisely
because
Soekarno himself couldn't be
there.
Another curious thing I discovered
on my
research is on the name Nusantara
itself.
If it is true that it originated
during the
Majapahit era, during the Fourteenth
and
Fiteenth Centuries, then the
meaning of the
word Nusantara itself could only
be islands
between two continents if those
of Majapahit
already knew of the existence
of Terra Australis
Incognito long before the Dutch
sailors sited
that unknown southern land during
the Sixteenth
Century.
Another self-inflicted death
blow to the
Javanese culture came about after
Indonesian
independence. While we all know
of the contributions
of the Sultan Hamengku Buwono
and Sri Paku
Alam of Yogya to the nationalist
cause, very
little is spoken about what happened
in Solo.
The two royal houses in Solo
were in fact
not so supportive of the independence
movement.
Sunan Paku Buwono was ambivalent
about the
whole situation and practically
sat out during
the entire war for independence.
Mangku Negara,
on the other hand, was out and
out pro Dutch.
Solo was the acknowledged center
of Javanese
culture before Indonesian independent.
However,
after the war for independence
was over,
while Yogyakarta was designated
as Special
Territory, Solo was absorbed
totally by the
Province of Central Java, thus
making it
less important. Solo was in fact
punished
because its leaders made the
wrong choice.
Not until Suharto became president
did there
was a move to resurrect Solo
as a cultural
center, but is it too late? Suharto's
wife,
of course, was an abdidalem from
Mangku Negaran.
Jono Hardjowirogo
Publisher, ACM Press Books and
Journals
ACM, Inc.
1515 Broadway
New York, NY 10036
(212) 626-0665
Dear Mas Jono,
You claim I asserted that “the Dutch killed
Javanese Culture”. First of all, Javanese
culture is not dead. I grew up in a home
where people spoke Javanese and cherished
their culture and traditions. Javanese culture
has certainly changed--perhaps ‘declined’
is not to strong a word. Despite this, more
than a hundred million Javanese people, of
whom I am one, are the living embodiment
of contemporary Javanese culture. To paraphrase
Mark Twain, the rumors of our death have
been greatly exaggerated.
Secondly,I never said that the Dutch killed
Javanese culture. I would never ascribe such
‘single handedness’ to the influence of the
Dutch. I said, “they have no doubt contributed
to the increasing distance between the youth
of Indonesia and their own culture” (see
Carakan)--a fact that your own research corroborates
beautifully.
By way of example, you wrote, “Most of these
Indos were of Dutch fathers and native mothers”.
They “spoke local dialects as well as Dutch
that they learned in school.” “They used
the Malay in their newspapers since they
saw other Indos primarily as their readerships”,
“… Indos were not Muslims …" “Thus,
it came to be that Bahasa Indonesia, an eastern
language, is written in Latin alphabet.”
How can you not see this string of facts
as evidence that the Dutch and Colonialism
have “contributed” to the decline of Javanese
culture?
I will continue with your own
facts.
About the National Youth Congress of 1928
you wrote, “the group which pushed for the
use of the name of Indonesia were dominated
by those students who had recently returned
from their studies in The Netherlands under
scholarships from the colonial government.”
At the congress, “The name that was finally
agreed upon was Indonesia, which is of English
origin …”
Are these unrelated coincidences? How can
you look at your research and avoid the obvious
truth? Surely your own facts support my understanding
of the effects of colonialism more eloquently
than anything I could say to you.
Let me throw in a few connections of my own
for you to consider. The 1928 National Youth
Congress which, according to you, occurred
“when the ferver of nationalism was at its
peak”, was taking place in the midst of a
great struggle for independence from our
colonial masters.
Can you see the connection between the struggle
for independence and the attempt on the part
of some Indonesians to unify? I believe that
the congress can only be truly understood
in the light of this fact. While Java had
for many centuries been the governing power
in Nusantara, it was the Dutch who held power
during that 1928 Congress you cited. When
the elite of Indonesia were controlled by
the Dutch, doing business with the Dutch,
punished by the Dutch, educated by the Dutch,
literally and figuratively in bed with the
Dutch, does it surprise you that Indonesians
might favour European culture, the Latin
Alphabet and the European-approved name of
‘Indonesia’?
Colonialism is like the preverbal elephant
sitting in the middle of the room that no
one wants to speak about. They might comment
on the smell of the elephant or notice how
small the room seems. But no one is willing
to look the elephant straight in the eye
and call it what it is. Gajah di pelupuk mata tidak tampak, kunang
di seberang lautan kelihatan.
I have no doubt that you have uncovered many
interesting facts about Javanese culture.
I look forward to reading your book. Facts
are useful tools when their relevance is
understood. Unless you begin to understand
the profound effects the Dutch and colonialism
had on the decline of Javanese culture, your
book will be incomplete.
Respectfully,
Mastoni
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