ýSitti Nurbaja'; Some reconsiderations. With comments by Taufik Abdullah

Abstract

SITTI NURBAJA": SOME RECONSIDERATIONS arah Rusli's novel Sitti Nurbaja was published first by Balai Pustaka in. 1922. 1 It was by far the most popular of Indonesian novels prior to the second world war and still retained a great deal of popularity after it. This is common knowledge. That it is also a novel which has, as yet, not had its fair critica! due, is rather less obvious. Most critics refer to it, after all, at one stage or another in their studies, even if, upon closer examination, rather briefly. (Drs H. B. Jassin refers to the novel nine times in his four volumes of Kruik dan Esei; none of the references are longer than one sentence.) Further, there seems to be a remarkably high degree of concensus as to the position, the themes, and the significance of the book within the structure of modern Indonesian literature. 2 Conventionally it seems the following comments are considered necessary from the critic of Sitti Nurbaja.Firstly, a passing reference to the primacy, or the pioneering position, of the novel in the historica! development of Indonesian literature. To choose three examples: Takdir Alisjahbana's reference to "Marah 1 Marah Rusli was born in Padang, central Sumatra, 1889: son of Sutan Abu Bakar gelar Sutan Pangeran and a commoner, hence his title. Educated Sekolah Radja, Bukit Tinggi; Faculty of Veterinary Science, Bogor, graduated 1915. Broke with his family same year after marrying. without their permission. Practised veterinary sdence for a few years in Sumbawa, then until the Revolution in Semarang. During the Revolution lived at Solo, working parttime with the navy; then, 1948, lecturer in veterinary science at Klaten.

Perlawanan Tak Kunjung Padam: Adat, Agama, dan Resistensi Terhadap Kolonial dalam Sitti Nurbaya

“…Roman yang digubah Marah Rusli tersebut menceritkan kehidupan masyarakat Minangkabau masa kolonial pada pergantian abad XX. Pertentangan adat-tradisi vis a vis cita-cita kemodernan menjadi narasi utama karya yang mengekspos pelbagai aspek sosiologis, politis, nasionalisme dan sebagainya pada masyarakat Melayu Minangkabau (Aveling, 1970;Faruk, 1986;Foulcher, 2008;Teeuw, 1967). Subtansi penceritaan erat kaitannya dengan kehidupan masa kolonial yang diinspirasi pencerahan pencerahan Eropa (Jedamski, 1992;Johns, 1959;Labrousse, 1982).…”

On the Beginning of Modern Indonesian Literature

“…At one point the most loaned novel in public libraries in the Dutch East Indies (Teeuw, 1972: 117) Sitti Nurbaja uses an omniscient narrator, which means the narrator has access to all the thoughts and actions of every character. In general, the novel deals with a similar topics to Azab dan Sengsara and the rest of the novels published by Balai Pustaka in the 1920s, which is an argument about adat (customary rules); however, this is mostly about some aspects of marriage and child-rearing of the aristocrat class in traditional society and is not a total rejection of the adat (Aveling, 1970). In terms of the emergence of Indonesian nationalism, however, Sitti Nurbaja has not attracted the same thorough studies by scholars as, for example, Salah Asuhan, a novel published by Balai Pustaka in 1928 (cf.…”