Indonesian literature

Indonesian Literature can refer to literature produced in the Indonesian archipelago. It is also used to refer more broadly to literature produced in areas with common language roots based on the Malay language (of which Indonesian is one scion). This would extend the reach to the Maritime Southeast Asia (including Indonesia, but also other nations with a common language such as Malaysia and Brunei, as well as population within other nations such as the Malay people living in Singapore.

There are also works written in and about Indonesia in unrelated languages. There are several languages and several distinct but related literary traditions within the geographical boundaries of the modern nation of Indonesia. For example the island of Java has its own Javanese pre-national cultural and literary history. There are also Sundanese, Balinese, and Batak or Madurese traditions. Indonesia also has a colonial history of Dutch, British and Japanese occupation, as well as a history of Islamic influence that brought its own texts, linguistic and literary influences. There is also an oral literature tradition in the area.

The phrase Indonesian literature is used in this article to refer to Indonesian as written in the nation of Indonesia, but also covers literature written in an earlier form of the Indonesian language i.e. Malay language written in the Dutch East Indies.

During its early history, Indonesia was the centre of trade among sailors and traders from China, India, Europe and the Middle East. Indonesia was then a colony of the Netherlands and Japan . Its literary tradition was influenced by these cultures, mainly those of India, Persia, China and, more recently, Western Europe. However, unique Indonesian characteristics cause it to be considered as a separate path and tradition.

Chronologically Indonesian literature may be divided into several periods:

    Pujangga Lama: the "Literates of Olden Times" (traditional literature)
    Sastra Melayu Lama: "Older Malay Literature"
    Angkatan Balai Pustaka: the "Generation of the [Colonial] Office for Popular Literature" (from 1908)
    Angkatan Pujangga Baru: the "New Literates" (from 1933)
    Angkatan 1945: the "Generation of 1945"
    Angkatan 1950 - 1960-an: the "Generation of the 1950s"
    Angkatan 1966 - 1970-an: the "Generation of 1966 into the 1970s"
    Angkatan 1980-an: the "Decade of the 1980s"
    Angkatan Reformasi: the post-Suharto "Reformation Period"
    Angkatan 2000-an: the "Generation of 2000s"

There is considerable overlapping between these periods, and the usual designation according to "generations"  should not allow us to lose sight of the fact that these are movements rather than chronological periods. For instance, older Malay literature was being written until well into the twentieth century. Likewise, the Pujangga Baru Generation was active even after the Generation of 1950 had entered the literary scene.
Genres

In written poetry and prose, a number of traditional forms dominate, mainly:

 syair (traditional narrative poetry)
pantun (quatrains made up of two seemingly disconnected couplets)
gurindam (brief aphorisms)
hikayat (stories, fairy-tales, animal fables, chronicles)
babad (histories or chronicles).

Categories: Literature