For hundreds of years a rich folk poem has existed among the Indonesian people, in the form of proverbs, small poetic verses, fairy tales and legends, magical and religious texts, longer epics of verses and drama. The written literature also dates back over a thousand years, but was traditionally confined to an aristocratic elite, although it also had ripple effects in wider layers of the people (see Javanese and Malaysia, literature).
The modern literature in Indonesia is a product of Western influence. It grew from approx. 1920 among the new intermediate layers that resulted from the more active Dutch educational policy in Indonesia. State publisher Balai Pustaka (founded 1908) stimulated the emergence of a literature in Indonesian languages, especially Malay, later Bahasa Indonesia. The literature of the 1920s and 1930s was realistic and didactic; it addressed social problems and tried to promote new ideals. Historical novels were popular, too. Among the most important authors was Marah Rusli (1889–1968), who, with the novel Sitti Nurbaja (1922), attacked social conditions in West Sumatra. the custom that parents arranged forced marriage for their children. Abdul Muis (1890–1959) set out with the novel A Crazy Upbringing(1928) spotlight on the cultural conflict in a love relationship between an Indonesian man and a European woman. Takdir Alisjahbana (1908–94) portrays in the novel Spelled Sails (1933) the problems and opportunities of young intellectual women who will take social responsibility irrespective of the requirements of the family and tradition.
During and after the Japanese occupation, a new generation worked its way, the “Generation from 45”. It was inspired and characterized by the nationalist ideals and the war of liberation against the Netherlands, but also by modern Western literature. Chairil Anwar (1922–49) founded a new design language in the lyric. The foremost prosaist was Pramoedya Ananta Toer. Achdiat Karta Mihardja (b. 1911) illustrated with the novel Atheist (1949) the conflict between traditional cultural and social norms in a West Javanese village community and the liberated lifestyle of urban intellectuals. Sitor Situmorang (b. 1923) wrote strongly existentialist embossed poems, plays and short stories in the 1950s, but advocated a social-realist literature in the 1960s. He was jailed in 1967-76.
From approx. In 1960 the social contradictions in Indonesia increased, and this also had consequences for the literature. The dominant force on the left was the cultural organization LEKRA, which was close to the Communist Party. A number of more right-wing writers professed “universal humanism” and in 1963 tried to mark themselves with a “cultural manifesto”. But this manifesto was banned by Sukarno. After the upheaval in 1965, the pendulum turned the other way with mass persecution of the leftist. LEKRA was banned, the same happened with the works of radical writers, and some authors were imprisoned. A new generation was now emerging with poems and prose aimed at the Communists and Sukarno. Later literature has been less politicized. Among the best-known authors after 1965 are Iwan Simatupang (1928-70), with novels that clearly break with the realistic tradition of Indonesian prose, Nh. Dini (b. 1936), a female novelist who portrays modern Indonesian women in marriage to European men, sheds light on the consequences of modernization for the women’s situation, and Umar Kayam (1932–2003), who in two short novels portrays events in 1965 as was experienced by ordinary people who had communists as close relatives. Social protest is expressed by the lyricist and playwright Rendra (b. 1935). builds on the syncretism of traditional Javanese culture and religion. The most central work of the 1980s, however, is the historical romance series of Pramoedya Ananta Tour from the national liberation movement’s forming year. a female novelist who portrays modern Indonesian women in marriage to European men sheds light on the implications of modernization for the women’s situation, and Umar Kayam (1932–2003), who in two short novels portrays the events of 1965 as experienced by ordinary people who had Communists as close relatives. Social protest is expressed by the lyricist and playwright Rendra (b. 1935). builds on the syncretism of traditional Javanese culture and religion. The most central work of the 1980s, however, is the historical romance series of Pramoedya Ananta Tour from the national liberation movement’s forming year. a female novelist who portrays modern Indonesian women in marriage to European men sheds light on the implications of modernization for the women’s situation, and Umar Kayam (1932–2003), who in two short novels portrays the events of 1965 as experienced by ordinary people who had Communists as close relatives. Social protest is expressed by the lyricist and playwright Rendra (b. 1935). builds on the syncretism of traditional Javanese culture and religion. The most central work of the 1980s, however, is the historical romance series of Pramoedya Ananta Tour from the national liberation movement’s forming year. which in two short novels depicts the events of 1965 as experienced by ordinary people who had communists as close relatives. Social protest is expressed by the lyricist and playwright Rendra (b. 1935). builds on the syncretism of traditional Javanese culture and religion. The most central work of the 1980s, however, is the historical romance series of Pramoedya Ananta Tour from the national liberation movement’s forming year. which in two short novels depicts the events of 1965 as experienced by ordinary people who had communists as close relatives. Social protest is expressed by the lyricist and playwright Rendra (b. 1935). builds on the syncretism of traditional Javanese culture and religion. The most central work of the 1980s, however, is the historical romance series of Pramoedya Ananta Tour from the national liberation movement’s forming year.
In the 1990s and after the political upheaval in 1998, a new literary vitality emerged, fragmented in many regional centers and floating and changing environments, and concentrated on the genres that provide the most space for oral, such as poetry, theater and short stories. Indonesian literature has always been oral oriented, reading and performance have been more important than silent reading of major prose works. An important novel from this period, however, is Durga Umayi(1991) by YB Mangunwijaya (Death 1999), which gives a satirical look at the post-liberation situation in 1945, as seen through the eyes of a Javanese village woman who must give up all ideals in her quest to advance socially, with complete alienation by a visits to the home village as a consequence. Conflict between ideals and disillusionment is not an uncommon theme in Indonesian literature.