Amir Hamzah: Difference between revisions
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Amir's mother died in 1931, and his father the year after, cutting off the funding necessary for his education. As his AMS studies were coming to a conclusion, and he wanted to continue to a law school in Batavia, Amir wrote his brother Jakfar, who arranged for the remainder of Amir's studies to be paid for by the Sultan. As a result, in 1932 Amir was able to return to Batavia and begin his legal studies.{{sfn|Husny|1978|p=42–43}}. This year saw Amir's first two poems, "Sunyi" ("Silent") and "Mabuk..." ("Nauseous..."), published in the March edition of the magazine ''Timboel''. His other eight works published that year included a ''[[syair]]'' based on the ''Hikayat Hang Tuah'',{{sfn|Teeuw|1980|pp=126–127}}{{sfn|Balfas|1976|p=61}} three other poems, two pieces of [[prose poem|lyrical prose]], and two short stories; the poems were again published in ''Timboel'', while the prose was included in the magazine ''Pandji Poestaka''.{{sfn|Jassin|1962|pp=211–219}} |
Amir's mother died in 1931, and his father the year after, cutting off the funding necessary for his education. As his AMS studies were coming to a conclusion, and he wanted to continue to a law school in Batavia, Amir wrote his brother Jakfar, who arranged for the remainder of Amir's studies to be paid for by the Sultan. As a result, in 1932 Amir was able to return to Batavia and begin his legal studies.{{sfn|Husny|1978|p=42–43}}. This year saw Amir's first two poems, "Sunyi" ("Silent") and "Mabuk..." ("Nauseous..."), published in the March edition of the magazine ''Timboel''. His other eight works published that year included a ''[[syair]]'' based on the ''Hikayat Hang Tuah'',{{sfn|Teeuw|1980|pp=126–127}}{{sfn|Balfas|1976|p=61}} three other poems, two pieces of [[prose poem|lyrical prose]], and two short stories; the poems were again published in ''Timboel'', while the prose was included in the magazine ''Pandji Poestaka''.{{sfn|Jassin|1962|pp=211–219}} |
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Around September 1932 Armijn Pane, upon the urgings of [[Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana]], editor of "Memadjoekan Sastera" ("Advancing Literature", the literary section of ''Pandji Poestaka''), invited Amir to help them establish an independent literary magazine.{{sfn|Foulcher|1991|pp=14–17}} Amir accepted, and was tasked with writing letters to solicit submissions;{{sfn|Foulcher|1991|pp=14–17}} a total of fifty letters were sent to noted writers, including forty sent to contributors to "Memadjoekan Sastera".{{sfn|Siregar|1964|p=77}}{{sfn|Foulcher|1991|p=20}} After several months of preparations, the initial edition was published in July 1933,{{sfn|Teeuw|1980|p=50}} under the title ''[[Poedjangga Baroe]]''. The new magazine was left under the editorial control of Armijn and Alisjahbana,{{sfn|Siregar|1964|p=75}} while Amir published almost all of his subsequent writings there.{{sfn|Jassin|1962|pp=211–219}} |
Around September 1932 Armijn Pane, upon the urgings of [[Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana]], editor of "Memadjoekan Sastera" ("Advancing Literature", the literary section of ''Pandji Poestaka''), invited Amir to help them establish an independent literary magazine.{{sfn|Foulcher|1991|pp=14–17}} Amir accepted, and was tasked with writing letters to solicit submissions;{{sfn|Foulcher|1991|pp=14–17}} a total of fifty letters were sent to noted writers, including forty sent to contributors to "Memadjoekan Sastera".{{sfn|Siregar|1964|p=77}}{{sfn|Foulcher|1991|p=20}} After several months of preparations, the initial edition was published in July 1933,{{sfn|Teeuw|1980|p=50}} under the title ''[[Poedjangga Baroe]]''. The new magazine was left under the editorial control of Armijn and Alisjahbana,{{sfn|Siregar|1964|p=75}} while Amir published almost all of his subsequent writings there.{{sfn|Jassin|1962|pp=211–219}} In his "Soeltan Ala'oeddin Rajat Sjah", published in ''Poedjangga Baroe'', Amir gives a rare critique of Acehnese royalty by depicting the [[Sultan Riayat Syah]] (1537-71) as an immoral, womanizing, drunkard of a dictator, in stark contrast to the chronicles of Acehnese royalty which portray royals in a highly flattering light.{{sfn|Siapno|2002|p=72}} In this piece, according to Jacqueline Aquino Siapno he also "subverts the traditional representation of female characters in the traditional Acehnese courts and manuscripts as passive, voiceless creatures pining away with a longing (''rindu'')."{{sfn|Siapno|2002|p=72}} |
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In mid-1933 Amir was recalled to Langkat, where the Sultan informed him that Amir was to be married to the Sultan's eldest daughter, Tengku Puteri Kamiliah. Though Amir was infatuated with a woman he had met while in Java, he was unable to refuse the Sultan and, after two months, Amir and Kamiliah were engaged in an extravagant ceremony. In late 1933 Amir, disappointed with his fate, returned to Java to continue his studies and writing.{{sfn|Husny|1978|pp=47–49}} |
In mid-1933 Amir was recalled to Langkat, where the Sultan informed him that Amir was to be married to the Sultan's eldest daughter, Tengku Puteri Kamiliah. Though Amir was infatuated with a woman he had met while in Java, he was unable to refuse the Sultan and, after two months, Amir and Kamiliah were engaged in an extravagant ceremony. In late 1933 Amir, disappointed with his fate, returned to Java to continue his studies and writing.{{sfn|Husny|1978|pp=47–49}} |
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{{Main|List of works by Amir Hamzah}} |
{{Main|List of works by Amir Hamzah}} |
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[[File:Cover Poedjangga Baroe 1937.jpg|thumb|A 1937 cover of ''[[Poedjangga Baroe]]''; the magazine published most of Amir's works.]] |
[[File:Cover Poedjangga Baroe 1937.jpg|thumb|A 1937 cover of ''[[Poedjangga Baroe]]''; the magazine published most of Amir's works.]] |
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Altogether Amir wrote 50 poems, 18 pieces of lyrical prose, 12 articles, 4 short stories, 3 poetry collections, and 1 original book. He also translated 44 poems, 1 piece of lyrical prose, and 1 book. The vast majority of his works were published in ''Poedjangga Baroe'', although some earlier ones were published in ''Timboel'' and ''Pandji Poestaka''.{{sfn|Jassin|1962|pp=211–219}} None of his creative works are dated, and there is no consensus regarding when individual poems were written.{{sfn|Jassin|1962|p=9}} There is, however, a general consensus that the works included in ''Nyanyi Sunyi'' were written after those included in ''Buah Rindu'', despite the latter being published last.{{sfn|Teeuw|1980|pp=125–126}} |
According to John M. Echols, Amir was a writer of great sensitivity who was "not a prolific writer but his prose and poetry are on a very high level, though difficult reading even for Indonesians."{{sfn|Echols|1956|p=14}} Echols credits Amir with a revival of the Malay language, breathing new life into Malay literature in the 1930s.{{sfn|Echols|1956|p=200}} Altogether Amir wrote 50 poems, 18 pieces of lyrical prose, 12 articles, 4 short stories, 3 poetry collections, and 1 original book. He also translated 44 poems, 1 piece of lyrical prose, and 1 book. The vast majority of his works were published in ''Poedjangga Baroe'', although some earlier ones were published in ''Timboel'' and ''Pandji Poestaka''.{{sfn|Jassin|1962|pp=211–219}} None of his creative works are dated, and there is no consensus regarding when individual poems were written.{{sfn|Jassin|1962|p=9}} There is, however, a general consensus that the works included in ''Nyanyi Sunyi'' were written after those included in ''Buah Rindu'', despite the latter being published last.{{sfn|Teeuw|1980|pp=125–126}} |
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Amir's work often dealt with love (both erotic and idealized), with religious influences showing in many of his poems.{{sfn|Jakarta City Government, Amir Hamzah}}{{sfn|Balfas|1976|p=61}} There are several thematic differences between his two original poetry anthologies,{{sfn|Teeuw|1980|p=132}} discussed further below. |
Amir's work often dealt with love (both erotic and idealized), with religious influences showing in many of his poems.{{sfn|Jakarta City Government, Amir Hamzah}}{{sfn|Balfas|1976|p=61}} [[Mysticism]] is important in many of his works, and his poetry often reflects a deep inner conflict.{{sfn|Echols|1956|p=14}} There are several thematic differences between his two original poetry anthologies,{{sfn|Teeuw|1980|p=132}} discussed further below. |
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===''Nyanyi Sunyi''=== |
===''Nyanyi Sunyi''=== |
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==Style== |
==Style== |
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Amir's [[diction]] was influenced by the need for [[rhythm]] and [[Metre (poetry)|metre]], as well as [[symbol]]ism related to particular terms.{{sfn|Rosidi|1976|p=46}} This careful diction emphasised simple words as the basic unit and occasional uses of [[alliteration]] and [[assonance]].{{sfn|Teeuw|1980|p=130}} Ultimately, however, Amir is freer in his language use than traditional poets.{{sfn|Balfas|1976|p=64}} Indonesian critic [[Bakri Siregar]] writes that the result is "a beautiful wordplay".{{efn|Original: "''... permainan kata jang indah.''"}}{{sfn|Siregar|1964|p=116}} Teeuw writes that Amir had a complete understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of [[Malay language|Malay]], mixing eastern and western influences.{{sfn|Teeuw|1980|p=130}} |
Amir's [[diction]] was influenced by the need for [[rhythm]] and [[Metre (poetry)|metre]], as well as [[symbol]]ism related to particular terms.{{sfn|Rosidi|1976|p=46}} This careful diction emphasised simple words as the basic unit and occasional uses of [[alliteration]] and [[assonance]].{{sfn|Teeuw|1980|p=130}} Ultimately, however, Amir is freer in his language use than traditional poets.{{sfn|Balfas|1976|p=64}} Indonesian critic [[Bakri Siregar]] writes that the result is "a beautiful wordplay".{{efn|Original: "''... permainan kata jang indah.''"}}{{sfn|Siregar|1964|p=116}} Teeuw writes that Amir had a complete understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of [[Malay language|Malay]], mixing eastern and western influences.{{sfn|Teeuw|1980|p=130}} Jennifer Lindsay and Ying Ying Tan highlight his "verbal inventiveness", injecting a "lavishness of expression, a mellifluous of sound and meaning" into his poetry.{{sfn|Lindsay|Tan|2003|p=49}} |
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The choice of words depends heavily on old [[Malay language|Malay]] terms which saw little contemporary use. He also borrows heavily from other Indonesian languages, particularly [[Javanese language|Javanese]] and [[Sundanese language|Sundanes]].{{sfn|Rosidi|1976|p=45}} As such, early printings of Amir's work would be accompanied by footnotes explaining these words.{{sfn|Balfas|1976|p=61}} Teeuw writes that Amir's poems included numerous [[cliché]]s common in ''pantuns'' which would not be understood by foreign readers,{{sfn|Teeuw|1980|p=133}} while translator John M. Echols writes that the poems in ''Nyanyi Sunyi'' are "difficult reading even for Indonesians".{{sfn|Echols|1956|p=14}} |
The choice of words depends heavily on old [[Malay language|Malay]] terms which saw little contemporary use. He also borrows heavily from other Indonesian languages, particularly [[Javanese language|Javanese]] and [[Sundanese language|Sundanes]].{{sfn|Rosidi|1976|p=45}} As such, early printings of Amir's work would be accompanied by footnotes explaining these words.{{sfn|Balfas|1976|p=61}} Teeuw writes that Amir's poems included numerous [[cliché]]s common in ''pantuns'' which would not be understood by foreign readers,{{sfn|Teeuw|1980|p=133}} while translator John M. Echols writes that the poems in ''Nyanyi Sunyi'' are "difficult reading even for Indonesians".{{sfn|Echols|1956|p=14}} |
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*{{cite book|last1=Lindsay|first1=Jennifer|last2=Tan|first2=Ying Ying|title=Babel Or Behemoth: Language Trends in Asia|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=M6zs7VN9PnEC&pg=PA49|year=2003|publisher=NUS Press|isbn=978-981-04-9075-1|ref=harv}} |
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*{{cite book|last=Siapno|first=Jacqueline Aquino|title=Gender, Islam, Nationalism and the State in Aceh: The Paradox of Power, Co-Optation and Resistance|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=4DHFijnwBk4C&pg=PA72|year=2002|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-7007-1513-8|ref=harv}} |
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* {{cite book |
* {{cite book |
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Revision as of 19:58, 17 July 2013
Amir Hamzah | |
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![]() Amir Hamzah (c. 1935) | |
Born | Tengku Amir Hamzah 28 February 1911 Tanjung Pura, Langkat, Dutch East Indies |
Died | 20 March 1946 | (aged 35)
Resting place | Azizi Mosque, Tanjung Pura, Langkat, Indonesia |
Occupation | Poet |
Language | Indonesian/Malay |
Nationality | Indonesian |
Genre | Poetry |
Subject | Love, religion |
Notable works | Buah Rindu Nyanyi Sunyi |
Spouse | Tengku Puteri Kamiliah |
Children | 1 |
Tengku Amir Hamzah (28 February 1911 – 20 March 1946), better known as Amir Hamzah, was an Indonesian poet and National Hero of Indonesia.
Born into an aristocratic family in the Sultanate of Langkat in North Sumatra, Amir completed most of his studies in Java. After graduating from legal school, he became active in the literary scene, translating several works by Eastern writers and writing his own poems; he also co-founded the literary magazine Poedjangga Baroe. Aside from his literary work, Amir was also involved with the nationalist movement. In response to his nationalist work, the Dutch colonial government sent him back to Langkat. Although after Indonesia's independence he served as its representative in Langkat, he was executed in a social revolution led by the Indonesian Communist Party against the nobility.
Amir's work, most of which was produced while in Java, deals with themes of love and religion. His earlier works, published in his second anthology Buah Rindu, deal with a sense of longing and both erotic and idealized love. His first compilation, Nyanyi Sunyi, includes works written later and has deeper religious meaning. Of the two, Nyanyi Sunyi is generally considered the more developed. For his poems, Amir has been called the "King of the Poedjangga Baroe era Poets" and the only international-class Indonesian poet from before the Indonesian National Revolution.[1] A National Hero of Indonesia, he has numerous namesakes throughout Indonesia.
Early life
Amir was born Tengku Amir in Tanjung Pura, Langkat, North Sumatra, the youngest son of vice-sultan Tengku Muhammad Adil and his third wife Tengku Mahjiwa. Through his father, Amir was related to the Sultan of Langkat, Machmud. Sources disagree over his date of birth. The date officially recognised by the Indonesian government is 28 February 1911, a date Amir used throughout his life. However, Amir's elder brother Abdullah Hod states that the poet was born on 11 February 1911. Amir later took the name of his grandmother, Teungku Hamzah, as a second name; thus he was referred to as Amir Hamzah. Though a child of nobility, Amir would often associate with non-nobles.[2]
It is known that Amir was schooled in Qu'ran reading from a young age, and he remained a devout Muslim throughout his life. However, sources disagree when he began his formal studies. Several sources, including the Indonesian government's Language Centre, give Amir starting in 1916,[3][4] while biographer M. Lah Husny puts Amir's first year of formal schooling as 1918.[5] At the Dutch-language elementary school where Amir first studied, he began writing[6] and received good marks.[7] As with his father before him, Amir enjoyed traditional texts, such as Hikayat Hang Tuah, Syair Siti Zubaidah, and Hikayat Panca Tanderan, to which he listened when they were read in public ceremonies.[8] He later began reading works of Arabic, Persian, and Hindu literature.[9]
In 1924[3] or 1925,[10] Amir graduated from the school in Langkat and moved to Medan to study at the Meer Uitgebreid Lager Onderwijs (MULO; middle school) there.[3][11] After completing his studies some two years later, Amir was arranged to be married to his cousin, Aja Bun.[12] As his parents permitted him to finish his studies in Java, Amir moved to the colonial capital at Batavia (now Jakarta) to complete his studies at a Christian MULO there,[12] while becoming involved with the the social organisation Jong Sumatera.[13] In Java Amir began writing his first poems, several of which were spurred on by his heartbreak after he found that Aja Bun had been married to another man without Amir's knowing; the two never spoke again.[14]
Upon finishing a year at MULO, Amir continued to an Algemene Middelbare School (AMS; senior high school) in Surakarta, Central Java, where he studied for three years.[3] At the school Amir met several future writers, including Armijn Pane and Achdiat Karta Mihardja;[15] they soon found him to be a friendly and diligent student with complete notes and a spotless bedroom (sheets folded so well, Mihardja later recalled, that a "lost fly could have easily slid over them"[a]), but also a romantic prone to thinking wistfully beneath the lamplight and isolating himself from his classmates.[16] By 1930 he had become involved with the nationalist movement. He became head of the Surakartan branch of the Indonesia Muda (Young Indonesians), delivering a speech at the 1930 Youth Congress. He also taught at Taman Siswa, a school run by native Indonesians for native Indonesians.[9][17]
Writing
Amir's mother died in 1931, and his father the year after, cutting off the funding necessary for his education. As his AMS studies were coming to a conclusion, and he wanted to continue to a law school in Batavia, Amir wrote his brother Jakfar, who arranged for the remainder of Amir's studies to be paid for by the Sultan. As a result, in 1932 Amir was able to return to Batavia and begin his legal studies.[18]. This year saw Amir's first two poems, "Sunyi" ("Silent") and "Mabuk..." ("Nauseous..."), published in the March edition of the magazine Timboel. His other eight works published that year included a syair based on the Hikayat Hang Tuah,[19][20] three other poems, two pieces of lyrical prose, and two short stories; the poems were again published in Timboel, while the prose was included in the magazine Pandji Poestaka.[21]
Around September 1932 Armijn Pane, upon the urgings of Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana, editor of "Memadjoekan Sastera" ("Advancing Literature", the literary section of Pandji Poestaka), invited Amir to help them establish an independent literary magazine.[22] Amir accepted, and was tasked with writing letters to solicit submissions;[22] a total of fifty letters were sent to noted writers, including forty sent to contributors to "Memadjoekan Sastera".[23][24] After several months of preparations, the initial edition was published in July 1933,[25] under the title Poedjangga Baroe. The new magazine was left under the editorial control of Armijn and Alisjahbana,[26] while Amir published almost all of his subsequent writings there.[21] In his "Soeltan Ala'oeddin Rajat Sjah", published in Poedjangga Baroe, Amir gives a rare critique of Acehnese royalty by depicting the Sultan Riayat Syah (1537-71) as an immoral, womanizing, drunkard of a dictator, in stark contrast to the chronicles of Acehnese royalty which portray royals in a highly flattering light.[27] In this piece, according to Jacqueline Aquino Siapno he also "subverts the traditional representation of female characters in the traditional Acehnese courts and manuscripts as passive, voiceless creatures pining away with a longing (rindu)."[27]
In mid-1933 Amir was recalled to Langkat, where the Sultan informed him that Amir was to be married to the Sultan's eldest daughter, Tengku Puteri Kamiliah. Though Amir was infatuated with a woman he had met while in Java, he was unable to refuse the Sultan and, after two months, Amir and Kamiliah were engaged in an extravagant ceremony. In late 1933 Amir, disappointed with his fate, returned to Java to continue his studies and writing.[28]
Although the Sultan disapproved, Amir became more heavily involved in the nationalist movement, bringing him under increasing Dutch scrutiny.[29] He continued to publish in Poedjangga Baroe, including a series of five articles on Eastern literatures from June to December 1934 and a translation of the Bhagavad Gita from 1933 to 1935.[21] His legal studies, however, were delayed, and by 1937 he had still not graduated.[30]
Return to Langkat
The Dutch, concerned about Amir's nationalistic tendencies, influenced the Sultan and had him recall the younger man to Langkat, an order which Amir was unable to refuse. In 1937 Amir, together with two of the Sultan's vassals tasked with escorting him, boarded the Opten Noort from Tanjung Priok and returned to Sumatra. Upon arriving in Langkat, preparations for his marriage to Kamiliah were begun. After the extravagant ceremony and marriage, which made Amir a heir to the throne,[30] he lived with Kamiliah in their own home. By all accounts she was a devout and loving wife, and by in 1939 the couple had their only child, a daughter named Tengku Tahura.[31]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3d/Langkat_sultan%27s_office.jpg/220px-Langkat_sultan%27s_office.jpg)
As a prince (pangerang) of Langkat, Amir became a court official, handling administrative and legal matters, at times judging criminal cases.[32] However, his poems – most of which had been written in Java – continued to be published in Poedjangga Baroe. His first poetry collection, Nyanyi Sunyi (Songs of Silence), was published in the magazine's November 1937 edition. Nearly two years later, in June of 1939, the magazine published a collection of poems Amir had translated entitled Setanggi Timur (Incense from the East), and in June 1941 his last collection, Buah Rindu (Fruits of Longing), was published.[21] All were later published as stand-alone books.[33] A last book, Sastera Melayu Lama dan Raja-Rajanya (Old Malay Literature and its Kings), was published in 1942; this was based on a radio speech Amir had delivered.[21]
After the German invasion of the Netherlands in 1940, the government of the Indies began preparing for a possible Japanese invasion. In Langkat, a Home Guard, or Stadswacht, division was established to defend Tanjung Pura, in Langkat. Amir and his cousin Tengku Harun were in charge; the nobility, trusted by the general populace, was selected to ensure easier recruitment of commoners. When the invasion became a reality in early 1942, Amir was one of the soldiers sent to Medan to defend it. However, he and the other Dutch-allied forces were quickly captured by the Japanese. He was held as a prisoner-of-war until 1943, when influence from the Sultan allowed him to be released. Throughout the remainder of the occupation, which lasted until 1945, Amir was employed as a radio commentator and censor in Medan.[34]
Post-Independence and death
After Indonesia's independence on 17 August 1945, the entirety of Sumatra was declared a de facto part of the country. The central government established Teuku Muhammad Hasan as the island's first governor, and on 29 October 1945 Hasan selected Amir as the government representative in Langkat, with his office at Binjai. In this position Amir handled numerous tasks set by the central government, including inaugurating the first local division of the People's Safety Army (Tentara Keamanan Rakjat; the predecessor to the Indonesian Army)[35] and opening meetings of various local branches of national political parties.[36]
On 7 March 1946, during a social revolution led by factions of the Communist Party of Indonesia, a group staunchly against feudalism and the nobility, Amir's power was stripped from him and he was arrested. Together with other members of the Langkat nobility, Amir was sent to a Communist-held plantation at Kuala Begumit, some 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) outside of Binjai.[37] Amir's last piece of writing, a fragment from his 1941 poem "Buah Rindu", was later found in his cell:[38]
Original | Translation |
Wahai maut, datanglah engkau |
Come then, oh Death |
On the morning of 20 March 1946, Amir was executed with 26 other people and buried in a mass grave, leaving behind his wife and daughter;[39] several of Amir's siblings were also killed in the revolution.[40] After it was quashed by nationalist forces, the revolution's leaders were questioned by a team led by Adnan Kapau Gani: he is reported to have repeatedly asked "Where is Amir Hamzah?" during the investigation.[41] In 1948 the grave at Kuala Begumit was dug up and the remains identified by family members. In November 1949 Amir was reinterred at the Azizi Mosque in Tanjung Pura, Langkat.[42][4]
Influences
Amir, raised in a court setting, had access to traditional works from childhood; these works affected his poems.[1] However, he was also influenced by foreign works, including those from other Eastern countries.[43] Unlike his contemporaries, Amir drew little influence from sonnets and the Tachtigers.[20]
Works
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ed/Cover_Poedjangga_Baroe_1937.jpg/220px-Cover_Poedjangga_Baroe_1937.jpg)
According to John M. Echols, Amir was a writer of great sensitivity who was "not a prolific writer but his prose and poetry are on a very high level, though difficult reading even for Indonesians."[44] Echols credits Amir with a revival of the Malay language, breathing new life into Malay literature in the 1930s.[45] Altogether Amir wrote 50 poems, 18 pieces of lyrical prose, 12 articles, 4 short stories, 3 poetry collections, and 1 original book. He also translated 44 poems, 1 piece of lyrical prose, and 1 book. The vast majority of his works were published in Poedjangga Baroe, although some earlier ones were published in Timboel and Pandji Poestaka.[21] None of his creative works are dated, and there is no consensus regarding when individual poems were written.[46] There is, however, a general consensus that the works included in Nyanyi Sunyi were written after those included in Buah Rindu, despite the latter being published last.[47]
Amir's work often dealt with love (both erotic and idealized), with religious influences showing in many of his poems.[9][20] Mysticism is important in many of his works, and his poetry often reflects a deep inner conflict.[44] There are several thematic differences between his two original poetry anthologies,[48] discussed further below.
Nyanyi Sunyi
Amir's first poetry collection, Nyanyi Sunyi, was published in the November 1937 issue of Poedjangga Baroe,[49] then published as a stand-alone book by Poestaka Rakjat in 1938.[33] It consists of twenty-four titled pieces and an untitled quatrain,[50] including Hamzah's best-known poem "Padamu Jua". Indonesian literary documentarian H.B. Jassin classifies eight of these works as lyrical prose, with the remaining thirteen as regular poems.[49] Although it is Amir's first published collection, based on the well-developed nature of the poems within,[51] general consensus is that the works in Buah Rindu were written earlier.[52]
Poet Laurens Koster Bohang considers the poems included in Nyanyi Sunyi as having been written between 1933 and 1937,[53] while Dutch scholar of Indonesian literature A. Teeuw dates the poems to 1936 and 1937.[54] It was during this time that Amir had to leave his Javanese sweetheart, leading to heartbreak and emotional suffering.[55] At the end of the book is a couplet, reading "Sunting sanggul melayah rendah / sekaki sajak seni sedih";[56] American poet and translator Burton Raffel translated it as "A flower floating in a loose knot of hair / Gave birth to my sorrowful poems", suggesting that this is an explicit callback to Amir's lost love.[57]
Readings of Nyanyi Sunyi have tended to focus on religious undertones. According to literary critic Muhammad Balfas, religion and God are omnipresent throughout the collection, beginning with its first poem "Padamu Jua".[58] In it, Jassin writes, Amir shows a feeling of dissatisfaction over his own lack of power and protests God's absoluteness,[59] but seems aware of his own smallness before God, acting as a puppet for God's will.[60] Teeuw summarises that Amir recognises that he would not exist if God did not.[61] Critic Zuber Usman relates this religious atmosphere to the theme of love lost, writing that the loss of his Javanese lover led Amir closer to God;[62] Jassin echoes this opinion, finding that the theme of religion is meant as an escape from Amir's worldly sorrows.[63]
Buah Rindu
Amir's second poetry collection, Buah Rindu, was published in the June 1941 issue of Poedjangga Baroe,[64] then published as a stand-alone book by Poestaka Rakjat later that year.[33] It consists of twenty-five titled pieces and an untitled quatrain; one, "Buah Rindu", consists of four parts, while another, "Bonda", consists of two. At least eleven of the works had previously been published, either in Timboel or in Pandji Poestaka.[64] This collection, though published after Nyanyi Sunyi, is generally considered to have been written earlier.[52]
The poems in Buah Rindu date to the period between 1928 and 1935, Amir's first years in Java;[53] the collection gives the two years, as well the location of writing as Jakarta–Solo (Surakarta)–Jakarta. Connecting themes within the work to Amir's life, Husny writes that the trip to Java and loss of Aja Bun were important influences. He notes several poems which seem to relate to Amir's life in Sumatra and subsequent trip, including a poem about his mother and another, "Tinggallah", which depicts a trip from Sumatra.[13] The book closes with a three-pronged dedication: "to the lord, Greater Indonesia / to the ashes of the Mother-Queen / and to the feet of the Sendari-Goddess".[b][65]
Teeuw writes that this collection is united by a theme of longing,[66] which Jassin expands on: longing for his mother, longing for his lovers (both the one in Sumatra and the one in Java), and longing for his homeland. All are referred to as "kekasih" (beloved) in turn.[67] These longings, Teeuw writes, are unlike the religious overtones of Nyanyi Sunyi: they are more worldly, grounded in reality;[48] Jassin notes another thematic distinction between the two: unlike Nyanyi Sunyi, with its clear depiction of one god, Buah Rindu explicitly puts forth several deities, including the Hindu gods Shiva and Parvati and abstract ones like the god and goddess of love.[67]
Style
Amir's diction was influenced by the need for rhythm and metre, as well as symbolism related to particular terms.[68] This careful diction emphasised simple words as the basic unit and occasional uses of alliteration and assonance.[69] Ultimately, however, Amir is freer in his language use than traditional poets.[58] Indonesian critic Bakri Siregar writes that the result is "a beautiful wordplay".[c][70] Teeuw writes that Amir had a complete understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of Malay, mixing eastern and western influences.[69] Jennifer Lindsay and Ying Ying Tan highlight his "verbal inventiveness", injecting a "lavishness of expression, a mellifluous of sound and meaning" into his poetry.[71]
The choice of words depends heavily on old Malay terms which saw little contemporary use. He also borrows heavily from other Indonesian languages, particularly Javanese and Sundanes.[72] As such, early printings of Amir's work would be accompanied by footnotes explaining these words.[20] Teeuw writes that Amir's poems included numerous clichés common in pantuns which would not be understood by foreign readers,[73] while translator John M. Echols writes that the poems in Nyanyi Sunyi are "difficult reading even for Indonesians".[44]
Structurally, Amir's early works are quite different than his later ones. The works compiled in Buah Rindu generally followed the traditional pantun and syair style of quatrains with tail rhymes, including many with rhyming couplets;[69] some works, however, combined the two, or had additional lines or more words than traditionally acceptable, resulting in a different .[74] Though these early works were not as detailed as Amir's later works, Teeuw writes that they did reflect Amir's mastery of the language and his drive to write poems.[19] Works in this anthology repeated terms of sadness such as menangis (cry), duka (grief), rindu (longing), and air mata (tears), as well as words such as cinta (love), asmara (passion), and merantau (wander).[75]
By the time Amir wrote the works later compiled in Nyanyi Sunyi, however, his style had shifted. No longer did he confine himself to the traditional forms, but instead he explored different possibilities: eight of his works approached lyrical prose in form.[76] Anwar described Amir's use of language in the collection as clean and pure, with "compactly violent, sharp, and yet short" sentences which departed from the "destructive force" of flowery traditional Malay poetry.[77]
Awards and recognition
Amir has received extensive recognition from the Indonesian government. In 1969 he was given both a Satya Lencana Kebudayaan (Satya Lencana Award for Culture) and Piagam Anugerah Seni (Art Prize).[78] In 1975 Amir was declared a National Hero of Indonesia. [3] A park named after him, Taman Amir Hamzah, is found in Jakarta near the National Monument.[9] A mosque in Taman Ismail Marzuki and the cultural centre of the Indonesian embassy in Malaysia are also named after him.[79]
Dutch scholar of Indonesian literature A. Teeuw considers Amir the only international-class Indonesian poet from before the Indonesian National Revolution.[1] Poet Chairil Anwar wrote Amir was the "summit of the Pudjangga Baru movement", considering Nyanyi Sunyi to have been a "bright light he shone on the new language";[77] Anwar disliked Buah Rindu, considering it too classical.[80] Balfas describes Amir's works are "the best literary products to surpass their time".[81]
Jassin has called Amir the "King of the Pudjangga Baru-era Poets".[9][1] In closing his book on Amir, entitled Amir Hamzah: Radja Penjair Pudjangga Baru (Amir Hamzah: King of the Poedjangga Baroe Poets), Jassin writes:
Amir was not a leader with a loud voice driving the people, either in his poems or his prose. He was a man of emotion, a man of awe, his soul easily shaken by the beauty of nature, sadness and joy alternating freely. All his poems were imbibed with the breath of love: for nature, for home, for flowers, for a lover. He longed unendingly, in the most dark of days, for joy, for 'life with a definite purpose'. Not one poem of struggle, not a single call for empowerment like those which echoed from the other Poedjangga Baroe poets. But his songs of nature were an intimate permeation of a person whose love for his country was never in doubt[d]
— H.B. Jassin, Jassin (1962, p. 41)
Explanatory notes
- ^ Original: "... lalat jang kesasar akan dapat tergelintjir atasnja"
- ^ Original: "Kebawah peduka Indonesia-Raya / Kebawah debu Ibu-Ratu / Kebawah kaki Sendari-Dewi"; in Indonesian versions of the Ramayana, Sendari (also Sundari) is the first wife of Abhimanyu.
- ^ Original: "... permainan kata jang indah."
- ^ Original: "... Amir bukanlah seorang pemimpin bersuara lantang mengerahkan rakjat, baik dalam puisi maupun prosanja. Ia adalah seorang perasa dan seorang pengagum, djiwanja mudah tergetar oleh keindahan alam, sendu gembira silih berganti, seluruh sadjaknja bernafaskan kasih : kepada alam, kampung halaman, kepada kembang, kepada kekasih. Dia merindu tak habis2nja, pada zaman jang silam, pada bahagia, pada 'hidup bertentu tudju'. Tak satupun sadjak perdjuangan, sadjak adjakan membangkit tenaga, seperti begitu gemuruh kita dengar dari penjair2 Pudjangga Baru jang lain. Tapi laguan alamnja adalah peresapan jang mesra dari orang jang tak diragukan tjintanja pada tanah airnja."
References
- ^ a b c d Teeuw 1980, p. 123.
- ^ Husny 1978, pp. 14–16.
- ^ a b c d e Language Center, Amir Hamzah.
- ^ a b Musa 1955, p. 9.
- ^ Husny 1978, p. 17.
- ^ Husny 1978, p. 18.
- ^ Musa 1955, p. 13.
- ^ Musa 1955, p. 10.
- ^ a b c d e Jakarta City Government, Amir Hamzah.
- ^ Husny 1978, p. 20.
- ^ Husny 1978, p. 21.
- ^ a b Husny 1978, p. 24.
- ^ a b Husny 1978, p. 29.
- ^ Husny 1978, pp. 32–33.
- ^ Husny 1978, p. 38.
- ^ Mihardja 1955, pp. 115–117.
- ^ Mihardja 1955, p. 113.
- ^ Husny 1978, p. 42–43.
- ^ a b Teeuw 1980, pp. 126–127.
- ^ a b c d Balfas 1976, p. 61.
- ^ a b c d e f Jassin 1962, pp. 211–219.
- ^ a b Foulcher 1991, pp. 14–17.
- ^ Siregar 1964, p. 77.
- ^ Foulcher 1991, p. 20.
- ^ Teeuw 1980, p. 50.
- ^ Siregar 1964, p. 75.
- ^ a b Siapno 2002, p. 72.
- ^ Husny 1978, pp. 47–49.
- ^ Husny 1978, p. 63.
- ^ a b Husny 1978, pp. 74–75.
- ^ Husny 1978, pp. 78–79.
- ^ Husny 1978, pp. 81–82.
- ^ a b c Husny 1978, p. 83.
- ^ Husny 1978, pp. 84–89.
- ^ Husny 1978, pp. 90–91.
- ^ Musa 1955, p. 12.
- ^ Husny 1978, pp. 96–97.
- ^ Jassin 1962, p. 214.
- ^ Husny 1978, p. 97.
- ^ Husny 1978, pp. 16–17.
- ^ Hadi 1955, p. 37.
- ^ Husny 1978, pp. 102–103.
- ^ Teeuw 1980, p. 124.
- ^ a b c Echols 1956, p. 14.
- ^ Echols 1956, p. 200.
- ^ Jassin 1962, p. 9.
- ^ Teeuw 1980, pp. 125–126.
- ^ a b Teeuw 1980, p. 132.
- ^ a b Jassin 1962, p. 212.
- ^ Hamzah 1949, p. 5–30.
- ^ Jassin 1962, p. 14.
- ^ a b Balfas 1976, pp. 62–64.
- ^ a b Jassin 1962, p. 8.
- ^ Teeuw 1980, p. 126.
- ^ Jassin 1962, p. 13.
- ^ Hamzah 1949, p. 31.
- ^ Raffel 1968, p. 15.
- ^ a b Balfas 1976, p. 64.
- ^ Jassin 1962, p. 29.
- ^ Jassin 1962, p. 26.
- ^ Teeuw 1955, p. 116.
- ^ Usman 1959, pp. 231–50.
- ^ Jassin 1962, p. 31.
- ^ a b Jassin 1962, p. 213.
- ^ Mihardja 1955, p. 120.
- ^ Teeuw 1955, p. 110.
- ^ a b Jassin 1962, p. 28.
- ^ Rosidi 1976, p. 46.
- ^ a b c Teeuw 1980, p. 130.
- ^ Siregar 1964, p. 116.
- ^ Lindsay & Tan 2003, p. 49.
- ^ Rosidi 1976, p. 45.
- ^ Teeuw 1980, p. 133.
- ^ Jassin 1962, pp. 14, 22.
- ^ Jassin 1962, p. 11.
- ^ Jassin 1962, p. 12.
- ^ a b Raffel 1970, pp. 174–175.
- ^ Husny 1978, p. 8.
- ^ TokohIndonesia.com, Amir Hamzah: Sastrawan.
- ^ Teeuw 1980, p. 136.
- ^ Balfas 1976, p. 60.
Works cited
- "Amir Hamzah". Encyclopedia of Jakarta (in Indonesian). Jakarta City Government. Archived from the original on 26 December 2011. Retrieved 26 December 2011.
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(help) - "Amir Hamzah" (in Indonesian). National Language Centre. Archived from the original on 26 December 2011. Retrieved 26 December 2011.
{{cite web}}
: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|trans_title=
(help) - "Amir Hamzah: Sastrawan Pujangga Baru". TokohIndonesia.com (in Indonesian). 10 December 2011. Archived from the original on 26 December 2011. Retrieved 26 December 2011.
{{cite web}}
: Unknown parameter|trans_title=
ignored (|trans-title=
suggested) (help) - Balfas, Muhammad (1976). "Modern Indonesian Literature in Brief". In L. F., Brakel (ed.). Handbuch der Orientalistik. Vol. 1. Leiden, Netherlands: E. J. Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-04331-2. Retrieved 13 August 2011.
{{cite book}}
: Invalid|ref=harv
(help); Unknown parameter|trans_title=
ignored (|trans-title=
suggested) (help) - Echols, John (1956). Indonesian Writing in Translation. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. OCLC 4844111.
{{cite book}}
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(help) - Foulcher, Keith (1991). Pujangga Baru: Kesusasteraan dan Nasionalisme di Indonesia 1933–1942 (in Indonesian). Jakarta: Girimukti Pasaka. OCLC 36682391.
{{cite book}}
: Invalid|ref=harv
(help); Unknown parameter|trans_title=
ignored (|trans-title=
suggested) (help) - Hadi, Karlan (1955). "Amir Hamzah". Tjatatan-tjatatan tentang Amir Hamzah (in Indonesian). Yogyakarta: Djawatan Kebudajaan. pp. 35–42. OCLC 220483628.
{{cite book}}
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(help); Unknown parameter|trans_title=
ignored (|trans-title=
suggested) (help) - Hamzah, Amir (1949). Njanji Sunji (in Indonesian). Jakarta: Pustaka Rakjat. OCLC 65112881.
{{cite book}}
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(help); Unknown parameter|trans_title=
ignored (|trans-title=
suggested) (help) - Husny, M. Lah (1978). Biografi – Sejarah Pujangga dan Pahlawan Nasional Amir Hamzah (in Indonesian). Jakarta: Department of Education and Culture. OCLC 18582287.
{{cite book}}
: Invalid|ref=harv
(help); Unknown parameter|trans_title=
ignored (|trans-title=
suggested) (help) - Jassin, H.B. (1962). Amir Hamzah: Radja Penjair Pudjangga Baru (in Indonesian). Gunung Agung. OCLC 7138547.
{{cite book}}
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ignored (|trans-title=
suggested) (help) - Lindsay, Jennifer; Tan, Ying Ying (2003). Babel Or Behemoth: Language Trends in Asia. NUS Press. ISBN 978-981-04-9075-1.
{{cite book}}
: Invalid|ref=harv
(help) - Mihardja, Achdiat K. (1955). "Amir Hamzah dalam Kenangan". Remembering Amir Hamzah (in Indonesian). Yogyakarta: Djawatan Kebudajaan. pp. 113–122. OCLC 220483628.
{{cite book}}
: Invalid|ref=harv
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ignored (|trans-title=
suggested) (help) - Musa (1955). "Asal Usul Keturunan Amir Hamzah". Tjatatan-tjatatan tentang Amir Hamzah (in Indonesian). Yogyakarta: Djawatan Kebudajaan. pp. 7–13. OCLC 220483628.
{{cite book}}
: Invalid|ref=harv
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ignored (|trans-chapter=
suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|trans_title=
ignored (|trans-title=
suggested) (help) - Raffel, Burton (1968) [1967]. Development of Modern Indonesian Poetry (2nd ed.). Albany, NY: State University of New York Press. ISBN 978-0-87395-024-4.
{{cite book}}
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(help) - Raffel, Burton (1970). Complete Prose and Poetry of Chairil Anwar. Albany: State University of New York Press. ISBN 978-0-87395-061-9.
{{cite book}}
: Invalid|ref=harv
(help) - Rosidi, Ajip (1976). Ikhstisar Sejarah Sastra Indonesia (in Indonesian). Bandung: Binacipta. OCLC 609510126.
{{cite book}}
: Invalid|ref=harv
(help); Unknown parameter|trans_title=
ignored (|trans-title=
suggested) (help) - Siapno, Jacqueline Aquino (2002). Gender, Islam, Nationalism and the State in Aceh: The Paradox of Power, Co-Optation and Resistance. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-7007-1513-8.
{{cite book}}
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(help) - Siregar, Bakri (1964). Sedjarah Sastera Indonesia (in Indonesian). Vol. 1. Jakarta: Akademi Sastera dan Bahasa "Multatuli". OCLC 63841626.
{{cite book}}
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ignored (|trans-title=
suggested) (help) - Teeuw, A. (1955). Pokok dan Tokoh (in Indonesian). Vol. 1. Jakarta: Pembangunan. OCLC 428077105.
{{cite book}}
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ignored (|trans-title=
suggested) (help) - Teeuw, A. (1980). Sastra Baru Indonesia (in Indonesian). Vol. 1. Ende: Nusa Indah. OCLC 222168801.
{{cite book}}
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ignored (|trans-title=
suggested) (help) - Usman, Zuber (1959). Kesusasteraan Baru Indonesia dari Abdullah Bin Albdalkadir Munshi sampai kepada Chairil Anwar (in Indonesian). Jakarta: Gunung Mas. OCLC 19655561.
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