INDONESIAN LITERATURE IN THE 19TH-CENTURY: SUBVERSIVENESS OF READING AND EGALITARIAN RESISTANCE

This paper aims to reaffirm that Indonesian literature has emerged since the mid-19th century. The prevailing myth that Indonesian literary treasures only emerged in the early 20th century, particularly since the initial publication of Balai Pustaka, must be corrected. The works published since the 1850s did not merely continue oral traditions or reflect the colonial realities of the time, but also indirectly implied a symbolic dimension of response regarding intellectual life in the Dutch East Indies. The ability to read, in "Boek Saier Oetawa Terseboet Pantoen" (Syair Book or Commonly Called Pantun) published 1857, thus not only indicates nascent literacy but also illustrates the emergence of a tacit subversiveness in society, particularly within the author. This subversiveness then stimulated the emergence of thought that manifested itself as an egalitarian resistance, as implied in the book entitled "Pantoon Melajoe Sama Tjerita Aneh-aneh" (Malay Pantun and Strange Stories for People Who Like to Laugh, published 1858. This book implies a desire for equality between indigenous people and Indo people, as well as Dutch and other foreigners. This desire for equality, however, was an attempt to resist the hegemony and oppression that existed during the Dutch East Indies era.