Menghapus citra buruk njai dalam karya-karya fiksi berbahasa Melayu (1896-1927)

• Main Author: Maya Sutedja-Liem
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: University of Indonesia 2008-10-01
• Series: Wacana: Journal of the Humanities of Indonesia
• Subjects: sastra melayu (malay literature), njai (concubine), citra (image), kesetiaan (faithfulness), perlawanan (opposition).
• Online Access: http://wacana.ui.ac.id/index.php/wjhi/article/view/197

In the Dutch colonial literature of the mid nineteenth century, the njai (Asian<br />concubine) is the symbol of degeneration and of undermining colonial society in<br />the Dutch Indies. Opposed to this portrayal, in Malay literature the image of the<br />njai is on the whole positive: she is faithful and loyal to her partner, intelligent,<br />and economical. However, she easily falls victim to external powers, which is<br />often the masculine power of the society she belongs to. In many Malay texts<br />she is represented as ready to fight back, primarily for the sake of the future of<br />her offspring(s) or herself. Sometimes she succumbs, sometimes she triumphs.<br />Examples can be found in texts like Tjerita Njai Dasima (1896), Tjerita Nji Paina<br />(1900), Seitang Koening (1906), Hikajat Raden Adjeng Badaroesmi (1901-1903), Tjerita<br />Njai Isah (1904), and Boenga roos dari Tjikembang (1927). These texts represent a<br />re-evaluation of the njai and stand in opposition to nineteenth century Dutch<br />colonial literature.