Postkolonial Issue in Belenggu’s Novel by Armijn Pane

If want to know about postcolonial issue in this belenggu’s novel we have to know about the main character, about the lifestyle of character, about the plot of this novel, and about setting and the background.

            This novel bring us to Indonesian culture after colonial era, where Sukartono and Tini as main character. Tono as doctor have a good behavior to his patient, so that’s why every patient really like him. Before Tini married with Tono, she a girl’s calling or in this novel it called “Gundik”.

One day, Tono get a call from a woman, she said that she is sick and she want Tono come to her hotel. After Tono arrived, he shock when he know that woman is Rohayah. She is an old friend when he was study in “Sekolah Rakyat”. In that moment, Yah or Rohayah is widow, she divorced with her husband. In fact, she has loved Tono for a long time, she always daydream that Tono is her husband. Because of it, she looking for Tono and after she find Tono, she call him and she pretend to sick. Because she really misses Tono, in that time she try to flirt Tono. She is an expert to flirt a man. Because that is her job while in Jakarta. At the first Tono not flirted by Yah, but Yah always ask him to heal her sick, lately Tono was flirted by Yah. Yah give him a love that he doesn’t get from Tini. He never get a calm feeling and always get a conflict with his wife. He always visit the hotel where Yah live and he feel comfortable during with Yah and he feel that hotel is his second home. After that meeting they love each other and the cheating happen. Lately Tini know about that and she want to meet Yah in her hotel. But when she meet Yah, she shy to herself because Yah is someone that friendly. Tini think that she was making a mistake to her husband, she cannot doing anything as what Yah done. After her meeting with Yah, Tini think that she never give what her husband want, she never give love as wife commonly. She feel failed to be good wife for Tono and she choose divorced with him. That willing accepted by Tono, eventhought he never want it happen. Tono apologize to Tini and he promise that he never doing it again. But his apology is useless. Tono is sad about that and his sadness not stop from it, in fact Yah leave him too.Tini was went to Surabaya and Yah went to Calidonia.

            This novel have social-criticism, exactly to a woman that still behold anything from social status, like Tini’s attitude when she met Rohayah. Beside that, it also seemed in part where Tini issues by her friend. It pointed that there are many woman likes gossip.

Tini is the image of a modern woman after the colonial era. She’s life like dutch woman who want to free life, she love’s freedom. It show from this part;

“ Ratu pesta…. Air mukanya menjadi muram teringat pula akan pestanya di rumah ningsih, sehabis berdansa, jauh malam, ingin hatinya makan angin, keinginan itu terbit dalam hatinya ditengah jalan hendak pulang, dia dibawa…” (Armijn, 2012:58).

            Her lifestyle was influence by the Dutch that ever being colonial in Indonesia. Because of that reason she married with Tono, she want to forget about what she has done at the past. But it doesn’t  looks like what she want. Her husband forget about his wife because of his job.

Beside Tini, there is Hartato, Tono’s Friend. He is the person which was joined to be a member of political party. The describing of  Hartono was explained that the setting time of this novel is after Indonesia independent. It shown by this part;

“Pada masa pergerakan P.N.I. di seluruh pulau Jawa sehebat-hebatnya, Hartono masuk masuk menjadi anggorta partai di Bandung. Dia belum terkemuka ketika Ir. Soekarno dan kawannya ditahan, lalu dihukum. Tiada lama kemudian P.N.I dibubarkan…” (Belenggu, 2012 : 105). And the other quote shown by this part “Ir. Soekarno ditangkap untuk kedua kalinya. Partindo dibatasi haknya bersidang. Hartono tidak lagi dapat berpidato seperti sedia kala.”  

The other character was shown by Mangunsucipto’s character. In this novel Mangunsucipto doesn’t the favorite character. But actually, through his character, Armijn Pane show that this novel was describe the postcolonial issues, and he want to show to the Indonesian people at this time. Describing of that postcolonial issue is shown by this part.

“… dimasa mudanya Mangunsucipto menjadi anggota Budi Utomo yag terkemuka juga. Dalam tahun 1917 Budi Utomo menetapkan program politik lalu turut dengan pemilihan volksraad. Di dalam jaman itu semangat rusuh, lambat laut kedalam Budi Utomo masuk semangat kiri. Lain daripada itu macam anggota berubah., tapi sejak tahun 1919 anggotanya banyak dri lapisan bawah….” (Armijn, 2012: 130)

In this novel Armijn Pane using Melayu’s languange and some dutch languange, , from this language there are we can find the symbol of those language which is describe about the post-colonial era in this novel. Mario noted Images and concrete objects often serve the additional function of symbols if they refer to a meaning beyond the material object (2004:32). In language of the belenggu’s novel is very interesting, Armijn pane still use the dutch language in his novel and this is make us easy to know the post-collonial issue in that time and there are many words which is not use today, and just used at the past time after Indonesia was independent it shown the culture of indonesian after colonialism. It shown in this part;

“ …penemuan itu penemuan anggota bestuur rumah piatu saja…” (Belenggu, 2012 : 150).  

Bestuur is dutch language. Which is still used by Indonesian. In bahasa bestuur is “pemerintahan” and in English bestuur is government. This word was shown that Indonesia after independent still used dutch language.  The other word is huurkoop. Huurkoop is dutch language too.

 “… bukan itu toko meubel, pikit Tono, toko yang menjual barang dengan huurkoop?” (Armijn, 2012:152).

“… diamati oleh Tono, plaat Gramofoon itu. Ditengannya, berkeliling lubangnya, ada ketas putih bertulisan dengan tangan: nyayian selamat tinggal oleh yah untuk Tono….” (Belenggu, 2012 : 153)

Today we are rarely to find the gramofoon. In this modern era, there many tools which can used to listen the music. But in the former time everyone just listen the music from the Gramofoon.

Beside that Armin Pane was written his novel with the ducth language like statisch, dynamisch, instituite, wetenschap, and logica. Today in Indonesia the people also written those word which is was adapted to Indonesian language. To be statis, dinamis, institute, and logica.

“…statisch ialah dynamisch yang sebenar-benarnya, yang sejati…” (Belenggu, 2012 : 134)

“ … dapatnya dengan instituite semata-mata. Ilmu, wethenschap, logica…” (Belenggu, 2012 : 134)

In “Belenggu” there is the influence of European culture, it happen when Sumartini want to sing Beethoven, whereas many people like a traditional song. We can see that on this part;

…..”Buat apa memperdengarkan lagu Eropa di sisni. Orang tiada akan mengerti” “Itulah, “ Kata Aminah dengan gembira, “dalam rapat komite sudah kukatakan, apa perlunya, tapi engkau tahu, Tini keras kepala.” “Itulah, “kata Darusman, “yang berpendidikan Barat semata-mata itu. Lupa kebudayaan sendiri, lupa lagu gamelan,” (Belenggu, 1977: 93).

            It shown that some  people in Indonesia was influence by European, exactly the colony. It is Dutch. Tini was shown that Indonesian is lost identity. They forget about they real identity as Indonesian, it representate Indonesian is failure to know and defended the culture of Indonesia.

            This novel is meaningful in every conflict that shown. The sharp social-criticism in this novel give a lesson for youth generation that during live which hegemony by a suppressed system. And it effect to all of people.