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This Earth of Mankind
This Earth of Mankind is the first installment in Pramoedya Ananta Toer's epic quartet referred to as the Buru Quartet. First published by Hasta Mitra in 1980, the story is set at the tail end of Dutch colonial rule in Indonesia and was written whilst Pramoedya was imprisoned on the island prison of Buru. Because he was barred from writing for the duration of his stay in prison, the narrative was first relayed orally in 1973 to other prisoners, and proved popular among them. In 1975, Pramoedya was finally able to write the story.
The first-person narrator of the novel is a Javanese boy, Minke, loosely inspired by the journalist Tirto Adhi Soerjo, who, because of his royal heritage, is fortunate enough to attend an elite Dutch school. Minke encounters Nyai Ontosoroh, a njai or concubine of a Dutch man; and, dangerously, falls in love with Annelies, the beautiful Indo daughter of the character Nyai Ontosoroh. Life in Indonesia during Dutch colonization, and the injustices faced by the people therein, are portrayed recalcitrantly and in vivid detail. Minke is characterized as active and outspoken, discontented with the inequities of hierarchical society, and resists through his writing. Minke's life story as its portrayed in the novel bears resemblance to Pramoedya's own, who, prior to his becoming an author, was jailed by the Dutch government for two years.
In 1981, the Indonesian Attorney General banned the novel. Many of the first editions have survived and were circulated, along with editions published in Malaysia. In 2005, it was legally reprinted in Indonesia by the publisher Lentera Depantara, after already having been translated into 33 languages and distributed worldwide.
The book tells the story of Minke, a Javanese minor royal who studies at a Hogere Burger School (HBS) in an era when only the descendants of the European colonizers can expect to attain this level of education. Minke is a talented young writer whose works are published in several Dutch-language journals and are widely admired. But as a "native", Minke is disliked by many of his fellow-students, who all claim some European descent. He is portrayed as being bold in opposing the injustices imposed upon his fellow Javanese as well as challenging aspects of his own culture.
Minke is introduced to an extremely unusual Indonesian woman, Nyai Ontosoroh, who is the concubine of a Dutch man called Herman Mellema. Though she is a concubine, Nyai Ontosoroh is the actual head of family and company as Herman Mellema lost his sanity in the past. Minke falls in love with their daughter, Annelies, whom he eventually marries in an Islamic wedding in accordance with "native" customs, but which, according to Dutch law, has no legal validity because it was conducted without the consent of the under-aged Annelies' legal, Dutch, guardians.
In that period, it was common for women to become the concubines of Dutch men living in the East Indies. They were considered to have low morals because of their status as concubines, even if, as in Nyai Ontosoro's case, they had no choice in the matter. Their children had uncertain legal status – either considered illegitimate "natives" with a corresponding lack of legal rights, unless legally acknowledged by their father, in which case they were considered "Indos", and their mother lost all rights over them in favor of the father. As a concubine, Nyai Ontosoro suffers because of her low status and lack of rights, but, significantly, is aware of the injustice of her suffering and believes education is the route by which her basic humanity can be acknowledged. She believes that learning is the key to opposing indignity, stupidity, and poverty. However, the decision to have the children of their relationship legally acknowledged as Herman Mellema's children has catastrophic consequences by the end of the book.
For Pramoedya, education is the key to changing one's fate. For instance, Nyai Ontosoro, who had no formal schooling and who was educated by her experiences, from books, and from her daily life, was a far more inspiring educator than Minke's high school teachers. However, the book also powerfully portrays the reality of Dutch colonial government in Indonesia through the lives of the characters, where Minke's education and Nyai Ontosoro's success in business count for little when ranged against the unyielding Dutch colonial law.
After release from detention in April 1980, Hasjim Rachman, the former editor of the Eastern Star and Pramoedya met with Joesoef Isak, a former journalist of the Merdeka newspaper who had been detained in Salemba prison. After various discussion, an agreement was reached to publish works by ex-political prisoners that had not previously been welcomed by other publishers.
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This Earth of Mankind
This Earth of Mankind is the first installment in Pramoedya Ananta Toer's epic quartet referred to as the Buru Quartet. First published by Hasta Mitra in 1980, the story is set at the tail end of Dutch colonial rule in Indonesia and was written whilst Pramoedya was imprisoned on the island prison of Buru. Because he was barred from writing for the duration of his stay in prison, the narrative was first relayed orally in 1973 to other prisoners, and proved popular among them. In 1975, Pramoedya was finally able to write the story.
The first-person narrator of the novel is a Javanese boy, Minke, loosely inspired by the journalist Tirto Adhi Soerjo, who, because of his royal heritage, is fortunate enough to attend an elite Dutch school. Minke encounters Nyai Ontosoroh, a njai or concubine of a Dutch man; and, dangerously, falls in love with Annelies, the beautiful Indo daughter of the character Nyai Ontosoroh. Life in Indonesia during Dutch colonization, and the injustices faced by the people therein, are portrayed recalcitrantly and in vivid detail. Minke is characterized as active and outspoken, discontented with the inequities of hierarchical society, and resists through his writing. Minke's life story as its portrayed in the novel bears resemblance to Pramoedya's own, who, prior to his becoming an author, was jailed by the Dutch government for two years.
In 1981, the Indonesian Attorney General banned the novel. Many of the first editions have survived and were circulated, along with editions published in Malaysia. In 2005, it was legally reprinted in Indonesia by the publisher Lentera Depantara, after already having been translated into 33 languages and distributed worldwide.
The book tells the story of Minke, a Javanese minor royal who studies at a Hogere Burger School (HBS) in an era when only the descendants of the European colonizers can expect to attain this level of education. Minke is a talented young writer whose works are published in several Dutch-language journals and are widely admired. But as a "native", Minke is disliked by many of his fellow-students, who all claim some European descent. He is portrayed as being bold in opposing the injustices imposed upon his fellow Javanese as well as challenging aspects of his own culture.
Minke is introduced to an extremely unusual Indonesian woman, Nyai Ontosoroh, who is the concubine of a Dutch man called Herman Mellema. Though she is a concubine, Nyai Ontosoroh is the actual head of family and company as Herman Mellema lost his sanity in the past. Minke falls in love with their daughter, Annelies, whom he eventually marries in an Islamic wedding in accordance with "native" customs, but which, according to Dutch law, has no legal validity because it was conducted without the consent of the under-aged Annelies' legal, Dutch, guardians.
In that period, it was common for women to become the concubines of Dutch men living in the East Indies. They were considered to have low morals because of their status as concubines, even if, as in Nyai Ontosoro's case, they had no choice in the matter. Their children had uncertain legal status – either considered illegitimate "natives" with a corresponding lack of legal rights, unless legally acknowledged by their father, in which case they were considered "Indos", and their mother lost all rights over them in favor of the father. As a concubine, Nyai Ontosoro suffers because of her low status and lack of rights, but, significantly, is aware of the injustice of her suffering and believes education is the route by which her basic humanity can be acknowledged. She believes that learning is the key to opposing indignity, stupidity, and poverty. However, the decision to have the children of their relationship legally acknowledged as Herman Mellema's children has catastrophic consequences by the end of the book.
For Pramoedya, education is the key to changing one's fate. For instance, Nyai Ontosoro, who had no formal schooling and who was educated by her experiences, from books, and from her daily life, was a far more inspiring educator than Minke's high school teachers. However, the book also powerfully portrays the reality of Dutch colonial government in Indonesia through the lives of the characters, where Minke's education and Nyai Ontosoro's success in business count for little when ranged against the unyielding Dutch colonial law.
After release from detention in April 1980, Hasjim Rachman, the former editor of the Eastern Star and Pramoedya met with Joesoef Isak, a former journalist of the Merdeka newspaper who had been detained in Salemba prison. After various discussion, an agreement was reached to publish works by ex-political prisoners that had not previously been welcomed by other publishers.