Njanji Soenji (Republican Spelling: Njanji Sunji; Perfected Spelling: Nyanyi Sunyi; Indonesian for "Songs of Solitude" or "Songs of Silence") is a 1937 poetry collection by Amir Hamzah. Written some time after the poet was forced to marry the daughter of the Sultan of Langkat instead of his chosen love in Java, this collection consists of 24titled poems and pieces of lyrical prose, none of which are dated. First published in the magazine Poedjangga Baroe, the collection has been republished as a stand-alone book several times.
Analysis of Nyanyi Sunyi has focused on the theme of God and His relationship to humanity, as well as of aspects of human existence: fate, dissatisfaction, and escape. Literary critics H.B. Jassin and Zuber Usman view the collection as an attempt to address Amir’s worldly problems. The collection has been noted as difficult to read owing to its usage of rarely used Malay and Javanese terms and basis in Islamic culture and Malay history. Despite this, Nyanyi Sunyi has been described as freer in its form than traditional Malay poetry, with what poet Chairil Anwar termed "compactly violent, sharp, and yet short"[1] sentences which brought a new style to the Indonesian language.
Background
Amir’s arranged marriage is thought to have heavily influenced Nyanyi Sunyi.
Poet Laurens Koster Bohang considers the poems included in Nyanyi Sunyi as having been written between 1933 and 1937,[4] while Dutch scholar of Indonesian literature A. Teeuw dates the poems to 1936 and 1937.[5] The time was one of great emotional turmoil for Hamzah, who was required to marry the daughter of the Sultan of Langkat, who had funded his studies in Java. At the time Amir had reportedly fallen in love with a Javanese woman while studying, and was forced to leave her.[6]
Contents
Njanji Sunji consists of twenty-four titled pieces and an untitled quatrain.[7] Indonesian literary documentarian H.B. Jassin classifies eight of the works as lyrical prose, with the remaining thirteen as poems.[8] None of the works in Nyanyi Sunyi (and indeed none of Amir's other works) are dated.[9] At the end of the book is a couplet, reading "Sunting sanggul melayah rendah / sekaki sajak seni sedih",[10] which American poet and translator Burton Raffel translates as "A flower floating in a loose knot of hair / Gave birth to my sorrowful poems".[11]
The poems in Nyanyi Sunyi, unlike much of Amir's earlier work, generally did not follow the traditional pantun and syair format of four lines of four words.[12] Teeuw notes that some, such "Batu Belah", followed traditional European forms such as the ballad.[13] Others were more free-form, leaning towards prose poetry.[14]
Amir's diction depends heavily on old Malay terms which saw little contemporary use. He also borrows heavily from other Indonesian languages, particularly Javanese and Sundanes.[15] The choice of words was influenced by the need for rhythm and metre, as well as symbolism related to particular terms.[16] Ultimately, however, Amir is freer in his language use than traditional poets.[17] Indonesian critic Bakri Siregar writes that the result is "a beautiful wordplay".[lower-alpha 1][14]
Translator John M. Echols writes that the poems are "difficult reading even for Indonesians",[3] while poet Chairil Anwar described the works as "obscure poetry" which could not be understood by persons without an understanding of Islam and Malay history.[1] Indonesian literary scholar Muhammad Balfas notes that the work also has many allusions to religious texts, both Islamic and Christian.[17]
Anwar opined that Amir, through Nyanyi Sunyi, brought a new style to the Indonesian language, with its "compactly violent, sharp, and yet short" sentences.[1] In a 1945 article he wrote (translation by Raffel), "Before Amir (Hamzah) one could call the old poetry a destructive force; but what a bright light he shone on the new language".[1]
Themes
Religion and God are omnipresent throughout the collection, as evidenced from the first poem, "Padamu Jua".[17] Amir often uses the word "Tuhan" ("God"). However, unlike his earlier poems which used it in a similar manner to "Dewa" ("Deity"), in Nyanyi Sunyi the word is used as understood in Abrahamic religions, such as Amir's own Islam;[6] Amir shows influences from Sufism.[18] In some cases, writes Teeuw, Amir treats God almost as a lover, using familiar terms such as "engkau" ("you") to address Him.[19] However, Amir recognises that he cannot be one with God.[19] Jassin writes that Amir seems aware of his own smallness before God, acting as a puppet for God's will;[20] Teeuw notes that Amir recognises that he would not exist if God did not.[19]
This is not to say that Amir accepts his lower position in relation to God; in several cases, Jassin writes, Amir shows a feeling of dissatisfaction over his own lack of power and protests God's absoluteness.[21] Teeuw likewise notes a sense of dissatisfaction throughout the poems, writing that Amir seems to treat God as an entity that "only toys with humans, allowing them to be pushed aside and erased".[lower-alpha 2][13] Elsewhere Teeuw writes that Amir questions fate and the need for him to separate from his love.[22]
Aside from themes of God and religion, Amir also shows an awareness of his own humanity, recognising his own instincts and drives.[23] Jassin writes that "Amir's song is the song of a man's soul",[lower-alpha 3] showing sadness and joy which do not acknowledge class or creed.[23] Teeuw notes a sense of distrust, a feeling that– having once lost his love– there is no reason Amir will not lose his next lover.[13] Indonesian critic Zuber Usman, meanwhile, discusses the theme of love lost in relation to religion, writing that the loss of his Javanese lover led Amir closer to God.[24]
Jassin writes that Amir uses "sunyi" ("silence") as a way to address his worldly problems: regarding time, his own identity, God, and love. According to Jassin, by the end of the compilation physical love has drifted towards a spiritual one, with the answers supplied originating from the supernatural.[6] Ultimately, however, Jassin concludes that Amir's soul has not reached maturity; he considers the collection's last poem, "Astana Rela", as but a temporary escape.[25] Jassin finds that the theme of religion is likewise meant as an escape from Amir's worldly sorrows,[26] an opinion echoed by Usman.[24]
Publication
Nyanyi Sunyi was first published in the November 1937 issue of Poedjangga Baroe, a literary magazine which Amir had helped establish.[8] It was later published as a standalone book, and by 1949 it had seen its third printing.[27]
In 1941 Amir published another collection of poems, entitled Buah Rindu ("Fruits of Longing"), which consisted mostly of his earlier works. Jassin notes that the works in Nyanyi Sunyi appear more developed and mature than those in the later collection.[25] Teeuw notes that the later collection was more explicitly about romantic love, rather than the religious love of Nyanyi Sunyi.[28]
Related Research Articles
Chairil Anwar was an Indonesian poet and member of the "1945 Generation" of writers. He is estimated to have written 96 works, including 70 individual poems.
Indonesian literature is a term grouping various genres of South-East Asian literature.
Idrus was an Indonesian author best known for his realistic short stories and novels. He is known as the representative of the prose of the '45 generation of Indonesian literature.
Sitor Situmorang was an Indonesian poet, essayist and writer of short stories. Situmorang was born in Harianboho, North Sumatra, and educated in Jakarta. He worked as a journalist and literary critic in Medan, Yogyakarta and Jakarta for a variety of newspapers and periodicals.
"Aku" is a 1943 Indonesian-language poem by Chairil Anwar. It reflects his individualistic nature and vitality.
Tengku Amir Hamzah was an Indonesian poet and National Hero of Indonesia. Born into a Malay aristocratic family in the Sultanate of Langkat in North Sumatra, he was educated in both Sumatra and Java. While attending senior high school in Surakarta around 1930, Amir became involved with the nationalist movement and fell in love with a Javanese schoolmate, Ilik Sundari. Even after Amir continued his studies in legal school in Batavia the two remained close, only separating in 1937 when Amir was recalled to Sumatra to marry the sultan's daughter and take on responsibilities of the court. Though unhappy with his marriage, he fulfilled his courtly duties. After Indonesia proclaimed its independence in 1945, he served as the government's representative in Langkat. The following year he was killed in a social revolution led by the PESINDO, and buried in a mass grave.
Belenggoe is a novel by Indonesian author Armijn Pane. The novel follows the love triangle between a doctor, his wife, and his childhood friend, which eventually causes each of the three characters to lose the ones they love. Originally published by the literary magazine Poedjangga Baroe in three instalments from April to June 1940, it was the magazine's only published novel. It was also the first Indonesian psychological novel.
Poedjangga Baroe was an Indonesian avant-garde literary magazine published from July 1933 to February 1942. It was founded by Armijn Pane, Amir Hamzah, and Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana.
Sanusi Pane was an Indonesian writer, journalist, and historian. He was highly active in literary media, sitting on the editorial boards of several publications. He has also been described as the most important dramatist from before the Indonesian National Revolution.
Atheis is a 1949 Indonesian novel written by Achdiat Karta Mihardja and published by Balai Pustaka. The novel, using three narrative voices, details the rise and fall of Hasan, a young Muslim who is raised to be religious but winds up doubting his faith after dealings with his Marxist–Leninist childhood friend and an anarcho-nihilist writer.
Muhammad Salim Balfas, better known as M. Balfas, was an Indonesian writer and literary critic.
"Soerabaja" is a work of fiction by Indonesian writer Idrus variously described as a novel, novelette, and long short story. It was published in 1946 or 1947.
Roestam Effendi was an Indonesian writer and member of the House of Representatives of the Netherlands. He is known for experimenting with the Malay language in the writing of his drama Bebasari and his poetry collection poetry anthology Pertjikan Permenoengan.
Sariamin Ismail was the first female Indonesian novelist to be published in the Dutch East Indies. A teacher by trade, by the 1930s she had begun writing in newspapers; she published her first novel, Kalau Tak Untung, in 1933. She published two novels and several poetry anthologies afterwards, while continuing to teach and – between 1947 and 1949 – serving as a member of the regional representative body in Riau. Her literary works often dealt with star-crossed lovers and the role of fate, while her editorials were staunchly anti-polygamy. She was one of only a handful of Indonesian women authors to be published at all during the colonial period, alongside Fatimah Hasan Delais, Saadah Alim, Soewarsih Djojopoespito and a few others.
Kalau Ta' Oentoeng is a 1933 novel written by Sariamin Ismail under the pseudonym Selasih. It was the first Indonesian novel written by a woman. Written in a flowing style heavily dependent on letters, the novel tells the story of two childhood friends who fall in love but cannot be together. It was reportedly based on the author's own experiences. Although readings have generally focused on the novel's depiction of an "inexorable fate", feminist and postcolonial analyses have also been done.
Indonesian author Amir Hamzah (1911–46) wrote 50 poems, 18 pieces of lyrical prose, 12 articles, 4 short stories, 3 poetry collections, and 1 book. He also translated 44 poems, 1 piece of lyrical prose, and 1 book. The majority of Amir's original poems are included in his collections Njanji Soenji (1937) and Boeah Rindoe (1941), both first published in the literary magazine Poedjangga Baroe. His translated poems were collected in Setanggi Timoer (1939). In 1962 documentarian HB Jassin compiled all of Amir's remaining works – except the book Sastera Melajoe Lama dan Radja-Radja'nja – as Amir Hamzah: Radja Penjair Pudjangga Baru.
"Padamoe Djoea" is a 28-line poem by Amir Hamzah which was included in his 1937 collection Nyanyi Sunyi. Hamzah's best-praised work, readings have generally focused on religious themes – mainly from an Islamic perspective, although Christian influences have been suggested.
Boeah Rindoe is a 1941 poetry collection by Amir Hamzah. The poems date to Amir's first years in Java, between 1928 and 1935. According to Anthony Johns of Australia National University, the poems are arranged chronologically, as indicated by Amir's increasing maturity as a writer while developing the poems. The collection includes twenty-three titled poems and two untitled pieces. Ten of the poems had previously been published, including Amir's first published works, "Mabuk..." and "Sunyi".
"Amir Hamzah". Encyclopedia of Jakarta (in Indonesian). Jakarta City Government. Archived from the original on 2 January 2012. Retrieved 26 December 2011.
Echols, John (1956). Indonesian Writing in Translation. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. OCLC4844111.
Hamzah, Amir (1949). Njanji Sunji[Song of Silence] (in Indonesian). Jakarta: Pustaka Rakjat. OCLC65112881.
Jassin, H.B. (1962). Amir Hamzah: Radja Penjair Pudjangga Baru[Amir Hamzah: King of the Pudjangga Baru Poets] (in Indonesian). Jakarta: Gunung Agung. OCLC7138547.
Raffel, Burton (1970). Complete Prose and Poetry of Chairil Anwar. Albany: State University of New York Press. ISBN978-0-87395-061-9.
Rosidi, Ajip (1976). Ikhtisar Sejarah Sastra Indonesia[Overview of the History of Indonesian Literature] (in Indonesian). Bandung: Binacipta. OCLC609510126.
Siregar, Bakri (1964). Sedjarah Sastera Indonesia[History of Indonesian Literature]. Vol.1. Jakarta: Akademi Sastera dan Bahasa "Multatuli". OCLC63841626.
Teeuw, A. (1955). Pokok dan Tokoh[Tenets and Figures] (in Indonesian). Vol.1. Jakarta: Pembangunan. OCLC428077105.
Usman, Zuber (1959). Kesusasteraan Baru Indonesia dari Abdullah Bin Albdalkadir Munshi sampai kepada Chairil Anwar[Modern Indonesian Literature from Abdullah Bin Albalkadir Munshi to Chairil Anwar] (in Indonesian). Jakarta: Gunung Mas. OCLC19655561.
Further reading
Umar Junus (1968). Nyanyi Sunyi (Amir Hamzah): Ulasan dan Kajian[Nyanyi Sunyi (Amir Hamzah): Description and Analysis] (in Malay). Kuala Lumpur: Pustaka Melayu Baru. OCLC63260744.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
