Seminar | Colonial whispers, indigenous voices: Intertextual legacy of Dutch and Aceh Literature | Myra Abubakar

Forms of female resistance and heroism are significant themes in literature on and in Southeast Asia. This seminar examines how Dutch colonial literature and historical records depict a prominent female leader and resistance figure from Aceh, Indonesia, highlighting the complex portrayal of resistance and heroism in colonial and indigenous narratives.

While the heroic image of this figure in Indonesian national memory often relies on Dutch references, this study underscores the profound influence of indigenous Acehnese literary traditions, such as Hikayat Prang Sabi [The Epic of the Holy War] and Hikayat Prang Gompeuni [The Epic of the War with the Dutch], on Dutch literary representations. It subsequently discusses how these narratives have contributed to the idealized image of the female hero in Indonesian national memory. This seminar focuses on how Dutch authors, in particular Madelon Székely-Lulofs (1899–1958) in her work Tjoet Nja Din (1948), both diverged from and engaged with these local sources, are shaping a uniquely Dutch colonial perspective on female heroism.

By critically examining how Dutch colonial authors, often through a sense of nuanced admiration, incorporated and reinterpreted local sources, this study reveals an intertextual dialogue between Acehnese oral traditions and Dutch written records. This interaction illustrates how colonial authors adapted indigenous narratives to align with their own political and cultural ends. By tracing these Dutch narratives back to Acehnese literature, this study demonstrates the extent to which Indigenous narrative shaped colonial understandings of female resistance, contributing to broader discussions on the intersections of gender, colonialism, and memory in constructing historical figures.

Speaker

Myra Abubakar is a reader in Gender and Cultural History, having completed her PhD at The Australian National University’s School of Culture, History, and Language. Her dissertation, titled A Study of Female Heroism in Indonesia, examines the evolution of female heroism from the nineteenth century to the present, with a focus on its cultural history significance and political implications in Indonesia. Myra has taught Indonesian studies, language, politics and culture at The Australian National University (ANU), the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), and various institutions across Canberra. She currently holds a research fellowship at the National University of Singapore’s Asia Research Institute and currently a visiting fellow at KITLV Leiden. Her research at KITLV, Reimagining Female Heroes in the Hikayat of Aceh, continues her exploration of hero phenomenon in Indonesia, particularly through the lens of Acehnese literature and narratives.

Moderator

David Kloos is a senior researcher at KITLV. He is interested in religion, gender, violence, colonialism, knowledge formation, visual methods, and the social and political aspects of climate change.

Format, date, time & venue

This seminar is a hybrid event and will be held in the conference room of KITLV, Herta Mohr building, room 1.30, Witte Singel 27 A, Leiden and online via Zoom, on Tuesday 12 November from 15.30 – 17.00 PM (CET).

Registration

If you want to join this seminar on location, please register via: [email protected].

If you wish to join this seminar online, please register here.

Image

Aceh’s flag 1840. Source: Juynboll, A. W. T. (1860). [Verzameling overdrukken, recensies en geschriften. div. n.].