Balinese literature may help preserve identity<\/p>\n
Made Jagra, Contributor, Denpasar<\/p>\n
In the last 10 years, the Balinese have been toiling to preserve
\ntheir identity, amid wide exposure to Western culture brought in
\nby the influx of foreign visitors.<\/p>\n
When you visit a Balinese family, you may hear the members
\nconverse not in their mother tongue but Bahasa Indonesia, English
\nor even another foreign language.<\/p>\n
Bahasa Indonesia has replaced the original Balinese language
\nin various formal and informal settings. At the office, schools,
\nand at home people speak Bahasa Indonesia instead of Balinese.<\/p>\n
Parents are reluctant to teach their children Balinese for
\nfear that their children will not be able to adjust to the school
\nenvironment where speaking Bahasa Indonesia mandatory.<\/p>\n
Even in rural villages, people have begun to converse in
\nIndonesian.<\/p>\n
The situation has drawn concern from scholars and the
\ngovernment as well. The gloomy picture is further highlighted by
\na recent study from the Central Statistics Bureau in Jakarta
\nwhich estimates that by 2041, only 2 percent of Bali's 3.5
\nmillion people will use Balinese language in daily conversation.<\/p>\n
This means that the Balinese people will soon forget their own
\nlanguage and the language will soon disappear like many other
\nethnic languages in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
The provincial government has launched numerous campaigns to
\nreactivate and preserve the Balinese language. During the
\ncampaign, all government offices and schools are obliged to
\nassign special days when everybody has to speak in Balinese.<\/p>\n
The name of each street in Denpasar and other cities on the
\nisland should also bear Balinese letters in addition to the Roman
\nletters.<\/p>\n
Yet, most of the ongoing campaigns and policies are
\nimplemented superficially. A number of scholars viewed these
\npolicies as ineffective.<\/p>\n
One of the core problems lies in the shortage of Balinese
\nliterature including novels, children's stories and short
\nstories, which could encourage the locals to understand their own
\nlanguage.<\/p>\n
In schools, teachers find it hard to pick up simple yet
\ninteresting books for Balinese language lessons in bookstores.<\/p>\n
A number of writers, however, have made quite interesting
\nefforts to try to translate some literary pieces into Balinese.<\/p>\n
In some local bookstores, one can find a translation of the
\nfamous Gitanyali, an anthology written by Indian Rabindranath
\nTagore. Other books include Indonesian poet Taufik Ismail's works
\nentitled Benteng and Tirani (Fort and Tyranny).<\/p>\n
Journals, magazines and newspapers in Balinese are now
\navailable. There are a number of magazines published locally;
\nBuratwangi in Karang Asem, East Bali, Canang Sari in Gianyar and
\na magazine called Satwa published by Pondok Tebawutu in Gianyar.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, most of the translated books as well as these
\nmagazines are printed on poor quality paper with a simple
\nprinting technique. Consequently, these publications cannot
\ncompete with books and magazines that are printed with more
\nmodern designs<\/p>\n
Moreover, most Balinese literary pieces are still produced by
\nold and senior writers such as Nyoman Manda and Made Sanggra from
\nGianyar and Putu Gede Suasta from Sanggar Sangupati in Mengwi.<\/p>\n
Despite the low quality of these products, Nyoman Dharma
\nPutra, a lecturer and a researcher at the school of letters of
\nUdayana University, warmly welcomed the publication of these
\nmagazines, books and translated pieces.<\/p>\n
"This is a robust period for the development of Balinese
\nliterature. And I feel very grateful," said Dharma Putra.<\/p>\n
The growth of Balinese literary works goes back to the l910s
\nwith the publications of the works of I Made Pasek, I Wayan Jiwa
\nand Mas Nitisastro such as Aneka Roepa Kitab Batjaan (1916)
\npublished in Batavia (the old name of Jakarta), Pepaosan Balu
\nAntuk Aksara Belanda Kasurat (1918).<\/p>\n
Entering the l920s, Balinese literary works were widely
\npublished in local magazines and newspapers such as Bali Adnyana
\n(1924), Surya Kanta (1925) and Djatajoe (1935). I Wayan Gobjah's
\nnovel Nemoe Karma and I Gede Srawana's Mlancaran ke Sasak, both
\nconsidered milestones in the Balinese literary world, were
\npublished in Bali Adnyana and Djatajoe.<\/p>\n
During the struggle for independence in l945, the magazines
\ndisappeared in line with the decline in literary productions.<\/p>\n
The post-independence period was marked by the emergence of
\nSuluh Marhaen newspaper (now Bali Post) and Angkatan Bersenjata
\n(now Nusa). In l997, Bali Kulkul, a Balinese language magazine
\npublished only two editions.<\/p>\n
This year, the reemergence of Balinese literary works was
\npartly encouraged by the increasing appreciation of the local
\nlanguage.<\/p>\n
Prominent writer Ajip Rosidi from East Java initiated the
\nannual Rancage Literary Award, as an appreciation of the
\npublication of literary works which use local language.<\/p>\n
The second reason, Dharma Putra said, was that modern, high-
\ntech printing also supported the publication of new books.<\/p>\n
"Writers no longer need to go to large printing company if
\nthey want to publish their works," Dharma Putra said.<\/p>\n
He admitted that many writers had to spend their own money in
\norder to publish their books since only a few publishers were
\ninterested in releasing their works.<\/p>\n
"So far, there is no financial support from the government to
\nhelp these writers," he added.<\/p>\n
Nyoman Manda, 65, a senior writer, agreed that he and other
\ncolleagues still faced financial problems in trying to publish
\ntheir works.<\/p>\n
Manda, who has already published 40 works, explained that his
\nbooks were mostly published by Pondok Tebawutu, a literary club
\nmanaged by Manda and several other writers.<\/p>\n
"If we think in terms of money, all of us have suffered big
\nfinancial losses, but publishing the works brings satisfaction.
\nMy only goal is to keep Balinese literature alive and kicking,"
\nManda said.<\/p>\n
Each print run was of between 5,000 and 6,000 copies, Manda
\nsaid. In most bookstores, only 40 percent of the books are sold
\nwith 20 percent to 30 percent of the income went to the owners of
\nthe stores.<\/p>\n
I Ketut Sumarta, chief editor of Sarad magazine, cautioned
\nthat facts and figures do not foretell anything.<\/p>\n
"People who buy new books come from academic circles and those
\nwho are really interested in literary pieces. The market is still
\nvery small and limited," Sumarta said.<\/p>\n
Sumarta said that he did not agree with Dharma Putra's view
\nthat this was the golden age of Balinese literature.<\/p>\n
"The flourishing of new publications does not mean that the
\nBalinese language has been saved from going into oblivion,"
\nSumarta argued.<\/p>\n
He went on to say that to preserve the Balinese language, the
\nprovincial government must have a strong political will.<\/p>\n
Dharma Putra, however, is convinced that the presence of new
\npublications will at least add to the linguistic and aesthetic
\ndocumentation of Balinese literature.<\/p>\n
"I am strongly convinced that the Balinese language will
\nremain alive, both in the literary world and in daily life as a
\nspoken language," Dharma Putra said.<\/p>",
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