Email this article 
The Rewriting of Mythology (Remythology) and Decolonization in Eka Kurniawan’s Man Tiger
https://doi.org/10.22146/jh.56698 Annisa Widyawati Fathonah(1*)
(1) The University of Auckland
(*) Corresponding Author
Abstract
This article examines the rewriting of mythology (remythology) in Eka Kurniawan’s magic realism novel titled Man Tiger (2004). The discussion particularly explores how the remythology of the Indonesian myth of manusia harimau responses to historical references that are embedded in the narrative. I found that remythology in the novel is used to replicate people’s voice, and by using that voice, the Indonesian nation attempts to decolonize itself from colonization and to epitomize a resistance against postcolonial powers. The myths surrounding manusia harimau in the novel further provide references to Indonesia’s identity that is located between two separate identities, the indigenous and the colonial, which comprise resistance as well as resilience. By using various local mythical frameworks, Eka Kurniawan addresses the complexity of the Indonesian nation which constitutes an acknowledgement, and an interpretation, as well as a response to the past in order to form a resilient present.
Keywords
Full Text:
PDFReferences
Amnesty International. (1994). Indonesia: Power and impunity: Human rights under the new order. Retrieved from https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6a9b9c.html
Anderson, B. (2015). Introduction. In E. Kurniawan (Ed.), Man tiger (2014). London: Verso.
Armstrong, N. (1990). Some call it fiction: On the politics of domesticity. The Other Perspective in Gender and Culture: Rewriting Women and the Symbolic, 5, 59.
Ashcroft, B., Griffiths, G., & Tiffin, H. (2013). Post-colonial studies: The key concepts. Routledge.
Bakels, J. (2009). Kerinci’s living past: Stones, tales, and tigers. From Distant Tales: Archaeology and Ethno history in the Highlands of Sumatra, Dominik Bonatz, John Miksic, John David Neidel, Mai Lin Tjoa-Bonatz (Ed.): Cambridge Scholar Publishing, 367-382.
Brennan, T. (1997). At Home in the World: Cosmopolitanism Now. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Campbell, J., & Moyers, B. (2011). The power of myth. Anchor.
Cheah, P. (2017). Worlding literature: Living with tiger spirits. Diacritics, 45(2), 86-114.
Colombijn, F. (2002). Explaining the violent solution in indonesia. The Brown Journal of World Affairs, 9(1), 49-56.
Denis, A. (1964). Cats of the world. Houghton Mifflin Boston.
Eliade, M. (1963). Myth and reality, trans. Willard R. Trask. Prospect Heights, Ill. Waveland Press. First Published.
Erll, A., & Rigney, A. (2006). Literature and the production of cultural memory: Introduction. European Journal of English Studies, 10 (2), 111-115.
Faris, W. (2004). Ordinary enchantments: magical realism and the remystification of narrative. Nashville: Vanderbilt University Press.
Foulcher, K. (1995). In search of the postcolonial in indonesian literature. Sojourn: Journal of Social Issues in Southeast Asia, 147-171.
Halpé, A. (2010). Between Myth and Meaning: The Function of Myth in Four Postcolonial Novels. University of Toronto.
Hamel, F. (1969). Human animals. Library of Alexandria.
Harnish, D. D. (2006). Bridges to the ancestors: Music, myth, and cultural politics at an indonesian festival. University of Hawaii Press.
Henley, D. (2004). Conflict, justice, and the stranger-king indigenous roots of colonial rule in indonesia and elsewhere. Modern Asian Studies, 38(1), 85-144.
Heryanto, A. (2018). Decolonizing indonesia, past and present. Asian Studies Review, 42(4), 607-625.
Ketika manusia dan harimau berikrar janji. (2017). Retrieved from https://beritagar.id/ artikel/laporan-khas/ketika-manusia-dan-harimau-berikrar-janji.
Kipling, R. (2016). The jungle book. Simon and Schuster.
Kisah tentang ibu pertiwi. Retrieved from https://kumparan.com/kumparannews/kisah-tentang-ibu-pertiwi
Kurniawan, E. (2014). Lelaki harimau. Gramedia Pustaka Utama.
Kurniawan, E. (2015). Man tiger: A novel. Verso Books.
Locher-Scholten, E. (1994). Dutch expansion in the indonesian archipelago around 1900 and the imperialism debate. Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, 25(1), 91-111.
Melvin, J. (2018). The army and the indonesian genocide: Mechanics of mass murder. Routledge.
Moretti, F. (1996). Modern epic: The world-system from goethe to garcía márquez Verso.
Passchier, Cor. (2007). Colonial architecture in indonesia references and developments.The Past and the Present Architecture Indonesia, Rotterdam: KITLV Leiden.
Prasetjo, A. (1996). Orde baru 31 tahun, 2,000 judul buku dibredel. Tempo Interaktif.
Putri, L. G. Saraswati. (2016). Engaged literature: An examination of social issues reflected in contemporary indonesian literature. Bijdragen Tot De Taal-, Land-En Volkenkunde / Journal of the Humanities and Social Sciences of Southeast Asia, 172(2-3), 349-368.
Resink, G. J. (2012). Bukan 350 tahun dijajah. Komunitas Bambu.
Roberts, E. V. (1991). Writing themes about literature. Prentice Hall.
Sato, S. (2006). Indonesia 1939–1942: Prelude to the japanese occupation. Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, 37(2), 225-248.
Saunders, J. (1998). Academic freedom in indonesia: Dismantling soeharto-era barriers. Human Rights Watch.
Simons, G. (2000). Indonesia: The long oppression. Springer.
Spencer, J. E. (1966). Shifting cultivation in southeastern asia. University of California Press.
Watson, C. W. (1992). Kinship, property and inheritance in kerinci, central sumatra. Cellar Book Shop.
Watson, C. W., & Ellen, R. F. (1993). Understanding witchcraft and sorcery in southeast asia. University of Hawaii Press.
Wessing, R. (1986). The soul of ambiguity: The tiger in southeast asia. Tipi Pr.
Wessing, R. (1995). The last tiger in east java: Symbolic continuity in ecological change. Asian Folklore Studies, 191-218.
Zentgraaff, H. C., & Van Goudoever, W. A. (1947). Sumatraantjes. W. van Hoeve.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.22146/jh.56698
Article Metrics
Abstract views : 4048
| 
views : 4508
Refbacks
- There are currently no refbacks.
Copyright (c) 2020 Humaniora
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
