Ethnic Literature and Postcolonialism In Barta’s Essay

The definition of ethnic literary productions is literature like any other, except that it contains ethnic references. (Reilly p. 2). Another definition of ethnic literature is when in that location is a literature work that contain religious beliefs, racial issues, linguistics, or cultural heritage. In another(prenominal) word, ethnic literature is the literary work that includes wear outicular agriculture, beliefs, or linguistics distinction. Postcolonial literary theory draws wariness in the issue of cultural difference emerging in the society. One of the issues which may often push through during the class discussion is hybridity.It seems that pot who remove been faced by the fact that they atomic number 18 living in a hybrid world tend to be confused by their real status. They realize for their interest, plainly they can not avoid the possibility becoming in between. Although , they are included into single part, the native part, but on the other hand they can not deny the deep stamp to be pleasant considering themselves diametric with the other. thither is a kind of more value they have compared with their surround, and they deal it is worthy to be kept.Of course, this feeling comes into their mind by some reasons. There must be an excess value added into their original culture. The additional value may be in the form of a newfound ideology, belief or view which are brought by the dictatorial. The predominate rarely conscious with the impact. They usually scarcely feel that it is a natural process which become the impact of daily social interaction they are engaged in. Another issue which emerges in postcolonial discussion is about prevail-dominating one. We can not expect who truly take the usage as dominating or dominated.The practice may turn over, the dominated may become the dominating in the same time toward different object, vice versa. We are similarly introduced by Otherness theory. It makes someone consider that she or he are different from the other, and other quite a little is not the same with her or him. Gadis Tangsi tells a story about a young woman life, namely Teyi. She is a Javanese girl who grew up in the Javanese tradition. She lives with his parents and sibling in tangsi area. She was taught to become an obedient girl by her mother with many limitations as a girl. She helps her mother to sell fried bananas every day.Teyi finds herself hold in by some rules which are considered as the right rules for her mother. She even does not know how love or how to be loved by a man. She was taught to be a polite woman. She finally finds who she is when she is introduced to Putri Parasi by Ndara Tuan Kapten Sarjubehi who has helped her. That is the source of her new experience to recognize a new world, the world that she has never imagined before. Putri Parasi teaches her everything to be a great lady. Putri Parasi likes Teyi for her politeness. She more likes Teyi after being saved when her d isease comes immediately.Putri Parasi expects to teach her how to behave well. She even teaches Teyi to speak Dutch. Teyi starts to be able to read and write. Putri Parasi really wants to prepare her to be taken to Surakarta Keraton and introduced her to a man who go a counsel be matrimonial with her. She plans to make Teyi deserve to have a husband from Keraton families. In the novel Gadis Tangsi write by Suparto Brata, we can see some unexpected phenomenon occur. It makes me realize that actually there are lock in many things covered even by what Javanese hoi polloi considered as budaya adiluhung.The word politeness, hospitality and dignity which come into people mind when they heard about Javanese culture become tomentum after they read this novel. Javanese woman who is considered as an obedient woman and become a pardon for whom takes her as a wife may be surprised by what Suparto tells about Teyi and Dumilah. He brings them in this novel as representative of Javanese wo man character, in different point of view. However, the story about them, for me, is far from the stereotype of common Javanese women (may be just a few). The feeling of in between seem to be experienced by Teyi.She starts to know about how the way the higher status people behave since she meets Putri Parasi. Teyi realizes that her life style is quite different from her, and she is glad when she knows that Putri Parasi does not mind introducing this new culture to her. From this intentional interaction, after she is taught how to behave like putri bangsawan, Teyi starts to consider she has a chance to be the same with them. regular she lives with her parents, she starts to consider that she is better than them. She has been raised from the lower part. She has more power than the people in the house.The very manifest impact of this teaching actually appears when Teyi has been left by Putri Parasi. After she passed away, Teyi become independent from the influence of Putri Parasi. Al though, there are still some traces of her teaching inside Teyi which reflect in the way she behaves. She seems take the dominating position over her husband, Sapardal. Sapardal feeling about his lower position when they have been married becomes the cause of the divorce. whole two days of marriage, and Teyi considers that she has a right to sue divorce, while Sapardal can scarcely keep tranquil without any comment.In this relationship, Sapardal as a man who actually considered as the dominating take the role as the dominated. He does not feel on the same level with Teyi. He admits that he has no power compared to Teyi. He even has no courage to encounter her in their first dark of marriage. Here, we can see the role between man and woman has shifted. Brata seems to show us that the role of people in the society is like running on the moving wheel. The dominating and dominated are yet a symbol of someone position, which in like manner can be shifted based on where we are stan ding.Sapardal may fail in maintaining his position as superior in front of Teyi. The cultural change also appears in this novel. Sexual intercourse is not considered as a sacral any longer for almost all the women in this novel. During my reading, I wonder if I read Indonesian culture literary work, curiously belong to Javanese one. However, Brata wrote the novel using the Indonesian condition in the past, in the colonial occupation. In this situation, it is not easy to determine which one who still hold the original value since the influence of other ideology come into the life in that simple way.The force of a new ideology introduce is not directly felt in this novel. The indigenous people enjoy the acculturation between the dominated and the dominating. It also happens in the shifting of the way they see sexual intercourse actually is. What we call as a taboo becomes commonly conducted by the people. Teyi is defined as a free woman, even she has been married and becomes a wife of Sapardal, and she breaks the rule by having intercourse with Ndara Tuan Kapten Sarjubehi. It seems that she wants to take a revenge to Dumilah who is considered had cheated her by having quixotic affair with her master.Sapardal can not do anything. He has failed to become a good husband. This thinking is from his suffer side. When we look at this phenomenon, again, Teyi proves that she has had a power over a man from her own society. She starts to have a right to consider a man like Sapardal is not at the same level with her. However, in my opinion it will not happen if Sapardal never has the way of thinking. Actually, he has thought that she is great and different from the other woman in his environment before they are married. That makes he has no courage to touch her at their first night.It also makes Teyi feels not being regarding or respecting as a wife. She thinks that Sapardal has no appetite toward her, and she thinks that it is better to ask divorce. What a short way of thinking I found that Teyi has put a wrong way of thinking about what Putri Parasi had taught to her. It seems that she does not consider marriage as a sacral relationship any longer. Love relationship has been considered as a real relationship when we have indignation to have sex with our couple. Is that so simple? That is the way Teyi think about love basically.It is shown also when she does not mind to have sex with her ex-master, Ndara Tuan Kapten Sarjubehi, and then she starts to love someone else, Ndara Mas Kus. There is no any at fault feeling. Finally, we can conclude that there are three aspect of postcolonial reading for Gadis Tangsi has been discussed above. First, hybridity appears when Teyi finds herself has involved and being a part of Putri Parasis society, Keraton environment since she has been able to behave and speak like her, so she considers that she is a part of Putri community.While she has that feeling, she still can not avoid other people consideration about her who is only becoming a servant and will not become like them. Second, dominating feeling toward Sapardal comes into her mind. There is dominating-dominated in shifting model between them. It seems a denial for a man who usually considered as the dominating one, while Teyi proves that it can be shifted. Last, Otherness theory also emerges in this novel. After having taught to have attitude and behave like Putri Parasi model, Teyi finally considers herself different with other woman in her society.It appears in the way she treats Dumilah who is her old friend. She thinks that Dumilah has no right to become a munci of Ndara Tuan Kapten Sarjubehi because she is not at the same level with her or Ndara. Reference Ashcroft, Bill, et. al. 1946. The Empire Writes Back. London Routledge Barry, Peter. 1824. Beginning Theory. Manchester Manchester University put forward Brata, Suparto. 2004. Gadis Tangsi. Jakarta Kompas Reilly, John. 1978. Critical Approaches to Ethnic Literature. London Oxford University Press