Foreword Why write a biography of Indonesian national hero, Prince Diponegoro (1785 1855)? In most countries, such a key figure would have been the subject of numerous biographies. Every aspect of the prince s life would have been researched in detail, his understanding of Islam and his Javanese inheritance the subject of weighty monographs. One might even have expected that his own writings, in particular his magnificent autobiography the first in any Indonesian language written over nine months (20 May 1831 3 Feb 1832) while in exile in Manado (1830 33), the Babad Diponegoro (Chronicle of Diponegoro), which runs to 1,151 pages in manuscript and which is now registered by UNESCO as a Memory of the World manuscript (22 June 2013), would have long since appeared in a copiously annotated modern text edition. In Indonesia, however, the situation is very different: history seems to have little honour here, and the results have been painfully evident in Jakarta s abysmal handling of its East Timor adventure (1975 99) and its belated understanding of the society, politics and culture of Aceh at the northern tip of Sumatra. There is little money for research or government funds let alone the scholarly attention and respect needed for the preservation of manuscripts. The result is that the original pegon (unvocalised Arabic script Javanese) copy of Diponegoro s autobiographical chronicle in the National Library (Perpustakaan Nasional) equivalent to Oliver Cromwell s common place book or George Washington s diary is crumbling to dust (Carey 1981:lix lx note 76).1 1 Since the start of the so-called Reform (Reformasi) period in May 1998, the pace of historical losses in Indonesia has accelerated: the house built by the Dutch in Makassar in 1855 6 for Diponegoro s widow, Raden Ayu Retnoningsih, has been knocked down (2000) (Chapter XII), and the original charcoal sketch of Diponegoro made by A.J. Bik while the prince was being held at the Stadhuis (April 1830) (Chapter XI) has gone missing from the Museum Sejarah Jakarta collection (2006).
xxviii Foreword As for the voluminous Dutch Residency reports in the Indonesian National Archives (Arsip Nasional Republik Indonesia), the backbone of this book, few can access them given the lack of knowledge of the Dutch language in present-day Indonesia. As a result most Indonesians live in an historiographical void, more aware of the globalised pop culture of the West than their own cultural inheritance. As far as Diponegoro is concerned, it is as though the clock stopped at the time when the Dutch military historians P.J.F. Louw and E.S. de Klerck completed their magisterial six-volume work on the Java War (1825 30) (Louw and De Klerck 1894 1909) and the Rusche edition (1908 9) of the Babad Diponegoro was published in Surakarta before the First World War. Since independence in 1945, only a handful of studies have appeared in Indonesian. These include Yamin (1950), Tanojo (1966), Soekanto (1951a, 1951b, 1952), Sagimun (1965), and Djamhari (2003). All have enabled Indonesian readers to learn about aspects of Diponegoro s life and times, but apart from the last, primarily a history of the Dutch benteng stelsel ( Java War fortification system), none have been based on primary research. It was this lack of research which originally inspired my 1975 Oxford doctorate on Diponegoro, the second part of which a twelve-canto Surakarta court chronicle on the outbreak of the Java War was published as long ago as 1981 (Carey 1981). Twenty-five years later, the first part appeared under the imprint of the KITLV Press (Leiden): The Power of Prophecy: Prince Dipanagara and the End of an Old Order in Java, 1785 1855 (Carey 2007, second revised edition 2008). Within six months, a second revised edition was required so great was the interest in this much respected historical figure. A third edition was even planned. But before it could see the light of day, I moved to Indonesia (August 2008) and the KITLV Press was taken over by Brill (Leiden) as the part of the division of the venerable mother institute, the Koninklijk Instituut voor Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde (Royal Institute for Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies), between the Royal Dutch Academy of Sciences (KNAW) and the University of Leiden. My move to Indonesia brought new opportunities and challenges. Like the Tale of Two Cities, my sojourn in Jakarta proved to be the best of times and the worst of times. While my professional work with the Indonesian Ministry of Health languished, my life as an historian prospered. With the generous support of the representative of the Royal Institute/
Foreword xxix KITLV in Indonesia, Dr Roger Tol, and the financial backing of international and local sponsors, most notably Hashim Djojohadikusumo and his Yayasan Arsari Djojohadikusumo (YAD), my English-language Power of Prophecy publication was translated into Indonesian by one of the country s senior journalist historians, Pak Parakitri T. Simbolon. In March 2012, it appeared in a handsome three-volume boxed set as Kuasa Ramalan: Pangeran Diponegoro dan Akhir Tatanan Lama di Jawa, 1785 1855 under the imprint of Kepustakaan Populer Gramedia (KPG), a branch of Indonesia s leading Gramedia publishing house. As with the original English publication, the first print run of 3,500 copies sold out quickly and a second edition appeared (April 2012), indicating that a shortened print version of the original biography would be well received. This would also make my work accessible to a wider readership by focusing on the life of the prince rather than the political and social history of pre-java War Yogyakarta. I was approached by KPG s senior partner Kompas-Gramedia Books to prepare a single-volume biography in Indonesian, an offer I immediately accepted. My only condition was that a simultaneous English-language edition could be published by Oxford-based publisher Peter Lang who had already indicated an interest. In July 2012, I met with Peter Lang s Publishing Director, Lucy Melville, and submitted a formal book proposal which, after peer review, was immediately accepted. So a simultaneous publication in English and Indonesian has become a reality. Once again I am indebted to the Yayasan Arsari Djojohadikusumo for their constant and unstinting support. At a time of unprecedented interest in the relationship between religion and politics both here in Indonesia and in the wider Muslim world, Diponegoro s life and times may be of some significance. An historical perspective on what Merle Ricklefs has termed the mystic synthesis in the Javanese Islamic tradition (Ricklefs 2007:8, 2012:11 12) is much needed. Not least, it offers an opportunity to understand the cultural origins of the world view of a remarkable Javanese Sufi Muslim in the key transitional period between Java s eighteenth-century old order and the high colonial era which began with the Dutch victory in the Java War. The preparation of this book has necessitated numerous debts of gratitude most of which have been acknowledged in my Power of Prophecy (Carey 2008:xix xxii). There are some others which I need to place on record here.
xxx Foreword In particular, I would like to thank Lucy Melville, Mette Bundgaard and Alessandra Anzani at Peter Lang, and the three musketeers at Kompas- Gramedia Pak Patricius Cahanar, Pak Mulyawan Karim, and Pak Pri Supriyanto for their unstinting help and encouragement throughout the preparation of this book. They are, however, in no way responsible for the many faults which still remain. Such a radical shortening of an original magnum opus is no easy task. My hope is that this short biography will inspire a younger generation of Indonesians with an appreciation of their own remarkable history and encourage some to contemplate a career as professional historians. A recent estimation that those residing outside Indonesia (both non-resident Indonesians and foreigners) account for ninety percent of all scholarly articles published on Indonesia overseas may serve as a wake-up here. If true, this makes Indonesia one of the countries least effective in explaining itself to the outside world (Reid 2011). Such a situation cannot bode well for the Republic. Even if the McKinsey Global Institute s recent (September 2012) economic forecast that Indonesia will move from sixteenth to seventh largest economy in the world by 2030 (MGI 2012) proves correct, it will be a ship without a compass. In this context, the words of Indonesia s founding president, Sukarno (1901 70; in office, 1945 67), Do not ever forget your history (Jangan sekali-kali lupa dengan sejarah), ring truer than ever. Without a love and appreciation of their own history, Indonesia will be a rootless nation, its citizens condemned to live forever on the margins of a globalizing world without a true sense of who they are or where they are going. It is the younger generation s task to see that this does not happen. And it is for the older generation, now in leadership positions, to provide the resources to ensure that history has an honoured place in the life of the nation. In the present era of reform and national renewal, a truly civilized Indonesia demands no less. Jakarta 1 January 2014
Foreword xxxi Bibliography Carey, Peter (1981). Babad Dipanagara; An Account of the Outbreak of the Java War (1825 30). The Surakarta Court version of the Babad Dipanagara with translations into English and Indonesian Malay. Kuala Lumpur: Art Printers. Carey, Peter (2007). The Power of Prophecy; Prince Dipanagara and the End of an Old Order in Java, 1785 1855. Leiden: KITLV Press [second revised edition 2008]. Carey, Peter (2012). Kuasa Ramalan; Pangeran Diponegoro dan Akhir Tatanan Lama di Jawa, 1785 1855. Jakarta: KPG. Djamhari, Saleh As ad (2003). Strategi Menjinakkan Diponegoro; Stelsel Benteng 1827 1830. Jakarta: Yayasan Komunitas Bambu. Louw, P.J.F. and E.S. de Klerck (1894 1909). De Java-Oorlog van 1825 30. 6 volumes. The Hague: Nijhoff and Batavia: Landsdrukkerij. MGI [McKinsey Global Institute] (2012). The Archipelago Economy: Unleashing Indonesia s Potential. Downloaded 18 December 2012 at: www.mckinsey.com/ / McKinsey/ /The%20archipelago%20economy/MGI_Unleashing_Indonesia_ potential_executive_summary.ashx. Reid, Tony (2011). Indonesia dan Dunia sesudah 66 Tahun (Indonesia and the World after 66 Years). Tempo (Indonesian edition), 14 20 November. Ricklefs, M.C. (2007). Polarising Javanese Society; Islamic and other Visions (c. 1893 1930). Singapore: National University of Singapore Press. Ricklefs, M.C. (2012). Islamisation and its Opponents in Java; A Political, Social, Cultural and Religious history, c. 1930 to the present. Singapore: National University of Singapore Press. Rusche, Albert (ed.) (1908 9). Babad Diponagoro; Serat Babad Dipanagaran karanganipun suwargi Kangjeng Pangeran Arya Dipanagara piyambak; Nyariosaken wiwit remenipun dhateng agami Islam tuwin dadosing prang ageng ngantos dumuginipun kakendhangaken dhateng Menadho. 2 volumes. Soerakarta: Rusche. Sagimun, M.D. (1965). Pahlawan Dipanegara Berjuang; (Bara api Kemerdekaan nan tak Kundjung Padam). Djakarta: Gunung Agung. Soekanto, R. (1951a). Sentot alias Alibasah Abdulmustopo Prawirodirdjo Senopati Diponegoro (Seorang Terkemuka dalam abad ke-19 dari Sedjarah Nasional Indonesia). Djakarta: Poesaka Aseli. Soekanto, R. (1951b). Dua Raden Saleh, Dua Nasionalis dalam Abad ke-19; Suatu Halaman dari Sedjarah Nasional Indonesia. Djakarta: Poesaka Aseli. Soekanto, R. (1952). Sekitar Jog jakarta 1755 1825 (Perjanjian Gianti-Perang Dipanagara). Djakarta, Amsterdam: Mahabarata.
xxxii Foreword Tanojo, R. (1966). Sedjarah Pangeran Diponegoro darah Madura: Awewaton Pèngetan Kuna. Surabaya: Trimurti. Yamin, Muhammad (1950). Sedjarah Peperangan Dipanegara; Pahlawan Kemerdekaan Indonesia. Djakarta: Yayasan Pembangunan.