The Beauty of Indonesia in This Earth of Mankind

For those who love books, you guys must already know about a novel titled This Earth of Mankind or Bumi Manusia that was written by Pramoedya Ananta Toer. You probably know about this book either from the movie adaptation that was played by Iqbaal Ramadhan or you just have a huge interest in literature, or… you are a soon-to-be a literature major student in university and have a huge interest to know about this book. Fear not, that this writing will tell you the beauty of our country, Indonesia, throughout This Earth of Mankind.

This Earth of Mankind is a novel originally released in 1980 by Hasta Mitra in Indonesia. The book tells the story of a Javanese boy named Minke—without a last name—that falls in love with an indo girl, named Annelies Mellema. Their love is not an easy thing to exist during the colonialization by the Dutch in what used to be called as Dutch East Indies. Minke and Annelies, also with many great supporting characters, are struggling to keep their power and humanity. While the white men from the Dutch are suppressing their life.

From the novel This Earth of Mankind, we as the reader can see the beauty of Indonesia. While it is true that the book itself only focused on Java Island, especially the City of Surabaya, we can still see the diversity in our nation. From the description of the strong man with his trusty machete that always around Nyai Ontosoroh, we automatically know that the person must be from Madura Island. Living in Surabaya to serve a concubine named Nyai Ontosoroh. She is the portrayals of slavery and the fragility of women during that time. Live like the stereotype of Javanese, Nyai Ontosoroh is a soft, but strong woman. The Javanese custom is also thick in this book. As we can read briefly before Minke’s wedding with Annelies.

“…Don’t be disrespectful. You too could not make the like of this. Respect those who can do more than you.” P. 311

From that sentences by Minke’s mother, we can look into the custom and culture of the Javanese. To respect the elders and always respect those who know more than you. After that, during their wedding night, Minke and Annelies are doing a tayub dance with the orchestra from East Javanese gamelan. During this part, every people blend together. Nyai’s workers, Minke’s educated friend, Madga Peters as the HBS teacher, and even white man! The diversity is so rich.

The word ‘beauty’ doesn’t always have to be literally pretty or beautiful. It can be more than that, and that is the magic of a word. It can mean anything, and different from one person to another person. That case also happens when someone mentions the name ‘Indonesia’. This nation is way too big to be told in one book or in one conversation. As an Indonesian, we need to appreciate these little beauties that we can found in the novel This Earth of Mankind. This country is so diverse and there are way too many customs, clothes, foods, and houses to tell. 

Editor: Pieter Bagaskara Astadiningrat

Reference:
Toer, P. A., & Lane, M. (1996). This Earth of Mankind. Penguin Books.