Identities in Exile: Re-membering Identities, Re-membering the Nation in Laksmi Pamuntjak's Amba

Laksmi Pamuntjak’s first novel, Amba (2012) is one of several contemporary Indonesian novels by the post-1965 generation that breaks the silence on the violent suppression of the Indonesian left in the mid-1960s. Like other recent creative responses and initiatives by Indonesian artists and civil so...

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Main Author: Amad, Siti Nuraishah
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Published: Archīum Ateneo 2024
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Online Access:https://archium.ateneo.edu/kk/vol1/iss33/4
https://archium.ateneo.edu/context/kk/article/1796/viewcontent/KK_2033_2C_202019_2C_20_26_2034_2C_202020_204_20Regular_20Section_20__20Ahmad.pdf
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Institution: Ateneo De Manila University
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spelling ph-ateneo-arc.kk-17962024-12-19T03:24:03Z Identities in Exile: Re-membering Identities, Re-membering the Nation in Laksmi Pamuntjak's Amba Amad, Siti Nuraishah Laksmi Pamuntjak’s first novel, Amba (2012) is one of several contemporary Indonesian novels by the post-1965 generation that breaks the silence on the violent suppression of the Indonesian left in the mid-1960s. Like other recent creative responses and initiatives by Indonesian artists and civil society, Amba represents the “postmemory” of the 1965-66 events. This paper examines the modes of internal exile triggered by 1965 as portrayed in three characters in Amba and how exile disrupts and delays identity formation across different generations of Indonesians—hence, exiled identities. The history of Moluccan exile post-1950 is also crucial to the novel’s representation of people whose identities were displaced, ruptured, or in limbo as a result of political violence. The depiction of internal exile in Amba is examined based on work done by scholars on Indonesian exile narratives (Hill, Hearman) and concepts of transgenerational trauma (Schwab) and postmemory (Hirsch). This paper then discusses the various acts of “re-membering” to recover a coherent sense of self and of the nation depicted in Amba, such as through literal and figurative journeys, re-establishing kinship ties, narrating personal memories of the traumatic past, and the role of art in revealing suppressed memories of the 1965 event. 2024-12-19T06:05:12Z text application/pdf https://archium.ateneo.edu/kk/vol1/iss33/4 info:doi/10.13185/1656-152x.1796 https://archium.ateneo.edu/context/kk/article/1796/viewcontent/KK_2033_2C_202019_2C_20_26_2034_2C_202020_204_20Regular_20Section_20__20Ahmad.pdf Kritika Kultura Archīum Ateneo contemporary Indonesian fiction; exile in fiction; Indonesia 1965-66; Laksmi Pamuntjak; literature and memory; literature and postmemory
institution Ateneo De Manila University
building Ateneo De Manila University Library
continent Asia
country Philippines
Philippines
content_provider Ateneo De Manila University Library
collection archium.Ateneo Institutional Repository
topic contemporary Indonesian fiction; exile in fiction; Indonesia 1965-66; Laksmi Pamuntjak; literature and memory; literature and postmemory
spellingShingle contemporary Indonesian fiction; exile in fiction; Indonesia 1965-66; Laksmi Pamuntjak; literature and memory; literature and postmemory
Amad, Siti Nuraishah
Identities in Exile: Re-membering Identities, Re-membering the Nation in Laksmi Pamuntjak's Amba
description Laksmi Pamuntjak’s first novel, Amba (2012) is one of several contemporary Indonesian novels by the post-1965 generation that breaks the silence on the violent suppression of the Indonesian left in the mid-1960s. Like other recent creative responses and initiatives by Indonesian artists and civil society, Amba represents the “postmemory” of the 1965-66 events. This paper examines the modes of internal exile triggered by 1965 as portrayed in three characters in Amba and how exile disrupts and delays identity formation across different generations of Indonesians—hence, exiled identities. The history of Moluccan exile post-1950 is also crucial to the novel’s representation of people whose identities were displaced, ruptured, or in limbo as a result of political violence. The depiction of internal exile in Amba is examined based on work done by scholars on Indonesian exile narratives (Hill, Hearman) and concepts of transgenerational trauma (Schwab) and postmemory (Hirsch). This paper then discusses the various acts of “re-membering” to recover a coherent sense of self and of the nation depicted in Amba, such as through literal and figurative journeys, re-establishing kinship ties, narrating personal memories of the traumatic past, and the role of art in revealing suppressed memories of the 1965 event.
format text
author Amad, Siti Nuraishah
author_facet Amad, Siti Nuraishah
author_sort Amad, Siti Nuraishah
title Identities in Exile: Re-membering Identities, Re-membering the Nation in Laksmi Pamuntjak's Amba
title_short Identities in Exile: Re-membering Identities, Re-membering the Nation in Laksmi Pamuntjak's Amba
title_full Identities in Exile: Re-membering Identities, Re-membering the Nation in Laksmi Pamuntjak's Amba
title_fullStr Identities in Exile: Re-membering Identities, Re-membering the Nation in Laksmi Pamuntjak's Amba
title_full_unstemmed Identities in Exile: Re-membering Identities, Re-membering the Nation in Laksmi Pamuntjak's Amba
title_sort identities in exile: re-membering identities, re-membering the nation in laksmi pamuntjak's amba
publisher Archīum Ateneo
publishDate 2024
url https://archium.ateneo.edu/kk/vol1/iss33/4
https://archium.ateneo.edu/context/kk/article/1796/viewcontent/KK_2033_2C_202019_2C_20_26_2034_2C_202020_204_20Regular_20Section_20__20Ahmad.pdf
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