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Pesantren Literature as a Form of Ideological Discourse Countering Communism: the Representation of Communist Figures i
Ah ad Tohari’s Kubah
Muhammad Taufiqurrohman
Biodata: Muhammad Taufiqurrohman obtained his Magister Humaniora Master of Arts from Department of Literature majoring Cultural Studies, Universitas Indonesia UI. He is a lecturer of
literature and cultural studies, Faculty of Humanities, Universitas Jenderal Soedirman Unsoed, Indonesia. Email: taufiq_somboyahoo.com
Abstract
One of the subculture literatures, pesantren literature e ai s a u e plo ed te ito of
literature study in Indonesia. As the cultural product of the pesantren tradition, it has ideologically shaped some significant narrative cultural enterprises. Following Jamal D.
‘a h a s th ee ai defi itio s of pesantren literature—as a literature that lives and develops in pesantren, as a literature written by people who are from the pesantren
tradition and as a literature dealing with the pesantren Ismah, 2011, I only focus on the second as the object of the research. By the second, a novel written by an author who is
from pesantren is investigated, i.e. Kubah by Ahmad Tohari. The analysis shows that in regard to general features of pesantren literature,
Ah ad Toha i s o el Kubah strongly embodies a form of ideological discourse countering the dominant political ideology at the
ti e of s-
s, Communism. All in all, the paper reveals that pesantren literature, like other literary works, naturally tends to be positional and political.
Keywords: Kubah, Communism, Pesantren, Pesantren Literature Pesantren literature: A brief introduction
As a subculture,
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pesantren is perhaps one of the oldest traditional educational systems which mainly focus on Islamic-religion knowledge. The uniqueness of this religion-based
educational system is foundin its boarding school system. The students, alled as sa t i ,
live in the so- alled po dok pesa tre pesantren boarding house. The more
comprehensive definition of pesantren comes from Azra et al. 2007, 175 quoted by Ismah
2011, 106-107:
The Pesantren is a residential school dedicated to the transmission of the classical Islamic sciences, including study of the
Qur’a and hadith, jurisprudence fiqh, Arabic grammar, mysticism tasawwuf, and the Arabic sciences alat. A typical pesantren
complex consists of a mosque, studyrooms, dormitories, and kyai’s [the Islamic scholar
who builds and leads the pesantren] The students live there for 24 hours a day, not only for schooling but also for all of their
daily activities, such as eating, washing, cooking, and so forth. The santri studies many subjects related to Islamic traditional courses from theology to Arabic grammar, from
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The te su ultu e efe s to the idea that pesantren culture for a long time has been a unique mode of life de iati g f o the ge e al ode of life i I do esia. This idea ai l efe s to A du ah a Wahid s
thought in a book chapt e Pesa tre se agai “u kultur Pesa tre as “u ulture see Pesantren dan
Pe aharua Pesa tre a d Refor atio , Dawam Rahardjo Ed. Jakarta: LP3ES, 1988, 4
th
printed, p.40
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Islamic jurisprudence to theosophy. Besides, one of the courses in pesantren is literature. Traditionally, the most common form of its literature is the so-
alled “ i i a o “ ai religious-traditional poem which is mainly written and spoken in Arabic and local
languages, such as Ja a ese, “u da ese, Bugis, a d so o . The si ilia ities of the “ i i a
works are on the themes they choose which mainly concern the love to God and the Prophet Muhammad. It reveals that the literary practices in pesantren are mostly a part of
religious ritual prayer to God. These days, this limitation of the so-called pesantren literature has changed.
According to Jamal D. Rahman, an Indonesian poet and pesantren alumni, pesantren literature covers not only 1 a literature that lives and develops in pesantren,
like “ i i a o “ ai Old eligious-traditional poem, but also 2 any kind of literary works which are
written by people who are from the pesantren tradition, and 3 any kind of literary works dealing with the pesantren life as its main theme and issues, including
Dja il “uhe a s Umi dan Tjerita-tjerita Pendek Lainnya 1963, Abidah el-
Khali i s o el Perempuan Berkalung Sorban 2009, etc. Ismah, 2011, 107. Based on the definition above, this paper
only focuses on the second dimensions —literary works which are written by the pesantren
people. The best example I have chosen to e a i e is Ah ad Toha i s Kubah.
Ahmad Tohari and the pesantren world
Ah ad Toha i as o i Ju e , . He as a pesantren ati e f o the e
beginning of his life. He lives in Tinggarjaya, Jatilawang, Banyumas Central Java and grew up in the middle of pesantren
ultu al t aditio . I his hildhood, he studied kita ku i g —a type of traditional religious books written in Arabic, from which santri
pesantren student wrote down the meaning of the word in the language of Arab pegon Javanese Arabic. This type of the book
—written by Islamic scholars teaching Islamic disciplines, such as hadits the Prophet
s words, fiqh Islamic jurisprudence, nahwu Arabic grammar, and so forth
—has become a compulsory in the curriculum of pesantren. In a personal interview with the author, he recalled his childhood memory when experiencing
the beauty of the use of Arab pegon words in translating the Arabic Koran.
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Although Toharis parents were both from farming backgrounds, his father had received a good Islamic education and, while employed as director of the regional office for
the Ministry of Religious Affairs, was responsible for the establishment of a pesantren in Tinggarjaya. Toharis father has been described as a progressive intellectual and under his
guidance Tohari developed a deep understanding of Indonesian politics and a strong sense of social and environmental responsibility. Tohari has described himself as a mischievous
child who often visited a neighboring abangan village i.e., one that practiced a less orthodox version of the Islamic faith. Although Toharis education in the pesantren
developed by his parents left him with deep religious convictions, as an adult his progressive
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Personal interview
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interpretation of Indonesian Islam has also been criticized by some as being out of step with the status quo.
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As a writer, he has received national and international publicity with his masterpiece A Trilogy of Ronggeng Dukuh Paruk 1981, Lintang Kemukus Dini Hari A Shooting Star at
Dawn 1985 and Jentera Bianglala The Rainbows Arc 1986. His other works are Jasa- jasa buat Sanwirya in anthology of Dari Jodoh sampai Supiyah, Djambatan, 1976, p. 28-33,
Senyum Karyamin A Short Story Collection —written from 1976-1986, published by
Gramedia, 1989, Di Kaki Bukit Cibalak 1986, and Orang-orang Proyek 2007. Kubah was written in 1980 before he got public attention as the author of the famous trilogy.
Theoretical framework
New Historicism theory can be used as theoretical optic to comprehend the discourse beyond the text. As a tool of analysis, the theory assumes that historical phenomena can be
read like a text or otherwise. H. Aram Veeser has isolated five key assumptions Castle,
2007, 132:
