plagiat merupakan tindakan tidak terpuji theories applied are theory of tone, theory of imagery, ......
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TIMORESE IN SEARCH OF FREEDOM SEEN IN XANANA GUSMAO’S
POEMS
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of Requirements
for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra
in English Letters
By
ANSELMO CUIMBRA
Student Number: 104214107
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAM
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA
2015
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LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN KARYA ILMIAH
UNTUK KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIS
Yang bertanda tangan di bawah ini, saya mahasiswa universitas Sanata Dharma
Nama : Anselmo Cumibra
Nomor Mahasiswa : 104214107
TIMORESE IN SEARCH OF FREEDOM SEEN IN XANANA GUSMAOS
POEM’S
Dengan demikian saya memberikan kepada perpustakaan Universitas Sanata
Dharma hak untuk menyimpan, mengalihkan dalam bentuk media lain,
mengelolanya dalam betuk pangkalan data, mendistribusikan secara terbatas, dan
mempublikasihkannya di internet atau media lain untuk kepentingan akademis
tanpa perlu meminta ijin kepada saya maupun memberikan royalty kepada saya
selama tetap mencantumkan nama saya sebagai penulis.
Demikian pernyataan ini saya buat sebenarnya.
Dibuat di Yogyakarta
Pada tanggal 6, Februari 2015
Yang menyatakan,
Anselmo Cuimbra
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STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY
I certify that this undergraduate thesis contains no material which has been
previously submitted for the award of any other degree at any university, and that,
to the best of my knowledge, this undergraduate thesis contains no material
previously written by any other person except where due to reference is made.
Yogyakarta, February 6, 2015
Anselmo Cuimbra
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First of all, I would like to thank God Almighty, the Ultimate Reality,
whose revelation moves me to understand the beauty of divinity as is served in the
tangible world as well as in poetry. Divine intervention is very important in the
writing of this undergraduate thesis.
I would like to thank my thesis advisor P. Sarwoto, S.S. M.A., Ph.D. for
his advice, guidance, suggestions, ideas, patience and time during my
undergraduate thesis writing up to the end. I also would like to thank Ni Luh Putu
Rosiandani, S.S., M.Hum as my co-advisor who has made valuable correction,
suggestions, and advises to make this thesis better. I also thank all the English
Letters lecturers for their guidance for all these years. My sincere gratitude also
goes to Departemento Educasaun de Timor Leste (Department of Education of
Timor Leste) for supporting me during my study in Indonesia.
My greatest grattitude goes to my parents, Humberto Coimbra and Luiza
Da Cruz, for their support and prayers. My gratitude also goes to my brothers and
sisters; Sergio Coimbra, Roberto Coimbra, Sidonia Coimbra and Novelia
Coimbra, for their encouragement and supports.
Anselmo Cuimbra
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE ..................................................................................................... ii
APPROVAL PAGE ........................................................................................... iii
ACCEPTANCE PAGE ...................................................................................... iv
LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH . v
STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY ................................................................. vi
MOTTO PAGE………………………………………………………………....vii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .............................................................................. viii
TABLE OF CONTENTS ..................................................................................... ix
ABSTRACT .......................................................................................................... x
ABSTRAK ......................................................................................................... xi
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION ..................................................................... 1
A. Background of the Study .......................................................................... 1
B. Problem Formulation ............................................................................... 6
C. Objectives of the Study ............................................................................ 6
D. Definitions of Terms ................................................................................ 7
CHAPTER II: REVIEW OF LITERATURE ................................................. 9
A. Review of Related Studies ....................................................................... 9
B. Review of Related Theories ..................................................................... 13
1. Theory of Tone ............................................................................. 13
2. Theory of Imagery........................................................................ 14
3. Postcolonial Theory ..................................................................... 14
C. Theoretical Framework ............................................................................ 22
CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY ................................................................. 23
A. Object of the Study................................................................................... 23
B. Approach of the Study ............................................................................. 24
C. Method of the Study ................................................................................. 24
CHAPTER IV: ANALYSIS .............................................................................. 26
A. Timorese Struggle for Freedom described in the poem ........................... 26
B. The concept of freedom reflected in the poem ........................................ 40
CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION ......................................................................... 56
BIBLIOGRAPHY .............................................................................................. 59
APPENDICES: ..……………………………………………………………... 63
Appendix 1: Xanana Gusmao’s Poems .................................................... 63
Appendix 2: Biographical Background of Xanana Gusmao ................... 68
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ABSTRACT
CUIMBRA, ANSELMO. Timorese in Search of Freedom seen in Xanana
Gusmao’s Poems. Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters,
Sanata Dharma University, 2015.
The main sources were taken from the Xanana Gusmao‟s poems “I am at
Waring”, Oh! Freedom!”, during Portuguese rule and Suharto‟s military
occupation from 1970s-1990s. The poems are about the Timorese struggle for
freedom against Portuguese rule and Suharto‟s military occupation. Through his
poems, Xanana clearly describes how the Timorese lived under colonial
hegemony and struggle for freedom. Xanana puts his poetry as a great service for
Timor Leste‟s anti-colonial revolution and struggle for political and socio-cultural
freedom. The secondary sources were taken from the books and other sources
related to the study.
There are two problems formulated as the basis of this thesis. The first
problems question the description of the Timorese struggle. The second problems
question the concept of freedom.
This thesis used library research. The writer uses postcolonial approach in
analyzing the poems. The theories applied are theory of tone, theory of imagery,
and postcolonial theory. A review on the Timorese struggle for freedom and
background of the author was also used to support this thesis.
The results of the study are the portrait of the Timorese struggle for
freedom during Portuguese rule and Suharto‟s military occupation. Through the
portrait of nature and daily life in the poem of Xanana Gusmao, it is clear that
Xanana‟s poems are interconnected with socio-political condition in Timor Leste.
Xanana and his people struggle against colonial military power to defend their
country. The fact is that in implementing their civilization mission, Portuguese
and Suharto‟s military regime used their military power to overcome the Timorese
and brought down their civil society and freedom and then put their culture and
way of life into practice to „civilize‟ the Timorese. The unity of the Timorese by
being maubere is the only way that can set the Timorese free from colonialism.
Furthermore, being maubere means representing themselves to overcome political
and cultural inferiority. Political, social, and cultural freedoms are the ways
forward to the Timor Leste‟s total national liberation and its people. Throughout
his poems, Xanana clearly emphasize that one‟s freedom is only gained when
he/she is politically, socially, and culturally free.
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ABSTRAK
CUIMBRA, ANSELMO. Timorese in Search of Freedom seen in Xanana
Gusmao’s Poems. Yogyakarta: Program Study Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra,
Universitas Sanata Dharma, 2015.
Sumber data diambil dari puisi-puisi Xanana Gusmao berjudul “I am at
War”, “Oh! Freedom!”, “Grandfather Crocodile”, “Maubere”, dan “My Sea of
Timor” yang ditulis selama pemerintahan Portugis dan pendudukan militer
Indonesia dari tahun 1970-an hingga 1990-an. Puisi – puisi tersebut bercerita
tentang perjuangan kemerdekaan melawan penjajahan Portugis dan pendudukan
regim militer Suharto di Timor Leste. Melalui puisi - puisinya, Xanana
menjelaskan bagaimana masyarakat Timor Leste hidup di bawah hegemoni
kolonial dan berjuang demi kebebasan. Xanana menjadikan puisinya sebagai salah
satu upaya dalam revolusi anti kolonialisme di Timor Leste dan sebagai salah satu
bentuk perjuangan untuk kemerdekaan politik dan sosial budaya. Sumber-sumber
sekunder diambil dari buku-buku dan sumber-sumber lain yang berkaitan dengan
studi.
Terdapat dua rumusan masalah dalam penelitian ini. Rumusan yang
pertama adalah deskripsi perjuangan masyarakat Timor Leste. Rumusan yang
kedua yaitu konsep kebebasan ditampilkan dalam puisi tersebut.
Skripsi ini menggunakan metode penelitian kepustakaan. Penulis menerapkan
pendekatan postkolonial dalam menganalisis puisi – puisi tersebut. Teori-teori yang
digunakan dalam analisis adalah teori nada, teori citra, dan teori postkolonial. Ulasan –
ulasan mengenai perjuangan masyarakat Timor Leste untuk kebebasan serta latar
belakang penulis juga digunakan untuk mendukung penelitian ini.
Hasil studi merupakan gambaran perjuangan kemerdekaan masyarakat
Timor Leste selama penjajahan Portugis dan pendudukan militer Indonesia.
Melalui penggambaran kebiasaan dan kehidupan sehari-hari masyarakat Timor
Leste dalam puisi-puisi Xanana Gusmao, terlihat jelas bahwa puisi – puisi tersebut
berhubungan erat dengan kondisi sosial-politik di Timor Leste. Xanana dan pada
pengikutnya berjuang untuk melawan kekuasaan militer bangsa kolonial untuk
membela negara mereka. Kenyataannya adalah bahwa dalam melaksanakan misi
peradabannya, Portugis dan rezim militer Suharto menggunakan kekuatan militer
mereka untuk melawan bangsa Timor Leste dan merendahkan masyarakat sipil
serta kebebasannya, kemudian memasukkan unsur - unsur budaya dan cara hidup
mereka untuk „memberi peradaban‟ kepada masyarakat Timor Timur. Bersatunya
seluruh warga Timor Leste dengan menjadi maubere adalah satu-satunya cara
yang dapat membuat masyarakat Timor Leste terbebas dari penjajahan. Selain itu,
menjadi maubere berarti mewakili diri mereka untuk mengatasi inferioritas
budaya dan politik. Kebebasan politik, social, and budayaan adalah cara untuk
pembebasan total nasional Timor Leste dan masyarakatnya. Melalui puisi -
puisinya, Xanana jelas menekankan bahwa kebebasan seseorang hanya diperoleh
ketika ia bebas secara politik, socsial dan budaya.
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CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
A. Background of the Study
The real condition of one‟s life can become an inspiration to writers in
producing a literary work. Literature is also regarded as an essential thing since it
contains real life, people, thought, and authors‟ feeling about life. In literature, one
can see the life‟s portraits, the struggle for truth, the freedom quest, etc.
Graham Little (1963:1) reveals that a literary work can become a good
reflection of the society, when and where the work is written; moreover, the reader
can dig out many values that are implicitly set in one of the cultural value elements,
setting of time, and place by reading the literary work.
Mary Rohrberger and Samuel H. Woods (1971: 29) explain that the primary
assumption of poetry is to report the action of the society in details and to create the
illusion of authenticity to material fact of everyday world; moreover, words used in
describing the societies are „realistic‟. That is why the literary work can become a
good portrait of society. Literature is interpreted as a reflection of norms and values
as it reveals the ethos of culture, the processes of class struggle, and the certain types
of social facts. It can influence individuals, organizations, and/or other societies about
certain condition that authors portray in the literary work.
The readers of literary work may wonder what happened in the past and what
kind of social condition it was in another society. Poetry can also play its role as a
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historical document to record the social realities portrayed by the authors artistically
(Wellek and Warren, 1956: 102).
Poetry in the real world is a “hidden consciousness or awareness” of the
society in which the poets and the society are in a relationship of mutual
responsibility. The poets have the responsibility to portray the reality from the inside
of the society through words. In writing poetry, the poets express social concern
through words. Michael O'Siadhail (1991: 2-10) explains that:
Even something as seemingly ephemeral as the truth spoken aloud, as openly
expressed concern for the humanity of humans, bear within itself a certain
power, and that even a word is capable of a certain radiation, of leaving a
mark on the “hidden consciousness” of a society.
The poets have an important role in societies or nations to raise national
consciousness and to struggle for their freedom. The poets use poetry to record the
social concern and the reality. It can be briefly explained that the poets as member of
the society create the literary work that might represent the society by using their
imagination. What is written in the work may be taken from the social reality or
social question. The poets speak the truth by putting words together to represent the
concern of the society.
Poetry has also been used as a vehicle or tool with the aim of total liberation
in third the world countries. Instead of using arms against the colonial hegemony, the
poets use words to fight for their freedom and people. Many of freedom fighters such
as Aleksandr Kushner and Pushkin used poetry as a political tool to put across their
ideas during Soviet Union as displayed in Poetry and Freedom (Kushner, Aleksandr
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and Emily Johnson, 2003: 40-44). Stalin‟s control over Soviet Union indicated that
freedom is one thing that the people lost. Artists and painters painted pictures
glorifying Stalin, while writers and poets were forced to do so. Those who were
against it were punished and sent to labour camp. Due to the lost freedom, poetry
appears to provide a space for the poets to reclaim their freedom. With poetry, poets
do not only express all their ideology and purposes to the people and the outside
world, but also organize and unite their people in order to liberate their country:
I call poetry one of the methods for ensuring the continued existence of
freedom in this world. With the help of poetry, a poet can achieve victory
even when he finds himself in the most tragic of circumstances. (Kushner and
Johnson, 2003: 42).
Poetry contains some elements: intrinsic and extrinsic elements. Intrinsic
elements are elements to build and describe poetry; elements such as the intrinsic
diction, figurative language; theme, imagery, tone, rhyme, meter, etc. are elements to
tell about out-of-the-poetry aspects. The out-of-the-poetry aspects are in the forms of
psychology of the author and the readers, sociology of the author and readers,
sociology of production-consumption, and sociology of work. The use of tone is to
reveal the poets‟ attitudes towards the subject they defend. As Thomson states in
Amuta, Chidi (1989: 176):
The poet speaks not for himself only but for his fellowmen. His cry is their
cry, which only he can utter. That is what gives it its debts. But if he is to
speak for them, he must suffer with them, rejoice with them, work with them,
fight with them.
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William Rose Benet (1945: 46-48) states that poetry does not always fulfilled
its technical excellence because poetry of war lacks in technical excellence but he
properly asserts that in reaction of human experience, in usefulness to man, it justifies
the claim that, the story of liberty is also the story of the great poetry. Freedom has
historically been associated with love of the country as people have struggled for
centuries for freedom by using poetry. Poetry is a plea for social justice in the society
where freedom is still only a name.
One of the countries that just gained its independence in the early twenty first
century is Timor Leste. Timor Leste declared its independence from Portugal in
November 1975, but was invaded by Indonesia nine days later. Timor Leste was later
incorporated as the 27th
province of Indonesia afterwards. During the two-decade
occupation subsequently, the pacification campaign followed. Although Indonesia did
make substantial investment in infrastructures during its occupation in Timor Leste,
the dissatisfaction remained.
Xanana Gusmao, the charismatic leader and the poet, used poetry to record
the social condition of the society in which the colonialism and the political system
destroy the Timorese. The discrimination committed to the Timorese known as
“Other”, in Portuguese called Maubere and in Indonesian known as GPK (Gerakan
Pengacau Keamanan) or a small band of rebels “rebels” was commonly seen in daily
life.
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To fight against colonialism, Xanana used poems to record the social
condition of the society in which the colonisers used their ideology, culture and
system as destructive power towards the Timorese. The discrimination committed to
the Timorese called “Other” was commonly seen in daily life.
After his interview with Xanana Gusmao on May 24 1995, Craig Cormick,
Green Left Weekly correspondent, wrote that Xanana‟s capture and imprisonment did
not stop him to free his people and country by using poems:
One year ago, on May 21st, the East Timorese resistance leader Xanana
Gusmao, was found guilty of plotting against the Indonesian state and illegal
possession of firearms, and was sentenced to life imprisonment. The sentence
was later reduced to 20 years. A poet and journalist as well as guerrilla,
Xanana has continued fighting for the freedom of his people from behind the
bars. His only weapons now are his thoughts and a pen (Cormick, 1994).
BBC Asia Pacific describes Xanana Gusmao as a „Warrior‟ poet because he
wrote many poems in his life, in the jungle, and prison; moreover, his struggle was
not only through arms but also through literature (BBC Asia Pacific n.p. May 9,
2007).
Based on the comments, and the interview above, Xanana explicitly does not
only want to give readers a portrait of the real condition in Timor Leste and the
complexity of the colonial but also to expose the struggle and the destiny of his
country.
The writer is interested in analyzing Xanana‟s poems because his poems
expose the real condition in Timor Leste after Portuguese and Indonesian Military
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occupation. His poems contain the description of Timorese society‟s lives while their
well being is under colonial hegemony.
B. Problem Formulation
Based on Gusmao‟s poems, the problems are formulated into these following
questions.
1. How is Timorese‟s struggle for freedom described in the poem?
2. What is the concept of freedom reflected in the poem?
C. Objectives of the Study
Considering the problems formulated above, the objectives of the study are:
1. To find out Timorese‟s struggle for freedom described in the poem;
2. To find out the concept of freedom reflected in the poem.
Xanana‟s poems represent how Timorese society struggles to defend their
country from colonialism and to prove that the poem present post-colonialism and the
concept of freedom. It is very important to understand the main idea of the Timorese
struggle that Xanana portrays in the poem because this thesis focuses on the struggle
and how Xanana portrays the Timorese‟s struggle and the concept of freedom as
reflected in the poem.
Xanana‟s poems give readers a better understanding on how the Timorese
struggles for their freedom. Furthermore, through these poems, the readers may learn
about the colonial hegemony which happened in Timor Leste. While enjoying these
poems, the readers also learn about the author‟s life and some elements in the making
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of these poems, such as imagery, tone, and historical background of the works. The
readers can also find the author‟s commentary on the Timorese‟s struggle. In his
poems, Xanana states that by the virtue of the principal of equal rights, all people
have the right to be free from occupation and colonialism.
D. Definition of Terms
1. Timorese
Timorese (also known as people from the east) are the indigenous people of
Timor Leste consisting of a variety of ethnic groups who are able to speak
Portuguese, Bahasa Indonesia, and some 16 indigenous languages. There are 12
indigenous groups of Timorese in Timor Leste and most of the indigenous groups are
Austronesian. There are also 4 other indigenous groups including Bunak, the
Fataluku, and the Makasae which are predominantly Papuan.
2. Struggle
Frantze Fanon (1967: 53) defines struggle as „struggle‟ for ethnic, cultural,
and political autonomy. For colonized people, struggle against European and U.S.
imperialism is done in order to liberate the country and national restoration.
Meanwhile, Malcolm X, born Malcolm Little (in Lipsitz, 1988: 147) defines struggle
as a process of individual or society to take direct action against the conditions that
oppress them and let them assert the rights to act as they choose, since black people
risk their lives for the “privilege” of drinking a cup of coffee at lunch counter next to
white people; further, he argues that such struggle searches for “equality” rather than
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“justice.” Anya Topolski, (2010: 14-15) describes struggle as a form of individual‟s
action towards others and the most important one is injustice.
3. Freedom
Freedom is the condition of being free, the power to act or speak or think
without externally imposed restraints, which mean free from oppression. In Webster
New Twentieth Century Dictionary, the word freedom is defined as liberation from
slavery or restraint or from the power of another and political right. T. H. Green
(1881: 200) says, “The ideal of true freedom is the maximum of power for all
members of human society alike to make the best of themselves.”
4. Society
Jean L. McKechnie (1983:1723) defines the word „society‟ as the system or
condition of living together as a community. Della Summer (1992: 1259) defines that
society is people in general with regard to the structure of law organizations that
make it possible for them to live together; it also means a particular broad group of
people who share law organizations, customs, etc. H.G. Emery and K.G Brewster
(1952: 1759) explain that society is the social mode of living of a community or
human being collectively regarded as a body divided into classes graded to worldly
status.
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CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
A. Review of Related Studies
Poetry and struggle for freedom. Liberation poetry is rich in just and profound
human aspirations. Inside poetry, the poet abstract and subtracts himself from his own
interest to identify with those of his people. In this relationship of abstraction and
identification, the poet finds his own self in the struggle through his direct daily
participation in the political and socio-economic transformation of human
environment. As the researchers namely Irene Marques (2003), Chidi Amuta (1989)
A.R Bras (1982), R. Victoria Arana (2008) have defined in their work, poetry has
become an important part of poets in struggling against colonial hegemony in
oppressed nations. To use Fanon‟s words (1968:240), it is a “literature of combat.”
African poetry has become a part of their struggle against colonialism.
Throughout the continent, poets expose oppression and cruelty associated with the
colonial as well as its power. One of the poets is Angolan first president, Agustinho
Neto, whose poems expose Portuguese hegemony in Angola. Chris Brazier in The
New Internationalist (1988: 28) describes him as “revolutionary, spinning his dreams
and inspirational calls to arms from inside prison cells and giving the chance to turn
imagination into reality as the first President of independent Angola.”
Marques (2003:6) in her article Postcolonial African Consciousness and the
Poetry of Agustinho Neto discusses Neto‟s Sacred Hope (1974) reveals that poetry is
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a powerful tool in struggling against oppression, but without the help of armed
struggle as well as other complementary action, it will not succeed, as stated below:
Despite the fact that Neto uses his poetry to fight colonial cause and to
sensitize his people need for revolution, he is not sufficiently naïve to think
that poetry alone is enough to change the state affairs. In his poem called
“Haste” Neto speaks of the impatience he feels with the fact that things are
not changing at the rate he would like to see the change. He is very aware of
the fact that poetic words, reasonable talk, and biblical “offering of other
cheek” – in other words, “civilized” diplomacy – will not be enough to
convince the colonialist to return Angolans and stop the utilitarian and self-
serving for independence (Marques, 2003:6).
Neto adds that the use of Portuguese colonial language proves to have
facilitated the spread of Neto‟s political plea worldwide, which might have
contributed to international diplomatic pressure to end colonialism in Angola.
Amuta (1989: 189), in observing Neto‟s Collection Sacred Hope, states that
one of the most prominent freedom fighters of Angola is Agustinho Neto. He was not
only the first President of Independent Angola but also a great poet who put his art at
the service of Angola, anti-colonial revolution and struggle for cultural and political
independence of Africans. Neto‟s poetry in Sacred Hope (1974) is a vital element of
People‟s Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA). Poetry is used to reject
colonial values and hence provides a voice to the dominated, marginalized and
divided Africans:
The significance of Neto‟s poetry in the struggle for Angolan independence is
subsumed within the overall active involvement of literature and culture in the
strategy of the MPLA. The poems collected in Sacred Hope span several
years in Neto‟s career as well as various stages in the struggle for national
liberation. Consequently, the themes range from the need to use valuable
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elements from the past to shape the future to reflections on the deprivations
and sufferings of the people under colonial rule (Amuta: 189).
Meanwhile in The “Contract” in Neto's Poetry, Bras, states the poetry of
Neto is often perceived as one of combat, revolutionary verses which primary
objective is to awaken the poet‟s compatriots and to help them become aware of their
unenviable plight as a colonized people. Neto‟s Sacred Hope is a portrayal of
oppressed classes and society, but Neto still believes in human will for self-
determination:
Neto‟s is poetry of hope. Although sacred Hope is essentially a study of the
oppressed classes in an equally oppressed society and of the subjective
conditions that create, or preclude the creation, of a revolutionary
consciousness, the poet refuses to allow the often tragic realities of the
moment to overwhelm his absolute trust in the human will for selfliberation
(Bras: 92).
Brass also adds that Sacred Hope is also a reflection of Neto's realizations that
the end of War World II will have no positive impact on the Angolans. Young
Angolan men will still continue to be forced to abandon their homes and their
families to fulfil a contract to which they have not agreed. Furthermore, Arana (2008:
310) states that Neto‟s Sacred Hope is a portrayal of his own struggle against
Portuguese Apartheid Regime and confronting western civilization towards Angolans
which is portrayed in his poem Civilizacon Ocidental (Western Civilization). Neto‟s
poetry raises national consciousness to struggle against the Portuguese regime:
Neto‟s Poetry and his life‟s struggle for national liberation and socialism are
intertwined. He uses poetry to condemn colonialism and to persuade the poor
of the need liberation. The Secret Hope is used to confront and oppose
oppression and the unnamed Apartheid by Angola‟s Portuguese colonizers.
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Neto's poems tear down façade of civility and enlightenment to attack the
violence and poverty underpinning western civilization and its colonial
projects (Arana: 310).
Those studies on Neto‟s Antology The Sacred Hope above are mainly focus
on how poets in oppressed nations use poetry as a vehicle or tool to fight against
colonialism. This study is not only focuses on the Timorese struggle during
Portuguese rule and Suharto‟s military regime in which poetry can be an outlet for
speaking up in idea of freedom but poetry can be a way to portray concept of
freedom. The main difference of this study on poetry from researchers Marques,
Amuta, Brass, and Victoria Ana is that poetry not only instrument of struggle but also
can main as source to portray concept of freedom in political, social, and cultural.
Furthermore, the writer reveals poetry is a new form of expression, and a new frontier
for individual and nations for liberty.
B. Review of Related Theories
This undergraduate thesis has three things as turning points: the struggle of
the Timorese, the concept of freedom and postcolonial. Therefore, the undergraduate
thesis needs theories on the three fields in order to answer the problem formulations.
1. Theory of Tone
Tone define as the writer‟s or the speaker‟s attitude toward his subject, his
audience, or himself. It is the emotional meaning or emotional colouring of the poem.
In his book, Sound and Sense: An Introduction to Poetry, Laurence Perrine
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(1963:389) states that poetry can be understood through its tone and if the readers
miss its tone, then they may miss its meaning.
Obviously tone is an important part of meaning. It may even be the most
important part of meaning. In communication with pet animals or babies, the
tone of voice we use is far more important than the words we use. In
interpreting literature the reader who understands the literal content of a poem
but who mistakes its tone may be much further from understanding the poem
than the reader who makes mistakes about its literal content but who
understands the tone.
The tone‟s function in poetry is to help the readers understand the author‟s
emotional feelings toward his poem. Tone allows poets to control the way in which a
poem is read or the attitude that the speaker in the poem takes toward the subject of
the poem. The poets are able to establish a particular mood for a poem and express
the mood without actually telling the reader to feel that way by manipulating tone in
poetry. The way in which a poet controls tone is through word choice and imagery.
Tone is important for poets to communicate with the readers by giving the poets a
way to emphasize emotional feeling towards his poem. Tone is an integral part of
communication and an effective communication can also be determined by the tone
of speaker. Therefore in this thesis the writer may reveal the struggle of the Timorese
and the concept of freedom using the element of the tone.
2. Theory of Imagery
Prior to understand the struggle of the Timorese and the concept of freedom in
the poems, this theory is needed as background knowledge about the elements of the
struggle and the concept of freedom in the poems.
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In his book, An Introduction to Poetry, Perrine (1965: 54) explains that the
use of imagery is to see the images that the authors create in a work of literature to
help the readers imagine the real conditions. Therefore, in a work of literature,
imagery provides mental pictures for its readers. It conveys a complete human
experience in a very few words:
The word “image” most often suggests a mental picture; something seen in
the mind‟s eye-and visual imagery is the most frequently occurring kind of imagery
in poetry. An image may also represent a sound; a smell; a tactile experience, such as
hardness, wetness, or cold; an internal sensation, such as hunger, thirst, or nausea; or
movement or in the muscle or joints.
Imagery in poetry is put into words originated from human experience
emotionally, intellectually, and concretely in any given moment. The moment
becomes frozen in words, allowing the reader to dwell in and re-experience it every
time he or she reads the poem.
3. Postcolonial Theory
In order to understand colonial hegemony in third world countries during and
after colonialism, postcolonial theory is used to define the struggle or anti-movement
of oppressed nation against the West.
The postcolonial theory focuses on the power, economics, politics, religion,
and culture, so that how these components work in relation to colonial hegemony can
be identified. From the point of view of colonized people, the otherness imposed by
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the colonizer plays an important role in the anti-colonial struggle for liberation and
their identity. Post-colonial theory allows the third world writers to look at their own
history and put across their own perspective on how to reclaim their past and to erode
the colonialist ideology by which the past had been devalued. Post-colonial theory
also expresses the Eurocentric universalism in taking for granted both the superiority
of what the European or the Western is and the inferiority of what is not. In the case
of Timorese independence, the postcolonial theory is to reveal what elements in
Xanana‟s poems that reflect Timorese in search of freedom.
a. Search for Identity
Frantz Fanon (in Barry, 1961: 193) argues that colonized people have to
regain what has been devalued by colonizer to them in the past and to erode
colonialist ideology in order to be free and reclaim their identity.
Fanon (1967) says that colonized peoples were made to feel inferior and
alienated from their culture because the history, culture, customs and belief of the
colonizers were promoted universal, normative and superior. In order to achieve their
independence, colonized people need to reclaim and reconstruct their own history of
the negative or non-existent versions of it as produced by the colonizers. Hence,
Edward Said (in Bressler, 1999: 267) states that he or she or „colonized people‟ must
question their existence in order to understand one‟s identity:
An author must ask himself or herself three questions: who am I? How did I
develop into the person that I am? To what country or countries or to what
cultures am I forever linked? In asking the first question, a colonized author is
connecting himself or herself to historical roots. By asking the second
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question, the author is admitting a tension between these historical roots and
the new culture or hegemony imposed on the writer by conquerors. And by
asking the third question, the writer confronts the fact that he or she both
individual and social is created and shaped by the dominant culture (Said in
Blessler 1999: 267).
The question of identity becomes important for people in the third world
countries to find common identity as a way forward to liberate their country. Timor
Leste, a country under Portuguese rule and Indonesian military occupation, needs to
find common identity. The way to identify common identity is through the word
maubere. The word maubere was used by the Portuguese to marginalize Timorese.
Maubere means uneducated or inferior in the eye of the colonizer; however for the
Timorese, maubere became their new identity. Frontier has a dual function, as an
imagined community and as national consciousness. The imagined community has
certain boundaries geographically. As national consciousness, maubere creates
imaginative boundaries between people of Timor Leste who feel oppressed, poor,
backward, uneducated and destitute nation oppressed by the Portuguese and
Suharto‟s military regime. During Suharto‟s military occupation, Xanana Gusmao
used maubere, not only as a symbol of struggle but also as a political tool to gain
international recognition of Timor Leste. maubere is similar to the concept of
“Negritude.”
The Negritude is Africans‟ common identity and common purposes in order
to move forward in building a better-civilized society. Negritude represents not only
Africans but also the other nations under Western hegemony in fighting for
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decolonization. The Negritude is as much as the word Latinity, the concept that
expresses the value of the Latin Civilizations. Negritude is the way forward to get
Africans and other nations regain their civilization as brought by the West. Therefore,
the words of Negritude and Maubere reassert that the Africans and Timorese are the
society upholding the political and economic value, race, culture and civilizations,
Senghor:
Negritude objective was defined as “the sum- total of the value-economic and
political, intellectual and moral, artistic and social-not only the people of the
Black Africa but also black minorities in America, even in Oceania” and
Negritude Subjective meant “to assume the value of black civilization, to
realize and nurture them. Negritude rejects White culture and religion.
Negritude or Black meant a pride in his race, possession of a heritage, and a
culture and identity (1974: 269-273).
The common identity shared by third world countries has an aim of redefining
their existence. Culture and common identity are tainted with western superior
culture; however, western countries claimed that their culture and their identity are far
better than colonized people and they use it as a political tool to justify colonialism.
This leads to the Homi Bhabha‟s concept of Hybridity, meaning that national identity
is mixed between colonized and colonizer. Bhabha (1994:2) states that, Hybridity, is
the third space for the colonized people to become neither colonizer nor colonized but
to emerge as something else.
b. Hybridity
Cynthia Fowler (1997:63-67) reveals that Hybridity is an integration of two
cultures in creating “Third space” which allows colonized people to regain their
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identity and freedom. “Third Space” brings in a new form of existence of colonized
people to emerge as “neither the one...nor the others... but something else.”
The Homi K. Bhabha‟s Hybridity (1994:2-8) notion creates space for
colonized people, not only survival but also self-determination. The space gives an
opportunity for colonized people to define their existence and to construct their
political and economic values, race, culture and their civilizations. The existence of
colonized people‟s civilizations is equal to Western democratic civilization where
freedom for societies and individual is essential. Freedom gives a way for colonized
people to build future democratic society. Sol Rod (1972: 59-64) explains the third
spaces for oppressed nations and its people are freedom, and freedom is the rights of
every nation and individual.
c. Freedom
In democratic societies, freedom is essential for every individual; political,
social and cultural freedom these are everyone‟s goal. When the West expands their
power over colonized countries, it indicates that freedom for the colonized people is
nothing but an illusion. Freedom for colonized people is a destination and objective to
struggle for. In the case of Timor Leste, the main goal and objective for them is
freedom:
Freedom is the rights for every individual. The individual has the right of
choice. His view may be entirely mistaken and his actions may be detrimental
to his own well being. But as long as he does not interfere with the rights of
others to do that which they regard as in their interests he may not be
compelled to act contrary to what he believes (Sol Roth: 1972 59-70).
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Sulak Sivaraska (1998: 63) explains that freedom is not free from restriction
but freedom is start from the generosity (dana) to moral living (sila) and then
redirected to mindfulness (bhavana) without controlling one another. From this
perspective, freedom and happiness are created. In modern society‟s perception,
freedom is free from external limitation or restriction placed by others who have
power or nature.
Charles H. Westly (1945: 63) states that all men are freely equal and have
certain natural, essential, and unalienable rights which are reckoned for the right of
enjoying their lives and liberties through acquiring, possessing, and protecting
property so that their safety and happiness are finally sought and obtained. The
example of their rights is the rights in giving an opportunity to African American to
express their faith freely, rights for vote, freedom of expression, and equal in justice.
Richard John Neuhaus (1985: 253-254) explains that in fulfilling the
democratic ideal, it is important for a democratic society to study freedom of religion
and human rights in general. A democratic society does not only provide principles in
the written form of its constitution, but also has operating institutions in accordance
with those principles. The principles should contain the freedom of religion for its
people since freedom is a basic human right of every individual in a democratic
society.
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D.P. Dyer (1964: 44-448) comments that someone‟s freedom is diminishing
when he/she is under control or intimidated or being forced to do something when
he/she does not want to do:
Someone has complete freedom so far as he is not force to anything and not
intimidated or preventing from doing anything is these two ways. Whether
intentionally or unintentionally, other may take it difficult for a person to
certain things without subjecting him to intimidation or making it possible for
him to do them (Dyer, 1964: 44-448).
In oppressed nations, political, social and cultural freedom is essential in order
to build their own ideal democratic society which leads them to total liberation.
Without these three main cores of freedom these nation are still under colonial
hegemony.
1. Political Freedom
Political freedom in postcolonial perspective is struggle for freedom of state
and freedom of political ideology and justification of oppressed nation or indigenous
people challeng the colonizers political power of equal in political right for colonized
people.
James L. Gibson (1993: 936-944) argues that political freedom means
freedom of the state where individual or people can shape their society according to
the perspective of their ideology. Further, he adds that political freedom is the rights
of individual citizen to perceive opportunity to express themselves in political
matters. Meanwhile, Bassam Irib (1984: 222-227) states that political freedom means
free from foreign domination or imperialism and other external factors. Political
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freedom for oppressed nations is to diminish foreign intervention in order to build
democratic society and democratic government on their own and political system that
every individual has the right to involve in politics. Furthermore, Larry M. Preston
(1982:72) argues that political freedom is a matter of removing external constrain on
free choice and action.
2. Social Freedom
According to Jurate Morkuniene, (1998: 125) social freedom means
protection against threats to the nation‟s existence and well-being; it also means a
search for measures and possibilities to achieve the goals of social development and
improvement. Social freedom implies the creation and preservation of conditions in
which each citizen can develop as an educated, creative and responsible personality.
Social freedom gives a priority to national consciousness and intellectual resources.
Such comprehension of identity implies the protection of the vitally important
interests of the person from threats arising from internal factors. While Alan
Wertheimer (1975: 334-336) states that social freedom is the absence of interference
in doing what one chooses or what one would choose to do if he knew that he could.
Social freedom also means the absence of social constrains or interference imposed
by other.
3. Cultural Freedom
Sakiko Fukuda-Parr (2004: 34-37) states that cultural freedom allows people
to be free to participate in political life in their community and value the freedom to
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choose a cultural identity on their own without any interference. Cultural freedom
means people live in dignity, without any discrimination from larger society and live
the life that they choose to live. Cultural freedom also gives indigenous people a
protection to their cultural heritage and makes them proud of their culture and way of
life. Indigenous people could stay with their cultural roots and are free to choose
their cultural affiliations.
C. Theoretical Framework
Literature can give the reader an actual portrayal of the struggle of people
using its elements such as imagery and tone in the study of literature. It does help us
to understand the real condition where the work takes place. We can also see the
reality that people struggle for survival, oppression, and so forth through the work of
literature.
In examining a literary work, some theories can be used to support the
problem formulation analysis. Those theories are imagery, tone, and Post
Colonialism. Theory of tone and theory of imagery are used to identify how the
Timorese struggle is described while postcolonial theory is used to identify the
struggle and the concept of freedom from the author‟s perspective. These are used to
reveal how the author portrays the Timorese‟s struggle in seeking freedom.
These theories are useful for the writer to answer the problem formulation.
Furthermore, these theories help the analysis of the Timorese in search of freedom
and social realities in Timor Leste in Gusmao‟s poems.
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CHAPTER III
METHODOLOGY
A. Object of the Study
The primary texts of the study are poems entitled “I am at War”, “Oh!
Freedom!”, “Grandfather Crocodile”, “Maubere”, and “My Sea of Timor” written by
Xanana Gusmao. The poems were written during the time of struggle and were
published by the Timor Leste‟s government in 2005 in honour of Xanana as the
country‟s first president. The poems consist of 14 stanzas: “I am at War” consists of
one stanza and nine lines; “Oh! Freedom!” has four stanzas and thirty five lines;
“Grandfather Crocodile” has three stanzas and thirteen lines; “Maubere” has three
stanzas and nineteen lines; “My Sea of Timor” has three stanzas and seventeen lines.
The poems are about the descriptions of hardship of the Timorese during
Suharto‟s military occupation. In “I am at war” and “My Sea of Timor”, Xanana
portrays how the Timorese face the invasion Soeharto‟s Regime, while in “Oh!
Freedom!” and “Maubere”, he exposes the suffering of Timorese from the occupation
and asks his people to unite and struggle for their freedom. Furthermore in
“Grandfather Crocodile”, (culturally crocodile is believed to be the island of Timor.
People of Timor Leste regard their tradition and customs as something sacred) he
urges Timorese to protect the motherland and hold on to their culture and traditional
believe in order to determine the future of the nation.
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The Timorese searching for freedom that Xanana reveals is the most
significant part of the poems. This is the main purpose of the writer to analyze and
become the answer for the problem formulation. In addition, besides analyzing
Timorese searching for freedom as developed in the poems, the writer also explicitly
related to the author‟s commentary on the social realities in Timor Leste which is the
meaning of the poems.
B. Approach of the Study
The poems are analyzed using the postcolonial approach. The writer
considered that this approach is suitable because when the postcolonial approach puts
literary works as a product and a reflection of anti colonialism. Postcolonial approach
also emerges as a personal and direct reflection of struggle and cultural clashes
between the colonized authors and the colonizers, and their fears, hopes, and dream
about the future, as well as their own identity. Literary works can play its role as
documents that record social realities which are artistically portrayed by the authors
(Bressler, 1999: 266).
C. Method of the Study
The primary texts of the study are the poems written by Xanana Gusmao: “I
am at War”, “Oh! Freedom!”, “Grandfather Crocodile”, “Maubere”, and “My Sea of
Timor.” References from library were also used to support this study. The other
references were the books related to the theories, approach, and the criticisms that
were used to support the analysis.
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Several steps were taken by the writer in analyzing this study. Firstly, the
writer read the poems as the main source comprehensively in order to get a deeper
understanding about the poems. From the comprehensive reading, the writer was able
to find out the main idea of the poems. Other sources were also by the writer such as
related books about the struggle of Timorese of 1970‟s until 1990‟s to support the
analysis.
In answering the problems formulated in the previous chapter, the writer
collected the data related to the problem formulation. The analysis was based on the
postcolonial approach in order to get a realistic portrait of the Timorese struggle as
described in the poems through the tone and imagery at the period of Portuguese and
Suharto‟s military regime in Timor Leste.
The first step in analyzing this study, the writer analyzed the struggle of
Timorese for freedom described in the poems. Then, second the writer reveals the
concept of freedom in Xanana Gusmao‟s perspective.
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CHAPTER IV
ANALYSIS
The analysis is divided into two parts; the first part is the answer to the
problem formulation number one and the analysis on how the Timorese struggle for
freedom as described in the poems. The second part is the answer of the problem
formulation number two; it reveals Xanana Gusmao‟s concept of freedom during
struggle against Portuguese rule and Indonesian military occupation.
A. The Description of the Timorese Struggle for Freedom in the poems
Poetry and struggle for freedom. Poetry has become an important part of the
Timorese struggle against colonialism. Xanana Gusmao as a poet and leader of the
Timorese resistance offers a lyrical portrayal of the future of Timor Leste, which is
free from colonial oppression and exploitation, and the people would enjoy the
benefits derived from egalitarian self-determination. Most of Xanana Gusmao‟s
poems were written during struggle against Portuguese rule and Suharto‟s military
occupation from 1975- 1999. The theme dominating Xanana‟s poetry is a portrayal of
Portuguese and Suharto‟s military oppression. The purpose underlying Portuguese
and Suharto‟s regime went to Timor Leste is to civilize and realize assimilation
project that is more myth than reality. The theme depicting an image of Xanana‟s and
his fellow Timorese daily participation against colonial hegemony are in line.
Xanana‟s poems “My Sea of Timor” and “I am at War” are the portrayal of
Suharto‟s military invasion and the Timorese struggle against it. The themes of
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invasion and struggle are prominent and give an ultimate meaning in these poems,
even though the words “invasion and struggle” are not presented in the text. Textual
details of these poems invoke strong imagery related to invasion; sea, ships, sky,
blood and death; “erupting sky/sea were cries in agony”. The second stanza of “My
Sea of Timor” which is “sky is not mine/sea is not mine” in line one and the line three
of “I am at war”, these images and the diction of “the sky is not mine/ sea is
not/blood/ gravestone” describe how the Timorese struggle against the invaders.
Xanana in the poems has a role as a speaker and he is able to create the full meaning
of the theme “invasion” and the struggle.
Immersed in my thoughts
I was suddenly shaken
From the sea, my sea,
out of the bellies of ships,
tremors came
I looked at the erupting sky,
and the size of the sea were
cries of agony
the smell of dust and blood
the pebbles of the gravestone
and the pretty shells
traced
the destiny of the Homeland
(Gusmao, 1975- 1999, stanza 1, lines 1-2, stanza 2, lines, 1-3 and stanza
3,lines 1-3,5,7 and lines 8-11)
Three stanzas of “My Sea of Timor” above, the tone of the speaker which is
Xanana Gusmao, conveys a profound sense of grief and disintegration of the
Timorese from the invasion, through a series of dictions; “out of the bellies of ships /
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erupting sky / cries of agony / smell of dust and blood / the pebbles of the
gravestone.” These are the dictions and images that capture military force and the
struggle of the Timorese which did not directly stated by Xanana, he just shows
concrete images which also dictions “dust and blood/ grave stone” and which is
representing the destruction of the livelihood of the Timorese. This poem shows
Xanana‟s personal experience as “an eye witness” (pronoun I) of the atrocity and the
fall of his country. Through series of images also set the tone which reflects Xanana‟s
concerns the destiny of his country and the people. He fears that the Timorese were
unable to defend themselves
“My Sea of Timor” is exposes sorrowful reality and the detail of modern
military war machine during the invasion of Suharto‟s military regime and the
description of the Timorese struggle. In the last two lines of the “My Sea of Timor”
Xanana shows the courage to “trace /the destiny of the homeland”, even though the
realities show that against such mighty military power, the Timorese have no chance
in defending their country which represent by the title of the poem “My Sea of
Timor.” This poem is a portrait of occupation that taken the Timorese by surprise
and took many lives of the Timorese “I was suddenly shaken/ from the sea of my sea/
tremor came/ erupting sky/the smell of dust and blood/ the pebbles of grave stone”,
Xanana as a witness the atrocity of that committed by the invaders.
Further, in the poem “I am at War”, Xanana depicts his own involvement in
the struggle against the occupation, as reflected through the title and also presented
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through the dictions of „I and mine‟. In this poem, Xanana presents the image of the
war vulgarly that represent the Timorese struggle; war costs people‟s life and the lost
of the country “the sky is not mine/the sea is not mine/ life is only gain by death”:
I am at war
the sky is not mine
I am at war
the sea is not mine,
I am at war
and life is won only
in death
in the hope of regaining my sea
(Xanana, 1975-1999, stanza 1, lines 2-7)
Through the image of the „the sky‟, he addresses that the use of military
power is not only by the war ships but also by using war planes to win the battle over
Timorese. „Sky‟ which Xanana presents is representing war planes and the „the sea‟ is
the representation of war ships.
In the poem “I am at war”, Xanana captures the real condition of Timorese
people during struggling against oppressor. Many Timorese lost their life for
defending their motherland. Timorese were forced to fight the war that they never
wanted. The tone suggests a struggle against colonial superior military power;
Xanana and the people of Timor Leste have no chance in defending their country.
However, in the last line of the poem, there is still a hope that one day the Timorese
will gain their freedom and country “in the hope of regaining my sea.”
These two poems, “My Sea of Timor” and “I am at war” are a portrayal of
Suharto‟s military invasion of Timor Leste on 7 December 1975 under pretext of
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anti-colonialism and the struggle of the Timorese against it. The regime overthrows
FRETILIN (Revolutionary front of Independence of Timor Leste), government and
occupied the country over quarter-century which between approximately 100-180,000
soldiers and civilians are estimated to have been killed or starved. The descriptions in
the poem about Suharto‟s military power by Xanana above are to reveal the notion of
colonizers in expanding their colony by using military power as Michael Barrat-
Brown (in Said, 1994: 341) explains that in imperialism, without question that the
commonest strategy in an expansion of the colony is the use of military power. The
invasion of Timor Leste by the Soeharto‟s regime actually violates Indonesian
constitution where it says that every nation has the right to be free from colonialism.
The Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia of 1945
PREAMBLET
'Whereas Independence is the natural right of every nation, colonialism must
be abol-ished in this world because it is not in conformity with Humanity and
Justice. (Sindunegoro, 1991: 19)
The character of Indonesia with its international solidarity to abolish
colonialism throughout the world and build nations upon democratic ideals where the
rights of individual and nations based upon independence, peace and social justice is
violated. The poems “My Sea of Timor” and “I am at War” are the descriptions of
how Timor Leste‟s independence was ignored by Soeharto‟s Regime for the sake of
his economic and political interests. The regime cooperated with its Western allies by
justifying that Timor Leste is a half island, poor, and underdeveloped; in other words,
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it is not a viably independent country. Barrat-Brown, Michael (in Said 1994:341)
mentions that imperialism is still without question a most powerful force in the
economic, political and military relations by which less economically developed land
is subjected to the more economically developed.
In the poem “Maubere”, Xanana as a speaker in the poem appeals to the
Timorese to struggle against the endless oppression and enslavement that have been
put upon them by the colonizers through the tone “repetition of “maubere” and
images of belly, ruts, and walls; “maubere people/ tear open your belly/ your
cravings/ rust of neglect, of anguish, of oppression/ and hurl them to the wind/ to you
furthest brother/ in the secret places of the sacred land.... maubere people/ clench you
fist/ hours is yours/ your defiance will bring down/ the wall of your own
enslavement.” The tone of defiance through the diction of “maubere/maubere people”
used in the stanza is transmitting the message which carries defiance in uniting the
Timorese to end the long suffering of enslavement by the excessive military control.
“Maubere people” or the Timorese can liberate themselves from enslavement:
Maubere People,
Maubere, child of East Timor,
tear open your belly,
your cravings,
ruts of neglect, of anguish, of oppression,
and hurl them to the wind,
to your furthest brother,
in the secret places of the sacred land,
Maubere People,
clench your fists,
The hour is your's, Maubere
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And your defiance will bring down
the walls of your own enslavement
long march of liberation
liberate yourself
(Xanana,1975-1999, stanza 1, lines 1-9, stanza 2, lines 1-5, stanza 3, lines 3 -
4)
The poem “Maubere” is an illustration of how the Timorese lived in harsh
condition under colonial hegemony for a long period of time and their struggle: “ruts
of neglect, of anguish, of oppression/the wall of your own enslavement”. Timorese
have been living under two different colonialisms: under Portuguese rule for nearly
500 years and Indonesian military occupation for 24 years. During those times, the
Timorese were forced to abandon their culture and way of thinking because they were
considered uncivilized. The title Maubere is the term used by Portuguese to
marginalize Timorese; maubere means „uneducated, inferior‟ to the colonizer, while
Indonesian Military officers referred it as „backward and lazy‟. maubere or „Other‟ is
to justify colonialism that the „other‟ is (un)civilized, so they must be civilized
through the civilization brought to Timor Leste by Portuguese and Indonesian
military. Then, Xanana uses the term maubere to unite Timorese or “maubere” as a
new identity of Timorese as he called it “maubere people, / maubere, child of Timor.”
maubere also becomes the new identity of Timorese as a frontier. Frontier here has a
dual function. Geographically, the imagined community has a certain geographical
boundaries. As a national consciousness has risen, maubere creates imaginative
boundaries between people who feel themselves as an oppressed nation, poor, and
destitute by the invaders. Xanana cites the term maubere, not only as a new identity
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33
but also as a symbol of resistance and political tool to gain international recognition
of Timor Leste. The term maubere is used to reject colonial values and hence
provides a voice to the dominated, marginalized and divided the Timorese. This is as
displayed in the last three lines “the hours is your‟s maubere / and your defiance will
bring down / the wall of your own enslavement.” The use of the term maubere as
Timorese new identity by Xanana is a strategy for self-determination.
The poem entitled “Oh! Freedom!”, Xanana displays excessive oppression of
colonizers through the images of nature; “cold mornings/ curtain of the
sky/hills/disturbed sunrise/ the serene plains of the pasture/ drinking from the springs/
calm afternoons/ the darkening of the waves/sea.” These images represent excessive
oppression even though “oppression” is not directly mention in the poem. Further the
tone Xanana uses, conditional [If] that gives lurid description of the Timorese
struggle during oppression of colonizers. Every walk of the life of the Timorese was
controlled by the oppressor: “If I could only/wake up in cold morning/wake up
shivering/ beating by the gale/which opens for the curtain of the sky/ and see, from
the top of the hills/ the purple painting of a disturbed sunrise east of Timor” first
stanza lines, 1-8 and “if I could only in the scorching suns/ towards the finding
myself” in second stanza lines, 1-3 and “If I could only / in the calm afternoons /
feel that tiredness/ of the sensuous nature/ stretching itself in its own sweat / and
listen to the telling of the weariness‟s / within the laughter‟s / of the naked barefoot
children” in third stanza lines, and “If I could only /at the darkening of the waves /
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walk by the sand / absorbed in myself / in the wet rapture of the breeze / and touch
the immensity of the sea / in a breath of soul / which let me dream the future of
Timor.” in the last stanza, lines, 1-9, Xanana uses conditional [if] is also to
underlines how difficult it is for the Timorese to live their daily life normally when
everything they do was under control, from the start of the day till later in the
afternoon:
Oh! Freedom!
If I could only
in the cold mornings
wake up shivering
beaten by the gale
which opens for me the curtain of the sky,
and see, from the top of my hills,
the purple painting of a disturbed sunrise
east of Timor
If I could only
in the scorching suns
towards the finding of myself
in the serene plains of the pasture,
and feel the smell of animals
drinking from the springs
which would murmur in the air,
legends of Timor
(Xanana, 1975-1999, Stanza 1, lines 1-8, stanza 2, lines 1-8)
The first and second stanzas above show the hope of the Timorese to wake up
in the morning freely without any fear. People were hoping that they wake up in the
morning and have enough strength “beaten by the gale/which opens for me the
curtain of the sky” to face the excessive oppression as “the disturb sunrise” and do
their daily activity. There is no morning that not control. The second stanza portrays,
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maybe later in the day people are hoping to be free and enjoy doing their activities “If
I could only/ in the scorching suns/ ride in raptures/ towards the finding of myself/ in
the serene plains of the pasture/ but ride in ruptures is not exist and in on a hope.
People just pray to their ancestors that might help reduce their suffering “and feel the
smell of/ animals drinking from the springs / which would murmur in the air, legends
of the Timor/. Then, /curtain of the sky/ and the disturb sunrise” represents uncertain
future of the Timorese.
If I could only
in the calm afternoons
feel that tiredness
of the sensuous nature
stretching itself in its own sweat
and listen to the telling of the wearinesses
within the laughters
of the naked barefoot children
of all Timor
(Xanana,1975-1999, stanza 3, lines 1-9)
In the third above stanza, Xanana reveals that after hard days of working,
people are hoping to come back and see their family enjoy the afternoon, share their
daily grain to each other as a family “If I could only / in the calm afternoons / feel
that tiredness/ of the sensuous nature/ stretching itself in its own sweat / and listen to
the telling of the weariness‟s / within the laughter‟s / of the naked barefoot children.”
Spending time with the family was only a hope, because people left their kids and
joined guerrilla in the jungle to fight for liberation of the nation. Those who did not
join the guerrilla in the jungle were tightly controlled, so family time also had been
under control.
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In the last stanza of “Oh! Freedom!” below is still the portrayal of the
harshness of the life of the Timorese. The images still carried the helplessness of the
Timorese cannot enjoy their life and the tone is still expresses the voice of Xanana
insistence of the Timorese freedom. From the first stanza to the last Xanana address
directly to colonizers “if” the Timorese might have their freedom: “the darkening of
the waves/... let me dream the future/ of the island of Timor”. There was no time for
the Timorese to have normal daily life that same as the colonizer. Family gathering is
just an “if” and so is their future of the country:
If I could only
at the darkening of the waves
walk by the sand
absorbed in myself
in the wet rapture of the breeze
and touch the immensity of the sea
in a breath of soul
which let me dream the future
of the island of Timor
(xanana, 1975-1999, Stanza 4, lines 1-9)
Last stanza is a portrayal of hope of the Timorese to be free from the
occupation, so that people can enjoy their life “If I could only /at the darkening of the
waves / walk by the sand / absorbed in myself / in the wet rapture of the breeze / and
touch the immensity of the sea / in a breath of soul / which let me dream the future.”
The future is only a hope and the hope is in the air; Timorese must struggle to realize
the “hope” into a freedom which is still in the hand of the colonizer. “Oh! Freedom!”
is a portrayal of Suharto‟s military oppression in every walk of the life of the
Timorese. The regime implements a strategy known as „divide and rule‟ by using
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village guidance officer called a Babinsa (Bintara Pembina Desa) as the „eyes and
ears‟ of the occupation forces and collecting intelligence on a regular basis. This
military presented in every village all over the country to make sure that the Timorese
followed every rule that had been put upon them.
In the poem “Grandfather Crocodile”, Xanana depicts Crocodile becomes the
central figure in the poem. The tone through the diction of „crocodile‟ is to emphasize
that Crocodile in Timorese culture considered as sacred and believed as the ancestor
of the Timorese. Through this poem, Xanana portrays the Timorese culture in order to
show the colonizers that Timorese are there to defend their culture as well as their
way of life. In this poem, he shows the colonizer about their origin “from the depths
of the ocean/ and his lumpy hide was transformed into a mountain range / where
people were born and where people died/,” how they live their life and remind the
colonizer that the Timorese are determined with their own destiny “/ a crocodile in
search of a destiny/Grandfather crocodile / -the legend says and who am I to
disbelieve / that he is Timor” the Timorese culture in the eyes of colonizer is
primitive and uncivilized, so it must be modernized. Edward Said‟s Orientalism
(1994: xii-xiii) identifies superiority of Western culture and the rest is “Other”, which
means imperialism culture is the most effective method to justify colonialism.
Overall, “Grandfather Crocodile” is used to strive against arrogance colonial culture:
From the depths of the ocean
a crocodile in search of a destiny
spied the pool of light, and there he surfaced
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Then wearily, he stretched himself
out
in time
and his lumpy hide was transformed
into a mountain range
where people were born
and where people died
Grandfather crocodile
- the legend says
and who am I to disbelieve
that he is Timor
(Xanana, 1975-1999, stanza 1, lines 1-3, stanza 2, lines 1-7, stanza 3, lines 1-
4)
In this poem, Xanana places the Timorese culture at the centre; “cultural
strategy” is a powerful tool to inspire revolution against colonialism. The notion of
cultural strategy by Xanana is to undermine colonial cultural hegemony and its
structure that has been put upon Timorese and other oppressed nations and
reemphasize national culture so-callled as “inferior” to colonizers as an ideal culture
that is distinct from colonizers and must be proud of. Cultural strategy is also to
eliminate the inferiority of colonized people towards colonizers and build
consciousness of being equal to colonizers in every walk of life. Furthermore, to
achieve national liberation for the Timorese and other oppressed nation is to eliminate
formal structure of “civilization mission” by colonizers. Senghor (in O. R. Dathorne
1975:230-232) puts his hatred in his poem “Nuit de sine” against French government
policy, so-called as „civilizing mission‟, to assimilate Africans into the French culture
and way of living by giving them education, dealing specifically with French history
and tradition, and all but ignoring the origins and culture of the African people.
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The portrayal of Portuguese rule and Suharto‟s military occupation in Timor
Leste in Xanana‟s poems shows that new civilization that colonizers claimed as new
enlightenment for the Timorese has brought down the existence of the Timorese civil
liberty. The Timorese became slave in their own country; they lost their culture, way
life, and many lives for civilisation that had never been their choice. However, the
Timorese would always defend their cultural existence because it has been their way
of life for long period of time. Through his poems, Xanana portrays freedom is the
rights of every individual or a nation and he raises the consciousness of his fellow
Timorese to struggle for their freedom and the country. As in his poem “Maubere”
stanza 3, line1- 4, “Maubere People, /confront and face yourself in the long march of/
liberation/Liberate yourself!”, Xanana believes that in order to achieve total
liberation, the Timorese must gain political, social and cultural freedom.
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B. What Concept of Freedom reflected in Xanana Gusmao’s Poems is
During all periods of history, we have poets who sing praises of their country
to which they belong, join a crusade for social change, or herald a revolution for the
goodness of particular people or country. Poetry and freedom have become one unity
throughout oppressed nations in struggling against western hegemony. To use
Fanon‟s words (1968: 240), it is a “literature of combat.” In Africa, poets such as
Leopold Sedar Senghor, Aimé Césaire, Agustinho Neto, and many others use poetry
as a way to gain freedom. Through poetry, these poets put across their
ideology/concept of freedom for people that they represent. Leopold Sedar Senghor
(in his, Totem) 1948 and Aimé Césaire (in his, Return to My Native Land) 1947 have
their concept Negritude, while Agustinho Neto (in his, Sacred Hope) 1974 has his
“the re-Africanization of the mind”. Xanana Gusmao, a poet and leader of The
Revolutionary Movement for an Independence of Timor Leste (FRETILIN), uses
poetry to record political and social issues during Portuguese rule and Suharto‟s
military occupation.
Through poetry, Xanana portrays his concept of freedom. The concept that he
put across is the concept of Maubere that does not only represent the Timorese
identity and as a frontier but also as a concept of freedom. Maubere is (the concept)
of freedom based on political, social and cultural freedom where Timorese people
choose to live in their own land, live their lives according to their culture and under
the government of their own choice. The concept of Maubere puts the island of Timor
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Leste as the place where Timorese spiritual, religious, and political identity is shaped.
The island of Timor is where Timorese “Maubere” first attained to nationhood,
created cultural values of national and universal significance and gave to the world
the eternal of Timorese existence.
The concept of freedom which Xanana calls as “Maubere” is to achieve
political, social and cultural freedom. First, there is freedom of the state. This is what
he calls as political freedom; this implies freedom from external control. It is in this
sense that one can talk of a colonial territory as moving from the status of dependency
to the status of a free and independent state. In the poems “I am at war”, “My Sea of
Timor”, and “Oh! Freedom!”, Xanana depicts Timor leste‟s political freedom where
he emphasizes that nation of Timor Leste must be free from colonialism and
Timorese civil society must be respected, allowing Timor Leste and its people to
build a democratic society like other democratic societies in the world in their own
term. Political freedom is the essence of Timor Leste‟s nationhood and Timorese
individual rights to determine their future. Political freedom goes hand -in- hand with
mutual respect among countries. As Xanana states in Do One Thing Heroes for a
Better World (1999: 2), freedom means “to build a democratic system enshrined with
the respect for fundamental rights of Man, of the human being, of the individuals.
Freedom goes hand-in-hand with mutual respect. Political and cultural freedom is the
way for Timorese to gain total liberation.”
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The second concept is social freedom. In a democratic society, social freedom
is inevitable for the people. Social freedom means protection of nation‟s existence
and wellbeing, which means a search for measure and possibilities in order to have
social development. In the poem “Oh! Freedom!”, Xanana portrays the absence of
social freedom for the Timorese because the colonizers as a larger society imposed
social constrain upon the Timorese. The excessive control of the colonizers over the
Timorese means the Timorese was not able to build better social life and social
development. Social freedom means the Timorese have freedom of choice in building
better society.
The third concept of freedom which is discernible in Xanana‟s thought is
cultural freedom. In order to have total freedom, colonized people must have cultural
freedom. In the poems “Maubere” and “My Grandfather Crocodile”, the Timorese
culture is well represented. Maubere represents the Timorese identity, while
“crocodile” denotes the Timorese fundamental culture and origin. Through these
poems, Xanana portrays his concept of cultural freedom. In his interview with Mark
Aarons from The Monthly (2007), he insisted that Timorese must preserve their
traditional culture, especially relationship with their ancestral lands;
If Timorese live in a community, they will have the opportunity to go to their
ancestors' lands when it's the right time, not in an animist perception of life,
but more like a ceremony, a ritual. We can also bring the new generation, to
remind them that these are our roots.
Since the West and Suharto‟s regime consider their culture is superior and use
it to legitimate colonialism, in these two poems, by presenting his notion of cultural
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freedom Xanana presents how the Timorese must struggle against the cultural
hegemony of those colonizers that can lead Timorese to total liberation. Cultural
freedom is the right of individuals and communities including Timorese to define and
protect their valued and diverse ways of life.
1. Political freedom
Political freedom is inevitable for oppressed nations. In his release after
referendum in 1999, Xanana Gusmao stated that political freedom is important for
Timor Leste as a nation to gain its sovereignty. He and Maubere people are now free
from colonial hegemony. For any nation in the world, freedom is only won when the
country is free from colonizers; nations and the people must achieve political
freedom, so that they can build a democratic society of their own. Political freedom is
the rights of every nation in the world. Further he added, the Timorese must work
hard to fulfill the dreams that now come true. Freedom is like a blank piece of paper
where the Timorese can write their dreams, and dream of happiness for their children.
Since Timor Leste is under Portuguese and Soeharto‟s Military occupation, Xanana
puts his concept of freedom “Maubere” through his poems “I am at war”, “My Sea of
Timor” and “Oh! Freedom!.” In the poem “I am at war”, Xanana depicts the concept
of freedom which brings the real freedom and independence to Timorese. In this
poem, Xanana reveals that freedom can only be gained if the nation is free from
occupation; thus, the Timorese must struggle to keep holding their motherland by
taking arms against the colonizers as described below:
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I am at war
the sky is not mine
I am at war
the sea is not mine,
In the hope of regaining
my sea
(Xanana, 1975-1999, stanza 1, lines 1-6 and lines 7-8)
Through these two lines, “the sky is not mine / the sea is not mine”, Xanana
wants to emphasize that freedom is when ours are not taken away without our
consent. Freedom and men are synonymous, and freedom and property (or
belongings) are also synonymous. When the freedom of a man and his property is
taken away, this degrades the man‟s dignity. Thus, “regaining my sky and sea” or
nation is an essential part of Timorese freedom and other oppressed nations in the
world. Through the title “I am at war”, Xanana emphasizes that freedom can be
achieved through violence which is in line with Fanon‟s (1967) idea, “violence is
necessary in struggling against colonialism. Freedom must be taken by force, not
granted by a white benefactor.” This suggests that the title is also a portrayal of
security and the right of self defence in order to determine their own destiny. Self
defence also can be seen in Xanana‟s poem “My Sea of Timor” below:
From the sea, my sea,
out of the bellies of ships,
tremors came
I looked at the erupting sky,
and the size of the sea were
cries of agony
the smell of dust and blood
the kiss of the foam
the death-rattle
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the sea's slumber.
the pebbles of the gravestone
and the pretty shells
traced
the destiny of the Homeland
(Xanana, 1975-1999, stanza 2, lines 1-3, stanza 2, lines 1-11)
In the poem above, Xanana shows a portrayal of the Timorese that have lost
their life in self defence in order to keep holding onto their motherland because their
freedom depends on the freedom of the motherland, as shown in the last three lines
“the pebbles of the gravestone/ and the pretty shells/traced/ the destiny of the
Homeland”. In regaining their country, the Timorese must also reclaim their identity
and freedom, turning the inculcation of inadequacy into self-empowerment “freedom
of state or political freedom”; this implies freedom from external control. It is in the
sense that the Timorese can talk of a colonial territory as moving from the status of
dependency to the status of a free and an independent state. It means to give formal
political freedom for that state which is designated free.
Destiny of homeland is freedom. In the poem, “Oh! Freedom!”, Xanana
depicts that the Timorese can only be free when they determine their own destiny, so
they can wake up in the morning and live their life without any interference from any
outside parties. In addition, if they come home in the afternoon after daily grain, they
can enjoy their afternoon with their children.
If I could only
in the cold mornings
wake up shivering
beaten by the gale
which opens for me the curtain of the sky,
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the purple painting of a disturbed sunrise
east of Timor
If could only
in the calm afternoons
feel that tiredness
and listen to the telling of the wearinesses
within the laughters
of the naked barefoot children
of all Timor
(Xanana, 1975-1999 stanza 1, lines 1-7, stanza 2, lines 1-3, stanza 3, lines 1-3
and lines 6-10)
The stanzas above show that Xanana‟s thought of freedom is not only about
political aspect, but also equality and justice where people live their life normally as
colonizers. Xanana does not direct his intelligence and efforts in the production of
abstract philosophical treatises on freedom. He does not engage in linguistic analyses
of “freedom”, nor beats his brains about the complex meanings between “being free”
and a “free being”, nor does he engage in a conceptual analysis of “positive freedom”
and “negative freedom” which is conducted by modern academicians such Hegel and
others.
2. Social Freedom
Social freedom for Xanana is when everyone lives their social life equally
without any oppression from a larger society. Social freedom is when the Timorese
determine their own social future as Xanana shows in the last stanza of the poem“Oh!
Freedom!”:
If I could only
at the darkening of the waves
walk by the sand
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absorbed in myself
in the wet rapture of the breeze
and touch the immensity of the sea
in a breath of soul
which let me dream the future
of the island of Timor
(Xanana, 1975-1999, stanza 4, lines 1-9)
The last stanza of “Oh! Freedom!” above also symbolizes Xanana‟s
awareness of the Timorese social life whose nature is part of their daily life. Living
under colonial hegemony has forced the Timorese to live their identity with nature as
part of it. Moreover, through this poem, Xanana reemphasizes the Timorese
individual social life as equal to colonizers, as in a democratic society, social life is
the rights of every individual. Further, Xanana also wants to present that social life is
part of individual dignity where people of Timor Leste can represent themselves;
dignity is something they lost during Portuguese and Suharto military regime. For
Xanana, social life of one cannot be represented by anyone; only the person who can
represent himself or herself. Therefore, in order to gain social life and dignity, the
Timorese must gain political freedom. The social life and dignity “so-called
civilization” brought by Portuguese and Suharto‟s regime will not represent Timorese
fairly. “Let me dream the future/ of the island of Timor” means only Timorese can
define their own principle of social life. The excessive control of the colonizers over
the Timorese has caused the Timorese unable to build better social life and social
development. Social freedom means the Timorese have freedom of choice to build a
better society like any other society in the word. Social freedom allows Timor Leste‟s
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48
government to develop social policies in favour of its people and to move from a
country of economically less into widespread of wealth. The wealth will raise the
social life of the Timorese and social equality in the eye of the colonizers. The
principal of social freedom is the rights of every individual or the nation.
3. Cultural Freedom
In a democratic society, cultural freedom means empowerment of every
individual, group or nation to have their own choice in accordance to their values,
identity, capable of fighting for their rights, independence, own decision making, and
free to have their own cultural development. Timor Leste as the nation under colonial
hegemony lost its -cultural freedom, as the West portray that Timor Leste is not able
of build their own wellbeing and the West are there to empower the Timorese and
build civil society according to western civilisation by force. The West as a larger
society discriminate the existence of the Timorese, their culture and way of life.
The West uses their superior culture and civilization as justification and
validation of empire or colonialism to „Civilizing Mission‟. Since the beginning of
imperialism, culture imperialism is the success story of Western colonialism
throughout the world. The impact of cultural imperialism leads to the elimination of
many various cultures throughout colonized countries. Elimination of cultures is such
as de-linguicization (replacing native languages with colonizers‟ one), devaluating
local customs and putting colonizers‟ custom into place. During Portuguese rule and
Indonesian occupation, Timorese were forced to abandon their culture and applied
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these two colonial cultures. During Portuguese colonialization, Timorese were forced
to leave their way of life because the colonizer thought that Timorese culture was
backward and inferior to Portuguese. Meanwhile, during Indonesian occupation,
cultural imperialism was known as Indonesianisation; everything related to the
Timorese culture was banned. Both Portuguese and Indonesia use “Common cultural
values” as political rhetoric in order to justify colonialism. Common cultural values
are also as fabric of public education where mainstream students are taught to
celebrate the new form of tradition, a tradition that colonizers claim is unique and
represents both colonized and colonizers; in fact, common cultural values are just the
form of control by colonizers to keep their influence over the colonized. Cultural
imperialism is the practice of promoting and imposing a culture which is politically
powerful for colonizers to occupy colonized or „less potent societies‟.
The form of cultural identity imposed by Portuguese to the Timorese is the
term maubere or known as “Other” to marginalize Timorese. Xanana as leader and a
poet use maubere as a new identity. He argues that identity is freedom. It is in the
name of identity (of maubere) that he rises against oppression and also it is in the
name of identity that he fights against degradation. Moreover, in the name of identity,
he also affirms the dignity of the Timorese.
Maubere People,
clench your fists,
The hour is your's, Maubere
And your defiance will bring down
the walls of your own enslavement
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Maubere People,
confront and face yourself in the
long march of liberation.
Liberate yourself
Be strong Be Maubere
(Xanana, 1975-1999, stanza 2, lines 1-5, stanza 3, lines 1-5)
Two stanzas above reveal that the Timorese found shared common identity in
the word maubere „maubere people‟. The term was used by Portuguese to
marginalize the Timorese as uneducated or inferior to colonizers, and also known
among Indonesian officers to refer them as backward and lazy. The term Maubere is a
newly found identity established that is need by Xanana to struggle against colonialist
ideology of the colonized inferiority and bring freedom to Timorese. As shown in
lines “Maubere people/confront and face yourself in the long march of
liberation/Liberate yourself/Be strong Be Maubere”, this is in line with Fanon‟s (in
Barry, Peter. 1995:193) idea that colonized people have to regain what has been
devalued by colonizers in the past in order to be free and to reclaim their identity. In
order to set them free, the colonized people need to reclaim and reconstruct their own
history of the negative or non-existence of what is produced by the colonizers.
Meanwhile, Said (in Bressler, 1999: 267) stated that colonized people must question
their existence in order to understand one‟s identity. Maubere as a new identity brings
new existence and road to freedom of the Timorese.
The concept of freedom that Xanana portrays through “maubere” is that
one‟s freedom is determined by his/her existence as „existential freedom‟; this refers
to the freedom of individual in the universe. „Be maubere‟ or the Timorese is to be
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their own self to determine their own existence. Through his first work, Fanon
observed that, “The body of history does not determine a single one of my actions. I
am my own foundation. And it is by going beyond the historical instrument
hypothesis that I will initiate the cycle of my freedom” (qtd in, Black World/Negro
Digest 1973: 32). When the Timorese use the term maubere as their identity, they
have built their own foundation. If interpreted in existentialist term, maubere comes
very close to Sartre's (1946) idea that one is creating his own essence.
Through this poem, Xanana also portrays social freedom. Social freedom
gives Timorese an opportunity to achieve the goal of social development and
improvement, since being under colonizer is only oppression and force labour. Social
freedom implies the creations and preservation of condition in which each nation can
develop their economy and culture according to their own value without colonizers
intervention. This is the freedom of the state and its society, where each society has
their right to be free from any oppression or colonialism from other societies,
particularly from the West. Its defining characteristics are: consciousness of freedom,
self-expression and obedience to one‟s self.
Maubere is the concept that does not only represent the Timorese identity and
as a frontier but also as a concept of freedom; this is quite similar to the concept of
the Negritude, the common shared identity that sets Timorese and African free from
colonialism. Maubere and Negritude are the concepts of freedom for the Timorese
and African. The concepts of maubere and Negritude have brought new identity that
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rejects colonizers‟ ideology and gives opportunity for colonized countries to build
their own community under the state where people of Timorese and Africa can
determine their own fate. Xanana‟s concept of freedom maubere is the concept that
shows the liberation of Timor Leste and its people. This concept is to counter the
concept of freedom as portrayed by the West known as “civilization”. The concept of
maubere is to justify the existence of Timor Leste‟s civilization and its society.
Freedom for Timorese is only gained by being maubere and accepting who they are
without feeling inferior to the colonizers, as Timorese civilization is same as the
civilization of colonizers. By promoting maubere, Xanana wants to put more
emphasis that the Timorese civilization is equal to colonizer civilization. This is like
what Fannon states in The wretch of the Earth (1961:170), “Colonized culture needs
to exist side by side with the colonizer culture and society.”
Maubere is also a rejection of the notion of representation of colonized
people „Other‟. The colonizers are there to represent the „Other‟ or the colonized. The
spirit of maubere is used by Xanana toward his people to rise against the colonizers,
so-called as „Representation‟. Timorese are there to represent themselves; Timorese
have their own culture and way of life. Cultural difference means that the West and
Suharto‟s Regime cannot represent Timorese people, but only Timorese people
themselves who can do it. Postcolonial theory concerns on the issue of representation.
The idea that the West holds upon the colonized is that colonized people or other‟
cannot represent themselves and colonizers are there to represent the „other‟. Theorist
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Fanon and Edward Said believe that the West cannot fairly represent the colonized. In
their book The Wretch of the Earth 1961 and Orientalism 1978, colonized people
must present themselves by being true to their culture and their identity.
One‟s identity and origin are important part of his or her freedom. Since the
colonizers force their identity and origin upon colonized people, the only way for
colonized people to gain freedom is being true to their origin in order to provide the
third space where colonizer and colonized are able to come together and become who
they are. This comes from Bhabha‟s ideas of third space, that “superior cultural
intelligence owing to the advantage of in-betweeness, the straddling of two cultures
and the consequent ability to negotiate the difference” (qtd in, Hoogvelt 1997:158). In
this sense, identity and originality become a foundation of colonized people to build
democratic society which is equal to colonizers “the third space.”
Through the poem “Grandfather Crocodile”, Xanana wants to emphasize that
Timorese people must be true to their culture and identity “crocodile as the origin of
the island of Timor and being Maubere „the new identity‟ in order to defeat cultural
imperialism and achieve total liberation. Grandfather Crocodile is the poem that
represents the Timorese cultural freedom.
From the depths of the ocean
a crocodile in search of a destiny
spied the pool of light, and there he surfaced
Then wearily, he stretched himself out
in time
and his lumpy hide was transformed
into a mountain range
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where people were born
and where people died
Grandfather crocodile
- the legend says
and who am I to disbelieve
that he is Timor
(Xanana, 1975-1999,stanza 1, lines 1-3, stanza 2, lines 1-6, stanza 3, lines 1-
4)
Crocodile represents the Timorese culture; based on Timor Leste‟s traditional myth
and its people, the island of Timor is the transformation of a crocodile. The Timorese
call crocodile their grandfather and regard it as a sacred animal. During colonialism,
the Timorese were banned for practicing their culture and way of life. Through the
poem, Xanana enhances that cultural freedom for the Timorese is inevitable. This
poem is also a portrayal of Timorese indigenous people who have the right to be free
and their culture must be freed from colonial hegemony. As J. R. Martinez-Cobo (in
James Summers 2007: 4-5) states:
Those having a historical continuity with pre-invasion and pre-colonial
societies that developed on their territories, consider themselves distinct from
other sectors of societies now prevailing in those territories, or parts of them.
They form at present non-dominant sectors of society and are determined to
preserve, develop, and transmit to future generations their ancestral territories,
and their ethnic identity, as the basis of their continued existence as peoples,
in accordance with their own cultural patterns, social institutions and legal
systems.
Freedom without cultural freedom is not freedom. For third world countries,
culture is a part of their freedom. After liberating the nation, one should reclaim
his/her culture in order to achieve absolute freedom. Cultural freedom means that
indigenous people (in this case, Timorese) have the right to get full freedom or “self-
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determination.” Xanana believes that every indigenous people all over the world are
allowed to have their freedom. As stated in Article 3, the Declaration on the Rights of
Indigenous Peoples, “Indigenous peoples have the right of self-determination. By
virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their
economic, social and cultural development.” Cultural freedom is an integral part of a
free society. Through the poem “Grandfather Crocodile”, Xanana wants to show the
world that Timorese as a free society have their own distinctive culture and their own
homogeneity, which should not be hobbled by political and sociological dogmas of
colonizers. Timorese culture should be allowed free to find its own way of renewing
itself. Violation of freedom of culture is a fundamental ignorance of what culture is,
as Xanana describes in the last stanza of “Grandfather Crocodile” “Grandfather
Crocodile / - the legend / says and who am I to disbelieve / that he is Timor.”
Timorese people must believe in their culture that has been disapproved and ignored
by the colonizers.
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CHAPTER V
CONCLUSION
The author, Xanana Gusmao, has done a great job in presenting the Timorese
struggle for freedom through his poems “I am at war”, “My Sea of Timor”, “Oh!
Freedom!”, “Maubere”, and “Grandfather Crocodile.” By using the image of the
nature and daily life, he depicts the condition of Timor Leste and its people when
struggling for freedom effectively. Thereby, by exploring the images of daily life and
nature in the poems, he brings us the real condition of how Timorese struggle for
freedom. Through the image and tone, the writer can obtain the author‟s concept of
freedom for Timorese and for oppressed nations throughout the world. Through the
poems, Xanana also depicts how colonizers use military power against Timor Leste
which lacks in Military power. Xanana as a leader and poet shares some similarities
with Agustino Neto, Fanon, Leopold Sedar Senghor, Aimé Césaire; those figures do
not only struggle through arms but also through poetries in order to raise national
consciousness to liberate their country. Throughout the history of struggle for
freedom, poetry has become one of the main tools against colonialism by colonized
people. Fanon, a postcolonial theorist, states that poetry is “a literature of combat.”
Although Xanana seems very successful in using poetry as a strategy in order
to manipulate the oppressed readers or “the Timorese” in his poems, the fact is that
employing poetry alone is not enough to achieve independence unless the Timorese
couple it with action. Xanana uses poetry to convince the Timorese to join struggle
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for national liberation. Through poetry, Xanana portrays the Timorese struggle to
larger audience, larger reader, the Portuguese, Indonesian and world to know that the
Timorese are struggling for their freedom, as freedom is the right of every nation in
the world. Since literature has become a part of the struggle, Xanana uses it to show
the world that in the Timor Leste there is still no justice, peace, and freedom for the
people.
Freedom includes political and cultural aspects. The Timorese must gain their
political freedom by liberating the country from colonialism. Every country in the
world has the right to be free from colonialism. Through the concept of maubere,
“freedom” is the road for the Timorese to achieve political and cultural freedom. In
his poems, Xanana depicts Timor Leste‟s political freedom where he emphasizes that
Timor Leste as a nation must be free from colonialism and the Timorese civil society
must be respected by allowing the nation and its people to build democratic societies
in their own term, like any other democratic society in the world. Political freedom is
an essence of Timor Leste‟s nationhood and the Timorese individual rights to
determine their future. Political freedom goes hand -in- hand with mutual respect
among countries.
Political freedom itself is not enough for the Timorese to gain total liberation;
in order to achieve total liberation for people and country, both the people and the
nation must be free politically and culturally; without it, there would be no freedom at
all, because political and cultural freedom is the only way to achieve total liberation.
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Further, for Xanana, political and cultural freedom gives a way for oppressed nations
to represent themselves in order to avoid political and cultural representation brought
by the West, and then to represent the so-called “Other” can be prevented.
Xanana‟s concept of freedom “Maubere” is based on political and cultural
freedom. Freedom means one can only represent him/herself politically and
culturally. One‟s freedom can only be achieved when he/she is free politically and
culturally. Xanana‟s concept of maubere has brought Timor Leste to its
independence. Through the concept of Maubere, Xanana puts Timor Leste as a
nation, which identity and culture equal to the colonizers. Freedom means one can
only represent him/herself politically and culturally.
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APPENDIX 1
My Sea of Timor
Immersed in my thoughts
I was suddenly shaken
From the sea, my sea,
out of the bellies of ships,
tremors came
I looked at the erupting sky,
and the size of the sea were
cries of agony
the gentle breeze
the smell of dust and blood
the kiss of the foam
the death-rattle
the sea's slumber.
the pebbles of the gravestone
and the pretty shells
traced
the destiny of the Homeland!
I am at war
I am at war
the sky is not mine
I am at war
the sea is not mine,
I am at war
and life is won only
in death
In the hope of regaining
my sea
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Maubere
Maubere People,
Maubere, child of East
Timor,
tear open your belly,
your cravings,
ruts of neglect, of anguish,
of oppression,
and hurl them to the wind,
to your furthest brother,
in the secret places of the
sacred land,
of your parents, of your
children,
of your grandparents, of
your grandchildren...
Maubere People,
clench your fists,
The hour is your's, Maubere!
And your defiance will bring
down
the walls of your own
enslavement
Maubere People,
confront and face yourself in the
long march of liberation.
Liberate yourself!
Be strong Be Maubere.
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Oh! Freedom!
If I could only
in the cold mornings
wake up shivering
beaten by the gale
which opens for me the
curtain of the sky,
and see, from the top of my
hills,
the purple painting of a
disturbed sunrise
east of Timor
If I could only
in the scorching suns
ride in raptures
towards the finding of myself
in the serene plains of the
pasture,
and feel the smell of animals
drinking from the springs
which would murmur in the
air,
legends of Timor
If I could only
in the calm afternoons
feel that tiredness
of the sensuous nature
stretching itself in its own
sweat
and listen to the telling of the
wearinesses
within the laughters
of the naked barefoot
children
of all Timor
If I could only
at the darkening of the waves
walk by the sand
absorbed in myself
in the wet rapture of the
breeze
and touch the immensity of
the sea
in a breath of soul
which let me dream the
future
of the island of Timor
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Grandfather Crocodile
From the depths of the ocean
a crocodile in search of a destiny
spied the pool of light, and there he surfaced
Then wearily, he stretched himself out
in time
and his lumpy hide was transformed
into a mountain range
where people were born
and where people died
Grandfather crocodile
- the legend says
and who am I to disbelieve
that he is Timor!
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APPENDIX 2
Review of the Biographical Background of Xanana Gusmao
This review of the biographical background of Xanana Gusmao is a
paraphrase from Biography of Xanana Gusmao (www. timor-leste.gov).
Jose Alexander Xanana Gusmao was born on June 20th 1946 in Laleia, Timor
Leste. He was the second son in the family of nine children. His parents were
teachers. Gusmao was educated at the Jesuit mission at Nossa Senhora De Fatima at
Dare in the hills near Dili. After leaving school, he worked several various jobs in
Dili as a typist, draftsman, waterside worker and fisherman before obtaining a
permanent position in the public service and continuing his study. When working as a
journalist, he took the nom de plume (pen name) „Xanana‟. The name will stick for
the rest of his life.
After the death of almost all the Fretilin (The Revolutionary Front for an
Independence of Timor Leste) leadership including President Nicolau Lobato in
1978, Gusmao was elected as a leader of resistance. As The Indonesian military
indicated that it was prepared to hold peace talks, Gusmao negotiated with Indonesian
General William DA Costa in the remote mountain camp of Lari Gutu. The cease fire
agreement was signed between the Indonesian Government and Fretilin on 23 March
1983. However, the Indonesian Army resumed its offensive on 31 August 1983. The
Timor Leste resistance was encountered then.
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On April 14th 2002, Xanana Gusmao was elected as the President of Timor
Leste. After leaving the presidency, Xanana was elected as the president of CNRT
“National Congress for Reconstruction of Timor Leste”, a newly established political
party formed in April 2007. After his party won the parliamentary election, he
became the Prime Minister until now.
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ABSTRAK
CUIMBRA, ANSELMO. Timorese in Search of Freedom seen in Xanana
Gusmao’s Poems. Yogyakarta: Program Study Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra,
Universitas Sanata Dharma, 2015.
Sumber data diambil dari puisi-puisi Xanana Gusmao berjudul “I am at
War”, “Oh! Freedom!”, “Grandfather Crocodile”, “Maubere”, dan “My Sea of
Timor” yang ditulis selama pemerintahan Portugis dan pendudukan militer
Indonesia dari tahun 1970-an hingga 1990-an. Puisi – puisi tersebut bercerita
tentang perjuangan kemerdekaan melawan penjajahan Portugis dan pendudukan
regim militer Suharto di Timor Leste. Melalui puisi - puisinya, Xanana
menjelaskan bagaimana masyarakat Timor Leste hidup di bawah hegemoni
kolonial dan berjuang demi kebebasan. Xanana menjadikan puisinya sebagai salah
satu upaya dalam revolusi anti kolonialisme di Timor Leste dan sebagai salah satu
bentuk perjuangan untuk kemerdekaan politik dan sosial budaya. Sumber-sumber
sekunder diambil dari buku-buku dan sumber-sumber lain yang berkaitan dengan
studi.
Terdapat dua rumusan masalah dalam penelitian ini. Rumusan yang
pertama adalah deskripsi perjuangan masyarakat Timor Leste. Rumusan yang
kedua yaitu konsep kebebasan ditampilkan dalam puisi tersebut.
Skripsi ini menggunakan metode penelitian kepustakaan. Penulis menerapkan
pendekatan postkolonial dalam menganalisis puisi – puisi tersebut. Teori-teori yang
digunakan dalam analisis adalah teori nada, teori citra, dan teori postkolonial. Ulasan –
ulasan mengenai perjuangan masyarakat Timor Leste untuk kebebasan serta latar
belakang penulis juga digunakan untuk mendukung penelitian ini.
Hasil studi merupakan gambaran perjuangan kemerdekaan masyarakat
Timor Leste selama penjajahan Portugis dan pendudukan militer Indonesia.
Melalui penggambaran kebiasaan dan kehidupan sehari-hari masyarakat Timor
Leste dalam puisi-puisi Xanana Gusmao, terlihat jelas bahwa puisi – puisi tersebut
berhubungan erat dengan kondisi sosial-politik di Timor Leste. Xanana dan pada
pengikutnya berjuang untuk melawan kekuasaan militer bangsa kolonial untuk
membela negara mereka. Kenyataannya adalah bahwa dalam melaksanakan misi
peradabannya, Portugis dan rezim militer Suharto menggunakan kekuatan militer
mereka untuk melawan bangsa Timor Leste dan merendahkan masyarakat sipil
serta kebebasannya, kemudian memasukkan unsur - unsur budaya dan cara hidup
mereka untuk „memberi peradaban‟ kepada masyarakat Timor Timur. Bersatunya
seluruh warga Timor Leste dengan menjadi maubere adalah satu-satunya cara
yang dapat membuat masyarakat Timor Leste terbebas dari penjajahan. Selain itu,
menjadi maubere berarti mewakili diri mereka untuk mengatasi inferioritas
budaya dan politik. Kebebasan politik, social, and budayaan adalah cara untuk
pembebasan total nasional Timor Leste dan masyarakatnya. Melalui puisi -
puisinya, Xanana jelas menekankan bahwa kebebasan seseorang hanya diperoleh
ketika ia bebas secara politik, socsial dan budaya.
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJIPLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI