Here however the two treatments diverge: Purwa Lelana to continue with his ethnography the houses of the Tenggerese; the hospitality shown to strangers; the absence of theft; the vegetables - Dutch vegetables - grown in abundance; the cowardice of the people; the absence of poverty; the small mountain horses - and the Centini to its central organizing theme, the discourse of adepts in search of religious truth, in a much longer section on the religious beliefs of the Tengger which Purwa Lelana omits.
In the opinion of the reviewer, though Purwa Lelana has indeed used the Centini as a source, his own writing is organised around radically different preoccupations. His interest in the details of agriculture, in the comparative prosperity of different areas of Java he analyses the contributing factors, such as good soil, abundant population and in transport, sanitation, and the benefits of education and innovation reveal a pragmatic and reformist attitude that is quite new in Javanese. Did his utilitarian prose sound bald and officious to those brought up in the old poetic tradition?
Was it, in any case, too late to make Javanese the language of this-worldly analysis and inquiry, a role to which Malay had already made some claim? These are difficult questions to address. Yet it would be wrong to foresee a wholesale movement towards westernization. One may speculate that Candranegara -alias- Purwa Lelana is a product of a period relatively early in the colonial encounter when progressive members of the elite could entertain an optimistic expectation that the Dutch had brought new ideas and ways of doing things which would also bring the Javanese prosperity.
After all, was the pasisir under Dutch rule not more advanced and prosperous than central Java under its princes?
Like Abdullah bin Abdul Kadir Munshi writing at a similar juncture in Malaya, Candranegara is severly critical of the indigenous aristocracy, for their vices alcohol, opium, women and for their idleness. On the other side of this coinage, both writers have an enthusiasm for the principles and institutions of colonial rule, though they are not quite the same principles: Abdullah values liberal ideas such as equality before the law, while Purwa Lelana is more utilitarian in outlook.
It is easy to regard both writers as naive or hypocritical eulogists and lackeys of self-interested colonial masters whose claims to be acting in the best interests of their subjects time would show to be hollow. But should we expect the newly westernized elite of this period to have foreseen the disillusionments of the future? And assume that the ideas which had so recently led to revolutionary change in Europe had no such inherent appeal to non-Europeans?
Would it have been more rational or more morally defensible of them to have continued in loyalty to rulers who had offered no protection in the past, and had no new vision for the future? These are not easy questions to answer, but they are important ones to address, and they can only be addressed through the testimonies of those who, like Candranegara, found themselves in the midst of such disjunctions and dilemmas. To date, few Western scholars have adequately recognized this necessity, and our understanding of the most important dimensions of social change has suffered accordingly.
Bonneff s edition is the first translation of a Javanese text into French, but its distinction far surpasses what one might expect in a pioneering work. The outstanding quality of its scholarship, and the seriousness and intelligence of its discussion, set a standard which not only French scholars will find hard to maintain.
You may have already requested this item. Please select Ok if you would like to proceed with this request anyway. WorldCat is the world's largest library catalog, helping you find library materials online. Don't have an account? Your Web browser is not enabled for JavaScript. Some features of WorldCat will not be available. Create lists, bibliographies and reviews: Search WorldCat Find items in libraries near you.
Advanced Search Find a Library. Your list has reached the maximum number of items.
Please create a new list with a new name; move some items to a new or existing list; or delete some items. Your request to send this item has been completed.
Citations are based on reference standards. However, formatting rules can vary widely between applications and fields of interest or study. The specific requirements or preferences of your reviewing publisher, classroom teacher, institution or organization should be applied. The E-mail Address es field is required.
Please enter recipient e-mail address es. The E-mail Address es you entered is are not in a valid format.
Please re-enter recipient e-mail address es. You may send this item to up to five recipients. The name field is required. Please enter your name.