Frederick D. J. Pangemanann (also Pangemanan; 1870–1910) was a journalist and novelist from the Dutch East Indies.
Biography
editFrederick Pangemanann[1] was born to the Pangemanan clan of Minahasa in 1870. Some sources report that he worked for the Dutch colonial government before retiring and becoming a journalist, but Indonesian writer and literary critic Pramoedya Ananta Toer believes this illogical owing to Pangemanann's young age at his time of death; Toer does, however, allow for the possibility of Pangemanann having become injured in the line of duty, forcing an early retirement.[2]
Around 1894 Pangemanann became a reporter for the Malay-language daily Bintang Betawi, based in the colonial capital of Batavia (now Jakarta). By this time he was already active in writing fiction. His story Tjerita Rossina was published as a serial in the newspaper.[2]
Pangemanann published his first novel, Tjerita Si Tjonat (The Story of Tjonat), in 1900. A reputed success, the novel followed the rise and fall of a bandit known as Tjonat.[3] His second and final novel, a collation of the serial Tjerita Rossina, was published three years later.[3] Both were bandit stories and used similar formulas.[4]
In 1902 Pangemanann began helping with the daily Warna Warta.[5] After Bintang Betawi was shut down in 1906, Pangemanann went to the peranakan Chinese-owned daily Kabar Perniagaan (later Perniagaan). In 1906 he was an establishing member of the colony's first press council.[2] Pangemanann died in 1910.[2]
Reception
editTjerita Si Tjonat was a commercial success. It was soon adapted for the stage,[3] and in 1929 Nelson Wong directed a film adaptation.[6] Tjerita Rossina likewise was quickly adapted for the stage. The novel was reprinted in 1910 but credited to H.F.R. Kommer; Toer considers this blatant plagiarism, although he notes that there were no copyright laws in the Indies at the time.[3] However, it appears that both are Malay adaptations of a story, published earlier in Dutch under the title De arme Rosetta, by W. L. Ritter, a Dutchman living and working in Borneo.[7] Tjerita Rossina was later adapted as a syair (poem) by Tulis Sutan Sati (published by Balai Pustaka in 1933).[4]
Indonesianist C. W. Watson writes that Pangemanann, together with the Indo journalists F. H. Wiggers and H. Kommer, was "most responsible for giving a stimulus and a direction to the writing of original stories in an Indonesian setting".[8] He notes that all three were fluent in Malay and appeared comfortable in both native and ethnic Chinese communities.[8]
Footnotes
edit- ^ Serikat Penerbit Suratkabar 1971, p. 98.
- ^ a b c d Toer 1982, pp. 26–7.
- ^ a b c d Toer 1982, pp. 28–9.
- ^ a b Watson 1971, p. 420–1.
- ^ Adam 1995, p. 75.
- ^ Said 1982, p. 19.
- ^ Koos Arens (1999). "Het onverslijtbaar kleed: Over de verhalen van W.L. Ritter (1799–1862)" (PDF). Indische Letteren. Jaargang 14: 30–50. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
- ^ a b Watson 1971, p. 419.
References
edit- Adam, Ahmat (1995). The Vernacular Press and the Emergence of Modern Indonesian Consciousness (1855–1913). Studies on Southeast Asia. Vol. 17. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. ISBN 978-0-87727-716-3.
- Said, Salim (1982). Profil Dunia Film Indonesia [Profile of Indonesian Cinema] (in Indonesian). Jakarta: Grafiti Pers. OCLC 9507803.
- Toer, Pramoedya Ananta, ed. (1982). Tempo Doeloe: Antologi Sastra Pra-Indonesia [Earlier Times: Anthology of Pre-Indonesian Literature] (in Indonesian). Jakarta: Hasta Mitra. OCLC 9797224.
- Serikat Penerbit Suratkabar (1971). Garis Besar Perkembangan Pers Indonesia [Outline of the Development of the Indonesian Press] (in Indonesian). Jakarta.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - Watson, C. (1971). "Some Preliminary Remarks on the Antecedents of Modern Indonesian Literature". Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde. 127 (4): 417–33. doi:10.1163/22134379-90002769. ISSN 0006-2294.