PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI theories applied are theory of tone, theory of imagery, ......

ii

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

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJIPLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

v

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


vi

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


viii

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


viii

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.


xi

ABSTRAK


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


2

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


3

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.


4

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.


5

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


6

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


7

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


8

“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.


9

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


10

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


11

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.


12

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


13

(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.


14

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


15

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


16

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


17

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


18

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).


19

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.


20

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


21

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


22

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.


23

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.


24

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.


25

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


27

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 /


28

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


29

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


30

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,


31

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


32

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


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 /


34

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,


35

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.


36

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


37

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


38

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.


39

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.


40

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


41

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.”


42

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


43

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:


44

I am at war

the sky is not mine

I am at war


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:



tremors came



cries of agony


the kiss of the foam

the death-rattle


45

the sea's slumber.



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


wake up shivering

beaten by the gale

which opens for me the curtain of the sky,


46

the purple painting of a disturbed sunrise

east of Timor

If could only


feel that tiredness

and listen to the telling of the wearinesses


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


walk by the sand


47

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


(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


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


49

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


50

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


51

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


52

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


53

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.




Then wearily, he stretched himself out

in time




54




- the legend says


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-


55

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


57

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.


58

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.


59

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63

APPENDIX 1

My Sea of Timor

Immersed in my thoughts

I was suddenly shaken



tremors came



cries of agony

the gentle breeze


the kiss of the foam

the death-rattle

the sea's slumber.



traced

the destiny of the Homeland!

I am at war

I am at war

the sky is not mine

I am at war


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.


65

Oh! Freedom!

If I could only


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


feel that tiredness

of the sensuous nature

stretching itself in its own

sweat

and listen to the telling of the

wearinesses


of the naked barefoot

children

of all Timor

If I could only


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



66

Grandfather Crocodile




Then wearily, he stretched himself out

in time






- the legend says


that he is Timor!


67

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.


68

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.


xi

ABSTRAK


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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