Home, Fatherhood, Succession: Three Generations of Amrullahs in Twentieth-Century Indonesia

Jul 7, 2026

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Essay exploring memories and fictional constructions in Hamka’s self-narrative from the late 1940s and early 1950s, focusing on Ajahku and the four-volume autobiography Kenang-kenangan Hidup. Uses narrative-genre analysis to examine deliberate manipulations rather than simply identifying “lies,” and situates Hamka’s 1920s work alongside writings by his father, Haji Abdul Karim Amrullah. Evaluates how historians have misread Hamka’s literary, political, and religious public role across regimes.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages34

Reading Time1 h 26 min

References

Home, Fatherhood, Succession: Three Generations of Amrullahs in Twentieth-Century Indonesia

Sources and framing

Hamka’s self-portrait and scholarly reception

Political fortunes across regimes

INDONESLOCORNELL Home,Fatherhood,Succession:Three Generations of Amrullahs in Twentieth-CenturyIndonesia Author(s):Jeffrey Hadler Source:Indonesia,No.65(Apr.,1998),pp.122-154 Published by:Cornell University Press;Southeast Asia Program Publications at CornellUniversity Stable URL:https://www.jstor.org/stable/3351407Accessed:23-10-201908:34 UTC # REFERENCES Linked references are available on JSTOR for this article: https://www jstor.org/stable/3351407?seq=1&cid=pdf-reference\#references_tab_contentsYou may need to log in to JSTOR to access the linked references. JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars,researchers,and students discover,use,and build upon a widerange of content in a trusted digital archive.We use information technology and tools to increase productivity andfacilitate new forms of scholarship.For more information about JSTOR,please contact support@jstor.org. Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms &Conditions of Use,available athttps://about.jstor.org/terms Southeast Asia Program Publications at Cornell University,Cornell University Pressare collaborating with JSTOR to digitize,preserve and extend access to Indonesia # HOME,FATHERHOOD,SUCCESSION:THREE GENERATIONS OFAMRULLAHS IN TWENTIETH-CENTURY INDONESIA Jeffrey Hadler We ask for a thousand pardons...We are repeating other people's stories /Their liesare not our responsibility.2“Traditional”Minangkabau disclaimers do not hold here.This essay is an attempt to unravel the skein of memories and fiction in Hamka's(HajiAbdul Malik Karim Amrullah,1908-1981)self-narrative of the late 1940s and early1950s.The two primary texts are Hamka's biography of his father and his four-volumeautobiography—Ajahku and Kenang-kenangan Hidup.3 The young Indonesia was,for Hamka and his father in 1930(from Ajahku) H.A.Malik Kariem Amrullah,"Sedjarah Minangkabau dengan Agama Islam,"Fort de Kock:Tsamaratoel Ichwan,1929. This content downloaded from 152.118.150.186 on Wed,23 Oct 201908:34:37 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms Hamka,a tenuous and dangerous place.It took his considerable skills as a novelist,Islamic scholar,and Minangkabau cultural authority to build a textual raft that wouldcarry him into the new nation.While this essay will not attempt to identify any"lies,"it will explore Hamka's very deliberate manipulations of narrative genres often mineduncritically and incautiously by historians.I will also analyze Hamka's work of the1920s,and set it against the contemporary writings of his father.Both men have beendefined by Ajahku,the biography Hamka wrote of his own father,and by Kenang-kenangan Hidup,Hamka's own four-volume autobiography;the characterizations of thetexts need to be held up against the extant historical record. Hamka has not been well-served by scholars,and often it would seem for goodreason.In Ajahku and Kenang-kenangan Hidup he constructs a portrait of himself as aman who is often misguided and callow,forever in the long shadow of his father,HajiAbdul Karim Amrullah (usually referred to as Haji Rasul).So as novelist,he isdismissed:"Hamka cannot be considered a great author by any standards."4 Aspolitician,he is criticized for having worked closely with the Japanese,actions thatexposed him to charges of collaboration.Following the occupation,unable to claim aheroic role in the revolution,he relocated to Jakarta where,"In the fifties and sixties hehad turned himself,if not into a religious scholar,at least into a popularizer of Islam."5Imprisoned by Sukarno for speaking out against Guided Democracy and the PKI,Hamka was rehabilitated under Suharto as a leader of reformist Islam and head of theMajelis Ulama.If the Revolution is the fiery triumph and the Orde Baru a grim betrayalin the arc of Indonesian history,then there is apparently little to admire in Hamka'slife. So the most current narrative of Indonesian history—valorizing the Revolutionand demonizing the Orde B

FAQs

What primary texts does the essay analyze?

The essay centers on Hamka’s Ajahku, a biography of his father, and his four-volume autobiography Kenang-kenangan Hidup.

How does the essay approach truth claims in Hamka’s narrative?

Rather than trying to identify “lies,” it examines Hamka’s deliberate use of narrative genres and how historians may mine them uncritically.

Why is Hamka considered politically unserviceable in some current Indonesian historical narratives?

Because narratives that valorize the Revolution and demonize the Orde Baru portray Hamka as less admirable or useful, despite his prominence as an Islamic populist.

Jul 7, 2026

Upload by Ezra