German literature in Indonesia
Thursday, August 23rd, 2007
Works of Goethe, Schiller or Bertolt Brecht cannot only be found in German book shops but also in Indonesian ones. The German classics are well read in university classes on German literature, either in the original or in the translated version.As in many countries, Indonesian students encounter many differences due to the complexity of these authors. But there is one German author whose work is dearly loved in Indonesia: Karl May.
Karl May in Indonesia
Several adventures of Winnetou, Old Shatterhand and their friends have already been published in the Indonesian version (Winnetou I – II, Kara Ben Nemsi I, Gurun dan Prairie I, Anak Pemburu Beruang, Hantu Llano Estacado).
The readers even organized a Karl May fan club and an Indonesian Karl May society (see www.indokarlmay.com).
The dear friendship between Winnetou, the native American, and Karl May who is from Saxonia, East Germany, strikes the readers as being a rare example because both men are very different in terms of cultural beliefs, religion or nationality.
Nevertheless they actively promote peace and understanding between different groups, even between enemies. They therefore represent ideas which are greatly valued in Indonesia. Of course it is not only their social behaviour which attracts the readers but also the great adventures they experience.
Most of the Indonesian versions of Karl May’s books have been translated in Malang, an east javanese town with approximately 900.000 inhabitants. The translaters who mainly work as highschool teachers or university lecturers for German are currently translating “Old Surehand II”.
At the end of this summer “Old Surehand I” as well as “Raja Minyak” (the Oil Prince) will be published. The readers are longing for new adventures of their heros.
Thanks to Dr. Cornelia Bast for this article – For a long time, Dr. Cornelia worked as a tutor of DAAD (Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst), at the university of Malang and Yogyakarta.
