Abstract

This article discusses the possibility of re-evoking and invigorating romantic spirits to reiterate Indonesian national identity. This commences from the fact that despite its comparatively young age, Indonesia has experienced a number of heroic and romantic struggles, notable in our national history; for instance, the “national awakening movement” Boedi Oetomo in 1908, which became the first modern symbol of national struggle in Indonesia, the Sumpah Pemuda in 1928, which instilled in the youth's mind the three factors in common as our national identity, which binds our multi-cultural existence and experiences i.e. the unity of territory, language, and nation; and the third is Indonesian Declaration of Independence, 17th of August 1945. This study starts from the assumption that those three symbols of struggle and identity are imprinted with romantic spirits, i.e. the sentimental feelings and emotions, which are no longer dealing with the worldly and materialistic considerations. In this discussion, one might question whether Indonesia has ever experienced any romantic movement as what European countries and America had in the end of the 18th century, yet that might not be so critical question in this case. Instead, what might be considered more important is another question such as, “do we need that kind of movement nowadays in order to clearly pronounce our identity?” By careful readings, observations and interpretations based on historiography and other references, this article sees that an attempt to give birth to our own Romanticism might be feasible as a good solution to rebuild our nationalism, since it also deals with recognizing and recalling our lost identity.

Keywords

Romanticism, Emotion, Sentimentalism, Heroism, Patriotism, Nationalism, Identity.

References