Hans Teeuw (1921-2012)
Kenangan Ajip Rosidi
Panineungan Ajip Rosidi

On 18 May 2012 Andries Teeuw, or Hans Teeuw as he was known to his friends and colleagues, died at the age of 90. He was extremely important to post-colonial studies of Indonesia in general and for KITLV in particular, both in terms of scholarship and leadership. In recognition of his outstanding contributions he received an honorary doctorate from the University of Indonesia in Depok, Indonesia and he was granted honorary membership to KITLV. At least four Festschriften were dedicated to him (Hellwig en Robson 1986, Bagus 1987, Ras en Robson 1991, Van der Molen e.a. 2006). His name also graces the Professor Teeuw Prize which is awarded biannually to a person who has made an exceptional contribution to the strengthening of cultural ties between the Netherlands and Indonesia.

From 1955 until 1986 Teeuw was professor of Indonesian language and culture at Leiden University; having previously been professor of general linguistics in Utrecht. He wrote his first publication as a student (Teeuw 1944); and his last article appeared in the year before his death (Teeuw and Van der Molen, 2011), while he also completed a Dutch translation of the Old Javanese Bhomāntaka during the last months of his life (Teeuw s.a.). These form the beginning and the end of an impressive series of articles and books in the fields of phililogy, linguistics, literary studies and lexicography of Indonesia.

Prior to his appointment as professor in the Netherlands, Teeuw conducted linguistic fieldwork on Lombok, the choice of which he explained as "the only place in Indonesia in those days (the end of the 1940’s) where bullets didn’t fly past your ears." This research produced an exemplary dialect atlas of Sasak (Teeuw 1951). Essential to research in the pre-internet period was Teeuw’s bibliography of linguistic publications about Malay and Indonesian (Teeuw 1961).

Teeuw’s phililogical work concerned diverse literatures such as Old Javanese, Old Sundanese and Classical Malay. In 1966 his widely-used edition of the Classical Malay Shair Ken Tambuhan appeared as the result of a year-long sabattical in Kuala Lumpur. Through its parallel presentation of the original text and an English translation, and the emphatic attention to the larger context of the literature, history and art which a team of experts led by Teeuw paid, the publication of the Old Javanese Śiwarātrikalpa in 1969 resulted in a remarkable renaissance in Indonesian philology. Teeuw also completed the work of his deceased friend and colleague J. Noorduyn, the former director of the KITLV, and published three old Sundanese texts (Noorduyn and Teeuw 2006). His ‘Some remarks on the study of so-called historical texts in Indonesian languages’ from 1976 is a fundamental article about the interpretation of literature-oriented Indonesian texts; in his valediction as professor at Leiden University he discussed the inextricable bond between philological comparisons of manuscripts and literary interpretations of texts. (Teeuw 1986)

Teeuw is best remembered in the Netherlands and elsewhere for his work on modern Indonesian literature. His Modern Indonesian Literature from 1967, later expanded into two volumes, was a groundbreaking survey of modern 20th century Indonesian literature. After his retirement Teeuw dedicated a complete book to his most beloved author Pramoedya Ananta Toer (Teeuw 1993). Intended for the Indonesian-speaking public, his introduction to general literary studies was more broadly intended (Teeuw 1984). Teeuw tried to acquaint the broader public in the Netherlands with modern Indonesian literature through translations and therefore he deliberately sought collaboration with Dutch authors (Vuyk en Teeuw 1967; Hamzah 2001).

Teeuw’s first lexographic works dated from his time in Indonesia. In 1950 he wrote an Indonesian-Dutch dictionary together with the famous Indonesian lexicographer W.J.S. Poerwadarminta; a revised edition appeared in 1952 (Poerwadarmina and Teeuw 1950, 1952). At the request of KITLV Teeuw produced a new edition which came out in 1990. Its immense popularity requires continuous reprints. For many years, from 1966 until 1975, Teeuw was chair of KITLV’s Learned Society. At his and E.M. Uhlenbeck’s (professor of Javanese and general linguistics in Leiden) instigation, KITLV moved at the end of 1966 from The Hague, where it led a sleepy existence, to Leiden, closer to researchers and students who were interested in Indonesia and the West Indies. The favorable effect upon the number of visitors was immediately noticable. The influence of Teeuw and Uhlenbeck is also felt in the choice to use English as the primary language of the Institute’s publications. During Teeuw’s term as chairman, the KITLV Monographs (Verhandelingen van het KITLV) really came to life and the basis for the impressive breadth which this series now has was established at this time. Another series published by KITLV which Teeuw initialized: Bibliotheca Indonesica. Intended to present classics of Indonesian literature in the original text with English translations, the Bibliotheca Indonesica set world-wide standards for form and content.

Together with Prof. Harsja W. Bachtiar (The University of Indonesia, Jakarta) Teeuw opened up a new phase in the relations between the Netherlands and Indonesia by fullfilling the Cultural Accord, agreed upon by both coutries after the re-establishment of relations (after the New Guinea question.) Many Dutch scholars or aspiring scholars have conducted field work in Indonesia and many Indonesian students have studied in diverse Dutch universities in the cadre of this agreement. Organizationally it brought the Dutch practioners of Indonesian studies from various universities and disciplines together. The office for the execution of the Cultural Accord was vested in Leiden using the name PRIS (Programma Indonesische Studiën) from 1975 until 1992 under the auspices of the KITLV.

In 1971 he was awarded KNAW membership.

Willem van der Molen

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