Saidjah by Multatuli (1860)
Saidjah is about fifteen when his father flees to Buitenzorg; he stays behind, planning to earn money in Batavia driving carriages for rich gentlemen, and hopes to save enough in two years to buy two water buffaloes. Before leaving Badur he tells Adinda his plan; she promises to be his wife when he returns and to spin, weave, and embroider sarongs. He tells her to count moons, cutting a notch in the rice-block for each one, and after thirty-six moons to wait for him under the ketapan tree by the Djati Forest. He gives her a piece of cloth torn from his blue head-dress before saying goodbye. Saidjah travels through Rangas-Betung, Warong-Gunang, Pandeglang, Serang, and Tangerang before reaching Batavia. There a rich gentleman hires him because he does not yet understand Malay; Saidjah later learns Malay but conceals this, thinking only of Adinda and the buffaloes. He grows tall and strong from regular food, is promoted to house servant with higher pay, but after three years leaves his position despite being called ungrateful. He carries home his passport and testimonial in a bamboo stick, thirty Spanish dollars in a case (meant for three buffaloes), a Malay kris with a silver sheath and carved wooden handle, a leathern girdle with silver links and a gold clasp for Adinda, and Adinda's dried melatti flower in a silk purse around his neck. He travels without stopping to visit cities, reaches the Djati Forest at night, and finds the familiar ketapan tree by a gash once cut in its trunk to drive away an evil spirit. He waits through the night, watching the stars and imagining Adinda counting her notches, but at dawn no one appears on the path from Badur. He runs to the village, where the women recognize him and tell him, with sad faces, that Adinda is not there: the head of the district of Parang-Kudjang took away her father's buffaloes, her mother died of grief, and her father, fearing punishment for unpaid land-rent and unable to go to Buitenzorg (where Saidjah's father had been whipped for fleeing), took Adinda to the district of Lebak on the coast and left by ship. Saidjah goes to Tjilang Kahan, buys a boat, and after some days reaches the Campong coast, where an uprising against Dutch rule is underway. He joins a troop of soldiers, seeking Adinda more than fighting. During a massacre of subdued natives in a burning village, he finds Adinda's father dead of a bayonet wound, and nearby Adinda herself, naked and dead, with a scrap of blue cloth pressed into a bayonet wound in her breast. Seeing a soldier driving surviving insurgents with his bayonet into the burning houses, Saidjah rushes at him and is killed, pierced through the lungs. In Batavia, the victory is celebrated as bringing fresh glory to Dutch arms in the East Indies; the Governor reports peace restored in Campong; soldiers receive crosses of honor; and thanksgiving prayers are offered in the churches for the Lord's favor toward the Dutch.
By Multatuli · First published 1860 · Genre: Romantic Fiction, Tragedy, Postcolonial Literature · 2,411 words
First lines
Saidjah was about fifteen years old when his father ran away to / Buitenzorg. He did not accompany him because he had plans of his own / to carry out. He had heard that in Batavia there were rich gentlemen / who would employ slender youths like him, if they were nimble footed, / to sit on the rear seat of the two wheeled carriages. He had been told / that he could earn money in this way. In two years he could earn enough / money to buy two water buffaloes. This prospect pleased him. He walked / along proudly like a person who carries something important in his / head. He was on his way to see Adinda to tell her his plan.
What this Textopian page supports
Saidjah is listed on Textopian as a short story by Multatuli, dated 1860 CE.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Short story
- Author: Multatuli
- Date: 1860 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Romantic Fiction, Tragedy, Postcolonial Literature, Historical Fiction, Political Fiction
- Length: 2,411 words
- Structure: 1 section, 24 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)
Good citation fit
- Work identity for Saidjah by Multatuli
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
- Readability and classroom-planning context
- Passage-specific claims should cite the exact /read/ URL for the relevant chapter or paragraph
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Genres
- Romantic Fiction — The narrative centers on Saidjah and Adinda's love story, with their separation and reunion as the emotional core of the plot; their devotion frames Saidjah's entire three-year journey and sacrifice.
- Tragedy — The work culminates in the deaths of both Saidjah and Adinda, with the protagonist dying attempting to avenge his lover; the romantic trajectory is fundamentally one of loss and destruction rather than fulfillment.
- Postcolonial Literature — The narrative critiques Dutch colonial rule in the East Indies through depictions of indigenous oppression, forced labor exploitation, and the violent suppression of native resistance; colonial systems directly cause the tragedy.
- Historical Fiction — The work is set in colonial Indonesia during a specific historical period of Dutch rule, featuring documented locations (Batavia, Campong) and historical events (native uprisings and military campaigns).
Tags
colonial · romance · love story · coming-of-age · Java · Dutch East Indies · cultural conflict · exotic setting · tragedy · imperialism · novella · 19th century