“Keluarga Kudus” (The Holy Family) by Sunlie Thomas Alexander, with its strong religious theme, won Best Short Story at the 2021 Kompas Short Story Awards.
By
DWI BAYU RADIUS
·5 minutes read
IWAN ANDRYANTO
The Chief Editor of Kompas Daily, Sutta Dharmasaputra, announced and handed over the Angel of Words trophy online to short story writer Sunlie Thomas Alexander. Sunlin's short story, "Keluarga Kudus" (The Holy Family) was chosen as the Best Short Story for Compass 2021 in the 2022 Kompas Short Story Award which took place online, Tuesday (28/6/2022).
JAKARTA, KOMPAS — “Keluarga Kudus” (The Holy Family) by Sunlie Thomas Alexander, with its strong religious theme, won Best Short Story at the 2021 Kompas Short Story Awards. Religiosity also characterized many of the selected short stories that were published in the Kompas daily in 2021.
The winner of the 2021 Best Short Story was announced during the 2021 Kompas Short Story Awards ceremony on Tuesday evening (28/6/2022), which was held in virtual format. Kompas Editor-in-Chief Sutta Dharmasaputra said the award aimed to contribute to encouraging the country’s literary development. Kompas has received thousands of short story submissions every year since 1968.
Twenty-two short stories were nominated for the 2021 Kompas Short Story Awards from among the 52 short stories Kompas published in 2021, which were selected from a total of 3,468 short stories submitted.
"We know that literary works can encourage the birth of new ideas because of their ability to see and penetrate the passage of time," said Sutta.
The jury of the 2021 Kompas Short Story Awards consisted of Putu Fajar Arcana, M. Hilmi Faiq, Sarie Febriane, Sri Rejeki, and Ilham Khoiri. According to them, "Keluarga Kudus" excelled in focusing on the issues surrounding religious communes. Sunlie described the haphazard hierarchical relationship between religious leaders and their congregation.
"He is good at storytelling. Sunlie understands that he is entering a sensitive area full of rules, well-established, but also sophisticated [complex]," said Putu Fajar Arcana, who chaired the jury of the 2021 Kompas Short Story Awards.
Sunlie's best skill was his ability to frame hypocrisy in the gossip spread among the local women, who were often left helpless when their indignation met with a fortress labeled “faith” that protected church leaders. Instead, the students’ mothers could even be questioned over their faith, to the point that their husbands were left helpless.
He is good at storytelling.
The material was presented through a crisis involving donations for constructing new parish building, which had only added to the burdens of some residents so its intent to strengthen faith became blurred.
"Secondly, Elizabeth Bafoe who appears at the beginning of the story is not necessarily the main character. Sunlie positioned her to anchor all the gossip that developed,” said Putu.
Through Elizabeth, Sunlie showed how religious institutions were not as sacred as imagined. Sanctity was a perception formed through the institutional extensions of rituals, rules, and orders established by people who were deemed "close to God".
“Keluarga Kudus” used the Timorese dialect in a lively manner that showed Sunlie's mastery of the language, even though he was born and raised in Belinyu on Bangka Island, Bangka Belitung Islands province. His short story took the reader into the atmosphere of rural life in East Nusa Tenggara.
BUDI SUWARNA
The production of the 2022 Kompas Short Story Award event was held online from the Kompas Institute in South Palmerah, South Jakarta, Tuesday (28/6/2022).
The short story has been adapted as a short dramatic film with a runtime of 12 minutes by Deden Bulqini and Wawan Sofwan.
"After almost half a century of cultural speeches by Mochtar Lubis about the character of 'Indonesian Man', we have finally found a short story that uncovers the entangled roots of hypocrisy in society," said Putu.
Sunlie’s literary renown has grown over five short story anthologies. His latest book, Dari Belinyu ke Jalan Lain ke Rumbuk Randu (From Belinyu to Rumbuk Randu by a different road) won the 2020 Literature Award in the literary criticism/essay category from the Education and Culture Ministry's Language Agency.
Gossip
According to Sunlie, “Keluarga Kudus” began when he observed gossip. Rumors were one of the greatest attractions for creative writers.
"It's not just mothers, fathers also [gossip] in coffee shops. It is very rich material for applying to writing stories,” he said.
“Keluarga Kudus” was inspired by the story of Sunlie's wife, who comes from East Nusa Tenggara. Sunlie worked on his short story so it wouldn't be too offensive to her.
“I learned the local dialect from my wife. The situation is real, although in general, there are no complaints stemming from religious issues,” he said.
I was not sure that my short story would be the best. I never expected it. Thank you for the Kompas award.
Sunlie said that the other short stories nominated for the 2021 Kompas Short Story Awards might be better, considering their content.
“I was not sure that my short story would be the best. I never expected it. Thank you for the Kompas award,” he said, humbly.
Philosophy professor Saras Dewi from the University of Indonesia said the short stories carrying religious themes nominated for the 2021 Kompas Short Story Awards aside from "Keluarga Kudus" included “Kabar di Malam Natal” (News on Christmas Eve) by Silvester Petara Hurit, "Toya" by Mahwi Air Tawar, and "Cakar Dubuk Tutul" (Claw of the spotted hyena) by Naning Scheid.
"The various humor of the mothers, as well as the politics of religious leaders, are illustrated well in 'Keluarga Kudus'," he said.
According to Saras, religious themes had become increasingly evident in the 2021 Kompas Short Story Awards in the last few years.
Poet Joko Pinurbo said that religiosity was an interesting and sensitive theme, because it was easier for the public to focus on religion.
"The theme was experienced by the author, and it is actually very personal," he said.
This article was translated by Hendarsyah Tarmizi.
