Petrus Josephus Zoetmulder
Encyclopedia
Petrus Josephus Zoetmulder S.J. (January 29, 1906 - July 8, 1995) was a Dutch expert in the Old Javanese language. He came from Utrecht
Utrecht (city)
Utrecht city and municipality is the capital and most populous city of the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, and is the fourth largest city of the Netherlands with a population of 312,634 on 1 Jan 2011.Utrecht's ancient city centre features...

 and was associated with the Society of Jesus
Society of Jesus
The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...

 by 1925. He worked at Leiden University
Leiden University
Leiden University , located in the city of Leiden, is the oldest university in the Netherlands. The university was founded in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange, leader of the Dutch Revolt in the Eighty Years' War. The royal Dutch House of Orange-Nassau and Leiden University still have a close...

 in the 1930s. His first work appeared in 1930 and he continued to write into the 1990s. He lived in Yogyakarta
Yogyakarta (city)
Yogyakarta is a city in the Yogyakarta Special Region, Indonesia. It is renowned as a centre of classical Javanese fine art and culture such as batik, ballet, drama, music, poetry, and puppet shows. Yogyakarta was the Indonesian capital during the Indonesian National Revolution from 1945 to...

  and was interred in the Jesuit necropolis at Muntilan
Muntilan
Muntilan is a town in Central Java, on the old railway route to Magelang, and on the recent route of tourists on their way to Borobudur.It is the main market town along the western slopes of Mount Merapi volcano in central Java, within the administrative ambit of the regional government in...

, Java.

His work was important in the understanding of linguistic studies of Java. He also did works on Monism
Monism
Monism is any philosophical view which holds that there is unity in a given field of inquiry. Accordingly, some philosophers may hold that the universe is one rather than dualistic or pluralistic...

 and Muhammad
Muhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...

. Merle Ricklefs translated his thesis in the 1990s.

Childhood

Zoetmulder was born in Utrecht, The Netherlands. From his early childhood, "Piet"--as he was called—was able to read and write even before entering school. His mother Catharina née Noelege was a professional pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...

 and had been a patient teacher to Piet such that he was able to be admitted to primary school without having to attend kindergarten
Kindergarten
A kindergarten is a preschool educational institution for children. The term was created by Friedrich Fröbel for the play and activity institute that he created in 1837 in Bad Blankenburg as a social experience for children for their transition from home to school...

 due to his reading and writing skills. At school he was known to be a conscientious, talented and smart student. His father was an engineer
Engineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...

.

Piet was raised in a Roman Catholic family, and while attending the Canisius College Mater Dei gymnasium he became interested in becoming a priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...

, specifically as a member of the Society of Jesus. It was hardly surprising as two of his uncles were priests, and an aunt had been a nun in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

 and Suriname
Suriname
Suriname , officially the Republic of Suriname , is a country in northern South America. It borders French Guiana to the east, Guyana to the west, Brazil to the south, and on the north by the Atlantic Ocean. Suriname was a former colony of the British and of the Dutch, and was previously known as...

. His father had to move to the town of Heerlen for his work as a public health engineer, so Piet attended a gymnasium at Rolduc
Rolduc
Rolduc is the name of a medieval abbey in Kerkrade, the Netherlands, which is now a Roman Catholic seminary and an affiliated conferencing center.-History:...

 instead, which was also his father's alma mater. He graduated in the A and B academic tracks. In 1925 he was admitted to the Society of Jesus Novitiate School to begin his training as a priest.

Departure to Java

Father J. Willekens, S.J., his mentor at the novitiate, advised Zoetmulder to consider working for the mission on the island of Java. Following his mentor's advise, Zoetmulder departed for the Dutch East Indies
Dutch East Indies
The Dutch East Indies was a Dutch colony that became modern Indonesia following World War II. It was formed from the nationalised colonies of the Dutch East India Company, which came under the administration of the Netherlands government in 1800....

 as a 19-year novice. He was placed at the Intermediate Seminary in Yogyakarta, Central Java
Central Java
Central Java is a province of Indonesia. The administrative capital is Semarang. It is one of six provinces on the island of Java.This province is the province of high Human Development in Indonesia and its Points Development Index countries is equivalent to Lebanon. The province of Central Java...

. Surprisingly, three years later his former mentor Willekens himself joined him in Java as a Visiting Apostolic. Upon meeting his former student, Willekens commented that, "In addition to studying philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...

, you must also learn old Javanese."
He was introduced to Prof. C. C. Berg, who was an instructor in Surakarta
Surakarta
Surakarta, also called Solo or Sala, is a city in Central Java, Indonesia of more than 520,061 people with a population density of 11,811.5 people/km2. The 44 km2 city adjoins Karanganyar Regency and Boyolali Regency to the north, Karanganyar Regency and Sukoharjo Regency to the east and...

, to help him study the language. In 1931 Zoetmulder graduated cum laude and was made a candidate priest in Girisonta, Ungaran, near Semarang
Semarang
- Economy :The western part of the city is home to many industrial parks and factories. The port of Semarang is located on the north coast and it is the main shipping port for the province of Central Java. Many small manufacturers are located in Semarang, producing goods such as textiles,...

.

Continuing education

Upon his graduation from his study with Berg, Zoetmulder went to the University of Leiden in the Netherlands. He graduated with an associate degree in one year, contrary to the usual three years. He earned his bachelor's degree also in one year, contrary again to the usual three years customarily taken, with a degree in the history of Java and archeology. In October 1935 he successfully defended his doctoral thesis
Thesis
A dissertation or thesis is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings...

 "Pantheïsme en Monisme in de Javaansche Soeloek Literatuur," with the help of Berg. He graduated cum laude. Father Zoet, as he is affectionately called, had to finish his studies in theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...

 before he returned to Java. For four years he studied in Maastricht
Maastricht
Maastricht is situated on both sides of the Meuse river in the south-eastern part of the Netherlands, on the Belgian border and near the German border...

. Before returning to the East Indies, he had to first undergo intermediate study of religion for year in Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

. Unfortunately for him, the outbreak of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 and the occupation of Belgium by Nazi
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...

 forces forced him to seek refuge in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 in June 1940.

He was finally able to obtain passage on a ship to the Dutch East Indies, but had to make a stop in Britain to avoid German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 sea mines blocking the sea routes. After a month's wait he was finally able to arrive on Java via Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

. One of his colleagues had died when the ship that he boarded was torpedoed by the German Navy. Upon arrival in Java, Zoet exclaimed that, "God had wished for me to be happy on Javanese soil."

Japanese Occupation and Post-World War II

After his arrival in Jakarta
Jakarta
Jakarta is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Officially known as the Special Capital Territory of Jakarta, it is located on the northwest coast of Java, has an area of , and a population of 9,580,000. Jakarta is the country's economic, cultural and political centre...

, Zoetmulder was offered a post in the Linguistics Department of the University of Indonesia
University of Indonesia
The Universitas Indonesia, is a state, comprehensive world class university located in Depok, West Java and Salemba, Jakarta, Indonesia. Universitas Indonesia is the oldest tertiary-level educational institution in Indonesia...

. However, his strong desire to further his study of Javanese drove him to choose to reside in Yogyakarta. He then taught at the AMS, and counted among his students Prof. Dr. Koentjaraningrat, Dr. Sukmono and Dr. S. Supomo.

When Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese forces entered Indonesia in 1942, Zoetmulder was interned as a citizen of the Netherlands. He was fortunate to be allowed to bring his books and pens as a prisoner. When he was transferred to the Cimahi
Cimahi
Cimahi is a city located west of Bandung, West Java, Indonesia in the Bandung Metropolitan Area. The city is a major textile producer exporter, and is host to several military education facilities....

 prison he was able to smuggle the book of Adiparwa, edited by Dr. H. H. Juynboll, and a Javanese dictionary written by Gericke-Roorda. Zoetmulder attempted to study the linguistics of old Javanese through this book. His study of old Javanese grammar
Grammar
In linguistics, grammar is the set of structural rules that govern the composition of clauses, phrases, and words in any given natural language. The term refers also to the study of such rules, and this field includes morphology, syntax, and phonology, often complemented by phonetics, semantics,...

 was eventually published in Dutch in 1954 ("De Taal van het Adiparwa") and in Indonesian in 1950 ("Bahasa Parwa") with the help of I. R. Pedjawijatna. This book eventually was adopted as the basic textbook for the study of old Javanese.

During the Indonesian National Revolution
Indonesian National Revolution
The Indonesian National Revolution or Indonesian War of Independence was an armed conflict and diplomatic struggle between Indonesia and the Dutch Empire, and an internal social revolution...

 he was nearly killed by an Indonesian freedom fighter due to his Dutch complexion while he was at the Kemetiran Residence, Yogyakarta. Fortunately, a Javanese man defended him and claimed that he was a "holy man."

Academic career

After escaping the Baros internment in 1945, he began to teach at the Gadjah Mada University. Five years later he was made a Distinguished Permanent Professor of Pedagogic Literature at the same university, by a mandate from the Minister of Education and Culture. At this time he relinquished his former citizenship. His daily work was increased by his role as a representative of the Dean of the Literature Department Prof. Dr. R. M. Ng. Poerbatjaraka, who was spending most of his time in Jakarta. In addition, he was teaching Old Javanese in the Yogyakarta area.

When he first started lecturing, Zoetmulder used Javanese. However, he then came to realize that many students came from outside of Java and hence did not speak Javanese fluently. In order to make the study easier, he wanted to write a dictionary of old Javanese, starting his work in 1950. In the beginning he was convinced that he would be able to do it in 10 years, but in reality he would take longer to finish the dictionary. He also wrote a compendium entitled "Sekar Sumawur: Bunga rampai bahasa Djawa Kuno".

His book "Kalangwan" containing an account of old Javanese belles lettres and writers, was published in 1974, to be followed by the "Old Javanese-English Dictionary" in 1982. He admitted difficulty in writing due to his having to collect his material from microfilm located at the University of Leiden.

Death

Prof. Zoetmulder died on July 8, 1995 at the priest residence in Kemetiran, Yogyakarta. He was buried at the church cemetery in Muntilan
Muntilan
Muntilan is a town in Central Java, on the old railway route to Magelang, and on the recent route of tourists on their way to Borobudur.It is the main market town along the western slopes of Mount Merapi volcano in central Java, within the administrative ambit of the regional government in...

, Magelang, Central Java.

Personal Life

Zoetmulder was an avid reader, and liked to play the violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....

. He considered himself Indonesian, or more specifically Javanese. "God had placed my heart in Indonesia. My residence has been decided to be here," he said. On March 3, 1951, he was naturalized as an Indonesian citizen. He enjoyed his stay at Kemetiran, which is said to be compatible with his feeling of being Javanese. He had resided there for nine years.

Father Zoet was a fan of Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...

 and Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...

. In addition to his religious and scientific textbooks, he also devoured volumes of novels and poetry, and detective series. It was said that he owned more than 1,000 detective books in his room, including those written by Ngaio Marsh
Ngaio Marsh
Dame Ngaio Marsh DBE , born Edith Ngaio Marsh, was a New Zealand crime writer and theatre director. There is some uncertainty over her birth date as her father neglected to register her birth until 1900...

. He was friends with detective writer John le Carré
John le Carré
David John Moore Cornwell , who writes under the name John le Carré, is an author of espionage novels. During the 1950s and the 1960s, Cornwell worked for MI5 and MI6, and began writing novels under the pseudonym "John le Carré"...

, and while staying in Bonn
Bonn
Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 25 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999....

, Germany, he received a gift directly from Le Carré himself: a popular book titled "The Spy Who Came in from the Cold
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold , by John le Carré, is a British Cold War spy novel that became famous for its portrayal of Western espionage methods as being morally inconsistent with Western democracy and values. The novel received critical acclaim at the time of its publication and became an...

"
. Le Carré's other story "A Small Town in Germany," was "inspected" by Father Zoet prior to publication.

Quotes

  • "I told them that I had come from the Netherlands myself, and yet I was able to learn it. What is most important is to have the will. Anything can be learned, nothing is difficult," retelling his argument with foreign students who felt unable to learn old Javanese.
  • "To me, being a citizen of the Netherlands or Indonesia is the same. I never missed the Netherlands... When God takes my life, I wish it to happen on Java", when asked whether he regretted giving up his former citizenship.

Books

  • 1930a - Het Land van de Profeet, Leuven
    Leuven
    Leuven is the capital of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region, Belgium...

    : Xaveriana.
  • 1930b - Mohammed de Profeet, I, In Mekka, Leuven: Xaveriana.
  • 1930c - Mohammed de Profeet, II, In Medina, Leuven: Xaveriana.
  • 1935 - Pantheïsme en Monisme in de Javaansche Soeloek-litteratuur, Nijmegen: Berkhout. (Doctoral thesis)
  • 1950 - De Taal van het Adiparwa, Bandung
    Bandung
    Bandung is the capital of West Java province in Indonesia, and the country's third largest city, and 2nd largest metropolitan area in Indonesia, with a population of 7.4 million in 2007. Located 768 metres above sea level, approximately 140 km southeast of Jakarta, Bandung has cooler...

    : Nix
  • 1951 - Cultuur Oost en West, Amsterdam
    Amsterdam
    Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...

    : Van der Peet; Djakarta: Penerbitan Dan Balai Buku Indonesia.
  • 1954 - Bahasa Parwa: Tatabahasa Djawa Kuno; bekerja sama dengan I. R. Poedjawijatna. Jilid I: Bentuk kata. Jilid II: Bentuk kalimat. Djakarta: Obor.
  • 1958-1963 - Sekar Sumawur: bunga rampai bahasa Djawa Kuno. Jilid 1: Dewamānusarāksasâdi. Jilid 2: Korawapān.d.awacarita. Djakarta: Obor.
  • 1965 - Die Religionen Indonesiens (Die Religionen der Menschheit; Bd. 5, 1), Stuttgart
    Stuttgart
    Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....

    : Kohlhammer. (With Waldemar Stöhr.)
  • 1969 - Siwaratrikalpa of mpu Tanakung. The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff. (Assisted by A. Teeuw, et al.)
  • 1974 - Kalangwan: a survey of Old Javanese literature, The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff. ISBN 902-471-674-8
  • 1982 - Old Javanese-English Dictionary, The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff. In collaboration with S. O. Robson.
  • 1983 - Kalangwan: Sastra Jawa Kuno Selayang Pandang. Jakarta
    Jakarta
    Jakarta is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Officially known as the Special Capital Territory of Jakarta, it is located on the northwest coast of Java, has an area of , and a population of 9,580,000. Jakarta is the country's economic, cultural and political centre...

    : Djambatan.
  • 1991 - Manunggaling Kawula Gusti: Pantheïsme dan Monisme dalam Sastra Suluk Jawa: Suatu Studi Filsafat. Jakarta: Gramedia. (Translated from the Dutch by Dick Hartoko.) ISBN 979-403-937-3
  • 1992-1993 - Bahasa Parwa : tatabahasa Jawa Kuna, Yogyakarta: Gadjah Mada University Press. "Bekerja sama dengan I. J. Poedjawijatna. Cetakan ulang dari edisi tahun 1954."
  • 1993 - Udyogaparwa: Teks Jawa Kuna, Jakarta: Koninklijk Instituut voor Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde (KITLV).
  • 1994-1995 - Sekar Sumawur : bunga rampai bahasa Jawa Kuna, Jilid 1: Dewamānusarāksasâdi. Jilid 2: Korawapān.d.awacarita. Yogyakarta: Gadjah Mada University Press.
  • 1995a - Pantheism and Monism in Javanese Suluk Literature: Islamic and Indian Mysticism in an Indonesian Setting, Leiden: Koninklijk Instituut voor Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde (KITLV Press). Translated from the Dutch by M. C. Ricklefs.
  • 1995b - Kamus Jawa Kuna-Indonesia; bekerja sama dengan S. O. Robson, Jakarta: Gramedia dan Instituut voor Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde (KITLV). Penerjemah: Darusuprapta dan Sumarti Suprayitna. ISBN 979-605-347-0

External links

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