Tjerita Si Tjonat

Tjerita Si Tjonat

Cover, first edition
Author	F.D.J. Pangemanann
Country	Dutch East Indies
Language	Vernacular Malay
Genre	Bandit
Publisher	Tjoe Toei Yang
Pages	126
OCLC	35197577

Tjerita Si Tjonat, Sato Kepala Penjamoen di Djaman Dahoeloe Kala (also known as Tjerita Si Tjonat; Perfected Spelling Cerita Si Tjonat) is a 1900 novel written by the journalist F.D.J. Pangemanann. One of numerous bandit stories from the contemporary Indies, it follows the rise and fall of Tjonat, from his first murder at the age of thirteen until his execution some twenty-five years later. The novel's style, according to Malaysian scholar Abdul Wahab Ali, is indicative of a transitional period between orality and written literature. Tjerita Si Tjonat has been adapted to the stage multiple times, and in 1929 a film version was made.

Thirteen-year-old Tjonat, the spoiled son of a village chief, is chased out of his hometown after he is caught stealing his father's expensive batik shirt. Having no money and only a single torn pair of pants, Tjonat kills an 8-year-old boy to steal his buffalo. With the help of his elder mentor, Gondit, Tjonat sells the buffalo at a distant market. However, Gondit is unwilling to give Tjonat his share of the money until they reach Batavia (now Jakarta). Suspicious, Tjonat prepares a sharpened bamboo tip. When Gondit tries to kill him, Tjonat stabs him in the stomach with the bamboo and steals all of his money. He then goes to Batavia on his own.

Ten years have passed, and Tjonat has worked a variety of jobs under various names. However, he was often fired for stealing. Now he serves as a manservant for a rich Dutchman named Opmeijer. Using his charms, Tjonat woos Opmeijer's njai (concubine), Saipa, and convinces her to elope with him and take their master's possessions. The two make their way to Saipa's hometown and marry. However, theirs is an unhappy relationship and, after several years, Tjonat stops supporting his wife and returning home, instead choosing to spend his time as a robber. After asking for a divorce, Saipa prepares to marry a fellow villager. However, in a fit of rage Tjonat returns to their home and kills Saipa.

Tjonat, by now the leader of a gang of bandits, turns his attention to Lie Gouw Nio, the daughter of a peranakan Chinese farmer. However, Gouw Nio is already betrothed to Tio Sing Sang. After an attempt to furtively kidnap her fails, Tjonat and his gang launch an assault on the Lies' farmstead. The family is able to escape, and Lie Gouw Nio is sent to Batavia to stay with her future in-laws. In an attempt to eliminate the competition, several weeks later Tjonat and his gang invade Tio Sing Sang's home, killing his grandfather Keng Bo and injuring the youth.