Indonesia Raya

"" (; "Great Indonesia") is the national anthem of Indonesia. It has been the national anthem since the Proclamation of Indonesian Independence on 17 August 1945. The song was introduced by its composer, Wage Rudolf Supratman, on 28 October 1928 during the Youth Pledge in Jakarta. The song marked the birth of the all-archipelago nationalist movement in Indonesia that supported the idea of one single "Indonesia" as successor to the Dutch East Indies, rather than split into several colonies. The first newspaper to openly publish the musical notation and lyrics of "Indonesia Raya" — an act of defiance towards the Dutch authorities — was the Chinese Indonesian weekly ''Sin Po (newspaper)''.

The first stanza of "Indonesia Raya" was chosen as the national anthem when Indonesia proclaimed its independence on 17 August 1945. Jozef Cleber, a Dutch composer, created an arrangement of the tune for philharmonic orchestra in on August 17, 1950 AD when the island of Sumatra became an integral part of the Republic of Indonesia. This arrangement is widely used.

"Indonesia Raya" is played in flag raising ceremonies in schools across Indonesia every Monday. The flag is raised in a solemn and timed motion so that it reaches the top of the flagpole as the anthem ends. The main flag raising ceremony is held annually on 17 August to commemorate Independence day. The ceremony is led by the President of Indonesia and is usually held in Merdeka Palace.

During the rendition or singing of the national anthem, all present should stand, face toward the music, and pay respect. Members of the Armed Forces, and other persons in uniform (e.g. secondary school students) must render the military salute.

History

Indonesian Youth Congress

When he lived in Jakarta, Soepratman read an essay from ''Timbul'' magazine. The essay author challenged Indonesian music experts to compose Indonesian national anthem. Soepratman – who was also a musician – felt challenged, and started composing. In 1924, the song was completed during his time in Bandung and entitled "Indonesia".

In 1928, youths from across Indonesia held the first Indonesian Youth Congress, an official meeting to push for the independence of the nation. Upon hearing about the efforts, young reporter Wage Rudolf Soepratman contacted the organizers of Congress with the intention of reporting the story, but they requested that he not publish the story from fear of Dutch colonial authorities. The organizers wanted to avoid suspicion so that the Dutch would not ban the event. Supratman promised them this, and the organizers allowed him free access to the event. Supratman was inspired by the meetings and intended to play the song for the conference. After receiving encouragement from the conference leader Sugondo Djojopuspito, Soepratman played the song on the violin, hoping that it would someday become their national anthem. Soepratman first performed ''Indonesia'' on the violin on 28 October 1928 during the Second Indonesian Youth Congress. He kept the script to himself because he felt that it was not the appropriate time to announce it.

Distribution

Following the Second Youth Congress, the text of ''Indonesia'' was distributed by many political and student organisations. The press also played a key role in the publication of the song. On 7 November 1928, the ''Soeloeh Ra'jat Indonesia'' daily published the words to the song. This was followed by the ''Sin Po'' Chinese weekly on 10 November. In 1929, Wage Rudolf Supratman changed the title of his song to "Indonesia Raya" and appended the phrase ''"national anthem of Indonesia"'' below it, but the text of the song did not change. Soepratman personally printed and distributed copies of the song with its new title through pamphlets. All one thousand copies of the manuscript were sold within a short amount of time to his friends and family.

That same year, the prominent Indonesian businessman and record executive Tio Tek Hong contacted Supratman; the two agreed to issue the first records of the anthem, with Supratman retaining copyright over it. The new records were extremely popular, but in 1930 the Dutch colonial authorities placed a ban on the song and confiscated all remaining unsold records.

A businessman friend of his, Yo Kim Tjan, also expressed interest in recording "Indonesia Raya". With Soepratman's consent, Yo created a copy of the song on a gramophone record overseas to obtain the best sound quality with the intention of bringing the copy back to Indonesia. However, before Yo was able to do so, Dutch colonial authorities had imposed a ban on the song. Yo was unable to bring the original back but was able to bring home a copy. According to Yo, Soepratman had also given him the rights to sell record copies of "Indonesia Raya" through his store Toko Populair.

Orchestration

Initially, there had been no orchestral version of the anthem. Thus in 1950, The Indonesian Government made an appeal to Jozef Cleber to compose a symphonic rendition of "Indonesia Raya".

The 1951 record was recorded by the Victorian Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Addie MS.

Ownership

In 1951, ownership of the copyright to "Indonesia Raya" came into question. President Sukarno ordered a search for the rightful heir to Soepratman. By law, Supratman was the copyright holder of "Indonesia Raya" as its composer. After Soepratman's death in 1938, ownership of the rights to his works fell upon the designated heirs, his four surviving sisters. However, because "Indonesia Raya" was officially adopted as the national anthem of Indonesia on 17 August 1945, the work became the property of the state. In addition, the name of "Wage Rudolf Supratman" must be listed as its creator.

As a national anthem, copies of "Indonesia Raya" cannot be circulated as merchandise to be sold. Consequently, the government had the obligation to obtain all the rights to distribute the song, including the original recording, from Yo Kim Tjan. In 1958, the government obtained the sole right to "Indonesia Raya" from Soepratman's family. The following year, Yo handed the original record of the song to the Indonesian government. With the recommendation of the Department of Education, the government also rewarded Soepratman's sisters with 250,000 Indonesian rupiah each on 31 May 1960.

Legal basis

As stipulated by Chapter XV, Article 36B of the Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia, Indonesia Raya is the national anthem of Indonesia. Furthermore, pursuant to 1958 State Gazette no. 44, only the first stanza of Indonesia Raya is to serve the function of a national anthem.

Lyrics

There is no official translation of "Indonesia Raya" into other languages. On 28 October 1953, on the 25th anniversary of the anthem, the ''Harian Umum'' daily published their own English, German, and Dutch translations of the song. A bulletin released by the Ministry of Information used these translations. Currently, however, the translations are no longer published.

See also

* Bangun Pemudi-Pemuda

Notes

References

*
*
*

External links

Official version of the National anthem of Indonesia

Download National Anthem of Indonesia 2017 Rendition by GBN National Youth Orchestra & Choir, .mp3 or .wav

Download Partiture / Musical Notation Sheet of INDONESIA RAYA 2017 Rendition, .pdf

Streaming audio, lyrics and information for and about 'Indonesia Raya'

Music Video
– An Amazing HD Version of Indonesian National Anthem, hosted on YouTube

Indonesia Raya 1945
– A World War II era reel that shows the full length song, also hosted on YouTube

Indonesia Raya during the Commemoration of the Anniversary of the Indonesian Armed Forces

{{Authority control

National anthems
National symbols of Indonesia
Asian anthems
Indonesian patriotic songs
Articles containing video clips
National anthem compositions in G major