Kawin Lari from a Modern Perspective: The Representation of Lombok in the Novel Bisikan Tetesan Hujan

The background of this article is the centrality of eloping in the culture of Sasak Lombok. That centrality then forces novelists from there to raise the issue of Sasak eloping in Indonesian literature. This article discusses the representation of kawin lari (elopement) in Johan Mahyudi's novel Bisikan Tetesan Hujan. It seeks to explain the position of kawin lari, as a tradition of Lombok's Sasak people, within Indonesian literary discourse. This article thus applies Stuart Hall's theory of representation, combining semiotic and discursive approaches. Data from the novel were analyzed using semiotics, with discourse analysis being used to position kawin lari within its cultural context. Kawin lari is presented in the novel from a modern perspective, being positioned as a tradition that shackles and encumbers women—and therefore victimizes them. Salwa, a victim of kawin lari, attempts to leave her husband, Wawan, in order to pursue her true love. This novel thus offers a construction of Sasak women who are capable of challenging and even rejecting tradition. Despite turning to magical means, Wawan fails to convince Salwa to return to him; the magical is subjugated by the realist and the modern.