FROM “SONG OF WAR” TO “song OF PEACE”: THE ROLE OF HIKAYAT PRANG SABI FOR ACEHNESE ETHNONATIONALISM

Abstract

Hikayat Prang Sabi (HPS) was written in 1881 to raise the spirit of jihad and Acehnese Ethnonationalism against Dutch colonialism (1873–1942). In the war between the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and the Indonesian government (1976–2005), the HPS was famous as a song of war and had four potential functions that led to the emergence of ethnonationalism and an ethnic revival. After the 2005 peace agreement, the meaning of HPS changed to a song of peace in line with the changing definition of the concept of jihad and Acehnese Ethnonationalism. Interviews and library research argue that this transformation occurred as a result of the Acehnese conflict history and the irrelevance of weapons during war in the modern era. Although times have changed, the HPS, as an ethnonationalism anthem, has many meanings, and its use remains relevant as both a war song and a peace song.