1923–30), best known by the pen name Joehana ([juˈhana]; Perfected Spelling: Yuhana), was an author from the Dutch East Indies who wrote in Sundanese.
Stylistically, Joehana has been classified as a realist owing to his use of the names of actual locations and products in his works, as well as the predominantly vernacular Sundanese in his novels.
It is uncertain when Akhmad Bassah was born, though he is thought to have been raised in Bandung, western Java, where he graduated from a Meer Uitgebreid Lager Onderwijs.
Bassah spent time working on the state-operated railroad, apparently rising to a fairly high position, but was fired for organizing a strike of the Union of Train and Tramway Personnel.
He was an active member of the Sarekat Rakyat (People's Union), an organization with communist leanings, and helped that group in its mission of social service.
One of his students, Abdullah Syafi'i Sukandi, recalled that Nangis Wibisana (The Tears of Wibisana) had been written when the dangding (a traditional lyrical form) Tjeurik Oma (Oma's Cry) was popular, whereas Goenoeng Gelenjoe (The Smiling Mountain) had been written during a period of increased interest in humorous anecdotes.
Joehana used real-life Bandung locations in his novels, and local figures prominent in the news (such as the pickpocket Salim) are mentioned in passing.
[17] In Tjarios Agan Permas, for instance, Hajji Serbanna displays his hypocrisy by damning usury as haraam (sinful) while charging high interest rates for a loan, and refuses to complete the mandatory prayers because he is waiting on a guest bearing large gifts.
[26] Although Joehana rejects forced marriage—a common practice among the Sundanese in the early 20th century—and promotes the idea of marriage for love, he also warns against the dangers of overly free interactions between men and women.
[27] Both Moegiri and Neng Jaja, meanwhile, dealt with young women who were overly free in their interactions with men, and thus faced a sorrowful fate: divorce, abuse, and infidelity.
His Rasiah nu Goreng Patut, for instance, was adapted into a variety of forms, including as a Malay-language lenong,[1] and a stage performance of Tjarios Eulis Atjih is recorded in Ciamis.
[30] The second, generally referred to as Karnadi Anemer Bangkong, was adapted from Rasiah nu Goreng Patut by Krugers and released in the early 1930s; it is known to have been a commercial failure, reportedly raising controversy for depicting a Muslim man eating frog meat.
[32] Stage performances of Rasiah nu Goreng Patut continued as late as 1980, though by that time the work was considered by the general public as part of folklore.
[17] This renewal began with the republication of two of his works: Rasiah nu Goreng Patut in 1963 as a standalone book by Kiwari, and Moegiri as a serial beginning with the 15 October 1965 edition of Sunda magazine.
[f][g][34] Rosidi, that magazine's editor, included discussion of Joehana in his 1966 book Kesusastraan Sunda Dewasa Ini (Contemporary Sundanese Literature).
Sumardjo writes that his greatest weakness was a lack of in-depth exploration of characters' psyches, as well as a tendency to include an unclear social background.