Types of violence in the novel Di Bawah Bayang-Bayang Ode by Sumiman Udu: Johan Galtung's perspective

Abstract

This study aims to describe the typology of violence in Sumiman Udu’s novel Di Bawah Bayang-Bayang Ode from Johan Galtung’s perspective. A descriptive qualitative approach was employed, with data consisting of textual units representing violence in the narrative. Data were collected through reading and note-taking techniques and then analysed through data reduction, data display, and conclusion drawing. The findings reveal that the novel represents violence as a layered system encompassing three main typologies: direct, structural, and cultural violence. Direct violence manifests in physical and non-physical forms, such as slaps, threats, and confinement, which affect the body, psyche, and dignity of Amalia Ode. Structural violence is reflected in gender inequality, family hierarchy, and nobility-based social stratification, which restrict a character’s autonomy in determining her life choices. Meanwhile, cultural violence operates through arranged marriage, homogamy, and the legitimization of custom, all of which normalize the subordination of women. These three forms of violence are hierarchically intertwined: cultural violence legitimizes inequality, structural violence sustains it, and direct violence manifests in the character’s experience. These findings confirm that custom and nobility function as mechanisms for producing suffering within the novel’s narrative.