Dutch Cultural Heritage in Indonesia: Jakarta & Bandung Revisited

By: Peter van Riel

Dutchman Emile Leushuis' recent book 'Guide Historic City Tours in Indonesia 'isa must have for wanderers. Through practical composition and design, the book is an ideal tool to search for physical traces of the colonial era. The book presents walking trails in several Indonesian cities. We chose Jakarta and Bandung, the two largest cities with colonial buildings.

An almost sad feeling comes over you at a first sight at the ruins along the Kali Besar in Jakarta, the former Molenvliet. Bats, mold, vermin and vagrants have taken possession of the premises, often 19th century buildings with details that suggest long gone beauty.

Ornaments and inscriptions leave little to guess about how the former Handels Maintz & Co looked in full glory, when the canals were still clean and tidy. Not far away are the remains of the Dutch-Indies Handelsch Bank. Again in a deplorable state of preservation. The properties of Ghijsels virtually collapsed in 2008 during, sometimes caused by construction works of a large nearby hotel.

Pulau Pari @ Pulau Seribu: The Island of the Refugees

By: Putri Fitria

Pulau Pari is one of the islands of the Pulau Seribu archipelago, located a stone's throw away from Jakarta. Pulau Pari is one of the more quiet islands, which made it my first option for a visit. Although the kapal kayu (a wooden fisherman's boat) I rode on the way there was full, the amount of tourists on Pari Island seemed sparse compared to other more popular islands of Pulau Seribu.

Pari, the Island of the Refugees

The boat ride from Jakarta's Muara Angke harbor took an hour and a half. The boat dock at Pari Island, which was recently expanded, was nothing out of ordinary. But walking a little bit to the east, the white shore of Perawan Beach did look mesmerizing. This beach has only been a tourist destination for a year. It is called Perawan (meaning virgin), they say because the native people had to work very hard to open the route to get there. “The plants were high and sharp. It was so difficult to ‘get in’, thus the name Perawan,” shared a woman who sold coconuts, with a grin.

Laos Independence Day

Laos' Independence Day is celebrated on July 19, marking the autonomy, or independence, from the French Union in 1949; This day is not to be confused with National Day on December 2, when the proclamation of the Lao People's Democratic Republic in 1975, is celebrated (confusingly sometimes also referred to as independence day).

Laos traces its history to the Kingdom which existed from the 14th to the 18th century, after which it split into three separate kingdoms. In 1893, Laos became a French protectorate. It briefly gained independence in 1945 after Japanese occupation, but returned to French rule until it was granted autonomy in 1949.

Laos became independent in 1953, with a constitutional monarchy under Sisavang Vong. Shortly after independence, a long civil war ended the monarchy, when the Communist Pathet Lao movement came to power in 1975.

Expect to see plenty of flags, parades and speeches on independence day, but not a lot of public festivities.

East Timor Independence Day

East Timor Independence Day is celebrated on the 20th of May every year. This important day marks the independence won by Timor Leste from Indonesian rule in 2002. The day is also referred to as the Independence Restoration Day of Timor Leste.

East Timor's Steep Road to Independence

East Timor is one of the world’s newest and poorest states, located at the eastern tip of the island of Timor. The country was colonized by Portugal (in the 16th century), but declared its independence in 1975. East Timor was subsequently invaded by Indonesia, and ruled as Indonesia’s 27th province. East Timor is the youngest state in Southeast Asia and became the first new sovereign state of the 21st century on May 20, 2002. East Timor is one of the only two Roman Catholic Southeast Asian countries, the other being the Philippines. The country continues to suffer the aftereffects of a decades-long independence struggle against Indonesia, which damaged infrastructure and displaced thousands of civilians. To read more about Timor's struggle for independence, please read Ed Caffin's Timor Leste: a Country Colonized and Neglected.

Independence Day Cambodia

November 9th marks a very special date for all Cambodians: Independence Day! Cambodia achieved independence from France in 1953. A carnival atmosphere takes over the country spreading joy to each and every city. After winning over its independence from France, the country was transformed into a constitutional monarchy under King Norodom Sihanouk. The Cambodian government lost the Mekong Delta to Vietnam upon independence.

During the month of November leading up to the Independence Day special events and preperations take over daily life and there is an apparent buzz about the main territories and city areas of Cambodia.

Indonesian Independence Day

By: Emma Kwee

August 17 is Indonesia's biggest day of the year: Independence day. This day marks the celebration of Indonesia’s independence from the Dutch.

On Friday 10:00 AM, August 17, 1945 the official proclamation was made to the world by first president Sukarno and Hatta (only to be denied by the Dutch, who soon returned to 'restore order'). It took 4 more years to defeat the Dutch. Read more about Indonesia's struggle to independence in this wonderful piece written in 2010 by Ed Caffin 'Merdeka, 65 Years of Indonesian Independence.

August 17th is a joyous occasion for all Indonesians. The nation is decorated in red and white and festivals, parades, games and entertainment will get everybody out on the streets.

Dutchman ‘Van Dis in Indonesië:’ A Critical & Personal View on Indonesia

By: Yvette Benningshof

The Dutch tv series Van Dis in Indonesië featured the well known writer Adriaan van Dis, traveling through Indonesië in search of his roots, traces of the Dutch and the shared history between Indonesia and the Netherlands. With his own complex family history as a leading thread, he travels through Java, Bali, Maluku and Sumatra. He talks with a colorful cast of people: writers, a bakso seller, a miljonair, a sultan and the son of Sukarno, the first president of Indonesia.

Best of all: All episodes are available online, so Indonesians and other international viewers can also watch this series!

Wanted: Dutch Expats for Research on Expat Life in Post-Colonial Indonesia

Hello Latitudes.nu readers. My name is Yannick Wassmer, and I am a 24-year old 'Dutch' student. I'm currently finishing my masters degree in Intercultural Communication at the University of Utrecht. At the moment I'm doing an internship at Fortune PR in Jakarta. My Indonsian roots (grandparents of both sides are Indonesian), sparked my interest in this country.

For my master-thesis I want to conduct a research on the life of Dutch expats in Indonesia with a special focus on the post-colonial context in which it takes place. To be more precise: I want to research to what extent the colonial past is of influence on the lifes of Dutch expats in Indonesia. Do Dutch expats notice any aspects of this shared past in their day to day activities and interactions with Indonesians?

Taru Martani: A Story of Cigars and Indonesia

By: Reza Daffi

While its liking of cigarettes is no longer a secret, the fact that Indonesia produces (and consumes) cigars remains less renowned. One of the country’s cigar factories is located in Yogyakarta, called Taru Martani. As a venture that has managed to survive after decades, Taru Martani has become part of Indonesian history.

How Indonesia Caught Smoking

The habit of “ngobong congor” (burning one’s mouth, Javanese slang for smoking) was already practiced in Java since at least early in the 17th century. A Javanese manuscript from 1601, Babad Ing Sangkal, noted that people began to smoke after the death of Panembahan Senapati, the founder of the Mataram Sultanate of which Yogyakarta was part. It is possible that they were introduced to tobacco by the Dutch who had come in 1596 under the explorer Cornelis de Houtman. By this time, smoking was already common across Europe, tobacco having been imported by Christopher Columbus’ crew from the Caribbean years before.

The Dutch, however, played an important role in spreading smoking in Indonesia. The fact that the Indonesian word rokok (meaning, cigarettes) is derived from the Dutch word roken (to smoke) provides evidence.

The Winding Story of Tea in Indonesia

By: Jacobus E. Lato

Tea has been a traditional beverage for Indonesians for over 200 years, particularly among village women. Men tend to prefer black coffee; enjoying its taste mingling with the aromatic blend of a kretek cigarette, before starting their daily routines early in the morning. The serving process runs smoothly almost like a traditional rite; early in the morning and in the evening alike.

An old woman in Solo in her early 80s told me once;  “When I was a child, my mother always served tea. We had to drink tea before starting our activities in the morning.” Her past and joyful vivid memory seemed to have lived on in her life, as witnessed by her automatic and ritualistic current practice of serving tea: “Until now I always drink tea, as well as my children with their own family members. It is healthy as well,” the lady told me and then recalled her husband as the best man anyone could wish for, preventing her to ever get married again. Her husband passed away when she was not even forty yet.  “My marriage was great and there is and will not be no one like “him” in my life,” she proudly told me.

Actually I wasn’t aware of how our random conversation brought us into intimate family affairs. Later on I realized, the lady was possibly triggered by the advertisement that was running on television at the time. On the screen the tea was served; ending up the family conflict; it supposedly improved their communication as well as avoid any miss-communication.