A Brief History of Indonesia
Page 30
This is all official history, of course, fragments appropriated—or misappropriated perhaps—in the name of nationalism and drained of all life and colour in the process. It does little to create a real connection with the past. Few Indonesians and few foreign visitors walking down a Jalan Diponegoro in some town in Maluku or Sumatra will get any sense of the righteous prince’s character or motivations, still less the contexts of his rebellion. Indeed, all these sanctioned, sanitised dates and names can sometimes cut people off from the historical realities. The generals killed in the 30 September Movement might have hundreds of streets named in their honour, but there is no memorial to the many thousands of suspected communists who were killed in the aftermath.
But there is another kind of tangible history, one that cannot easily be corralled to meet the needs of authority. It is there when Indonesians speak of churches or flags or windows, and unknowingly use a Portuguese word to do so. It is there when they talk of the exhaust pipe of their car or the washbasin in their bathroom, and use a Dutch term for the purpose; or when they speak of thoughts and breaths and books and schedules and use Arabic words, but then use Sanskrit terms when they describe stories and colour and language, and even simple things like bread and hats. It is there in the words for ‘you’ and ‘me’ in Jakarta patois, lu and gue, which come from the Chinese Hokkien dialect. It is there in the food carts selling Chinese-style noodles and meatballs at every street corner in every town on every island in the country.
This other history is there in every single bite of Indonesian food flavoured with chilli, first brought to Southeast Asia from South America by Portuguese traders. It is there in the little offerings of petals still left by Muslim villagers at old Hindu-Buddhist temples in Java. It is there in the patterning of the hand-woven ikat cloth from Nusa Tenggara, echoing the marks of Indian fabrics shipped in centuries ago. It is there on the island of Alor, where the traditional bride price is still paid with moko drums made to the same patterns of those imported from Dong Son in Vietnam three thousand years ago.
It is there in the Islam and the Christianity and the Hinduism. It is there in the veneration of ancestral graves, and in the claims of ancestry in Majapahit or Makassar, told everywhere from tiny islands in Maluku to mountain villages in Sumatra—a web of diverse links and common threads, stretching from shore to shore, from volcano to volcano, and from island to island, binding the Archipelago together.
Further Reading
There is a vast scholarly literature on Indonesian history, as well as an intriguing array of nonacademic books. Detailed notes, explaining the key sources for each of the chapters in this book, can be found online at www.timhannigan.com, along with a complete bibliography and extensive suggestions for further reading—from florid nineteenth-century travelogues to ground-breaking works of modern anthropology. Below are recommendations for eleven essential reads for anyone looking to find out more about the history of the Archipelago, and a select bibliography listing the other important sources for this book.
The Cambridge History of Southeast Asia, edited by Nicholas Tarling. This hulking two-volume behemoth looks intimidating but is surprisingly accessible, setting Indonesia clearly in its regional context.
The Digital Atlas of Indonesian History, Robert Cribb. Available both online for free, and as a CD-ROM, this utterly brilliant resource takes maps—hundreds of them—as its starting point, and uses them to highlight all sorts of unusual aspects of Indonesian history.
A History of Modern Indonesia since c.1200, M.C. Ricklefs. Now in its fourth edition, this big book is essential reading, covering the history of the Archipelago since the arrival of Islam in formidable detail.
Indonesia: Peoples and Histories, Jean Gelman Taylor. A scholarly book with an unusually literary style, Gelman Taylor shines a light on individual lives, as well as tackling the big picture.
Nathaniel’s Nutmeg by Giles Milton, and Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded by Simon Winchester. A rare pair of pop history page-turners, these two books cook up ripping yarns from events during the colonial era, the first tackling the early years of the spice trade, and the second dealing with a very big volcano.
The Power of Prophecy: Prince Dipanagara and the end of an old order in Java, 1785-1855, Peter Carey. Nothing short of a masterpiece, this scholarly biography of the rebel prince Diponegoro doubles as a gloriously detailed social and political history of Java at the turn of the nineteenth century.
The Malay Archipelago, Alfred Russel Wallace. Victorian travel writing at its very best, full of adventure, scientific insight, and colourful snapshots of the remoter corners of the Archipelago.
A History of Modern Indonesia, Adrian Vickers. Written by a scholar with a wry eye and a sharp pen, this unusual account—not to be confused with M.C. Ricklefs’ similarly titled book—covers the turbulent twentieth century in Indonesia in fine style.
Indonesian Destinies, Theodore Friend. From the mayhem of the mid-1960s to the high drama of the fall of Suharto, this very readable book combines a scholar’s insight with a lively personal narrative.
Indonesia, Etc., Elizabeth Pisani. A wonderful introduction to modern Indonesia delivered in travelogue form by an author with an intimate knowledge of the country.
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Index
Note: Page numbers correspond to the print edition.
30 September Movement, see Gerakan Tiga-Puluh September
A
Abu al-Mafakhir 89
Aceh 62, 152–53, 225, 229, 249, 263, 268, 270–71
Act of Free Choice (West New Guinea) 222, 240, 249
Aidit, Dipa Nusantara 223, 228
Airlangga, king 48–49, 78, 107, 175
Amangkurat I, king 104
Arabs/Arab traders 61–67, 93, 120, 177, 209, 216
B
Badaruddin, sultan 121–22
Bahasa Indonesia 8, 35, 176 see also Indonesian language
Bali 22, 48, 84–85, 147, 153–54, 155–57, 161–62, 192, 202, 231–32, 240, 253, 271–72
Bali bombings 271–72
Banda Aceh 267–68
Banda Islands 90, 91, 97
Bandung 56, 113, 161, 174, 175, 177, 183, 185, 187, 193, 194, 209–10, 253
Bandung Afro–Asian Conference 209–10
Banjarmasin 145, 152, 156
Banten 80–86, 89–91, 93, 97, 118, 138, 157, 183
Batavia 91–96, 100–02, 112–15, 121, 153, 158, 159, 165, 166, 181, 188, 197, 201
Bengkulu 115, 144, 181, 189–90
Bhinneka Tunggal Ika (‘Unity in Diversity’) 243–44, 275
‘Black Portuguese’ 93, 98, 236
Bloemenkamp internment camp 187
Borneo 9–10, 29, 71, 93, 145–46, 162, 167, 183, 222, 262
Borobudur temple 43–44, 45, 161
Bosch, Johannes van den 134–35, 148
Brantas delta 47, 49, 51, 52, 53, 59, 64, 72, 172
Britain/British 86, 96, 97, 111, 121, 134, 143–44, 146, 152–53, 164, 183, 196–202, 216, 230
British occupation of Java 115–24
Brooke, James 146
Buddhism 29–30
Budi Utomo (‘the Beautiful Endeavour’) 158, 166–167, 168, 177, 276
Buleleng, Bali 147, 161
C
Celebes, see Sulawesi
; China 20, 24, 26, 33–34, 35–36, 48, 58, 63, 120, 163, 208, 224, 244, 253
Chinese (in Indonesia) 24, 25–26, 36, 39, 51, 53, 58–59, 63, 76, 94–96, 100, 114, 119, 126, 136, 144, 145, 149, 153, 156, 165, 169, 173, 177, 188, 220, 232, 245, 252, 256, 258, 262
anti-Chinese pogrom 95
Christianity 149, 204, 219, 263, 269
class see social stratification
Coen, Jan Pieterszoon 87–91, 92–93, 94, 96, 97, 101, 159
communism 172, 205, 219, 224, 228, 243
Compagnie van Verre (‘Long Distance Company’) 82, 85
constitution of Indonesia 194, 197, 199, 211–12, 220, 221, 270
Cook, Captain James 97–99
Cultivation System 133, 135–40, 154, 209
D
Daendels, Herman Willem 111–14, 116, 118, 119, 125, 126, 132, 134, 135
Dahlan, Ahmad 167
Darul Islam (political organization) 218, 249
Dayak people 10, 145, 146, 176, 262–63
De Grote Postweg (‘Great Post Road’) 114
Demak 76–77, 80, 84
Dieng Plateau 39–40, 131
Dili 151, 235–36, 247, 266
Dili massacre 247–48, 266
Diponegoro, prince Pangeran Aria 124–30
Douwes Dekker, Eduard 138–40, 169, 170–71, 172, 174
Douwes Dekker, Ernest François Eugène 169, 170
DPR (People’s Representative Council) 212, 241
Dutch East Indies 119, 126, 131–58, 162, 169–72
E
East Timor 235–37, 246–49, 250, 252, 264–66