by Multatuli
149 A Batavian newspaper has criticized me for stopping at the home of Mr. Brest van Kempen. Well, I did this at his explicit request, and it was an act of generosity on my part. The man feared rioting, and for good reason. Even in Lebak, it had taken all my influence to keep the peace, a fact to which I alluded in my last letter to the Controleur. It would have made the wrong impression if, when leaving Banten, I had given any sign of being with the Resident, and in fact this was not the case. But it would have been the case if, at that time, I had been aware of all his motives for shielding murderers and thieves from justice. As Havelaar shows, I suspected him of no more than a sense of duty distorted by habit, of the kind I had encountered at every turn for years. Later, however, I discovered that in this particular case, the desire to respect the “spirit of the government” went hand in hand with another motive, of a much baser kind . . . of the very basest kind! I do not care to speak of it at this time. Perhaps former Minister of Colonies Hasselman would be willing to provide inquisitive readers with further details. This official—one of my predecessors in Lebak—can attest to whether I deserve the charge of “exaggeration” in my account of the circumstances in the province. He will acknowledge that I understate the truth.
150 I said this to Van Twist himself in my “Brief aan den Gouverneur-generaal in-ruste” (“Letter to the Retired Governor-General”). It is true that he was deceived, but what turned out to be unfounded was my good-natured assumption that he was an honest man. An honest man tries to redress the wrongs for which he is responsible, but V. T. has never shown the slightest inclination to do so. On the contrary! It was he who came up with the diabolical plan to use my “fine writing” as a pretext to silence my accusations.
151 He has not done so. I think that after fifteen years’ wait, we may regard my version as correct.
152 And yet—a spokesperson on Indies affairs! And yet—a Liberal! And yet—a member of the Dutch Senate! And yet—an honorary chairman of Mettray Orphanage! And yet—“highly esteemed” in the rectitudinous, God-graced Netherlands! Time and again people ask me for a “program” of the governmental kind, and some believe they have grounds for displeasure because I, making bitter remarks, have not yet put forward any such program. Oh, my dears, what program is possible in conditions such as ours other than the tip I offered on the last page of Pruisen en Nederland (“Prussia and the Netherlands”)? Laws and regulations count for nothing as long as they are enforced and implemented by villains. Here, too, there is much to be learned from the incident in an audience with the Russian czar described in a quote in the first edition of my pamphlet “Free Labor,” 1873 edition, p. 137.
153 See also pp. 294–296, as well as the note on the word “amok” on p. 338. Must all the horrors of Cawnpore be repeated in our beloved Insulindia? And what possible response, other than outbursts of rage, will ultimately remain to the long downtrodden, and consequently demoralized, Javanese? On what country estate will the Van Twists reside then, they who are to blame for the fury foretold in Sentot’s Curse?
154 Ministers with heaps of business: Included are those who owed their elevation to the “stir” caused by Havelaar. Soon after the book was published, a money-grubber from the Indies became the minister of colonies. He was going to see to it that “stories like Saijah’s would be impossibilities from then on”! How did he pursue this lofty aim, you ask? I do not know. Nobody knows. Instead, his gift to the nation was the sweet little war at the northern tip of Sumatra.
155 These last two sentences were added later. I must admit I didn’t realize, in 1859, that the clique referred to here would sing my praises. But I might have known. It’s only natural that when you cry, “Stop, thief!” it’s the crooks who join in most vociferously.
156 And indeed, no refutation has ever been attempted. With one exception—addressed in note 122—no one has ever dared to openly question a single fact stated in Havelaar.
157 Not any longer, voters! I would feel extremely out of place in your house of Parliament, face to face with your ministers!
158 Even now, Van Twist is known to his fellow landowners—regardless of their so-called political color—as a man of great distinction. He takes part in discussions of Indies affairs, not merely as if he were beyond reproach, but as if he were a leading expert and authority. And the nation does not protest!
159 People of the Netherlands, this truly happened! This blow to the reputation of your navy was a disgrace to your government in the Indies, and this low contrivance can be credited to that same exalted viceroy who had no time to hear what Havelaar had to say.
160 Here at last is the line elevated to an epigram in the title of this book. How sad it is to write for readers who need everything explained to them.
161 I have yet to receive an answer to the two questions with which this book closes. The King is probably occupied with weightier matters than doing justice and holding on to Insulindia for the Netherlands. I will send H.M. a copy of this new edition, and pending greater success—like my friend Chresos from Love Letters, but always under protest—will spin yarns for a public that cannot read. After all, if it were otherwise, the nation would have demanded justice in the Havelaar affair!
According to the latest news from the Indies, Lebak is a wasteland. Entire villages have died out.
Nieder-Ingelheim,
August 1881.
*Translators’ note: The first edition of Max Havelaar was edited by Jacob van Lennep, a towering figure in nineteenth-century Dutch letters. Van Lennep championed the manuscript and secured its publication in 1860, but in a small luxury edition rather than the mass-market edition that Douwes Dekker had hoped for, and with some place-names and personal names redacted. Douwes Dekker subsequently became embroiled in a legal dispute with Van Lennep over the copyright. The redacted names were included in full in later editions, but Van Lennep’s other editorial changes (such as his chapter divisions) were largely retained.
†The brave Acehnese who defend their country are now accused of harboring “ill will.”
‡Now that’s what I call a memoir! Yet considering that book’s undeniable value, it’s unfortunate that the author believed—how shall I put it?—God preserve me from scandalmongering, but a reader who understands human nature will sense, when reading the biographies of the two Van Lenneps, that the occasional episode has been left out. As grateful as I am for the valuable contributions to our knowledge of the mores of those days, the dazzling immaculacy of the two goody-goodies to whom the author owes his existence is a strain on the eyes. And strangest of all, Jacob van Lennep himself was not a goody-goody and had no interest in being one. So I suppose the aforementioned gaps must be concessions to the tastes and demands of certain readers, whose influence Mr. Jacob v.L. was—regrettably!—never able to escape. It was just the same kind of timidity that kept him from sticking to his original intention of pursuing the Havelaar case.
§Especially the second one, Nogeens Vrye-arbeid (“Once Again Free Labor”), published in Delft by J. Waltman Jr.
‖For the tenth time, I call on the “retired Indies army officer” who branded this claim an “untruth” in the Nieuwe Rotterdamsche Courant to retract his libel.
GLOSSARY
Glossary of Titles and Foreign Words
Malay and other foreign terms found only in Multatuli’s notes are usually explained there and therefore not included in this glossary. Words glossed or explained adequately in the main text are not always included either. Some words in these definitions, such as “native,” reflect the colonial Dutch social system described in the book; we acknowledge and emphasize that these are not neutral descriptive terms, but are linked to the political and racial ideology of that system. We are indebted to the SEAlang Library’s online Indonesian dictionary at sealang.net for supplying or confirming many of the definitions here. Any errors are our own.
—INA RILKE and DAVID McKAY
adipati ruler, noble title superior to tumenggung
assistant
resident the Dutch colonial official governing a regency (with the native regent)
alang-alang Imperata cylindrica, jungle grass
alun-alun forecourt to the house of a regent or district chief
babu native nanny
bajing Callosciurus notatus, plaintain squirrel
balai-balai bamboo cot
baren Dutch plural of baar, a mocking term for a newcomer to the Indies
batik dyeing method for producing colorful designs on cloth
bingung upset, confused, perplexed
controleur title for various Dutch colonial officials; in particular, the deputy administrator of a regency under the Assistant Resident
datu sovereign, monarch, king (obsolete); used by Multatuli as a term for a native chief
demang district chief
désa village
galangan dike around a rice field (according to Multatuli)
gambier an extract of the leaves of Uncaria gambir, used in betel chewing
garam gelap bootleg salt
gogo nonirrigated rice field
governor-general the head of the Colonial Administration in the Dutch East Indies
ikat-pending clasp for a belt or waistband
Insulindia term for the islands of Southeast Asia, used by Multatuli to refer to the Dutch East Indies
jaksa native public prosecutor
jati Tectona grandis, teak
jimat amulet, talisman, charm
juffrouw a mid-nineteenth-century Dutch form of address for a middle-class woman, regardless of marital status
kain a length of cloth, or a sarong or similar garment
kampung hamlet or village
kancil mouse deer
kapok the fiber of the kapok tree, Ceiba pentandra
kelambu mosquito net; Multatuli describes this as a curtain
keléwang type of short sword
kemit unpaid guard or servant (according to Multatuli)
kenari kenari-nut tree, Canarium commune
kendang enclosure surrounded by stakes (according to Multatuli)
kepala head, name for one end of a sarong
ketapang Terminalia catappa, known in the region as Singapore almond
ketimun gherkins, pickled cucumbers
kidang medium-sized deer
kliwon hamlet chief; Multatuli describes this native official as an intermediary between the Colonial Administration and the village chiefs
kondé chignon, knot of hair at the back of the head
kraton palace, noble estate
kris traditional Javanese dagger (“kris” is the traditional English spelling; the modern Indonesian spelling is keris)
mantri title for various low-level native officials; Multatuli describes one such official as an “overseer”
mata gelap to run amok, go berserk
mata-api fire-eye(s), fiery eye(s); used by Multatuli as an affectionate term for a particular person
mevrouw a mid-nineteenth-century Dutch form of address for an upper-class woman, regardless of marital status
New Holland a name for what is now Australia, already old-fashioned in Multatuli’s day
orang gunung mountain person/people; used by Multatuli for the inhabitants of the mountains of western Java
paddy rice in the husk, rice plant; padi in modern Indonesian spelling
Padris Acehnese people
pancen unpaid guard or servant
pangéran prince
patih a native official of intermediate rank
payung sunshade or parasol, sometimes indicative of rank
pedati two-wheeled horse- or ox-drawn cart
pelita lamp
pendopo an open pavilion supported by posts
pinang areca nut
pisang banana
pukul empat Mirabilis jalapa, four o’clock flower
pusaka heirloom or inheritance from one’s ancestors
pusing at a loss, dizzy, giddy, having a headache
regency subdivision of a residency
regent the native leader governing a regency (with the Dutch Assistant Resident)
residency large administrative region of the Dutch East Indies
Resident the Dutch colonial official governing a residency
sambal spicy sauce or paste; Multatuli uses the plural sambal-sambal to refer to side dishes
sarong length of fabric traditionally worn as a garment in Java
sawah irrigated rice field, rice-growing area
selamat an expression of good wishes, used in various greetings
séwah type of dagger
si upi keteh literally “little young lady” or “little miss”; used by Multatuli to refer to a particular young woman
sinyo title meaning “young master,” used by native servants for Europeans
sirih betel leaf
Solo another name for Surakarta
susuhunan title of the ruler of Surakarta
tamtam type of gong
tipar dry rice field
tuan respectful form of address
tudung head covering; Multatuli uses this word for a woven hat in the shape of a large round dish
tumenggung ruler, noble title inferior to adipati
user-useran crown of the head; Multatuli uses this word for the whorls of hair on the crown, and by extension those on a buffalo’s hindquarters. Certain patterns were said to predict good fortune.
waringin banyan (or a closely related species), a sacred tree and symbol of justice
Yogya an abbreviated name for Yogyakarta
CHRONOLOGY
1820 Eduard Douwes Dekker (Multatuli) is born in Amsterdam on March 2.
1825 Introduction of the Culture System (or Cultivation System), under which Javanese farmers have to use one-fifth of their land for export products traded and sold by a Dutch monopoly. The system encourages corruption and exploitation by both colonial officials and the Javanese leaders and functionaries who work with them.
1838 Sets sail for Batavia (now Jakarta), to work as a colonial administrator in the Dutch East Indies.
1842 Charged with civil authority over Natal in North Sumatra. 1843 Temporary suspension for “disloyal administration”; sent to Batavia the following year.
1845 Temporary appointment in Karawang, West Java; the appointment is later renewed.
1846 Marriage to Everdine (Tine) van Wijnbergen; appointed customs official in Bagelen, Central Java. 1848 Sent to North Sulawesi as secretary of the Manado residency.
1848 Liberal constitutional reform in the Netherlands leads to growing criticism of the Culture System.
1851 Dekker appointed Assistant Resident of Ambon Island.
1852 Granted a two-year furlough in the Netherlands.
1854 Birth of his son, Edu.
1856 Appointed Assistant Resident of Lebak in Rangkasbitung, West Java, on January 4, and soon clashes with the Regent over the use of unpaid labor; files an official complaint of the Regent’s “abuse of authority”; receives a visit from his superior with a severe reprimand for taking a high-ranking native official to task; the conflict escalates rapidly as the Governor-General becomes involved, culminating in Dekker’s suspension and departure with his family within less than four months.
1857 Returns to Europe; birth of his daughter, Nonni.
1859 Writes Max Havelaar, or the Coffee Auctions of the Dutch Trading Company, in the space of three months.
1860 Publication of Max Havelaar.
1868 Publication of English translation by A. Nahuÿs.
1870 In the Netherlands, liberal demands for reform of colonial policy culminate in the adoption of the Agrarian Act and the Sugar Act, which abolish the Culture System and give private companies access to the colonies. These changes do not improve conditions for the Javanese.
1874 Death of Dekker’s wife, Tine, in Venice.
1887 Death of Eduard Douwes Dekker on February 19, in Germany.
Max Havelaar