T H E P E R A N A K A N OFFICERS' FAMILIES I N NINETEENTH C E N T U R Y JAVA by Ong Hokham

probably have been considered "native" enough t o need t h e i r own q u a r t e r s and head. O f more relevance t o t h i s piece i s t h a t o r i g i n a l l y t h e term peranakan u n t i l around t h e end of t h e 18th century was e x c l u s i v e l y used f o r those Chinese who were Moslems, and has only l a t e r come t o mean simply the l o c a l born Chinese.

Introduction The p i c t u r e u s u a l l y presented of c o l o n i a l s o c i e t y i n t h e Netherlands I n d i e s was one of s o c i a l s t r a t i f i c a t i o n along r a c i a l l i n e s . The Indonesians formed the a g r a r i a n b a s e , t h e Foreign O r i e n t a l s (Chinese and Arabs) the commercial middle c l a s s and t h e Europeans were the top of t h e s o c i a l economic pyramid. Like t h e Europeans, t h e Chinese were migrants t o the I n d i e s which came slowly under domination of t h e f i r s t mentioned group. Unlike t h e Europeans t h e Chinese coming t o Indonesia had no p o l i t i c a l ambition, while t h e i r emigration t o Java was l o o s e l y organised and by i n d i v i d u a l s . The only connection the emigrants had were the n o r t h c o a s t a l Chinese t r a d i n g communities i n Javanese harbor c i t i e s which predated the a r r i v a l of the Dutch. This paper i s an attempt t o look a t the s o c i a l and c u l t u r a l r e a c t i o n s of the Chinese i n Java, t h e i r p o s i t i o n between Indonesians who were s t i l l powerful p o l i t i c a l l y and s o c i a l l y a t the beginning of t h e n i n e t e e n t h century and the Dutch whose power grew during t h a t century. This study w i l l a l s o t r a c e t h e formation of a c a p i t a l i s t c l a s s among the Chinese, o r b e t t e r , among the peranakan ( l o c a l born ~ h i n e s e ) , i t s c h a r a c t e r and developments. This paper w i l l take a s example t h r e e peranakan o f f i c e r s ' f a m i l i e s of E a s t Java i n order t o (have a c l o s e r look a t t h e i r connections. The Peranakan
A Chinese t r a v e l l e r t o Java i n t h e 18th century Ong Tae-hae, no

During the n i n e t e e n t h century t h e term peranakan was used t o d i s t i n g u i s h t h e l o c a l l y s e t t l e d and born Chinese from the new a r r i v a l singkeh/totok. I n t h e post-independence period the d i s t i n c t i o n

between peranakan and totok was probably no longer based on b i r t h p l a c e as w e l l as on c u l t u r a l o r i e n t a t i o n . The peranakan d i d n o t speak any longer Chinese and was s t r o n g l y l o c a l l y and Western influenced i n t h e i r c u l t u r a l o r i e n t a t i o n s . Even today, some 30 years a f t e r independence, c h i l d r e n of peranakan Chinese w i l l s t i l l know some Dutch i f they a r e n o t Dutch-speaking. The totok Chinese would s t i l l know how

t o speak Chinese and used t o send t h e i r c h i l d r e n t o Chinese schools. Usually w i t h i n t h e Chinese migrant f a m i l i e s though, t h e speaking, reading and w r i t i n g of Chinese i s l o s t a f t e r the t h i r d generation. Losing one's n a t i v e language as a language of c o m u n i c a t i o n i s n o t s o unusual f o r i t happens today t o e t h n i c groups such as t h e Javanese i n Jakarta. An important f a c t o r i n f l u e n c i n g the peranakan community was t h a t u n t i l t h e end of the n i n e t e e n t h century t h e r e were no Chinese women who emigrated t o Java. When f o r i n s t a n c e i n 1815 somehow a Chinese woman a r r i v e d s t r a i g h t from China i n Semarang she became an o b j e c t of c u r i o s i t y and p u b l i c i n t e r e s t ; e s p e c i a l l y h e r f e e t and d r e s s a t t r a c t e d crowds of Chinese t o come and s e e h e r . 3) I n s h o r t a totok Chinese woman among the Chinese c o r n u n i t i e s i n Java during t h e n i n e t e e n t h century was a g r e a t e r r a r i t y than a totok-European woman among the Europeans. Peranakan ~ h i n e s ehad t h e r e f o r e some Indonesian woman as t h e i r a n c e s t r e s s i n Java which somewhat influenced t h e i r d r e s s , language, connections, customs and s o on. These things a r e beyond the scope of t h i s study b u t might perhaps come up during the discussions. O f g r e a t e r importance f o r t h i s paper was t h a t l i f e f o r t h e peranakan community was i n t h e pecinan (china-town/Chinese q u a r t e r s ) t o be found i n many towns of Java and which o r i g i n a t e d from r e g u l a t i o n s t o have Chinese l i v e i n s p e c i a l l y designated q u a r t e r s of every town during the n i n e t e e n t h century. Movements o u t s i d e these Chinese q u a r t e r s were only allowed with s p e c i a l t r a v e l passes. I t must be s a i d t h a t Chinese q u a r t e r s

r e l a t i v e of t h e w r i t e r as f a r as he knows, remarked t h a t "when t h e Chinese have s e t t l e d f o r s e v e r a l generations i n f o r e i g n c o u n t r i e s without ever r e t u r n i n g t o China, then they e a s i l y f o r g e t the teachings of t h e i r ancestors 2nd Chinese sages. They adopt t h e way n a t i v e s e a t and d r e s s , read t h e i r books. They do not o b j e c t t o c a l l themselves Javanese and become Moslems. Because these people (Chinese Moslems) have become numerous, the Dutch have placed them under a Kapitan who supervised them1'. I) Indeed u n t i l the e a r l y n i n e t e e n t h century Chinese Moslems i n Batavia had t h e i r own head. The l a s t one died i n 1827, a c e r t a i n Kapitan Abdul ~ a f a r . ~ B y ) t h a t time t h e Chinese Moslems might

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government b u s i n e s s e s a s p o s s i b l e , r i s k i n g g r e a t sums of money. A sudden f a l l i n p r i c e s of t h e s l i g h t e s t economic d e p r e s s i o n would l e a d t o s p e c t a c u l a r b a n k r u p t c i e s . Indeed t h o s e Chinese b a n k r u p t c i e s were a major s o u r c e of t e n s i o n between t h e Chinese and t h e Dutch o f f i c i a l a s w e l l ' a s i n t h e p r i v a t e community, f o r t h e Dutch tended t o blame t h e Chinese f o r a t t e m p t i n g t o e s c a p e h i s f i n a n c i a l r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s by b a n k r u p t c i e s and h i d i n g a s much a s p o s s i b l e of h i s money away from c r e d i t o r s . S i n c e w e a l t h was s o d e c i s i v e f o r t h e i n f l u e n c e of a Chinese o f f i c e r , t h e government was n a t u r a l l y always p u t i n a dilemma when f a c e d w i t h a Chinese o f f i c e r who had gone b a n k r u p t o r had l o s t h i s w e a l t h through o v e r - s p e c u l a t i o n . I n such c a s e s t h e Chinese o f f i c e r

l a t e 18th c e n t u r y t h e r e might even a l r e a d y h a v e been C a p t a i n Han. However, t h e f i r s t i m p o r t a n t a n c e s t o r of t h i s f a m i l y i n E a s t - J a v a , probably t h e most i m p o r t a n t g e r a n a k a n o f f i c e r f a m i l y , were t h e two famous Han-brothers e s t a t e s i n East-Java. of t h e B r i t i s h i n t e r r e g n u m which s o l d them landed Mayor Han T j a n - p i t of Surabaya, p r o b a b l y t h e f i r s t

o f f i c e r w i t h t h e t i t l e of Mayor b r o u g h t t h e e s t a t e s of Panarukan and Basuki from R a f f l e s . Following h i s example h i s younger b r o t h e r , K a p i t a n Han Tikko of Pasuruan, bought t h e l a n d e d e s t a t e s of Banyuwangi where h e r u l e d a s a J a v a n e s e b u p a t i w i t h r i g h t s of t a x a t i o n , own a d m i n i s t r a t i o n and p o l i c e . Han Tik-ko went f a r t h e s t among t h e two b r o t h e r s i n assuming a l l t h e t r a p p i n g s of a semi-sovereign l a n d l o r d , which b u p a t i s were a f t e r a l l a t t h a t time. Han Tik-ko moved i n t o t h e Banyuwangi kabupaten, had h i m s e l f shaded by an u m b r e l l a of a Tumenggung and assumed a l l t h e o t h e r p a r a p h e r n a l i a of J a v a n e s e t r a d i t i o n a l r u l e . R a f f l e s f l a t t e r e d them f u r t h e r b y g r a n t i n g them a c o a t of arms. 12) The r e s u l t s of t h i s a f f a i r f o r Han TLk-ko ended, however, t r a g i c a l l y . I n h i s a m b i t i o n t o become a n e a r - f e u d a l l o r d h e had bought t h e

would b e asked t o r e s i g n h i s p o s t i f h e was n o t d i s m i s s e d a s a n o f f i c e r f o r h e no l o n g e r could f u l f i l l h i s f u n c t i o n s a d e q u a t e l y w i t h o u t h i s s o u r c e of p a t r o n a g e and w e a l t h . l o ) For h i s w e a l t h was a l s o used a g r e a t d e a l t o s t a n d g u a r a n t y f o r Chinese b u s i n e s s , Dutch c r e d i t s t o Chinese and s o on. The w e a l t h y Chinese o f f i c e r u s u a l l y s t o o d g u a r a n t y f o r i n d i v i d u a l Chinese businessmen and t r a d e r s , o f t e n r e l a t i v e s of him o r i n some way known t o him ( t h a t i s , r e l a t i v e s of r e l a t i v e s ) . I n f a c t w i t h o u t such g u a r a n t i e s from w e a l t h y Chinese, no Chinese would be a b l e t o g e t i n t o a shopkeeping b u s i n e s s o r t r a d e .
I t i s w i t h t h i s background t h a t we w i l l now have a c l o s e r look a t t h e

e s t a t e of Banyuwangi f o r t o o h i g h a sum of money and t r i e d now t o r e p a y i t back by imposing v e r y h i g h t a x a t i o n on t h e p e a s a n t r y . The r e s u l t was a r e v o l t i n 1814 of Banyuwangifs p e a s a n t r y c o s t i n g t h e l i f e of t h e Landlord of Banyuwangi and a few E n g l i s h s o l d i e r s . The f a m i l y of Han Tik-ko escaped t o Pasuruan. Although t h e E n g l i s h were a b l e t o s u p p r e s s t h e r e b e l l i o n w i t h o u t t o o much c o s t , R a f f l e s d e c i d e d t o buy back t h e e s t a t e s from t h e two Han-brothers, i n c l u d i n g t h o s e of Han

c a r e e r s of some of t h e s e e l i t e f a m i l i e s i n E a s t J a v a , t h e Han-family of b o t h Surabaya and Pasuruan, t h e T j o a of Surabaya and t h e The-also of Surabaya. Han, T j o a and The The e v i d e n c e f o r t h e genealogy of t h e s e f a m i l i e s i s found i n t h e Chinese a n c e s t r a l a l t a r t a b l e o f t e n c o l l e c t e d t o g e t h e r i n a s o - c a l l e d a n c e s t r a l house. The t a b l e t s of each g e n e r a t i o n a r e p u t on one s h e l f w h i l e a younger g e n e r a t i o n would b e p u t on a lower s h e l f . At t h e t o p of t h e s e s h e l f s t h e r e would b e a l o n e t a b l e t , o r a p a i r (depending on t h e i n c l u s i o n o r n o t of t h e I n d o n e s i a n a n c e s t r e s s ) of t a b l e t s r e p r e s e n t i n g t h e f i r s t Java-Chinese a n c e s t o r . The number of t h e s e s h e l f s c o n s t r u c t e d i n descending t e r r a c e s i n d i c a t e t h e number of g e n e r a t i o n s t h e f a m i l y has been i n J a v a , w h i l e d a t e s on t h e t a b l e t s a l s o s u p p l y i n f o r m a t i o n about d a t e of b i r t h s and d e a t h s .
11)

\.

T j a n - p i t i n Panarukan and Besuki, a l t h o u g h they were a s u c c e s s . F i n a n c i a l l y t h e a f f a i r had been d i s a s t r o u s f o r t h e Han Tik-ko f a m i l y and o n l y some government s u b s i d y and l a n d - g r a n t s f o r t h e l i f e t i m e , i t seems, of Han Tik-ko's h e i r i n Pasuruan h e l p e d t h e f a m i l y

t o s u r v i v e t h e c r i s i s . 1 3 ) " ~ o t h e r s o u r c e of s u p p o r t came from t h e l o c a l B u p a t i f a m i l y , N i t i a d i n i n g r a t , who h e l p e d them t o g e t s t a r t e d i n t h e s u g a r b u s i n e s s i n which t h e Han f a m i l y of Pasuruan was involved u n t i l t h e economic c r i s i s of 1923 i n t h e s u g a r i n d u s t r y . During t h e whole n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y we f i n d a Han a s K a p i t a n of Pasuruan w i t h d e s c r i p t i o n s t h a t h e was a s o n , grandson, o r even g r e a t grand s o n and s o on of t h e former Landlord of Banyuwangi Han Tik-ko. The Han-family a l s o promoted t h e i r b r o t h e r s , t h e i r sons-in-law, brother-in-law or

Although t h e r e a r e l e g e n d s w i t h i n t h e Han-family of an a n c e s t o r . h a v i n g a r r i v e d sometime i n t h e l a t e 1 7 t h c e n t u r y , t h e f i r s t a n c e s t o r on t h e a l t a r t a b l e was from a f t e r t h e middle 1 8 t h c e n t u r y . I n t h e

f o r p o s t s o r government c o n t r a c t s o r revenue i n o t h e r

p l a c e s w i t h i n t h e r e s i d e n c y of Pasuruan such a s B a n g i l , Malang and even

p u b l i s h e d books on Chinese law, t h e "Ta T s i n g Lu Li", i n o t h e r r e s i d e n c i e s s u c h a s Surabaya. Another prominent f a m i l y i n Surabaya w i t h some i n f l u e n c e i n o t h e r p l a c e s of t h i s r e s i d e n c y was t h e Tjoa-family which, a c c o r d i n g t o t h e i r a l t a r t a b l e , i s by now a s o l d a s two hundred y e a r s . The f i r s t T j o a a r r i v e d i n Surabaya i n t h e 1750's and l i k e t h e f i r s t Han was probably n o t v e r y w e a l t h y n o r famous. However, u n l i k e t h e Han-family, h a s some f i r m e r h i s t o r i c a l b a s i s . The f i r s t Java-Tjoa a r r i v e d i n a time of t r o u b l e s i n Surabaya where t h e Tjoa-family

i n o r d e r t o end

t h e e n d l e s s d i s r u p t i v e f a m i l y q u a r r e l s over i n h e r i t a n c e s , a n o t h e r s p e c i a l t r a i t of p e r a n a k a n s o c i e t y , a b o u t which more l a t e r . U n t i l today t h e f a m i l y h a s k e p t a t r a d i t i o n of i n t e r e s t i n p h i l o s o p h y and r e l i g i o n , b e i n g among o t h e r s s t r o n g l y i n f l u e n c e d by i d e a s of Annie Besant and theosophy. More t y p i c a l of a p e r a n a k a n Chinese o f f i c e r ' s f a m i l y i n many o t h e r towns of J a v a was t h e The-family of Surabaya which had a l m o s t a n

unbroken s u c c e s s i o n of Chinese o f f i c e r s i n t h e f a m i l y w i t h s o n s i n h e r i t i n g t h e f a t h e r ' s p o s i t i o n on t h e f a t h e r ' s d e a t h . Again t h i s f a m i l y came a f t e r t h e m i d d l e of t h e 1 8 t h c e n t u r y when we f i n d t h e a p p o i n t e d C a p t a i n of t h e Chinese i n Surabaya p r o b a b l y through h i s c o n n e c t i o n s a s son-in-law of Mayor Han of Surabaya. Unlike t h e

two n o b l e f a c t i o n s were f i g h t i n g f o r supremacy. The d a u g h t e r of a Tumenggung Onggojoyo s o u g h t r e f u g e w i t h t h e s t i l l poor Chinese merchant, T j o a , from t h e enemy. Out of t h i s a f f a i r t h e r e r e s u l t e d a m a r r i a g e between t h e Chinese merchant T j o a and Nai Roro K i n j e n g , b u t a t t h e i r d e a t h i n t h e 1790's t h e two were b u r i e d s e p e r a t e l y : h e w i t h t h e f a m i l y g r a v e of t h e T j o a f a m i l y i n Surabaya and s h e w i t h i n t h e b u p a t i b u r i a l grounds of Surabaya. U n t i l t o d a y , once a y e a r , t h e Tjoa-family of Surabaya

p r e v i o u s f a m i l i e s t h e p e r a n a k a n c o n n e c t i o n s was t h u s d e c i s i v e h e r e i n t h e r i s e of a p e r a n a k a n o f f i c e r ' s f a m i l y . I n any c a s e t h e f i r s t C a p t a i n The was succeeded i n 1825 by h i s s o n who became Mayor of t h e Chinese of Surabaya a t t h e a g e of 30 and d i e d i n 1851 t o be succeeded a g a i n by . a The. A1 t o g e t h e r t h i s f a m i l y produced f o u r Majors of t h e Chinese c o u s i n ( f i r s t d e g r e e ) . A Han of Surabaya w i t h a d a u g h t e r m a r r i e d t o a f i r s t c o u s i n , a T j o a , s a i d t o t h e w r i t e r of t h i s p a p e r , t h a t t h i s was " t o p r e s e r v e w e a l t h w i t h i n t h e family". However confused i n h e r i t a n c e law was among t h e Chinese d u r i n g t h e n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y , a s a g e n e r a l r u l e one could assume t h a t a l l t h e l e g i t i m a t e s o n s g o t a s h a r e w i t h p r o b a b l y t h e e l d e s t one r e c e i v i n g through u n o f f i c i a l c h a n n e l s t h e most. 15) Laws of p r i m o g e n i t u r e , a t times t r i e d by Chinese, d i d n o t seem t o have been i n f o r c e among p e r a n a k a n Chinese. Daughters, however, were o n l y g i v e n a dowry and a l e g a c y i n t h e f a t h e r ' s w i l l on h i s d e a t h and t h i s could o n l y b e a s m a l l f r a c t i o n of t h e f a t h e r ' s w e a l t h . N e v e r t h e l e s s , w i v e s ' f o r t u n e s played an i m p o r t a n t p a r t i n t h e s u r v i v a l of t h e s e e l i t e f a m i l i e s . P r o b a b l y e v e r s i n c e 1854 when Chinese were o f f i c i a l l y s u b j e c t t o Dutch laws of b u s i n e s s , t h e r e was a s e p a r a t i o n of f i n a n c i a l r e s p o n s i b i l i t y between husband and w i f e among w e a l t h y Chinese. Q u i t e o f t e n we r e a d t h a t when t h e husband went b a n k r u p t i n h i s business h e continued t o l i v e well o r i n l e s s wealthy circumstance b u t s t i l l s u r v i v i n g a s well-to-do on h i s w i f e ' s income and w e a l t h .

h o l d s a ceremony a t t h e g r a v e of Nyai Roro Kinjeng w i t h i n t h e b u p a t i b u r i a l grounds of Surabaya. More i m p o r t a n t f o r t h e Tjoa-family from t h i s n o b l e c o n n e c t i o n was t h a t
i t h e f a m i l y f o r t u n e was made through t h i s m a r r i a g e . The merchant T j o a

r e c e i v e d on t h i s account i n t h e l a t e 1 8 t h c e n t u r y t h e government farms revenue and became a w e a l t h y man. Every s u c c e e d i n g T j o a i n c r e a s e d t h e w e a l t h of t h e f a m i l y . However, i t was n o t u n t i l 1814 t h a t a T j o a became 1uitena;t of t h e Chinese i n Surabaya and l a t e r C a p t a i n . A f t e r such

t h a t we f i n d Tjoa-names i n v a r i o u s o f f i c e r p o s t s i n East-&a

a s Surabaya, S i d o a r j o , G r e s i k e t c . More i n t e r e s t i n g , however, i s t h a t t h e Tjoa-family was t h e c l o s e s t t o a Chinese l i t e r a t i f a m i l y which a p e r a n a k a n f a m i l y e v e r came t o . A f t e r t h e second h a l f of t h e 1850's t h e r e was a T j o a a t t h e b u r i a l grounds f o r t h e B u p a t i f a m i l y of Surabaya. U n t i l today t h e T j o a f a m i l y of Surabaya h o l d s a n n u a l l y a 14) meeting a t t h e g r a v e of t h i s f i r s t a n c e s t r e s s .

. . ,

I
1

Through t h e m a r r i a g e between t h e f i r s t T j o a i n J a v a and t h e d a u g h t e r of a b u p a t i t h e f a m i l y f o r t u n e was made. The f a t h e r - i n - l a w helped

t h e f i r s t T j o a i n h i s b u s i n e s s and w i t h o b t a i n i n g government revenue

farms. The w e a l t h w i t h i n t h e c o n t i n u e d t o i n c r e a s e w i t h s u c c e s s i v e g e n e r a t i o n s . However, i t was n o t u n t i l 1814 t h a t a f a m i l y member became l u i t e n a n t of t h e Chinese i n Surabaya and l a t e r C a p t a i n . The Tjoa-family was perhaps one of t h e few peranakan Chinese f a m i l i e s who produced what we could c a l l l i t e r a t i . The f a m i l y had always had a g r e a t i n t e r e s t i n b o t h Chinese a s w e l l a s Javanese l i t e r a t u r e ,

1
( 1

One l a s t a s p e c t of t h e government r e v e n u e f a r m e r s and o f f i c e r ' s f a m i l i e s s h o u l d perhaps b e d i s c u s s e d . The c o u n t e r - f a m i l i e s were t h e

ones who d i d n o t g e t t h e farms o r government c o n t a c t s , b u t were e q u a l l y w e a l t h y because of i n h e r i t a n c e and were o f t e n b r o t h e r s o r c l o s e l y r e l a t e d t o t h e o f f i c e r s and l e s s e e - h o l d e r s . The o n l y way f o r t h e s e

f a m i l i e s , f o r most of them d i d n o t speak Chinese and t r e a t e d t h e t o t o k badly. Y e t , because of r i s i n g Chinese n a t i o n a l i s m i n China, t h e Dutch needed t o know p r e c i s e l y a b o u t t h e s e t o t o k s and t h e peranakan o f f i c e r s f a i l e d them i n t h i s . Hence, t h e Dutch f e l t t h a t a s i n t e r m e d i a r i e s w i t h t o t o k c h i n e s e t h e y had f a i l e d , w h i l e t h e peranakan community d i d n o t r e a l l y need any l o n g e r s e r v i c e s of Chinese o f f i c e r s s i n c e t h e y had grown accustomed enough t o Dutch r u l e and i t s r e g u l a t i o n s . I n s h o r t t h e importance of t h e Chinese o f f i c e r s ' p o s i t i o n , and w i t h them t h e o f f i c e r s ' f a m i l i e s , d i e d w i t h t h e 20th c e n t u r y . F i n a l l y t h e e l i t e peranakan Chinese f a m i l i e s would a l s o s u f f e r h e a v i l y i n t h e 20th c e n t u r y . F i r s t t h e r e was t h e economic c r i s i s of 1923; a n o t h e r blow came i n 1928 w i t h i t s long d e p r e s s i o n . However, t h e l a s t blow came w i t h p e r a n a k a n Chinese p o l i c i e s i n i n v e s t i n g i n r e a l e s t a t e i n J a v a ' s towns.

wealthy b u t "deprived" p e r s o n s was t o engage i n c l a n d e s t i n e s a l e s of opium, having c l a n d e s t i n e pawnshops e t c . i n o r d e r t o expand t h e i r w e a l t h , a s a f t e r a l l , a l l c a p i t a l i s t s wanted t o do. A t times t h e r e was a c o n f l i c t of i n t e r e s t between t h e o f f i c i a l government revenue farmer and c l a n d e s t i n e o p e r a t o r ; and a t t i m e s a common i n t e r e s t . The second c a s e could f o r i n s t a n c e a r i s e when i t was i n t h e o f f i c e r ' s o r c a n d i d a t e l e s s e e h o l d e r ' s i n t e r e s t t o have t h e p r i c e of t h e revenue farm a s low a s p o s s i b l e . Grand c l a n d e s t i n e s a l e s of opium f o r i n s t a n c e o r c l a n d e s t i n e o p e r a t i o n s of pawnshops would b r i n g t h e a u c t i o n i n g p r i c e of t h o s e state-monopolies lower and were t h e r e f o r e i n t h e i n t e r e s t of t h e o f f i c i a l government f a r m e r s . These r e l a t i o n s h i p s were o f t e n b a f f l i n g t o t h e Dutch and a l t h o u g h t r e s p a s s e r s of t h e government revenue farms-were u s u a l l y f i n e d , n o t even g i v e n p r i s o n terms, when f i n d i n g t o o many e n t a n g l e m e n t s , t h e government went over t o i t s l a s t expedient: p o l i t i c a l e x i l e . T h i s l a t t e r c a s e could perhaps be b e s t e x e m p l i f i e d by t h e 1852 c l a n d e s t i n e opium c a s e of Pasuruan when t h e Dutch r e s i d e n t through t h e e f f o r t of a newly appointed p a t i h ( b u p a t i ' s main a s s i s t a n t ) d i s c o v e r e d a wide n e t of c l a n d e s t i n e opium s a l e s . B r o t h e r s , g o u s i n s e t c . of t h e l o c a l Chinese o f f i c e r s of Pasuruan and B a n g i l were involved. I t must b e p o i n t e d o u t though t h q t i n t h i s c a s e i n t e r e s t s of smugglers and o f f i c i a l revenue f a r m e r s c o l l i d e d . Not only t h i s b u t t h e c l a n d e s t i n e s e l l e r s of opium were, l i k e t h e o f f i c e r s , c l o s e l y r e l a t e d t o t h e l o c a l Javanese o f f i c i a l s through t h e i r wives. I n viewing t h i s mess t h e Dutch f i n a l l y s e n t a warship t o Pasuruan and a r r e s t e d t h e ones involved i n c l a n d e s t i n e s a l e s of opium and e x i l e d them t o t h e Moluccas. A p o l i t i c a l measure was o f t e n n e c e s s a r y t o c l e a n t h e mess, a s was t h e o p i n i o n of Dutch o f f i c i a l s . 16) The r o l e of t h e e l i t e Chinese f a m i l i e s came t o an end w i t h t h e a b o l i t i o n of t h e a u c t i o n i n g of government revenue farms and i t s take-over by t h e government. With it came an end t o t h e p a t r o n a g e of t h e revenue f a r m e r s ' f a m i l i e s . Slowly q u a r t e r and pass systems f o r Chinese were a b o l i s h e d i n t h e 20th c e n t u r y ; i n s h o r t t h e r e was no more need f o r Chinese peranakan heads. The a r r i v a l of l a r g e r q u a n t i t i e s of t o t o k s from China caused a f u r t h e r d e c l i n e of t h e Chinese peranakan o f f i c e r s '

A Dutch (NICA) r e g u l a t i o n , would f i x house-rents

t h u s an income of F. 25.000 i n pre-war

a t pre-war

levels;

t i m e s would s t i l l be Rp. 25.000

d u r i n g t h e times of i n f l a t i o n i n t h e p o s t '45-period.

S o c i a l and C u l t u r a l l i n k s According t o t h e book of g e n e a l o g i e s of r e g e n t s of East-Java owned by t h e N i t i a d i n i n g r a t f a m i l y t h e r e was a branch of t h e Han f a m i l y who m a r r i e d w i t h i n an a r i s t o c r a t i c Javanese f a m i l y , t h e Bojonegoro b u p a t i s . They became J a v a n e s e and Moslems. The T j o a m a r r i a g e w i t h a p r i y a y i f a m i l y of Surabaya was t h e r e f o r e no g r e a t e x c e p t i o n d u r i n g t h e e a r l y n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y and indeed a c c o r d i n g t o s c a t t e r e d i n f o r m a t i o n t h e r e were s e v e r a l b u p a t i s of East-Java e i t h e r w i t h Chinese blood o r b e i n g of Chinese descent.18) I n t h e above-mentioned b i g c a s e of c l a n d e s t i n e
1
'

opium s a l e s t h e l e a d e r s ' f a m i l y t i e s w i t h h i g h l o c a l o f f i c i a l s e s p e c i a l l y angered t h e Dutch and was f u r t h e r evidence of f a m i l y t i e s between wealthy Chinese, even o f f i c e r s , w i t h l o c a l p r i y a y i , such t i e s b e i n g prof i t a b l e f o r b u s i n e s s t o o . 19) The Dutch were of t e n s u s p i c i o u s of c l o s e t i e s between w e a l t h y Chinese and p r i y a y i f o r they f e a r e d t h e c o r r u p t i n g i n f l u e n c e s of money. I t became a b a r r i e r t o promotion among t h e p r i y a y i . 2 0 ) While t h e p r i y a y i a f t e r t h e second h a l f of t h e 19th c e n t u r y may have l o s t a g r e a t d e a l of t h e i r power and a t t r a c t i v e n e s s a s p r o s p e c t i v e f a m i l y t i e s , peranakan s o c i e t y became i n c r e a s i n g l y more s t a b l e . I n s h o r t a f t e r t h e middle of t h e 19th c e n t u r y i n t e r m a r r i a g e between w e a l t h y Chinese and p r i y a y i seemed t o have stopped.

The peranakan Chinese though continued t o m a i n t a i n a l i f e s t y l e which was s t r o n g l y i n f l u e n c e d by l o c a l Chinese c u l t u r e , J a v a n e s e c u l t u r e and Western c u l t u r e . Wealthy Chinese f a m i l i e s k e p t a gamelan, o f t e n a famous one o b t a i n e d from a p r i y a y i f a m i l y , c o l l e c t e d Javanese a r t works such a s k r i s s e s , wayang and s o on. Some f a m i l i e s such a s t h e Tjoa had a g r e a t d e a l of i n t e r e s t i n J a v a n e s e l i t e r a t u r e . The f i r s t Chinese p u b l i s h e r s of books such a s Tan Khoen Swie of K e d i r i a f t e r a l l p u b l i s h e d a g r e a t d e a l of Javanese l i t e r a t u r e and m a n u s c r i p t s , probably e v i d e n c e f o r t h e i n t e r e s t among peranakan f o r such works. N a t u r a l l y t h e Chinese were a t t r a c t e d t o o t o t h e Dutch s i n c e they were a f t e r a l l t h e r u l i n g group i n s o c i e t y and i t was s o u s e f u l t o have c o n t a c t s w i t h them. As e a r l y a s t h e middle of t h e n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y t h e R e s i d e n t of Pasuruan r e p o r t e d on t h e l e a d e r of t h e c l a n d e s t i n e opium c a s e , Han Lam Tjang

FOOTNOTES 1. Ong Tae-hae, The Chinaman abroad: A D e s u l t o r y Account of t h e Malay Archipelago p a r t i c u l a r l y of J a v a , t r . W.H. Medhurst. 2. F. de Haan, Oud-Batavia (Gedenkboek u i t g e g e v e n door h e t Bat. Genoot van Kunsten e n Wetenschappen n a a r a a n l e i d i n g van h e t 3 0 0 - j a r i g b e s t a a n d e r s t a d i n 1919) (2 v o l s . B a t a v i a , 1922) 511. 3. Liem Thian Yoe, Riwayat Semarang (Semarang 1933) 90 f f .

4. L.H.W. v a n Sandick, Chineezen b u i t e n China. Hunne B e t e e k e n i s voor d e o n t w i k k e l i n g v a n Zuid-oost Azie, s p e c i a a l van Nederlandsch ~ n d i E ('s-Gravenhage 1909) 144 f f . 5. Ong Hokham, The Residency of Madiun. P r i y a y i and P e a s a n t d u r i n g t h e N i n e t e e n t h Century. Ph.D. Yale U n i v e r s i t y 1975. 6. P.H. Fromberg, V e r s p r e i d e G e s c h r i f t e n (Leiden 1926) 309-315. 7. D.E. W i l l m o t t , The Chinese of Semarang. A Changing M i n o r i t y Community i n I n d o n e s i a ( C o r n e l l U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s , 1970) 135-136. 8 . V. P u r c e l l , The Chinese i n S o u t h e a s t Asia (Oxford U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s 1 9 6 6 ~ )406 f f . 9. Algemeen V e r s l a g Pasuruan, e s p e c i a l l y of t h e 1 8 5 0 1 s , A r s i p Nasional Rep. I n d o n e s i a (ANRI)

a member of t h e Han f a m i l y , a s a man who

spoke and w r o t e i n Dutch and was of g r e a t c u l t u r e . Not a l l t h e o f f i c e r s probably spoke o r wrote Dutch b u t had a s m a t t e r i n g of i t and some knew

i t v e r y w e l l . A d e s c r i p t i o n i n t h e 1870's of a Chinese f e a s t i n t h e
The-house of Surabaya had i t , f o r i n s t a n c e , t h a t t h e r e was Western music and ball-room dancing i n which t h e The-daughters p a r t i c i p a t e d . 21) The Chinese f e a s t s were probably t h e phenomena of keeping s o c i a l r e l a t i o n s on a l l s i d e s through c u l t u r e : t h e r e was gambling f o r t h e Chinese g u e s t s and food, a wayang performance f o r t h e p r i y a y i and Western music and food f o r d h e Europeans. Yet, i t was n o t a l l p u b l i c r e l a t i o n s t o have gamelan and Western music, f o r many a wealthy Chinese was p a s s i o n a t e l y i n t e r e s t e d i n e x p r e s s i o n s of t h e two c u l t u r e s .

10. ANRI, P o l i t i e k V e r s l a g Pasuruan 1867, 1868 e t c . 11. I n 1957 t h e a u t h o r took a t o u r w i t h D r . G.W. Skinner t o t h e Chinese a l t a r houses of East-Java, where h e comes from. 12. J. B a s t i n , "The Chinese E s t a t e s i n East-Java d u r i n g t h e B r i t i s h A d m i n i s t r a t i o n " i n : ~ n d o n e s i ; V I I ( J u l y 1954) 433-449. 13. B t . 1825 Pasuruan, ANRI, I n h e r i t a n c e Hantikko. 14. The Boen Liang, "Riwajatnya - f a m i l i e T j o a d i Soerabaia" - in: M a t a h a r i ( ~ x t r a - n u m e r , Semarang 1 ~ u g uts 1934) ; Buku P e r i n g a t a n "The S i e Siauw Yang Tjoh Biauw" 1883-1939. (The The-family Altar-house) P r i v a t e l y p r i n t e d , Surabaya 1939. 15. Fromberg, V e r s p r e i d e G e s c h r i f t e n . 16. A N R I , Berkas opium c a s e 1853 Pasuruan. 17. Ms: N i t i a d i n i n g r a t , r e g e n t of Surabaya. 18. Van Sandick, Chineezen B u i t e n China, 179. 19. ANRI, Berkas opium c a s e 1853. 20. Ong Hokham, he i n s c r u t a b l e and t h e P a r a n o i d : An I n v e s t i g a t i o n i n t t h e Sources of t h e B r o t o d i n i n g r a t A f f a i r " i n : R. McVey ed. , S o u t h e a s t Asian T r a n s i t i o n s . Yale U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s 1978. 21. M.T.H. P e r e l a e r , Nederlandsch-1ndiE. J a v a . Leiden 1883. 22. L. S u r y a d i n a t a , P o l i t i c a l Thinking of t h e I n d o n e s i a n Chinese, 1900(Singapore U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s 1979) 4 f f .

a-

However, when f i n a l l y t h e peranakan Chinese e s t a b l i s h e d i n e a r l y 1900's t h e i r s c h o o l system, t h e Tiong Hwa Hwee Koan s c h o o l s , i t was t o b e Chinese and E n g l i s h r a t h e r t h a n Dutch. N e v e r t h e l e s s one could n o t h e l p b u t d e t e c t a c o l o n i a l n o t e a s s o many people l i v i n g i n a colony had peranakan a t t i t u d e s towards Chinese c i v i l i z a t i o n . The r e a s o n s g i v e n f o r e s t a b l i s h i n g s c h o o l s on a Chinese b a s i s were r e f e r e n c e s t o and q u o t i n g Westerners who d e f e n d e d , a n d p r a i s e d Chinese c i v i l i z a t i o n 2 2 ) a n d n o t because of peranakan own c o n f i d e n c e i n Chinese c u l t u r e which was a t y p i c a l c o l o n i a l a t t i t u d e . However, i t was t h i s c o l o n i a l s o c i e t y where e s p e c i a l l y t h o s e o f f i c e r s ' Chinese f a m i l i e s achieved t h e i r s u c c e s s .

THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE CHINESE COOLIES I N EAST SUMATRA. F R O M MIDDLEMEN INTO ECONOMIC MAGNATES

i n Wu-peichih ---

(1 433 AD) 7)

A f t e r t h e P o r t u g u e s e occupied Malacca i n 1511, t h e d i r e c t t r a d e between t h i s r e g i o n and China c e a s e d . From 1539 u n t i l 1710 A D t h e r e g i o n of t h e E a s t c o a s t of Sumatra was a bone of c o n t e n t i o n between t h e Achinese Empi

Tengku Luckman S i n a r , S.H.

and t h e Malay Empire (Johor-Riau)

, from

t h e m i d d l e of t h e 1 8 t h c e n t u r y

u n t i l t h e m i d d l e of t h e 1 9 t h c e n t u r y between Acheh and S i a k ; and l a t e r between t h e Dutch and t h e B r i t i s h . The coming of t h e Chinese immigrants t o t h e E a s t c o a s t of Sumatra h a s b e e n r e g a r d e d a s a s p e c t a c u l a r phenomenon. The c o o l i e c l a s s from t h i s tough r a c e had been e x p l o i t e d , b u t 40 y e a r s l a t e r t h e y had f r e e d t h e m s e l v e s , and s i n c e t h e b e g i n n i n g of t h e 2 0 t h Century succeeded i n m o n o p o l i s i n g t h e e n t i r e economy of t h i s r e g i o n . B e f o r e t h e m i d d l e of t h e 1 9 t h c e n t u r y t h e Chinese p l a y e d o n l y a minor r o l e on t h e E a s t c o a s t of Sumatra. The Chinese armada had v i s i t e d Kempai ( n e a r and ) t h e Haru Bay) i n 662 A D which t h e y named "Kien-pinrl o r " ~ a m - ~ i e t " ~ l a t e r on, t h e kingdom of Haru (Aru) o r t h e p r e s e n t D e l i , which was c a l l e d "Alu" o r "Yalu" by t h e C h i n e s e , s e n t a m i s s i o n t o K u b l a i Khan i n 1282 AD.
A t t h e end of t h e 8 t h c e n t u r y t h e r e was a c i v i l war i n China and Chinese

The f e r t i l e l a n d of t h i s r e g i o n , which had b e e n abandoned and became t h e n e s t of p i r a t e s , was now g r a d u a l l y c o l o n i s e d by t h e p e o p l e from J o h o r , Riau, Aceh and t h e Minangkabau c o l o n i s t s i n B a t u b a r a and Denai, from t h e 1 7 t h c e n t u r y . The Karo and t h e Simelungun p e o p l e went t o t h e c o a s t a l a r e a s and t h e M a n d a i l i n g s t o t h e South, and t h e y l a t e r mixed w i t h t h e Malay p o p u l a t i o n and worshipped I s l a m , and became, a s t h e y a r e c a l l e d , t h e "Melayu ~ e s i s i r " ( C o a s t a l Malays). 8)
An e a r l i e r , c o m p l e t e , up-to-date

r e p o r t a b o u t t h i s r e g i o n was made by

2)

t h e head of a B r i t i s h m i s s i o n , John Anderson, who was s e n t h e r e by t h e B r i t i s h a u t h o r i t y i n Malaya t o make agreements w i t h t h e c o a s t a l s t a t e s

i i

1 8 2 3 . ~ )I n t h i s r e p o r t i t i s s t a t e d t h a t v e r y few Chinese were h e r e a t t l t i m e . The i n t e r - i s l a n d t r a d e was monopolised by t h e B a t u b a r a Malays w i t h t h e i r f a s t s c h o o n e r s o r by t h e Buginese. He saw "a v e r y few Chinese i n D e l i " and n o t enough e l s e w h e r e t o b e worthy of n o t e . Then t h e B r i t i s h e n t r e p o t s of Penang and S i n g a p o r e b r o u g h t a b o u t a m a j o r change. S t r a i t s Chinese t r a d e r s had e s t a b l i s h e d s t r o n g l i n k s w i t h a l l t h e Malay s t a t e s of t h e E a s t c o a s t between S i a k and Temiang by t h e time t h e Dutch extendec t h e i r i n f l u e n c e t o t h i s r e g i o n . I n Asahan t h e i m p o r t and e x p o r t d u t i e s , a s w e l l a s t h e opium and gambling monopolies, had b e e n e n t r u s t e d t o a Penang merchant named Boon Keng, whose d a u g h t e r m a r r i e d i n t o t h e Royal family. When t h e Dutch army invaded Asahan i n 1863, Boon Keng's i n f l u e n c e and the s u p p o r t h e c o u l d m u s t e r i n Penang were a g r e a t h e l p t o t h e S u l t a n of Asahan's r e s i s t a n c e t o t h e Dutch f o r o v e r 20 y e a r s . One of t h e major r e a s o n s advanced i n f a v o u r of permanent Dutch o c c u p a t i o n of Asahan was t h a t otherwise
I!.....

t r a d e s u f f e r e d . A s a r e s u l t of s e v e r a l e x c a v a t i o n s we made i n Kota China (Labuhan D e l i ) and Kempai i s l a n d we found p l e n t y of a r t i f a c t s from t h e T'ang, Sung, Yuan and Ming p e r i o d s . Kota Cina c o u l d b e t h e "Mohosin" o r 3) "Bokkasin" once quoted by I T s i n g i n 695 AD.

There i s a p o s s i b i l i t y t h a t Kota Cina was once t h e Chinese q u a r t e r of t h e p o r t e f Haru, e s p e c i a l l y d u r i n g t h e S o u t h e r n Sung Dynasty between t h e 12th-13th c e n t u r y , t h e t i m e when v a r i o u s Chinese t r a d i n g s h i p s had v i s i t e d t h e o u t e r p o r t s of t h e S r i w i j a y a kingdom.4) Kota Cina was p r o b a b l y abandoned i n t h e l a s t p e r i o d of t h e S o u t h e r n Sung D i n a s t y . I n t h e 1 5 t h c e n t u r y t h i s r e g i o n was a g a i n v i s i t e d by t h e C h i n e s e armada. The Ming H i s t o r y (Book 325)5) conf irmed t h e v i s i t of S u l t a n Husin from Haru d u r i n g t h e r e i g n of t h e Emperor Yung Lo (1407). The t r a d e between t h i s r e g i o n and China a t t h a t t i m e c o n s i s t e d of j u n g l e produce b a r t e r e d w i t h Chinese p o r c e l a i n , s i l k and b e a d s . I n t h e y e a r 1412 t h e Chinese Moslem Admiral Cheng Ho, headed t h e t r a d i n g m i s s i o n t o Haru. S u l t a n Husin was succeeded by h i s s o n S u l t a n Alamsyah who s e n t s e v e r a l m i s s i o n s t o China i n 1419, 1421 and i n 1423. I n 1431 Cheng Ho a g a i n v i s i t e d Haru b u t a f t e r t h i s no more m i s s i o n s were s e n t t o China. Haru c o u l d b e r e a c h e d from Malacca w i t h i n f o u r days and f o u r n i g h t s 6 ) a n d e x p o r t e d Hoang L i e n ( c o p t i s t e e t a ) and o t h e r perfumes. I f we compare t h e map of Mao Yuan-Yi w i t h t h e s t o r y of M a Huan, Haru' s topography f i t s w i t h t h e p r e s e n t D e l i . The r o u t e s of t h e Chinese t r a d i n g s h i p s t o D e l i c a n b e s e e n

t h e Chinese t r a d e r s would s p r e a d B r i t i s h i n f l u e n c e

and e x p l o i d t h e c o u n t r y even more t h a n b e f o r e " . 10) The g r a d u a l e s t a b l i s h m e n t of Dutch power i n t h e E a s t c o a s t i n f a c t a f f o r d f u r t h e r o p p o r t u n i t y f o r t h e Chinese e n t e r p r i s e s . Malaya's Chinese f i r m s c o n t i n u e d t o s u p p l y opium t o t h e B a t a k s and c o n t r o l l e d s p i r i t and gamblin monopolies of most s t a t e s h e r e , even i m p o r t and e x p o r t s e d u t i e s . By 1876 -the Dutch R e s i d e n t c o u l d r e p o r t t h a t
I!.....

t h e t r a d e of t h i s Residency

i s e x c l u s i v e l y i n t h e hands of t h e Chinese

......
11)

111

, most

of whom were

s o l d i e r s and 227 n a t i v e s o l d i e r s . 2. The Warships "Dj ambi"

connected w i t h f i r m s i n Singapore and Penang.

"Amsterdam"

"Sindoro"

"Montrado"

"Delf z i j 1"

When t h e Dutch R e s i d e n t of Riau, N e t s c h e r , f i r s t v i s i t e d D e l i i n 1862, 12) h e met o n l y some 20 Chinese shopkeepers-mostly g o l d s m i t h s . To avoid f u r t h e r c l a s h e s , t h e B r i t i s h and t h e Dutch s i g n e d a t r e a t y c a l l e d " T r a k t a a t van London" (London T r e a t y ) of 1824. The B r i t i s h handed o v e r Bencoolen t o t h e Dutch and t h e Dutch handed o v e r Malacca and t h e i r c l a i m s t o t h e Malay S t a t e s i n Malaya i n c l u d i n g Singapore. They solemnly promised n o t t o i n t e r f e r e i n each o t h e r ' s s p h e r e s of i n f l u e n c e , b u t t h e t r e a t y was e f f e c t i v e o n l y on p a p e r , f o r i n p r a c t i c e b o t h p a r t i e s c o n t i n u e d w i t h t h e i r a c t i v i t i e s a s b e f o r e . I n S i a k , t h e Dutch succeeded i n p r e s s i n g t h e weak S u l t a n I s m a i l i n t o a p o l i t i c a l c o n t r a c t , which was s i g n e d on t h e 1 s t F e b r u a r y 1858. I n t h i s c o n t r a c t i t was s t a t e d t h a t a l l t h e s t a t e s on t h e E a s t c o a s t of Sumatra from S i a k n o r t h t o Temiang were "dependencies" of S i a k , and t h e Dutch were t h e n a b l e t o t a k e t h e o p p o r t u n i t y t o p a c i f y t h e r e g i o n a c t i n g a s t h e Overlord of S i a k . I n f a c t , t h e c l a i m of S i a k t o t h e r e g i o n i n v o l v e d " r e s t e d o n l y on one conquest by S u l t a n Abdul J a l i l S y a i f u d d i n (1791-1811)". 13) I n 1862 t h e Dutch s e n t an armada headed by t h e R e s i d e n t of R i a u , N e t s c h e r , t o r e a l i s e t h e i r o v e r l o r d ' s c l a i m t o t h e c o a s t a l s t a t e s on t h e E a s t c o a s t of Sumatra. I n D e l i t h e Dutch g o t t h e f i r s t f o o t h o l d , w h i l e Serdang, Asahan, Batubara and Temiang r e s i s t e d t h e Dutch p e n e t r a t i o n . I n 1863 an0Arab who was connected by m a r r i a g e t o t h e D e l i Royal f a m i l y , named S a i d Abdullah b i n Alsagah, s e n t s m a l l samples of Qli tobacco t o a Dutch tobacco t r a d e r i n Surabaya. 14) On t h e 7 t h J u l y 1863 m e s s r s . F a l k , Kuyper, E l l i o t and J. Nienhuys from t h e Dutch tobacco f i r m "Van Leeuwen e n Mainz & Co." a r r i v e d i n D e l i w i t h t h e "Josephine". They o b t a i n e d a l e a s e h o l d f o r 20 y e a r s from t h e S u l t a n . Nienhuys r e s i g n e d from t h a t f i r m and formed h i s own company t o buy tobacco i n D e l i from t h e n a t i v e s . The f i r s t sample s e n t t o Rotterdam i n March 1864 was h a i l e d a s

"Dasseen" and o t h e r b o a t s , i n c l u d i n g 1000 m a r i n e s w i t h 49 guns. Soon Serdang and Batubara were o v e r r u n , b u t n o t Asahan and Temiang where g u e r i l l a r e s i s t a n c e ended 20 y e a r s l a t e r . When D e l i , Langkat and Serdang were s e c u r e d f o r f u r t h e r e x p l o i t a t i o n , N e t s c h e r agreed t h a t t h e S u l t a n of D e l i could i s s u e a l e a s e h o l d f o r 90 yc t o Van den Arends/Nienhuys tobacco company on t h e 8 t h A p r i l 1867. Soon a f t e r w a r d s many tobacco companies came t o open f u r t h e r e s t a t e s , such a s Sunggal (1869), Sungai Bras and Klumpang (1875). I n 1868 t h e p r o f i t from t h e s a l e s of D e l i tobacco i n Europe were enormou: which a t t r a c t e d more and more f o r e i g n companies t o i n v e s t t h e i r c a p i t a l i n D e l i . Nienhuys, J a n s e n and P.W. Cramer combined w i t h t h e Dutch Royal F i n a n c i a l Group N.H.M. and formed a new tobacco s y n d i c a t e c a l l e d t h e

D e l i M a a t s c h a p p i j (1 866). The f i r s t Dutch c o n t r o l l e r i n D e l i , C a t s Baron d e R a e t , w r o t e i n h i s diary:

I!......

g r a d u a l l y more Chinese have s t a y e d i n D e l i . They number over the

1000 now". Following Nienhuys l e a d , a l l t h e new f i r m s used Chinese e x c l u s i v e l y f o r c u l t i v a t i n g t h e tobacco p l a n t s , though I n d i a n s were o f t e n employed f o r more r o u t i n e l a b o u r . The D e l i Mij. a l o n e b r o u g h t 900 Chinese from Penang when i t began i t s o p e r a t i o n i n 1869. I n 1872 t h e number of t h e Chinese p o p u l a t i o n of D e l i climbed t o o v e r 4000. At t h i s time t h e Dutch army was busy c r u s h i n g t h e Sunggal R e b e l l i o n l e a d by Datuk K e c i l . I n t h e Dutch E x p e d i t i o n a r y Army hundreds of Chinese c o o l i e s were used i n t h e r e a r guard t o c a r r y t h e m i l i t a r y equipment, and p l e n t y of them were k i l l e d d u r i n g t h e s k i r m i s h e s . Every y e a r throughout t h e 1870-80's thousands of

Chinese c o o l i e s were b r o u g h t from t h e s t r a i t s s e t t l e m e n t s (Malaya) t o s u p p o r t t h e s p e c t a c u l a r l y expanding economy of S o u t h e a s t A s i a . The t o b a c c companies i n D e l i a c q u i r e d t h e i r Chinese c o o l i e s through t h e Kongsi system. The Kongsi-headman was a l l o c a t e d a p i e c e of v i r g i n l a n d w i t h some s e e d l i n g s , and t h e f i n i s h e d t o b a c c o l e a f was bought from him a t t h e end of t h e y e a r . T h i s system was d i s c o n t i n u e d by a b o u t 1870, i n f a v o u r of a d i r e c t c o n t r a c t between a European Manager a s s i s t e d by h i s Chinese " ~ i n d a l s " o r headman ("Kang thao" i n Hokkian o r "Kung Theeu" i n Hakka) ant t h e i n d i v i d u a l Chinese c o o l i e . Advance payment had b e e n - g i v e n a t h a l f monthly i n t e r v a l s u n t i l t h e end of t h e y e a r when h e b r o u g h t h i s c r o p t o t h e E s t a t e manager who p a i d him a c c o r d i n g t o h i s e s t i m a t e of t h e

"... . . . goede

k w a l i t e i t hoppig en goed brandend

dekblad". 15) Then Nienhuys decided t o grow t h e tobacco h i m s e l f i n Martubung ( n e a r Belawan) by i m p o r t i n g 88 Chinese c o o l i e s from Penang. The good f u t u r e p r o s p e c t s of D e l i f o r c e d t h e Dutch I n d i e s Government t o speed up t h e conquest of t h e whole E a s t c o a s t of Sumatra. With t h e Government t h e Dutch Governor General s e n t an 16) E x p e d i t i o n a r y F o r c e , which comprised: I . Half a b a t a l l i o n of I n f a n t r y c o n s i s t i n g of 1 o f f i c e r , 25 a r t i l l e r i s t s , 2 p c s . f i e l d guns, 2 m o r t a r s of 12 i n c h , 2 d o c t o r s w i t h s t a f f , 179 Dutch B e s l u i t no.
1 dd. 25-8-1865,

q u a l i t y of t h e c r o p . D e l i t h u s b r o u g h t t h e Chinese c o o l i e s i n t o a much c l o s e r r e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h a European employer t h a n any of t h e o t h e r major employers i n t h e Nanyang ( S o u t h e a s t A s i a ) . F o l l o w i n g t h e Anglo-French Chinese Convention of 1868 g o v e r n i n g Chinese e m i g r a t i o n , t h e r e c r u i t m e n t of l a b o u r e r s i n China and t h e i r p a s s a g e t o t h e S t r a i t s were conducted i n a t o l e r a b l y c i v i l i s e d manner. With t h e e x c e p t i o n of a s m a l l and d e c r e a s i n g number who s a i l e d t o S i n g a p o r e on Hainan j u n k s , t h e m i g r a n t s t r a v e l l e d on c h a r t e r e d s t e a m e r s which r e a c h e d S i n g a p o r e i n 6 t o 8 d a y s . A f i r m i n t h e p o r t would p u b l i c i s e t h e coming and d e p a r t u r e of one of i t s s h i p s and p r o s p e c t i v e m i g r a n t s would b e b r o u g h t i n by Kehtaus ( o l d e s t a b l i s h e d immigrants) from t h e same a r e a a s t h e new immigrants ( S i n g k e h s ) . The Singkehs would immediately work f o r some a s s o c i a t i o n s who p a i d t h e i r f a r e s . The f a r e on t h i s c r e d i t b a s i s was u s u a l l y a b o u t $ 12 and t h e Kehtau would g e t a ~ r o f i f t o r himself o r No w r i t t e n c o n t r a c t was s i g n e d b u t t h e Singkehs were bound t o t h e i r 17) employer f o r a t l e a s t a y e a r by a m i x t u r e of l o y a l t y , f e a r and f o r c e . I n view of t h e 1876 of t h e 1876 Labour Commission i n t h e S t r a i t s , a b u s e s occurred l e s s i n the immigration t o the S t r a i t s than i n t h e emigration from t h e r e , p a r t i c u l a r l y t o Sumatra. Indeed a b u s e s i n r e c r u i t m e n t f o r Sumatra, b o t h r e a l and a l l e g e d , were t h e main s p u r b e h i n d a g i t a t i o n l e a d i n g t o t h e e s t a b l i s h m e n t of t h e Chinese P r o t e c t o r a t e . T h i s a g i t a t i o n was begun by Chinese employers of S i n g a p o r e and J o h o r m o t i v a t e d by s e l f i n t e r e s t and, p e r h a p s , p h i l a n t h r o p y . 18) T h e i r p r i n c i p a l o r g a n was t h e Gambier & Pepper S o c i e t y

t h e s e p l a c e s , w i l l become p e r f e c t l y mad i f t h e word D e l i b e h e a r d on board". 19) Like other f r o n t i e r s o c i e t i e s , e a r l y D e l i lacked an e s t a b l i s h e d j u d i c i a l and p o l i c e system, o r even a code of c i v i l i s e d conduct. Holding complete economic power o v e r t h e i r employees, t h e p l a n t e r s tended t o assume e q u a l j u d i c i a l power. The S u l t a n of D e l i had i n i t i a l l y g i v e n t h e p l a n t e r s wide powers o v e r t h e i r employees, though r e s e r v i n g f o r h i m s e l f t h e t r i a l of t h e most s e r i o u s o f f e n d e r s . The S u l t a n ' s p o l i c e f o r c e was w o e f u l l y i n a d e q u a t e and p l a n t e r s were r e l u c t a n t t o l o s e t h e s e r v i c e s of b o t h t h e o f f e n d i n g worker and someone s e n t t o g u a r d him t h r o u g h o u t t h e l e n g t h y procedure. During t h e p e r i o d 1874-7 D e l i a c q u i r e d a name f o r v i o l e n c e . A t t a c k s on p l a n t e r s and t r a d e r s became a m a t t e r of f r e q u e n t o c c u r r e n c e , c u l m i n a t i n g i n t h e d e a t h of s e v e r a l p l a n t e r s . I l l - t r e a t m e n t of w o r k e r s by p l a n t e r s was p r o b a b l y one of t h e main c a u s e s . B a t a k s and l o c a l Malays i n i t i a t e d most of t h e a t t a c k s , and runaway Chinese workers i n c r e a s i n g l y j o i n e d i n a s t h e a b s e n c e of s e t t l e d a u t h o r i t y became a p p a r e n t . The f i n a I g r i e v a n c e commonly mentioned a g a i n s t D e l i was t h e d i f f i c u l t y of r e t u r n i n g b e c a u s e of t h e d i s t a n c e , from one of t h e c e n t r e s of Chinese l~ ingapore. I n f a c t the c o n t r a c t c o o l i e s i n D e l i escape life, ~ a r t i c u l a r S from d e b t o n l y a f t e r a v e r y long p e r i o d , i f a t a l l . F o r t h e Sumatra p l a n t a t i o n s t h e most i m p o r t a n t p o r t was Swatow. Theochius were r e g a r d e d a s t h e b e s t a g r i c u l t u r i s t s , f o l l o w e d by Hailohongs and, t o a l e s s e r e x t e n t t h e Khehs. The o c c u p a t i o n a l s t r u c t u r e of t h e d i f f e r e n t Chinese d i a l e c t groups i n N o r t h e r n Sumatra d i f f e r e d w i d e l y . While Theochius, f o l l o w e d by Hakkas, predominated on t h e e s t a t e s , t h e r e were always a s u b s t a n t i a l number of Hokkians i n t r a d e . As a r e s u l t of t h e g r a d u a l i n t e g r a t i o n of D e l i i n t o t h e economy of N e t h e r l a n d s I n d i a , where Hokkians were t h e l a r g e s t and l o n g e s t e s t a b l i s h e d g r o u p , t h e y numbered 243% of Chinese i n t h e " C u l t u u r g e b i e d " of t h e E a s t c o a s t of Sumatra by 1930. Cantonese came t o t h e a r e a m a i n l y a s c r a f t s m e n , and by 1930 formed 21,1% of t h e t o t a l a s a g a i n s t 21,8% Theochius. Hakkas were a c t i v e i n s m a l l t r a d e a s w e l l a s e s t a t e l a b o u r . Though t h e y r e p r e s e n t e d o n l y 87% of t h e Chinese i n t h e C u l t u u r g e b i e d i n 1930, t h e y had long h e l d a v i r t u a l monopoly of o f f i c i a l p o s i t i o n s t h r o u g h o u t n o r t h e r n Sumatra a s "Captain China'' (Chinese headman) under a "Plajor" a p p o i n t e d by t h e Dutch. T h i s t r a d i t i o n p r o b a b l y began w i t h t h e predominance of Chang Chen Hsun ( a l i a s Thio T i a u S i a t ) , a B a t a v i a b a s e d Hakka who went t o Acheh a s c o n t r a c t o r t o t h e Dutch i n v a d i n g army, and by 1877 was farming most of

$ 5-8.

Theochiu p l a n t e r s who s u f f e r e d from l a b o u r s h o r t a g e b e c a u s e of c o m p e t i t i o n f o r Theochiu l a b o u r e r s o f f e r e d by t h e p l a n t a t i o n s of D e l i . They p e t i t i o n e d t h e government i n 1871 a g a i n s t t h e f o r c i b l e d e t e n t i o n and d i s p o s i t i o n of Singkehs and f o r t h e p r e v e n t i o n of bad c h a r a c t e r s from k i d n a p p i n g Singkehs. There was a n o r g a n i s e d s y s t e m of k i d n a p p i n g Singkehs i n Penang f o r s e r v i c e i n D e l i d u r i n g e a r l y 1870. Khoo Tean Tak, t h e b o s s of t h e Toh Pek Kong S o c i e t y i n Penang, had a v i r t u a l monopoly o v e r t h e d i s p o s i t i o n of i n d e b t e d immigrants t o D e l i through t h e v a r i o u s c o o l i e b r o k e r s i n Penang, a l m o s t from t h e b e g i n n i n g of D e l i t o b a c c o p l a n t a t i o n s , t h e y a c q u i r e d a n e x t r e m e l y bad r e p u t a t i o n among Singkehs. "There e x i s t s i n t h e Chinese l a b o u r market a p e r f e c t h a t r e d of t h e name of D e l i , which o p e r a t e s n o t o n l y i n i m i c a l l y t o t h a t p a r t i c u l a r p l a c e b u t s o a s r e g a r d s t h e whole i s l a n d , s o much t h a t Chinese who w i l l s h i p v l l l i n g l y t o Langkat o r Serdang, i n i g n o r a n c e of t h e p r e c i s e l o c a l s of

<-

dominated by

t h e government monopolies of t h e E a s t c o a s t of Sumatra. Labour c o n t r a c t s s i g n e d b e f o r e t h e P r o t e c t o r of Chinese i n t h e S t r a i t s i n 1889 f o r E a s t Sumatra amounted t o 11,793, p l u s 5176 d i r e c t r e c r u i t m e n t i n China; and i n 1890 8972 p l u s 6666 d i r e c t r e c r u i t m e n t i n China. 20) The D e l i tobacco i n d u s t r y was a t t h e h e i g h t of i t s p r o s p e r i t y i n 1877-90. J.T. Cremer from t h e D e l i M i j t r i e d t o g e t more Chinese l a b o u r by

-1

was o n l y one a l t e r n a t i v e ; Javanese l a b o u r was r e a d i l y a v a i l a b l e , why n o t use i t ? There were r e c r u i t m e n t o f f i c e s e s t a b l i s h e d i n J a v a , a huge r e s e r v o i r of underemployed Javanese c o o l i e s , and ample c o o p e r a t i o n from Dutch o f f i c i a i n J a v a . Immigration of Javanese c o o l i e s r e c o m e n c e d i n t h e middle of 1890s, and q u i c k l y s u r p a s s e d t h e Chinese f i g u r e s . With t h i s new development began t h e n o t o r i o u s " ~ o e n a l eS a n c t i e " ( f o r c e d labour) f o r the Javanese coolies. Though t h e i n d e n t u r e d Chinese c o o l i e s g r a d u a l l y dwindled i n number, t h e t o t a l Chinese p o p u l a t i o n i n t h e E a s t c o a s t continued t o grow. A more balanced community was now emerging, of t r a d e r s , shopkeepers, s m a l l farmc f i s h e r m e n and lumbermen, although they s t 1 1 remained a s m a l l m i n o r i t y . According t o t h e annual r e p o r t from t h e "Deli P l a n t e r s Vereeniging" P l a n t e r s A s s o c i a t i o n ) , between A p r i l 1915 (Del:
(

t r a v e l l i n g t o China himself i n 1875. ~ r e m e r ' s c o n c l u s i o n was t h a t t h e D e l i Mij should send t r u s t e d Laukehs back t o China t o p e r s u a d e t h e i r f r i e n d s t o m i g r a t e t o E a s t Sumatra w i t h o u t any c o n t r a c t s . I t was a s u c c e s s . Then t h e o t h e r 5 tobacco concerns j o i n e d f o r c e s i n 1886 i n a more e a r n e s t a t t e m p t t o b r i n g about d i r e c t m i g r a t i o n . They s e n t D r . J . J . M . o f f i c i a l Chinese i n t e r - p r e t e r d e Groot,

i n B a t a v i a , t o t o u r South China, and h e made

a c l e v e r and s u c c e s f u l scheme through t h e German f i r m s t h e r e and t h e German Consul i n Swatow t o p u t p r e s s u r e on t h e Chinese government, e s p e c i a l l y a s t h e Germans a l s o had a l a r g e s h a r e i n D e l i tobacco. D r . d e Groot and t h e German Consul i n Swatow used a l l t h e i r i n f l u e n c e on t h e h i g h e r o f f i c i a l s of Chaochu, and b r i b e d some of t h e j u n i o r ones, u n t i l t h e o f f i c i a l permission was o b t a i n e d f o r f r e e e m i g r a t i o n t o Sumatra i n A p r i l 1 8 8 8 . ~ ' ) I n 1875-6 t h e r e p u t a t i o n of D e l i was a t i t s w o r s t and was a c c e n t u a t e d by t h e v i o l e n c e s o o f t e n used by Kehtaus and b r o k e r s i n t h e S t r a i t s t o compel u n w i l l i n g Singkehs t o board t h e s h i p s f o r D e l i . I t was, however, p r a c t i c a l l y i m p o s s i b l e f o r t h e D e l i p l a n t e r s t o f i l l t h e i r l a b o u r r e q u i r e m e n t s under t h e c o n d i t i o n s of 1875-77. I n those years, therefore,

March 1916 t h e t o t a l number and i n 1917

Chinese c o n t r a c t c o o l i e s i n t h e tobacco e s t a t e s was 37.608,

t h e t o t a l Chinese p o p u l a t i o n i n t h e E a s t c o a s t was 99.236 of whom 92.646 were males. Most of t h e Chinese female p o p u l a t i o n were wives of T a n d i l s / c l i i e f t a n d i l o r Laukehs, b u t v e r y seldom t h e wives of Singkehs. Most of t h e Singkehs were too poor t o pay t h e dowry i n China, o r i f they were m a r r i e d they l e f t t h e i r wives i n China w i t h t h e i r p a r e n t s and s e n t whatever money they could s a v e back t o them. P r o f . P a r k e r wrote: 23) "Chinese e m i g r a n t s , h e r e a s e l s e w h e r e , a r e slow t o b r i n g t h e i r own womar

they begaX a t t e m p t i n g t o b r i n g more Chinese d i r e c t from China, and employed Javanese more w i d e l y i n t h e f i e l d s . I n 1879 t h r e were 4000 Chinese c o o l i e s b e i n g imported, and t h i s f i g u r e r o s e t o 18.352 i n 1888. But between 1880-90 t h e r e was a d e c l i n e , t h e main c a u s e b e i n g t h e a t t i t u d e of Chinese o f f i c i a l s , e s p e c i a l l y t h e Amoy a u t h o r i t i e s . 22) I n China t h e r e was c o n t i n u i n g p r e s s u r e a g a i n s t immigration t o D e l i . The Heng Thye r e c r u i t i n g house was plagued by p e o p l e t h r e a t e n i n g t o complain t o o f f i c i a l s about t h e kidnapping of r e l a t i v e s u n l e s s t h e y were b r i b e d t o keep q u i e t . The C e n t r a l Government i n Peking i t s e l f was involved i n t h e o p p o s i t i o n of e m i g r a t i o n t o D e l i , p a r t l y because of i t s d e s i r e t o p l a c e Chinese c o n s u l s i n t h e N e t h e r l a n d s I n d i e s . The c o n t i n u i n g c u r r e n t of o p p o s i t i o n prevented t h e p l a n t e r s from e v e r o b t a i n i n g a s f u l l o r a s s u r e a supply of l a b o u r a s they r e q u i r e d . So t h e p l a n t e r s were i n c r e a s i n g l y t o look t o o t h e r s o u r c e s t o f i l l t h e i r l a b o u r requirements. I n d i a n workers had n e v e r been numerous. The few

w i t h them u n t i l arrangements a r e made f o r permanent c e m e t e r i e s , and u n t ~ a f e e l i n g of j u s t i c e and s e c u r i t y i s engendered i n t h e i r mindstt. The Hainan Chinese (Hailams) d i d n o t , under any c i r c u m s t a n c e s , want t o b r i n g t h e i r f a m i l i e s t o a f o r e i g n country. These Chinese people came t o D e l i a s s e r v a n t s , cooks, h o t e l k e e p e r s e t c . They u s u a l l y l i v e d t o g e t h e r w i t h Javanese women and s e n t money t o t h e i r f a m i l i e s i n China. The most i m p o r t a n t Chinese t r i b e s i n t h e E a s t c o a s t of Sumatra were:
1 . The P u n t i s o r Cantonese:

These were n a t i v e s of Kwangtung Province. They l a t e r h e l d p r o f e s s i o n s a s g o l d s m i t h s , c a b i n e t makers, t a i l o r s and t r a d e r s i n c o t t o n c l o t h . On t h e e s t a t e s t h e i r numbers were n o t p l e n t i f u l . Most of t h e Chinese p r o s t i t u t e s i n D e l i a t t h a t time were from t h i s t r i b e 2. The Hakkas o r Khehs: "They d i f f e r from t h e i r f e l l o w Chinese mainly i n t h e f a c t t h a t among them t h e women d o n ' t b i n d t h e i r f e e t . T h i s , however, i s s t r i c t l y t r u e 24) o n l y of t h e Kwangtung Hakkas".

I n d i a n s (Klings) who s i g n e d c o n t r a c t s i n Malaya f o r work i n D e l i were b r e a k i n g t h e laws of t h e B r i t i s h Tndian

C n v ~ r n m ~ n tc n
n.rnn+.r.lll-.

+L---

I n D e l i we found them a s shoemakers, r a t t a n t r a d e r s , and t i n p l a t e makers. The t o b a c c o e s t a t e s such a s P o l o n i a ( t h e P o l o n i a a i r p o r t Medan a t p r e s e n t ) , M a r i e n d a l , B e k a l l a were opened w i t h t h e f i r s t Hakka c o o l i e s . One of t h e Dutch e s t a t e managers remarked: "The Hakkas work v e r y c l e a n , b u t have t h e weakness of smoking opium". The Hakkas were famous d u r i n g t h e i r long s t a n d i n g i n s u r r e c t i o n a g a i n s t t h e Dutch t r o o p s i n West Borneo. The Chinese "Major" i n D e l i , t h e famous m u l t i - m i l l i o n a i r e (and h i s b r o t h e r Chong Yong Hian) were a l s o Hakka. 3 . The Hokloes: The wellknown s u b - t r i b e s i n D e l i were t h e Theochius and t h e Hailhok Hongs., n a t i v e s of Swatow, and were m o s t l y c o o l i e s on t h e e s t a t e s . Chong A F i e ,

Hakkas from F i u Chew, S t e r n e r measures were t a k e n by t h e Dutch i n 1881 t o s u p p r e s s t h e s e s o c i e t i e s . 25) Many gang wars between t h e S e c r e t S o c i e t i e s e r u p t e d i n Borneo, Riau a. i n D e l i . Should t h e v i c t i m s e v e r be b r o u g h t t o c o u r t by t h e Dutch, mo of them d e n i e d a l l knowledge of t h e a c c u s e r s . When t h e Chinese bound t h e m s e l v e s under o a t h a s members of t h e s e c r e t s o c i e t i e s , i t was v e r y d i f f i c u l t t o p e r s u a d e them t o t e l l t h e t r u t h a s w i t n e s s e s i n f r o n t of t h e c o u r t b e c a u s e of t h e i r s o l i d a r i t y f e e l i n g s . The former R e s i d e n t of R i a u , Graaf l a n d , w r o t e z 6 ) t h a t t h e f i r s t s e c r e t s o c i e t y i n Riau was t h e Ghee Hin b u t l a t e r a n o t h e r s e c r e t s o c i e t y cam S i n g a p o r e , t h e Ghee Hock, i n t h e i s l a n d of Kundur. I n 1876 t h e s e two s e c r e t s o c i e t i e s came i n t o open c o n f l i c t . Another s s o c i e t y was t h e Maisan, where most of t h e members were from t h e "Tan" I n D e l i t h e names of t h e s e c r e t s o c i e t i e s were s t i l l remembered w i t h f e a r . 27) The s e c r e t s o c i e t i e s were v e r y v e r y powerful, and l i k e t h e Mafia t h e y

4. The Hailams:
T h e i r n a t i v e l a n d was t h e i s l a n d of Hainan. Most of them l a t e r became house s e r v a n t s , cooks and h o t e l c l e r k s .

5. The Arnoys o r Hokkians:

From t h e d i s t r i c t of Hsiang Shou Fu. Both i n D e l i and J a v a t h e y were a c t i v e as traders. 6 . O t h e r s m a l l e r t r i b e s , some of which o r i g i n a l l y came from L i u c h i u and Chaochiu P e n i n s u l a , u s u a l l y c a l l e d t h e L i u c h i u s and Chaochius, and t h e Hokchius from Hokkian p r o v i n c e . Most of them were b o a t owners i n Belawan and Bagan S i a p i - a p i .
*

c o n t r o l l e d t h e l i v e s of t h e i r members, gave them long-term l o a n s a s working c a p i t a l t o t r a d e o r open shops, and even a r r a n g e d t h e i r weddi ceremonies. The s e c r e t s o c i e t i e s a l s o h e l p e d t h e i r members t o occupy t h e economic f i e l d i n t h e E a s t c o a s t of Sumatra. They had c o n n e c t i o n s w i t h t h e i r b r a n c h e s i n Penang, S i n g a p o r e and Hongkong, and became a s o r t of Chamber of Commerce which c o n t r o l l e d , and i f n e c e s s a r y i n c r e a p r i c e s everywhere, which had t o b e f o l l o w e d even by t h e shops i n t h e c u t of t h e way p l a c e s . I t h i n k t h i s s o r t of p r a c t i c e s t i l l e x i s t s and s t i l l i n o p e r a t i o n h e r e . B e f o r e t h e s e c r e t s o c i e t i e s were d e e p l y i n v o i n " r e s p e c t a b l e " b u s i n e s s , t h e c o n d i t i o n of t h e . C h i n e s e c o o l i e s i n t h 1 9 t h c e n t u r y i n D e l i was f a r worse. P r o f . P a r k e r , who v i s i t e d D e l i i n 1888 w r o t e 2 8 ) t h a t t h e m a j o r i t y of t h e c o o l i e s were i n a p o s i t i o n l i t t removed from v i r t u a l s l a v e r y . I n t h e f i r s t p l a c e t h e y had t o s i g n bon t o s e r v e f o r a minimum t i m e of 5 y e a r s a t f i x e d wages, t h e n t h e y had t o g u a r a n t e e repayment of t h e i r p a s s a g e money and o u t f i t , and e v e r y encouragement was g i v e n t o them t o e x t e n d t h e i r t e r m and t o spend a s of t h e i r money a s p o s s i b l e i n t h e b r o t h e l s and o t h e r p l a c e s provided

The Cantonese and Hakkas were a l s o busy w o o d c u t t e r s , who s o l d f i r e wood t o t h e e s t a t e s . The g r e e n g r o c e r s and p i g b r e e d e r s w e k m o s t l y former c o o l i e s , who, a t t h e end of t h e i r c o n t r a c t s , r e n t e d t h e l a n d from t h e Malay kampong p e o p l e . I n 1915 t h e Manager of t h e D e l i M i j , Van Vollenhoven, gave s e v e r a l p l o t s of l a n d which were n o t s u i t a b l e f o r t o b a c c o p l a n t i n g t o t h e Chinese t o be used f o r g r e e n g r o c e r y and p i g farms. These were m o s t l y Chinese from Swatow and Tsau Tsu Fu. However t h e S u l t a n of D e l i was a g a i n s t t h i s a c t i o n , a s f r e e Chinese o u t s i d e t h e e s t a t e s were c o n s i d e r e d a s i n t r u d e r s by t h e Malays. Wherever Hakkas o r Hokloes were found t h e y always formed t r i b a l s e c r e t s o c i e t i e s . Though Chinese S e c r e t S o c i e t i e s were f o r b i d d e n i n N e t h e r l a n d s I n d i a , b r a n c h e s of Penang and S i n g a p o r e s e c r e t s o c i e t i e s c e r t a i n l y e x i s t e d among Chinese p l a n t a t i o n c o o l i e s . I n t h e p e r i o d of 1881-4 t h e r e were a s e r i e s of v i o l e n t i n c i d e n t s between t h e "Ghee Hin" S e c r e t S o c i e t y which r e p r e s e n t e d p r i m a r i l y Theochius, Hakkas, and Hailams, and t h e "Ho Seng" S e c r e t S o c i e t y r e p r e s e n t i n g Hokkians and

f o r t h e i r r e c r e a t i o n . The food t h e y bought and t h e opium t h e y smoked b r o u g h t p r o f i t a t t h e i r expense t o e i t h e r t h e Dutch I n d i e s Government t h e e s t a t e managers; l o a n s were f r e e ; t h e p e n a l t y f o r b r e a c h of d i s c i p l i n e was heavy, and t h e "laws of evidence" were such t h a t t h e man c o u l d p r a c t i c a l l y "work t h e c a s e " i n h i s own i n , t e r e s t . Gambling, w i t h a l l i t s t r e a c h e r o u s r e s u l t s , was growing. Before 1876, under t h e S u l t a n ' s a u t h o r i t y , i t was n o t a l l o w e d i n t h e e s t a t e s excep
xi

.the c a p i t a l of Labuhan D e l i , and o n l y d u r i n g Chinese New Years; b u t from t h e t i m e t h a t i t was t a k e n o v e r by t h e Dutch government t h e gambling h o u s e s were e x p l o i t e d t o d e l i v e r a s much p r o f i t a s p o s s i b l e t o t h e c o f f e r s of t h e Dutch T r e a s u r y . Along t h e r o a d from Labuhan t o Medan a l o n e t h e r e were no l e s s t h a n 7 gambling c a s i n o s a t t h a t time.29) The r e s u l t was t h a t many Chinese c o o l i e s became s o poor t h a t t h e y even s o l d t h e i r own d a u g h t e r s t o t h e Malay n o b l e s . The end of t h e 1 9 t h c e n t u r y saw t h e b e g i n n i n g of t h e f l o o d of f o r e i g n machine-made goods, which had e x t i n g u i s h e d n a t i v e Malay c r a f t and a r t s , and t h e i n t r o d u c t i o n e n masse of a n i n d u s t r i a l and c a p i t a l i s t s y s t e m a l i e n t o Malay e x p e r i e n c e . I n t h e f a c e of t h e s e i n n o v a t i o n s t h e Malay h a s lagged b e h i n d t h e European, Chinese o r even I n d i a n . The main r e a s o n f o r t h i s i s n o t always l a z i n e s s , of which t h e Malay i s t o o r e a d i l y a c c u s e d , b u t a f a i l u r e t o s p e c i a l i s e coupled w i t h a f a i l u r e t o a c q u i r e and r e a l i s e t h e i m p o r t a n c e of c a p i t a l . What a European m o r a l i s t r e g a r d s a s l o s t t i m e , t h e Malay r e g a r d s a s t i m e g a i n e d . A Chinese f i s h d e a l e r , f o r i n s t a n c e , e n j o y s i n r e t u r n a monopoly of t h e c a t c h e s a t a low p r i c e , t h u s d e p r i v i n g t h e Malay of p r o p e r r e m u n e r a t i o n f o r h i s l a b o u r . For t h e Malay, t h e r e i s a r e a s o n : t h e f a i l u r e t o s a v e h i s own c a p i t a l f o r t h e f u t u r e . The Muslim law a g a i n s t t a k i n g i n t e r e s t a l s o m i l i t a t e d a g a i n s t t h e u s e of c a p i t a l . I f a Malay wants t o e n t e r commerce, h e f i n d s t h a t h e n o t o n l y l a c k s t h e i n t e r n a t i o n a l c o n t a c t s which European and Chinese commerce has established over centuries, b u t t h a t he a l s o has t o face t h e a c t i v e
*

Chong Moh Steamship Coy. w i t h t h e s h i p s "Hokwei" B e n g k a l i s and Bagan Si-Api-api;

"Langkat" and "Rosa";

Ban Hui, owner of t h e s. s. "Sum Tor" s a i l i n g between S i n g a p o r e , S i a k , Oei S o e i I n , owner of t h e s.s. "Marie Austin"; Khoo Tiang Po owner of t h e s.s. "Chan Tai" (Penang, Asahan, B a t u b a r a ) ; A Hing owner of t h e s . s. " F l y i n g F i s h " (Penang, Asahan, Kualu 30) Tjong Ho w i t h t h e s . s . " J i n Ho" (Penang, ~ a n g k a t ) and many o t h e r s . The Dutch p l a n t e r s encouraged Chinese s e r v i c e s a s food s u p p l i e r s , c o n t r a c t o r s , e t c . f o r t h e p l a n t a t i o n s . Former Chinese c o o l i e s now became s h o p k e e p e r s and s e t t l e r s . Some of them became m i l l i o n n a i r e s , s u c h a s Chong A F i e , Tan Tek Hong, Seng Hap e t c . Most of t h e Chinese f i r m s i n D e l i were a f f i l i a t e d w i t h Chinese f i r m s i n Penang and S i n g a p o r e . Even t h e i m p o r t a t i o n of Rangoon and Saigon r i c e was i n t h e i r h a n d s , h e l p e d by t h e Dutch I n d i e s Government. I n t h e 1 9 t h Century t h e r e g i o n of E a s t Sumatra was s c a r c e l y p o p u l a t e d , b u t a f t e r t h e t o b a c c o boom i t was p o p u l a t e d by C h i n e s e , I n d i a n s and I n d o n e s i a n s from o t h e r r e g i o n s and t h e Malays became a m i n o r i t y . Each group m a i n t a i n e d i t s own c u l t u r a l i d e n t i t and l i v e d i n i s o l a t i o n from e a c h o t h e r , and t h e s e a r e a s c a n s t i l l b e i d e n t i f i e d i n t h e C i t y of Medan from t h e names of Kampong K l i n g , Kampong M a n d a i l i n g e t c . T h a t ' s why t h e Chinese i n t h i s r e g i o n s t i l l keep t h e i r own l a n g u a g e s and customs i n t a c t , and we c a n s t i l l f i n d Chinese p e o p l e who c a n n o t p r o p e r l y u n d e r s t a n d o r speak Malay ( I n d o n e s i a n ) . I n th Chinese companies t h e y seldom used Malays o r o t h e r I n d o n e s i a n s a s employees, b u t always used p e o p l e of t h e i r own r a c e , who, t h e y a r g u e d , could work b e t t e r . The monopoly and t h e consignment s y s t e m s which occupied s u c h a n importar p l a c e among them, t h e y had a d j u s t e d t o t h e n a t i v e s ; which now h a s t h e p o p u l a r nickname of "Tjon-System". They l e n t e v e r y t h i n g t h a t was needed

o p p o s i t i o n of t h o s e s o j o u r n e r s i n h i s n a t i v e l a n d . Then t h e Chinese became "Governement Onderdanen" ( d i r e c t s u b j e c t of t h e Dutch I n d i e s l i f e of t h e Malay.

%-

Government) and g r a d u a l l y s t r a n g l e d t h e social-economic

At t h e end of t h e 1 9 t h Century, w i t h t h e h e l p of t h e Dutch I n d i e s Government and t h e e s t a t e c o n c e r n s , t h e Chinese had o b t a i n e d t o t a l o c c u p a t i o n of t h e t r a n s p o r t a t i o n s e c t o r i n t h i s r e g i o n , which was once i n t h e hands of t h e B a t u b a r a Malays. I n 1887 t h e Dutch I n d i e s Government r e a d i l y opened 21 s m a l l h a r b o u r s f o r g e n e r a l t r a d e with Penang. Penang became a t t h a t p e r i o d a d i s t r i b u t i o n p o i n t from where a l l s o r t s of s m a l l b o a t s s a i l e d t o t h e v a r i o u s small h a r b o u r s on t h e E a s t c o a s t of Sumatra, and from where t h e goods were s h i p p e d t o Europe. And Penang became a l s o t h e s t a p l e o f i m p o r t goods, t h e s o c a l l e d " P a s a r Goederen" which were n e a r l y a l l i n Chinese hands. The s h i p p i n g companies which were i n o p e r a t i o n between Penang o r S i n g a p o r e t o E a s t Sumatra s i n c e May 1892 were i n t h e hands of t h e b i g Chinese s h i p p i n g magnates, such a s :

t o t h e n a t i v e kampong p e o p l e . Soon t h e Chinese became i n d i s p e n s a b l e , anc w i t h o u t u s i n g any v i o l e n c e knew how t o make t h e n a t i v e s f o l l o w t h e i r go: S t e p by s t e p t h e y c o u l d m a s t e r s e v e r a l ways of l i f e , and t h e n a t i v e s not 3 1) had t o s t e p a s i d e from t h e c o m p e t i t i o n . Many of t h e Chinese who had come t o t h e r e g i o n t o work on t h e p l a n t a t i o r o r t h e i r c h i l d r e n , climbed t h e economic pyramid t o become w e a l t h y merchants o r t r a d e r s , w h i l e r e m a i n i n g a d i s t i n c t i v e l y s e p a r a t e r a c i a l community. U n t i l a b o u t 1920 t h e C h i n e s e - c o n t r o l l e d t r a d i n g network had

b e e n making i n r o a d s i n t o much of t h e t r a d e i n ~ l a n t a t i o n produce. Goods c o n t i n u e d t o f l o w , b o t h l e g a l l y and i l l e g a l l y , and o u t of t h e dozens of s m a l l p o r t s s i t u a t e d a l o n g t h e f u l l l e n g t h of t h e E a s e Sumatran Coast. The Chinese merchant community c o n t i n u e d t o monopolise t h e t r a d e . By

t h e 1920s, Medan and Pematang S i a n t a r p r e s e n t e d good examples of t h i s expanding Chinese merchant community. I n S i a n t a r , t h e Chinese q u a r t e r q u i c k l y became t h e c e n t r e of economic l i f e i n t h e c i t y and i n Simelungun a s a whole. 32) W e s t i l l h e a r t h e legend of how t h e l a t e m i l l i o n a i r e Chong A F i e came t o D e l i from China w e a r i n g o n l y s h o r t s and c a r r y i n g a s t i c k , and w i t h i n a s h o r t t i m e became a m i l l i o n a i r e and promoted by t h e Dutch I n d i e s Government t o "Majoor" of t h e Chinese. He gave a d o n a t i o n t o t h e Medan C i t y C o u n c i l ( t h e p r e s e n t b r i d g e a t Kampong K e l i n g ) , t o t h e S u l t a n of D e l i ( h a l f t h e expenses f o r t h e Mesjid Raya) and t o h i s n a t i v e China ( t h e y r a i l w a y between Swatow and Chau Chu Hu) and had t h e monopoly of opium i m p o r t i n t o t h i s r e g i o n . He was a l s o t h e owner of t h e D e l i Bank.
G.C.

food t o meet demand.35)

B e s i d e r u b b e r , t h e E a s t Sumatran p e a s a n t a l s o

e x p o r t e d o t h e r p r o d u c t s , n o t a b l y c o p r a , p i n a n g n u t s , pepper lumber and f i s h and from t h e Karo H i g h l a n d s such a s p o t a t o e s , v e g e t a b l e s and f r u i , I n terms of e x p o r t v a l u e t o t a l p e a s a n t e x p o r t s from E a s t Sumatra r o s e from F1. 5 , 7 m i l l i o n ( 4 , 8 % from t o t a l e x p o r t ) i n 1913 t o a l e v e l of F1. 32 m i l l i o n i n 1920 (14% from t o t a l e x p o r t ) . Almost a l l of t h e e x p o r t e r s were Chinese f i r m s . 36) Chinese c a p i t a l and i t s economic power m u l t i p l i e d and i n f i l t r a t e d i n t o k i n d s of s e c t o r s . At t h e end of t h e 19th c e n t u r y t h e y managed t o b u i l d t h e f i r s t Chinese School i n Medan, "The Medan Boarding School", at a t

when t h e r e was n o t a s i n g l e s c h o o l b u i l t by t h e Dutch I n d i e s Governmen f o r t h e I n d o n e s i a n s h e r e . The o n l y r e a c t i o n from t h e Dutch c i r c l e was t h a t t h e s c h o o l was u s i n g C h i n e s e and E n g l i s h languages and headed by Chinese t e a c h e r s from Malaya and i n t h i s way had promoted t h e B r i t i s h i n t e r e s t more r a p i d l y . 37) To c o u n t e r a c t t h i s , t h e Dutch opened t h e f i r s t "Holland-Chineesche i n 1917. The Dutch A s s i s t a n t R e s i d e n t of Simelungun, J. Tideman, a l s o d e s c r i b e d t h e Chinese i n S i a n t a r a s c o n s t i t u t i n g a commercial c l a s s , which formec a predominant element i n t h e busy commercial d i s t r i c t of t h e c a p i t a l o. Simelungun. 38) Chinese c a p i t a l i n v e s t m e n t i n t h e p r e s s c a n b e s e e n from 2 p o i n t s : F i r s t t h e forming of newspaper p u b l i s h i n g h o u s e s and second from t h e p u b l i c a t i o n of newspapers i n t h e Malay l a n g u a g e and newspapers i n Chin1 c h a r a c t e r s . The f i r s t Chinese owned Malay newspaper was t h e "Andalas" t h e P r e s i d e n t D i r e c t o r of t h e p u b l i s h i n g house was M r . Oei Beng Seng. He a l s o p u b l i s h e d t h e "Sumatra Bin Poh" i n Chinese language. These pap1 p r o s p e r e d a s most of t h e pages were f u l l of a d v e r t i s e m e n t s from v a r i o u : Chinese f i r m s . One example of Chinese power through mass media i s g i v e ] h e r e . The e d i t o r of a Malay language newspaper " P e r t j a Timoer" i n Medal
,

A l l e n w r o t e 3 3 ) , of a Chinese named Tan Tang Ho who came t o Medan

d i r e c t from China i n 1880 w i t h o u t a c e n t i n h i s p o c k e t , b u t 20 y e a r s l a t e r became t h e s o l e a g e n t of famous European made b i c y c l e s , sewing machines and c i g a r s and was a m i l l i o n a i r e . A l l t h e s e m i l l i o n a i r e s were g i v e n t i t l e s by t h e Dutch I n d i e s Government of "Majoor", "Kapitein" o r "Luitenant"

Sch,

of t h e Chinese a s a new m i d d l e c l a s s group. T h e i r s a l a r i e s were p a i d by t h e government, and t h e i r d u t i e s were o n l y t o r e p o r t a n y t h i n g t h a t happened i n s i d e t h e Chinese community, t o h e l p t h e government a d m i n i s t r a t i o n i n c o l l e c t i n g t a x e s among t h e C h i n e s e , t o r e p o r t any newcomers e t c . They were a l s o a p p o i n t e d a s members of t h e Dutch c o u r t s (Landraad, P o l i t i e ) . As i t was-the c o l o n i a l p o l i c y , t h e a v e r a g e monthly wage f o r a n u n s k i l l e d worker i n D e l i i n 1926 was F1. 19.50 a c c o r d i n g t o t h e f i n i m u m wage s t a n d a r d s a s s t i p u l a t e d i n t h e v a r i o u s c o o l i e o r d i n a n c e s . But on t h e o t h e r hand t h e E a s t ~ u m a t r a ' s t o b a c c o p l a n t a t i o n s s p e n t i n 1927 more t h a n F1. 53.000.000.i n t h e r e g i o n i t s e l f . So one could have e x p e c t e d

t h a t t h e combined s p e n d i n g of p l a n t a t i o n workers a l o n e m i g h t h a v e c r e a t e d a n i n c r e a s e i n m a r k e t demand f o r f o o d s t u f f s and s i m p l e consumer goods, made r e a d i l y a v a i l a b l e by t h e Chinese. During t h e d e p r e s s i o n y e a r of 1923 t h e p e r c a p i t a i m p o r t s of t h e E a s t Sumatra p o p u l a t i o n were F1. 1.144 a s compared w i t h F1. 665 f o r Java and F1. 519 f o r West ~ u m a t r a . ~The ~ ) r e a s o n t h a t p e a s a n t a g r i c u l t u r e i n E a s t Sumatra a l s o d i d n o t respond t o t h e o p p o r t u n i t i e s o f f e r e d by i n c r e a s e d m a r k e t demand f o r f o o d s t u f f s was simply t h a t t h e r e was l i t t l e room l e f t f o r t h e expansion of p e a s a n t a g r i c u l t u r e , hemmed i n a s i t was on a l l s i d e s by t h e p l a n t a t i o n s . A l l t h e b e s t l a n d t h a t was a v a i l a b l e i n t h a t r e g i o n had a l r e a d y been a l l o t t e d t o t h e p l a n t a t i o n s a s c o n c e s s i o n s , s o t h a t t h e l o c a l p e a s a n t s d i d n o t have a c c e s s t o enough l a n d t o produce enough

M r . Musa, had t h e c o u r a g e i n 1912 t o l a u n c h a c r i t i q u e on t h e powerful

Chinese Mayoor Chong A F i e . Musa w r o t e t h a t Chong A F i e was a k i n d h e a r , man, who d u r i n g t h e coming of t h e f a s t i n g month Ramadhan had g i v e n a minimum of F1. 0 , 1 0 t o each of t h e t h o u s a n d s of poor p e o p l e . But besidc w r i t i n g a b o u t t h e g e n e r o s i t y of M r . Chong A F i e , Musa made a m i s t a k e of a l s o e x p o s i n g t h e h i s t o r i c a l background of how M r . Chong A F i e obdained h i s w e a l t h . T h a t made M r . Chong A F i e v e r y annoyed, and n o t l o n g a f t e r w a r d s Musa was k i c k e d o u t from " P e r t j a Timoer" w i t h o u t any r e a s o n . But n o t o n l y t h a t , even " P e r t j a Timoer" i t s e l f c e a s e d t o e x i s t i n J a n u a r y 1913.

Most of t h e prominent a r t i c l e s i n t h e Chinese-owned newspapers were f u l l of propaganda promoting M r . Sun Yat S e n ' s Kuomintang Government and campaigns f o r t h e b o y c o t of Japanese-made goods. A f t e r 1922 more Chinese newspapers were p u b l i s h e d i n Medan. Thanks t o t h e s u c c e s f u l a n t i - J a p a n e s e a r t i c l e s i n t h e "Sumatra Bin Poh", t h e Chinese Community had succeeded t o b e s e n t t o China.

YLef t Wing'' Chinese p u b l i c a t i o n s banned. A number of them who managed t o evade t h e J a p a n e s e n e t t u r n e d t o e s t a b l i s h i n g c l o s e r working r e l a t i o n s w i t h some of t h e I n d o n e s i a n M a r x i s t s who were b e g i n n i n g t o work w i t h i n t h e J a p a n e s e a d m i n i s t r a t i o n . 42) With t h e s e t t i n g up of t h e new Sumatra Gunseikanbu i n 1943, t h e 2 5 t h Army Command f u r t h e r s t r e n g t h e n e d t i e s w i t h t h e Chinese b u s i n e s s c o m u n i
A p o l i c y d i r e c t i v e of A p r i l 1943 f o r example, s t a t e d t h a t :

i n c o l l e c t i n g more than F1. 10.000.000.-

Although t h e Malay language u s e d i n t h e Chinese-owned newspapers was v e r y bad, t h e newspapers c o u l d s u r v i v e , t h a n k s t o t h e s u p p o r t of t h e a d v e r t i s e m e n t s . 39) A s f o r Medan, a n American t r a v e l l e r i n 1920 observed t h a t : "Many of t h e s t o r e s and a l a r g e p a r t of t h e t r a d e of Medan a r e i n t h e hands of Chinese who, a s u s u a l , a r e e x t r e m e l y p r o s p e r o u s . The i r r e p r e s s i b l e Chinese immigrant c o o l i e s seem d e s t i n e d t o become t h e ,,40) f i n a n c i a l power of Sumatra

"For t h e p r e s e n t , t h e Overseas Chinese s h a l l b e u t i l i s e d f o r economic p u r p o s e s b u t t h e i r s o c i a l power s h a l l b e g r a d u a l l y checked. Chinese bank and n a t i v e f i n a n c i a l i n s t i t u t i o n s which a r e c o n s i d e r e d e s s e n t i a l s h a l l b e o r d e r e d t o re-open immediately. S i n c e t r a d e between Malaya and Sumatra o c c u p i e s a s i g n i f i c a n t p l a c e i n t h e economic a c t i v i t i e s of t h e Chinese i n b o t h a r e a s , t h e Chinese i n Sumatra s h a l l b e p e r m i t t e d f u l l y t o engage i n t h i s t r a d e ;

.......

.......t h e

When i n December 1941 t h e J a p a n e s e a r m i e s began t o conquer Malaya, t h e Chinese S e c r e t S o c i e t y ( T r i a d Brotherhood) members had p a r t i c i p a t e d i n t h e Anti-Japanese a c t i v i t i e s and were t h e r e f o r e r u t h l e s s l y s u p p r e s s e d .

economic a c t i v i t i e s of t h e Chinese i n Sumatra s h a l l b e unhampered a s muc ,143) a s possible

.......

By t h e end of t h e y e a r Chinese m e r c h a n t s from Sumatra and Malaya/Singapo were once a g a i n i n f u l l c o n t r o l o f t h e t r a d e a c r o s s t h e Malacca S t r a i t s , t h i s t i m e f r e q u e n t l y w i t h J a p a n e s e s i l e n t p a r t n e r s and w i t h J a p a n e s e m i l i t a r y p r o t e c t i o n . E s p e c i a l l y i n E a s t Sumatra, Chinese c o n t r o l of t h e w h o l e s a l e and r e t a i l m a r k e t s was back t o i t s pre-war levels.

But i t d i d n o t h i n d e r them v e r y l o n g and a b r i s k t r a d e and smuggling of r i c e , f o o d s t u f f s , c o p r a , opium and t o b a c c o w i t h some p i r a c y developed when o p p o r t u n i t y o f f e r e d . G r a d u a l l y t h i s t r a d e expanded n o t o n l y a l o n g t h e c o a s t b u t a c r o s s t o E a s t Sumatra, w i t h a s e c r e t network which e n a b l e d smuggled goods t o b e w i d e l y d i s t r i b u t e d among t h e s m a l l Chinese t r a d e r s . 41) Towards t h e l a r g e Chinese community i t s e l f i n North Sumatra, t h e J a p a n e s e d e c i d e d t o t a k e a m o d e r a t e and c o n c i l i a t o r y l i n e . Soon a f t e r t h e o c c u p a t i o n began Chinese c m u n i t y l e a d e r s were r e a s s u r e d by t h e new m i l i t a r y a d m i n i s t r a t i o n t h a t c o o p e r a t i o n w i t h t h e regime would s e e t h e Chinese f r e e from i n t e r f e r e n c e w i t h t h e i r e s t a b l i s h e d l i f e - s t y l e and economic a c t i v i t y . By J u l y 1942 t h e main t h r u s t of J a p a n e s e p o l i c y was c l e a r : t o p r o v i d e Kuomintang l e a d e r s w i t h a monopoly of a c c e s s t o t h e Chinese community and t o encourage Chinese businessmen t o r e t u r n t o t h e i r pre-war l e v e l s of economic a c t i v i t y . The Overseas Chinese A s s o c i a t i o n i n Medan, f o r example was allowed t o form a "Defence Corps" t o a s s i s t t h e r e g u l a r p o l i c e and t h e J a p a n e s e Army i n g u a r d i n g t h e Chinese s e c t i o n of t h e c i t y . About t h e same t i m e , t h e Sumatera Timur Shu-Chokan ( E a s t Sumatra

I n 1945 t h e J a p a n e s e s u r r e n d e r e d and t h e R e p u b l i c of I n d o n e s i a was p r o c l a i m e d and t h e A l l i e d ( B r i t i s h - I n d i a n ) f o r c e s g r a d u a l l y l a n d e d w i t h t h e t a s k of d i s a r m i n g t h e J a p a n e s e t r o o p s . T h i s l e a d t o armed c l a s h e s w i t h t h e v a r i o u s I n d o n e s i a n youth armed g r o u p s . I n 1946 l o t s of c a r g o e s b e i n g smuggled a c r o s s from Sumatra t o b a r t e r w i t h guns were "highjacked" by p i r a t e s n e a r t h e c o a s t of Malaya. I t was m o s t l y done by C e l l 12 of t h e Ang Bin Hoey (ABH) S e c r e t S o c i e t y . Every shop i n S u n g e i Nibong (Penang) p a i d p r o t e c t i o n money and e v e r y Chinese v i l l a g e r t h e r e became a member of t h e Ang Bin Hoey. A l t e r n a t i v e 1 a r r a n g e m e n t s were made t o r e l o a d c a r g o e s on t o s m a l l s h i p s and t o t a k e them t o E a s t Sumatra f o r s a l e . The Ang Bin Hoey headman t h u s became r i c h and opened import-export f i r m s i n Penang and e l s e w h e r e . Some of t h e They were t h e promine

'r

C e l l 12 l e a d e r s s o u g h t r e f u g e i n Bagan Si-Api-api.

R e s i s t a n c e ) o r d e r e d a l l Chinese o r g a n i s a t i o n s t o merge t h e m s e l v e s w i t h i n a n e n l a r g e d Kuomintang A s s o c i a t i o n . By t h e end of t h e y e a r a number of prominent Chinese, p a r t i c u l a r l y s e v e r a l j o u r n a l i s t s and i n t e l l e c t u a l s s y m p a t h e t i c t o t h e communist movement i n China, were a r r e s t e d and a l l

l e a d e r s who were i n r e v o l t a g a i n s t t h e Republican F o r c e s i n September 1946. One of t h e P e r a k S e c r e t S o c i e t y l e a d e r s , Lim Ah Hah, was r e p o r t e d t o b e i n Sumatra i n 1949. The w i d e s p r e a d i n f l u e n c e of S e c r e t S o c i e t i e s (Brotherhood of T r i a d S o c i e t y ) was r e c o g n i z e d by b o t h t h e Chinese 'Kuomintang and t h e Chinese Communists, each of which d e l i b e r a t e d how b e s

t o a t t r a c t and u t i l i z e t h e movement f o r i t s own purposes. The Communist d o c t r i n e and t h a t of t h e T r i a d Brotherhood had one p r i n c i p l e i n common, i n t h e o r y a t l e a s t , namely, t h e supremacy o v e r t h e common man. I n Penang, c e r t a i n members of C e l l 4 and C e l l 12 of t h e Ang B i n Hoey, encouraged by t h e i r l e a d e r s , were found t o be h e l p i n g t h e Communists. I n mid-1951, 5 Ang Bin Hoey members l e f t f o r t h e E a s t c o a s t of Sumatra. 44)

t o 3000 men.51) By e a r l y October 1947 however, a c t u a l Poh An T u i s t r e n g t had reached o n l y a b o u t 1000, made up of 15 o p e r a t i o n a l u n i t s p o s t e d a t s e v e r a l p l a c e s a l l over t h e occupied E a s t Sumatra. It was disbanded on March 31, 1948. I n t h e meantime b a r t e r t r a d e s t i l l went on between t h e Republican t e r r i t o r y and Malaya. Among t h e b i g g e s t p u r c h a s e r s of b a r t e r t r a d e from E a s t Sumatra and s u p p l i e r s e t c . i n r e t u r n were Hanson, Wah Giap & Co i n S i n g a p o r e and i n Penang v i a Lee Tek Kong, f o r m e r l y t h e owner of Black Cat Coy. i n Tanjong B a l a i Asahan. There were now b i g p r o f i t s t o b e made i n t h e b a r t e r t r a d e , even though t h e b u l k of p r o f i t s o u t of t h e t r a d e c o n t i n u e d t o f l o w t o t h e Chinese middlemen i n Sumatra, Malaya and S i n g a p o r e , many of t h e new I n d o n e s i a n t r a d e r s a l s o became r i c h men d u r i n 1948. T h e . C h i n e s e T r a d i n g A s s o c i a t i o n , f o r t h e f i r s t time reopened a f t e r t h e Second World War on t h e 2 4 t h J a n u a r y 1948 i n Medan, was a t t e n d e d by more t h a n 300 i m p o r t a n t prominent members. They e l e c t e d a s Chairman M r . Hsu Hua Chang. Conclusion The Chinese r o l e i n t h i s r e g i o n a l economy a f t e r 1950 had i n c r e a s e d enormously s i n c e 1942. A s t h e importance of t h e s m a l l h o l d e r s t r a d e a s p e c of t h e economy i n c r e a s e d a s a p r o p o r t i o n of t h e t o t a l r e g i o n a l economy, s o t o o d i d t h e importance of t h e Chinese merchant community: a s middleme f i n a n c e r s and o r g a n i z e r s 5 2 ) , and a t p r e s e n t a s i n d u s t r i a l i s t s . I n t h e development of t h e Dutch I n d i e s economy, Chinese immigrants were used by t h e Dutch t o r e i n f o r c e t h e i r p o l i c y . I n e a r l y d a y s , t h e VOC 47) l e a s e d l a n d s t o them a s w e l l a s t o o t h e r p e o p l e and farmed o u t t h e c o l l e c t i o n of t a x e s and t o l l s ; under t h e "Culture" system, Chinese becam middlemen s o t h a t
It.....

S i n c e e a r l y December 1945 t h e r e were r e g u l a r c l a s h e s between t h e Chinese youths and gangs of I n d o n e s i a n youths and Chinese shops and warehouses 45) were r a i d e d f o r s t o l e n o r hoarded goods. G e n e r a l l y s e i z e d were f o o d s t u f f s , c l o t h i n g , machinery e t c . I n r e s p o n s e Chinese youth began forming v i g i l a n t e d e f e n c e groups. Soon v i o l e n t c l a s h e s o c c u r r e d . Open a s s o c i a t i o n by l e a d e r s of t h e Chinese b u s i n e s s community, p a r t i c u l a r l y t h o s e h e a d i n g t h e Overseas Chinese A s s o c i a t i o n , w i t h t h e B r i t i s h and N I C A now provided a p e r f e c t r a t i o n a l e , f o r t h e v e n t i n g of long pent-up a n t i - C h i n e s e f e e l i n g s . On December 12 t h e Overseas Chinese A s s o c i a t i o n i n Medan r e p o r t e d i n a t e l e g r a m s e n t t o General Chiang Kai Shek t h a t : "Since t h e A l l i e d F o r c e s have t a k e n o v e r Sumatra and owing t o t h e s p e c i a l s i t u a t i o n , t h e p o s i t i o n of hundreds of thousands of o v e r s e a s Chinese becomes more d i f f i c u l t . The s a f e t y of t h e l i v e s and p r o p e r t i e s of t h e e hope u r g e n t l y t h a t t h e C e n t r a l Government of Chinese i s n o t a s s u r e d . W China w i l l send an envoy t o t h i s p l a c e , who i s g i v e n f u l l a u t h o r i t y t o 46) look a f t e r t h e i n t e r e s t s of t h e Overseas Chinese i n Sumatra". S i x days l a t e r t h e A s s o c i a t i o n announced t h a t i t would r a i s e a "Home Guard" (Poh An T u i ) t o defend Chinese p r o p e r t y a g a i n s t k a t t a c k . I n t h e s t r e e t s t h e armed y o u t h s became even more convinced of Chinese involvement i n B r i t i s h I D u t c h a t t e m p t s t o d e s t r o y t h e R e p u b l i c . Pemuda a t t a c k s on Chinese c o r n u n i t i e s became more f r e q u e n t , soon almost a d a i l y o c c u r r e n c e . C l a s h e s w i t h Chinese youth became more i n t e n s e . 48) During t h e Dutch f i r s t a g g r e s s i o n ( J u l y 21, 1947), t h e Dutch o c c u p a t i o n a l 49) f o r c e s were a s s i s t e d by u n i t s of Chinese S e c u r i t y Corps, t h e Poh An T u i . On September 4, 1947 s e v e r a l thousand Chinese had marched through Dutch occupied Medan i n p r o t e s t a g a i n s t a t r o c i t i e s committed a g a i n s t t h e Chinese community by armed Republican groups. The l e a d e r s of t h e d e m o n s t r a t i o n handed a p e t i t i o n t o t h e Dutch R e s i d e n t , G e r r i t s e n , demanding t h a t Dutch f o r c e s remain i n Sumatra Timur u n t i l law and o r d e r had been r e s t o r e d . 50) By e a r l y September 1947, f o l l o w i n g d i r e c t i n t e r v e n t i o n by t h e Chinese Consul i n Medan, t h e Dutch I n d i e s Government and t h e Commander i n Chief F o r c e s g r a n t e d p e r m i s s i o n f o r t h e Poh An T u i t o be expanded of t h e ~ u t c h

a l l t h a t t h e n a t i v e s s o l d t o Europeans t h e y s o l

through Chinese, and a l l t h a t t h e n a t i v e s bought from Europeans t h e y bought through Chinese". 53) The Chinese c o n t r o l l e d a l l t h e opium shops, pawnshops, and gambling houses where l o c a l e a r n i n g s o f t e n found t h e i r way. During t h e p r e s e n t c e n t u r y when t h e number of Chinese e x - c o o l i e s h a s i n c r e a s e d , t h e i r i n t e r e s t s have widened and t h e i r i n f l u e n c e i n i n d u s t r y , t r a d e and commerce i n c r e a s e d too. The Chinese a r e a c l o s e l y k n i t community w i t h few s o c i a l t i e s e i t h e r w i t h Europeans o r w i t h t h e I n d o n e s i a n s . They c h a l l e n g e s m a l l e r European c o n c e r n s on t h e one hand, and on t h e o t h e r , they have e x p e r i e n c e i n t r a d e and a money economy which i s s u p e r i o r t o t h a t of t h e r u r a l p o p u l a t i o n . They t r a v e l l e d i n t o t h e i n t e r i o r , buying u

such produce a s kampong r u b b e r , tobacco, c o f f e e , kapok, r i c e and t a p i o c a and f i s h from t h e fishermen. They n o t o n l y pay a low p r i c e , b u t t h e p e a s a n t s and t h e fishermen a r e p a i d b e f o r e hand and t h e n have t o borrow money s o t h a t t h e same Chinese t r a d e r s become money l e n d e r s a s w e l l . They t a k e goods t o s e l l i n t h e Chinese b a z a a r . They s e l l b a t i k s i n Chinese-owned b a t i k f a c t o r i e s . They a r e t h e t r a d e i n t e r m e d i a r i e s . T h i s r a i s e s many d i f f i c u l t problems, e s p e c i a l l y i n remoter d i s t r i c t s where p e a s a n t s a r e o f t e n a t t h e mercy of t h e Chinese middlemen f o r t h e s a l e of t h e i r produce, and i n s o many i n d u s t r i e s where Chinese have e s t a b l i s h e d a n e a r monopoly. I n pre-war t i m e s , o n l y a h a n d f u l of I n d o n e s i a n s

I
2. Yuan S h i h , chuan 12, I l a . 3. I Tsing, Fan Yih Ming-i-tsih, 5. Chang Ting-yu a . o . , Ming-shih, 6. M a Huan, Ying-yai

FOOTNOTES
1 . O.W. W o l t e r s , E a r l y I n d o n e s i a n C o m e r c e . A Study of t h e O r i g i n s of S r i v i j a y a ( I t h a c a 1967) 229-248 f f

c h a p t e r I11 f f .

4. E.E. McKinnon & S.H. Tengku Luckman S i n a r . chuan 325 (Peking 1974) 8416.

shenglan (1 45 1)

were engaged i n commerce o r i n f i n a n c e , and a n even s m a l l e r p r o p o r t i o n had p o s i t i o n s of importance i n t h e v a s t a d m i n i s t r a t i v e system of Dutch t r a d e . The Indonesian was a producer of raw m a t e r i a l s . His e a r n i n g s depended on movements i n world t r a d e , on f l u c t u a t i o n s c o n t r o l l e d by t h e s t o c k exchanges of Amsterdam, Singapore and New York and London. Whether o r n o t he could buy cheap goods, c l o t h e s f o r h i s f a m i l y , a b i c y c l e o r a m i r r o r , depended on d e c i s i o n s taken by Chinese t r a d e r s who c o n t r o l t h e b a l a n c e of e x p o r t s and imports. 54) The t r i s h a w (Becak) boys a r e Indonesians whose Becak a r e owned mostly by Chinese. Because t o o many Becak a r e a l r e a d y i d l e , no new l i c e n c e number p l a t e s a r e b e i n g i s s u e d by t h e Medan C i t y Government. But t h e r e a r e o t h e r ways. The Chinese taukehs evade t h i s r e s t r i c t i o n simply by a t t a c h i n g t h e same number t o two o r more Becak. With t h e cheap I n d o n e s i a n l a b o u r eas)ly a v a i l a b l e , Chinese-owned s m a l l i n d u s t r i e s (manufacturing i n d u s t r i e s , consumer goods i n d u s t r i e s , i n d u s t r i e s f o r *vice and
I
I

7. Mao Yuan-yi, Wu-pei c h i h (1621) chuan 240; u P e i Chih Charts" i n : J o u r n a See a l s o : J . V . M i l l s , "Malaya i n t h e W of t h e Royal A s i a t i c S o c i e t y , Malayan Branch XV (1937:3) 42 f f . 8. S.H. Tengku Luckman S i n a r , S a r i S e d j a r a h Serdang (Dengan a d a t i s t i a Melaju dan teromba S e r i Paduka Gotjah Pahlawan) D j l . 1 : Sebelum abad ke-XX. Medan 1971. 9 . J. Anderson, Mission t o t h e E a s t c o a s t of Sumatra (Edinburgh 1826) 10. H. Hanunerster, B i i d r a g e t o t d e k e n n i s van d e A f d e l i n g Asahan (Amste 1926) 50.
1 1 . K o l o n i a a l V e r s l a g 1876, 18.

T A G (1877:2) 12. P.J. Veth, "Het Landschap D e l i op Sumatra" i n : -

155.

13. A-. Reid, The C o n t e s t f o r North Sumatra. A t j e h , t h e N e t h e r l a n d s and B r i t a i n , 1858-1898 (Kuala Lumpur 1969) 45. 14. W. Brandt ( p s . W.S.B. K l o o s t e r ) , De Aarde van D e l i . 's-Gravenhage

15. A. Hoynk van Papendrecht, G e d e n k s c h r i f t van de Tabakmaatschappij Arendsburg t e r gelegenheid van h a a r 50 j a r i g b e s t a a n , 1877-1927. Rotterdam 1927. 16. Tengku Luckman S i n a r , S a r i S e d j a r a h Serdang, v o l . I , 72. 17. Report on 1876 Chinese Labourer 3-11-1876. Appendix 22 SSICP, x l i i -

r e p a i r i n g equipment f o r t h e p l a n t a t i o n s ) a r i s e . At t h e time of t h e w r i t i n g of t h i s paper, n e a r l y 75% of a l l k i n d s of i n d u s t r i e s i n E a s t Sumatra a r e f u l l y o r p a r t i a l l y owned by Chinese W . N . I . (Warga Negara

18. E. Thio, "The Singapore Chinese P r o t e c t o r a t e : Events and C o n d i t i o n s Leading t o i t s E s t a b l i s h m e n t , 1823-1877" i n : JSS. S o c i e t y XVI (1960 19. W. Knaggs t o Lavino 25-8-1875. A.R.A., B u i t e n l a n d s e Zaken, D o s s i e r

20. Annual Reports of Chinese P r o t e c t o r a t e SSGG. 21. H.J. Bool, De Landbouwconcessies i n d e R e s i d e n t i e t e r Oostkust van Sumatra (S.1. e.a. f o l . ) 6-10. 22. A.J.S. Reid, E a r l y Chinese M i g r a t i o n i n t o North Sumatra.

I n d o n e s i a o r I n d o n e s i a n c i t i z e n of Chinese o r i g i n ) , n e a r l y 99,99% of shops w i t h a l l k i n d s of t r a d e s . The W.N.I. Chinese, now u s i n g b e a u t i f u l

Indonesian names have absorbed m i l l i o n s of d o l l a r s of c r e d i t i n v e s t m e n t s from t h e I n d o n e s i a n government banks. When r e c e n t n a t i o n a l i s t i c t e n s i o n r o s e h i g h among t h e n a t i v e I n d o n e s i a n s , e s p e c i a l l y a f t e r t h e C e n t r a l Government i s s u e d t h e P.P. no.14/1979 (Government Ordinance) b a c k i n g the n a t i v e Indonesians) the

23. P a r k e r , The Chinaman i n Hawaii. 24. D. MacIver, A Chinese-English D i c t i o n a r y . Hakka-dialect a s spoken i Kwangtung. Rev. ed. by M.C. Mackenzie. Shanghai 1926. Schadee, Geschiedenis van Sumatra's Oostkust ( 2 v o l s . Amster 25. W.H.M. 1918-1919) v o l . I1 45; A.G. d e B r u i n , De Chineezen t e r Oostkust van Sumatra (Leiden 1918) 38-52. 26. A.F.P. G r a a f l a n d , "Schets d e r Chineesche V e s t i g i n g i n d e A f d e e l i n g Karimon" i n : BKI X X X V I I (1 888) 505-545. 27. See t h e d a i l y Nieuws van den Dag 2-3-1885.

t h e s o c a l l e d "Weaker Economic Group" ( i . e .

W.N.I.

Chinese e a s i l y switched t o t h e new s i t u a t i o n . They even a p p o i n t e d

t h e i r I n d o n e s i a n d r i v e r s t o become s o c a l l e d " D i r e c t o r s " and t h e y handled them from behind t h e door. They have a s a y i n g i n Medan: "You may g i v e food t o t h e n a t i v e Indonesians b u t n e v e r t e a c h them how t o provide f o r food".

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MAJOOR JANTJE AND T H E INDISCH ELEMENT I N BETAWI FOLKMUSIC by Mona Lohanda

t h e c o u n t r y s i d e of T j i l e u n g s i r f o r 29.500 r i j k s d a a l d e r s i n 1776. Two y~ l a t e r , h e purchased Kalapanoenggal, l o c a t e d a t t h e boundary of T j i l e u n from t h e Dutch E a s t I n d i a Company f o r 26.400 r i j k s d a a l d e r s . Kalapanoenggal and T j i l e u n g s i r were c a l l e d "vogelberg" b e c a u s e of t h e number o f b i r d n e s t s . J o n a t h a n M i c h i e l s m a r r i e d Agraphina Abraham

whom F. d e Haan assumed

A u g u s t i j n M i c h i e l s "was

h i s o r i g i n a l name, a l t h o u g h f o r n a t i v e p e o p l e ,

f o r m e r l y a maid-slave,

and by h e r c h r i s t e n i n g became "anak mas" of a D

" k)a,p i t e i n C r e o l e and Chinese, h e was b e t t e r known a s "Majoor ~ a n t ~ e " ~ d e r Papangersl', d e s p i t e t h e f a c t t h a t h e a c t u a l l y a c q u i r e d t h e r a n k of "Kolonel t i t ~ l a i r " . ~The ) word "Papangers" m i g h t be d e r i v e d from Pampangos of Lupon4), v e r y m i l i t a n t p e o p l e , known f o r b e i n g good s o l d i e r s i n t h e S p a n i s h army, who took r e s i d e n c e i n 1633 i n t h e e a s t e r n p a r t of o l d c i t y B a t a v i a . These Papangers p e o p l e t h e n became a p a r t of M a r d i j k e r s s o l d i e r s group i n t h e Dutch E a s t I n d i a Company army. A s i s w e l l known, M a r d i j k e r s means f r e e man, non-slave. Mardeca p e o p l e , a r e a l s o mentioned by Rumphius a s "vreemde

l a d y 6 ) - on 15 J u l y 1759. From t h i s m a r r i a g e came t h r e e s o n s and two daughters, i . e . A n d r i e s , P i e t e r , and A u g u s t i j n , E l i z a b e t h and G e e r t r u i

They were J o n a t h a n ' s l e g i t i m a t e c h i l d r e n , f o r h e a l s o had s e v e r a l i l l e g i t i m a t e ones. A u g u s t i j n M i c h i e l s , o u r Majoor J a n t j e , was b o r n on 6 J a n u a r y 1769. According t o J o n a t h a n M i c h i e l s t e s t a m e n t of A p r i l 1788, h i s w i f e was t h e i r e s s of a l l h i s p o s s e s s i o n s b e f o r e A n d r i e s and A u g u s t i j n . I n t h e meantime, A u g u s t i j n e n c o u n t e r e d s t r o n g o b j e c t i o n s from h i s f a m i l y towa h i s m a r r i a g e o n 9 October 1788 t o Maria Wilhelmina d e B r u i j n , d a u g h t e r of t h e l a t e l i e u t e n a n t of P a p a n g e r s , J a n F r e d e r i k Lourens. A new w i l l was made i n 1800, a f t e r t h e m o t h e r ' s d e a t h , t o p a s s t h e f a m i l y i n h e r i t t o t h e f i r s t s o n , A n d r i e s , and t h e n a f t e r him t o P i e t e r , t h e second s o But P i e t e r M i c h i e l s d i e d on 28 October 1 8 0 5 ~, ) s o it was t h e t i m e f o r A u g u s t i j n M i c h i e l s t o a p p e a r on t h e s t a g e t o g l o r i f y h i s M a r d i j k e r s f a m i l y i n t h e Dutch E a s t I n d i e s hemisphere. As w e l l a s t h e i n h e r i t a n c e coming i n t o h i s h a n d s , A u g u s t i j n l s m i l i t a r y c a r e e r a l s o p r o g r e s s e d s t e a d i l y . I n October 1789 h e was "Vaandrig d e r Inlandsche Burgerij", t h e n h e a c q u i r e d t h e r a n k of " L u i t e n a n t d e r

inwoonders" and d i f f e r e n t from e i t h e r t h e Dutch o r n a t i v e s . The o l d e s t M a r d i j k e r s m i g h t s t i l l b e a r P o r t u g u e s e names such a s De Sousa, d e Lima, e t c . , b u t l a t e r a t c h r i s t e n i n g o c c a s i o n s t h e y were g i v e n Dutch names a f t e r t h e i r w i t n e s s . So, a c e r t a i n P i e t e r of Bengalen, a f t e r h i s c h r i s t e n i n g , would b e c a l l e d P i e t e r J a n s z , f o l l o w i n g h i s w i t n e s s , M a t t h i j s J a n s z. Not o n l y d i d t h e y a p p a r e n t l y l o o k d i f f e r e n t from n a t i v e p e o p l e , b u t a l s o from t h e Dutch m i l i t a r y e s t a b l i s h m e n t . While t h e ' I n l a n d e r s ' were d i v i d e d i n J a v a n e s e c o r p s , B a l i n e s e , Buginese o r Ambonese c o r p s - s o t h e M a r d i j k e r s formed a c o r p s . They developed t h e i r own u n i t s under t h e i r c a p t a i n s , l i e u t e n a n t s , e t c . b e a r i n g Dutch and P o r t u g u e s e names. Majoor ~ a n t j e ' sa n c e s t r y went back t o n e a r l y t h e end of t h e s e v e n t e e n t h c e n t u r y t o t h e time o f t h e c h r i s t e n i n g of " T i t u s v a n Bengala, L i j f f e i g e n v a n S i g n o r a Dehan, g e t u i j g e n P i e t e r M i c h i e l s e n Monica v a n Bengala" on 2 J u l y 1694. 5 T h i s T i t u s v a n Bengala was t h e n c a l l e d T i t u s M i c h i e l s who became " k a p i t e i n " i n 1728 and r e s i d e d i n t h e n o r t h e a s t , p a r t of B a t a v i a where t h e p r e s e n t P o r t u g u e s e Church ( o r B u i t e n k e r k ) remains. T h i s p a r t of t h e c i t y was a l s o n o t e d a s t h e c e n t r e of M a r d i j k e r s i n h a b i t a n t s . The f i r s t s o n of T i t u s M i c h i e l s was A n d r i e s M i c h i e l s , who had t h r e e s o n s , i . e . Titus, Andries,

i n l a n d s c h e c h r i s t e n e n " i n September 1800. On 13 March 1801 h i s new t i t l e was marked a s " k a p i t e i n l u i t e n a n t d e r Burgerij", and on 30 March 1804 he was a p p o i n t e d a s " C a p i t e i n l u i t e n a r By t h e d e a t h of h i s b r o t h e r , P i e t e r , t September 1807, a f t e r twenty

onder Papangers of M a r d i j k e r s " .

o b t a i n e d t h e t i t l e of I t k a p i t e i n d e r Papangers met den r a n g v a n c a p i t e i d e r B u r g e r i j " i n November 1805. L a t e r

ill

y e a r s of m i l i t a r y s e r v i c e , h e asked f o r r e s i g n a t i o n u n d e r t h e t i t l e of "Oud-Majoor d e r B u r g e r i j " o r "Kolonel t i t u l a i r " . And y e t l i k e o t h e r

M a r d i j k e r s , A u g u s t i j n , a m i l l i o n a i r e , n e v e r l i v e d i n Weltevreden wherc t h e Dutch and European d w e l l e d t o g e t h e r . He remained i n " e c h t e M a r d i j k e r b u u r t e n " i n t h e neighbourhood of Ancol. The f i r s t m a r r i a g e gave him Wilhelmina M i c h i e l s , b o i n on 13 A p r i l 179( J o n a t h a n M i c h i e l s , 18 March 1791, Agraphina A u g u s t i n a M i c h i e l s , 23 Sex

and J o n a t h a n . The t h i r d s o n , J o n a t h a n M i c h i e l s , w i t h whom t h e g l o r y of t h i s M a r d i j k e r s f a m i l y began, was b o r n on 1 9 A p r i l 1737. He was t i t l e d

" O L I ~ l u i t e n a n t d e r I n l a n d s c h e B u r g e r i j of d e r Papangers" and bought

1 7 9 2 ~ ) Augustina , M i c h i e l s , 12 J u l y 18019), and M i c h i e l s , born on 22 June 1803. l o ) H i s f i r s t w i f e , Maria Wilhelmina de B r u i j n , d i e d on 21 J u l y 1803 which t e l l s u s t h a t s h e n e v e r came t o o r e x p e r i e n c e d t h e e x u b e r a n t l i f e i n , Tjiteureup or Tjitrap. T j i t r a p l a n d came i n t o Dutch E a s t I n d i a Company p o s s e s s i o n through Raden Sakee. He and h i s b r o t h e r , Pangeran A r i a Poerbaya, son of S u l t a n Ageng from Bantam S u l t a n a t e , were once e x i l e d i n Ceylon, and r e t u r n e d l a t e r t o B a t a v i a i n 1730 where Poerbaya d i e d . Raden Sakee s e t t l e d i n T j i t r a p and was t h e f i r s t l a n d l o r d . I n 1756 t h e Dutch E a s t I n d i a Company s o l d t h i s l a n d t o Johan Andries Baron von Hohendorff. A f t e r a l o n g time of p a s s i n g through s e v e r a l owners, t h e l a n d came i n t o A u g u s t i j n ~ i c h i e l s 'p o s s e s s i o n i n 1817. He purchased T j i t r a p from A n j e l i n a C a t h a r i n a V a l e n t i j n f o r 91.000 g u i l d e r s l l ) a n d t h e n a l s o took n e i g h b o r i n g c o u n t r y s i d e a l o n g t h e main r o a d from B a t a v i a t o B u i t e n z o r g , t h a t i n c l u d e d T j i l e u n g s i r , ~ala~anoen~~a Tl j ilp~ am )i , n g k i s , T j imapag, Tanahbaroe, T j i b a r o e s a , and 13) Nanggewer

i n 1822 and v i s i t e d T j i t r a p , s a i d t h a t Majoor J a n t j e might have one hundred maid-slaves, and twenty-five of them were charged w i t h s e r v i

t h e t a b l e d u r i n g a meal. There were i n d e e d 320 p e r s o n s who worked fc him i n T j i t r a p house. 17) A music c o r p s of t h i r t y p e o p l e might b e taE from t h e s e members which was c a l l e d " h e t muziek c o r p s d e r Papangers' s e t up i n a b o u t 1827-1829 when t h e Majoor was promoted t o b e colonel They wore h a l f - m i l i t a r y costume w i t h t u r b a n s around t h e i r h e a d s . During t h e p a r t y , t h e y played European music f i r s t , followed by Chir music, c h a r a c t e r i z e d by f l u t e and cymbals, and l a s t l y t h e gamelan o r c h e s t r a played a g r e a t p a r t i n e n t e r t a n i n g t h e a u d i e n c e . I t was a1 an everyday p a r t y , and s i n c e t h e l a n d l o r d was a l s o a l o v e r of "tanda p a r t i j"

such e n t e r t a i n m e n t a c c o r d i n g l y happened i n t h e evening. Maj

J a n t j e , i n h i s J a v a n e s e costume of s a r o n g and kabaya, a k r i s s e t on w a i s t , opened t h e tandak-dance w i t h one of h i s maid-slaves, accompanied by o t h e r maid-slaves, as his g

came a f t e r him t o s e t a d a n c i n g r o

I t was only t h e unmarried male g u e s t s who had t h e l i b e r t y of p a r t i c i

The d i s t a n c e from T j i t r a p t o B a t a v i a i s about "22 palen" (around 33 km; a paal i s a b o u t 1 , 5 km) and "1 1 , 5 palen" t o t h e North-East of B u i t e n z o r g . sawahs,

i n such d a n c i n g row. The l a d y d a n c e r s would even be v e r y p r o v o c a t i v e making a l o t of movements w i t h t h e i r hands and b o d i e s , snapping t h e i looie p l e a t e d s a r o n g a g a i n and a g a i n t o l e t t h e gentlemen c a t c h a g l of t h e i r b e a u t i f u l s l e n d e r forms.19) While t h e l a n d l o r d and h i s gues were e n j o y i n g t h e i r meal, t h e m u s i c i a n s marched around t h e t a b l e , l i v e n i n g up t h e meal ceremony w i t h t h e i r music. And by t h e t i m e gues f i n i s h e d t h e i r e a t i n g , t h e y made a walking row each s i d e of t a b l e , p a r a d i n g around t h e dining-room, l e d by t h e l a n d l o r d . So i t was a v e c h e e r f u l p a r t y , where t h e h o s t , g u e s t s , m u s i c i a n s , and s l a v e s j o i n t l , took t h e i r p a r t . A n o t e s a i d t h a t b e s i d e s t h e i r r a t h e r s t r a n g e appea with half-military costume and t u r b a n s , t h e i r performance of Europea;

The house, which had a v e r y n a t i v e l a n d s c a p e of r i v e r - v a l l e y s ,

canary t r e e s and t h e l i k e , undoubtedly gave an amazing view, f o r t h e r e a l s o " e c h t - I n d i s c h e h u i s " w i t h s e v e r a l b u i l d i n g s around. The main b u i l d i n g was c a l l e d "Gedong Panjang" where t h e owner r e s i d e d . The upper p a r t was , h i l e somewhere around l a y t h e r u i n s of c a l l e d "Gedong ~ o e h o e r " ' ~ )w "Gedong Kramat" which was Raden S a k e e ' s g r a v e , t h e f irkt l a n d l o r d of T j i t r a p . Decorated i n Moorish s t y l e , Majoor J a n t j e ' s s t u d y was t h e p l a c e where h e k e p t h i s c o l l e c t i o n of weapons, c o a t of arms, b a n n e r s , and a l s o h i s gamelan s e t . These b e a u t i f u l n a t i v e i n s t r u m e n t s were o n l y played once a y e a r on I J a n u a r y a t t h e t r a d i t i o n a l c e l e b r a t i o n of t h e g r e a t "slamatan" f o r t h e house. 15) The l i f e i n T j i t r a p was v e r y glamorous and s p e c t a c u l a r , f o r t h e l a n d l o r d extended h i s charm and h o s p i t a l i t y t o everyone, h i s v i s i t o r s , f r i e n d s , even t o t h e ne'er-do-wells a s F. de Haan mentioned i n De l a a t s t e d e r

music was r e a l l y good. 20) I n h i s Chinese music c o r p s , s e v e r a l s l a v e s were a l s o i n v o l v e d , such

;

Roenoeng o r L e y t j o e n from T j i t t a , a Chinese f l u t i s t , Layan, from Bal: a Chinese m u s i c i a n and a l s o a s t a b l e boy, who, a f t e r t h e l a n d l o r d d i t were p u b l i c y s o l d . 21) Undoubtedly, a l l t h i s g a i e t y and w o r l d l y p l e a s u r e demanded an enormol expense of money; f o r example, t h e whole household depended on 3280 g a n t a n g s of r i c e i n a month, even Majoor J a n t j e ' s dogs needed 28 gant To h e l p s u p p o r t such a b i g e x p e n d i t u r e , Majoor J a n t j e l e a s e d a l l h i s l a n d p o s s e s s i o n s t o t h e Chinese, i n a d d i t i o n t o h i s o t h e r a s s e t of '!vogelnestjes" which were a l s o p u b l i c l y s o l d a f t e r h i s d e a t h . 22)

M a r d i j k e r s . 16) He b u i l t s e v e r a l annex b u i l d i n g s f o r h i s v i s i t o r s ' comfort and provided s e r v i c e and a t t e n d a n c e . I t was a g r e a t g a i e t y t o l i v e t h e r e . The day passed through e a t i n g , d r i n k i n g , s t r o l l i n g o r r i d i n g and card-playing. Everyone r e v e l l e d i n b e i n g e n t e r t a i n e d by

Majoor J a n t j e ' s s l a v e s , h o r s e s , wine and music.

J.B.J.

van Doren, who came t o t h e I n d i e s a s second l i e u t e n a n t of Cavalry

A u g u s t i j n M i c h i e l s e n t e r e d h i s second m a r r i a g e on 23 May 1819 w i t h Davida E l i s a b e t h A u g u s t i j n , who had a l r e a d y l i v e d w i t h him a f t e r t h e f i r s t w i f e d i e d i n 1803. Davida E l i s a b e t h , a f r e e C h r i s t i a n and probably a s l a v e i n h e r maidenhood, was a r a t h e r shy woman who p r e f e r r e d t o keep h e r s e l f unnoticeable. Yet h e r d e a t h on 3 October 1827 s t r o n g l y caused a b i g change t o Majoor Jantje's inner personality.

r e c e i v e d T j i l e u n g s i and T j i b a r o e s a . Andries M i c h i e l s , 6 y e a r s o l d ,

given t h e heirdom of T j i t e u r e u p ( o r T j i t r a p ) and Naggewer. W i l h e l m i ~ M i c h i e l s , one y e a r and f o u r months o l d , was l e f t t h e S o e k a r a d j a lanc H i s l e g a c y a l s o i n c l u d e d h i s v a r i o u s g a r d e n s , and i n a d d i t i o n of th: a non-Christian woman, J a p Hok Nio, was p e r m i t t e d t o c u l t i v a t e t h e Tanj ong P r i o k .
A s e c r e t s t a t e m e n t (Onderhand
'

attached t o h i s testament i.e. " C a r l i n a van Macass

His f a m i l y papers seemingly d i d n o t show l e g i t i m a t e c h i l d r e n of t h i s second marriage. There were o n l y a d o p t i o n c e r t i f i c a t e s o r announcements of s e v e r a l sons and d a u g h t e r s . M i c h i e l A u g u s t i j n M i c h i e l s , whose mother was Minerva, was adopted i n A p r i l 1815. I n August 1819, E n g e l i n a M i c h i e l s , d a u g h t e r of Angelina from B a t a v i a , was adopted. Then i n J a n u a r y 1821, d a u g h t e r of T h a l i a from Tabanan, a c q u i r e d t h e name of Augustina M i c h i e l s . A l i t t l e boy of e i g h t y e a r s o l d , S i e n j o e , was adopted i n May 1824 and took a new name, Andries M i c h i e l s . Another a d o p t i o n c e r t i f i c a t e of May 1830 s t a t e d Johannes Wilhelmus J u l i u s M i c h i e l s a s t h e adopted son of A u g u s t i j n M i c h i e l s . His mother was J a n i k o e . Under a d o p t i o n c e r t i f i c a t e of 4 August 1857, a l i t t l e maid-slave, Nonna, from B a t a v i a , born a s d a u g h t e r of Geloan from B a l i , adopted by A u g u s t i j n M i c h i e l s , became 23) G e e r t r u i j d a M i c h i e l s , w h i l e t h e mother was t h e n c a l l e d S a a r t j e . Twenty-seven J a n u a r y 1833 marked t h e l a s t day of A u g u s t i j n M i c h i e l s , " k o l o n e l t i t u l a i r d e r Papangers", one of "de r i j k s t e grondeigenaar van Java" when t h i s &markable f i g u r e i n I n d i s c h h i s t o r y of t h e N e t h e r l a n d s - I n d i a d i e d i n Semper Idem, h i s former house i n B a t a v i a . For $e l a s t time h i s

d e c l a r e d t h e l i b e r a t i o n of h i s maid-slaves,

Liankiauw of A n t j i e van Boegis, Geloan of S a r t j i e van B a l i j , Wilhelr of Kiouwha van B a t a v i a , Pamela of Rasima van Batavia". While anothe: s t a t e m e n t which was a t t a c h e d t o h i s 1831 t e s t a m e n t d e c l a r e d t h a t : "August van J a v a ; Seneen van B a t a v i a ; Kaijman van B a t a v i a ; K o r n e l i s

J a p a a r van B a t a v i a , met z i j n vrouw T j o e n l i e n of Gambeer van Kloenko~ en met z i j n moeder L a s i n a van B a t a v i a ; Sumbaua van Sumbaua; S i n a of van Eende; Redjab van Macasser met z i j n v a d e r S p a d i l l e van Macc.; K, van Mandhar; Solo van Eende; Damon van Macasser; A r l e k i n g van Batav. B a s t a van Maros met z i j n v a d e r Basso van Maros en z i j n moeder Paulir van Boegis en h a a r e d o g t e r B i t j a van B a t a v i a ; Daud van B a t a v i a , met vrouw S a r a of S a h i a van Bima e n h a a r e zoon Eton van B a t a v i a ; P a l l a s Magarij; T j i a u w t j i n g of T j o k j a i j van R o t t i e ; Boesoek of R e i b i e n van B a t a v i a ; Geluk of B i e t j o e van Mangarij; J u l y of Adonis van Doessong Kodja van B a t a v i a ; Papoe van Ceram; P l u t o van Ceram; S i e d i e n of Oed van B a t a v i a ; B i e t j o e van Pekalongan; Baroe van Mandhar; S a l e van Ba M a t t i j van B a t a v i a , met z i j n moeder Roosje van Sumbaua. P o a s s a van Batavia" should n o t be s o l d and should remain w i t h A u g u s t i j n Michie h e i r s and h e i r e s s . D e s p i t e t h i s s t a t e m e n t , V . I . van de Wall found
01

music corps of Papangers played f o r him, n o t a s on j o l l y e n t e r t a i n i n g n i g h t s b u t i n a s o r r o w f u l b u r i a l ceremony, a f a r e w e l l t h a t a l s o marked t h e end of t h e l a s t well-known M a r d i j k e r s i n N e t h e r l a n d s - I n d i a h i s t o r y .

A l l h i s l a n d p o s s e s s i o n s were d i v i d e d among h i s c h i l d r e n , w h i l e t o s i s t e r s

l a t e r t h a t most of t h e s e p e r s o n s were p u b l i c l y s o l d i n two p a r t i e s . Belonging t o t h e f i r s t p a r t y were "de onderscheidene bekwame muzijk, "Mentor and b r o t h e r s h e l e f t a c e r t a i n sum of money. From h i s t e s t a m e n t of 29 March 1831 we then know t h a t : t o Agraphina Augustina M i c h i e l s , t h e o n l y l i v i n g d a u g h t e r of h i s f i r s t m a r r i a g e , h e l e f t t h e land of Kalapanoenggal; s i s t e r s E l i z a b e t h M i c h i e l s and P e t r o n e l l a M i c h i e l s r e s p e c t i v e l y were g i v e n f o u r thousands g u i l d e r s . B r o t h e r T i t u s M i c h i e l s had f i v e thousands, w h i l e o t h e r b r o t h e r , F r e d e r i k M i c h i e l s r e c e i v e d f o u r thousand g u i l d e r s . A n i e c e , G e e r t r u i d a F r e d e r i c a Wannemaker o b t a i n e d f o u r thousand g u i l d e r s . To Willem J u l i u s h e gave e i g h t thousand g u i l d e r s , and t o t h e orphanage of t h e Reformation Church i n B a t a v i a h e g r a n t e d f i v e hundred g u i l d e r s e v e r y y e a r . M i c h i e l A u g u s t i j n M i c h i e l s , 16 y e a r s
-12

c l a r i n e t blower; Seneen

v i o l i n i s t ; Pluto

f l u t i s t ; Orpl
I

o r Alpheus Arne

c l a r i n e t blower; K i t j i e l o r Redjap

f l u t i s t ; Kommies

v i o l i n i s t , a l l from B a t a v i a ; S a l a s a from Maccassar

clarinet

blower; V i c t o r from Bugis

f l u t i s t ; Tonking o r C o l e n e t t a from Sema.

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nog een kompleet s t e l , nu e e r s t onlangs voor den overledenen u i t Europa aangebragte nieuwere g r o o t Turksch muzijkinstrumenten en muzijk van de
It ' ) i s unknown t o which new master t h e s e musicians laatste ~ i t ~ a v e n " . ~

performance, "lagu-lagu lama d a r i jaman Blanda" should be played f i r i . e . march and w a l t z 3 5 ) , even though c u l t u r a l l y t h a t does n o t belong ceremony. I t i s as i f i t i s j u s t t o l e t people know t h e i d e n t i t y of t a n j i d o r and t o r e c a l l i t s own long s t o r y . According t o what musicians s a y , march r e p e r t o i r e s , among o t h e r s , a] mares Merin (Marine ? ) , mares Aksel, mares Matakarol, mares Duelmus (Wilhelmus ?), mares Kranton, mares B i p e t , e t c . They have a l s o

served t h e i r g i f t e d a b i l i t i e s a f t e r w a r d s . But t h e r e i s very s t r o n g reason t o assume t h a t one of Betawi t r a d i t i o n a l folkmusic has a very long h i s s t o r y d a t i n g from Majoor J a n t j e ' s e r a . The people c a l l i t " t a n j i d o r " which according t o Paramita R. ~ b d u r r a c h m a n ~ ' ) m i ~ h be t taken from a Portuguese word "tanger" meaning t o play music. A tangedor means a person who p l a y s music outdoors. I n t h e same way, orang Betawi has a l s o s i m i l a r meaning f o r t h e word " t a n j i " . T a n j i means music, s o 'maen t a n j i ' i s

something t h a t i s c a l l e d welcoming march ('mares Selamet Dateng') w l i s t y p i c a l t a n j i d o r , played a t t h e very beginning. On t h e o t h e r hanc w a l t z r e p e r t o i r e s a r e n o t o f t e n performed any more. To mention some them a r e : Uas Sakosol, Uas 11, Uas 111, Uas Delmus (Wilhelmus). U n f o r t u n a t e l y , t h e s e r e p e r t o i r e s a r e n o t t r a c e a b l e any more f o r the: o r i g i n a l songs, f o r t h e musicians l e a r n e d them i n s t i n c t i v e l y by heal by e a r , u s i n g t h e i r own pronounciation i n mentioning them and t h e i r musical i n t e r p r e t a t i o n , much given t o improvisation and, of c o u r s e , a r e no musical t e x t s . ~ e f o r et h e war, t a n j i d o r was commonly performed on New y e a r s ' Eve ar Day, e i t h e r Dutch o r Chinese, which they c a l l e d "ngamen k e l i l i n g " ( " d i s p l a y around"). I t was t h e time when many t a n j i d o r groups from I o u t s k i r t s rushed t o t h e c i t y t o " d i s p l a y aroundt' and c e l e b r a t e t h e i day of t h e year. N o doubt, t h e two c l a s s e s of 'lagu-lagu 'lagu-lagu lama' and

p l a y i n g music, a p a r t of 'manjak' .33) But a s t o how t h e people came t o c a l l this orchestra e x p l a n a t i o n . 'Dor'

"t a n j i d o r " ,

no one can give any convincing

s y l l a b l e , a s t h e musicians i n d i c a t e , might be taken

from the sound of a drum s t r i k i n g , d o r y d o r y dor. I n t h i s Betawi folkmusic, Western musical i n s t r u m e n t s , e s p e c i a l l y b r a s s instruments and p e r c u s s i o n s , and Indonesian t r a d i t i o n a l instruments a r e commonly played t o g e t h e r . Western components such a s c l a r i n e t , f l u t e , c o r n e t , trumpet, trombone, tenor-tuba, side-drum, cymbals, h e l i c o n ,

p i s t o n , become l e a d i n g i n s t r u m e n t s when they p l a y old songs which they c a l l e d "lagu-lagu side-drum, lama d a r i jaman Blanda". A combined use of brass-drum, lama d a r i jaman Blanda'

cymbals and t r i a n g l e i n 'lagu-lagu

might have o r i g i n a t e d from the beginning of t h e t a n j i d o r e r a which p r e s u m a b l y i n h e r i t e d from European and Mardijkers o r Papangers s o l d i e r s . 34) And whenever they p l a y "lagu-lagu Betawi a s l i " , t r a d i t k ~ n a li n s t r u m e n t s

a s l i ' were mostly played. The Chinese might enjoy t h e sol

Chinese f l u t e and cymbals, and t h e European s u r e l y would have a cerl kind of n o s t a l g i a f o r t h e g l o r i o u s p a s t .

I t a l s o should b e noted t h a t t a n j i d o r d i d n o t grow o r develop i n tht

l i k e Chinese o r Sundanese f l u t e , gambang, kendang, k e c r e k , rebab, gong, e t c . , l e a d the main tunes. Obviously t h e r e i s a s t r o n g i n f l u e n c e of Chinese and Sundanese i n i t . Tanjidor r e p e r t o i r e s have s e v e r a l c l a s i f i c a t i o n s , f o r example: a. lagu-lagu lama d a r i jaman Blanda comprising marches and w a l t z e s ; b. lagu-lagu Betawi a s l i , o r Kromongan, show a g r e a t i n f l u e n c e of Chinese tunes; c. lagu-lagu Sunda, o r Jaipongan; d. lagu-lagu Melayu modern which i s more f a m i l i a r a s 'irama dangdut'. Because I wish t o emphasize I n d i s c h element of t h i s folkmusic, t h i s paper w i l l only d i s c u s s t h e c l a s s of 'lagu-lagu lama d a r i jaman Blanda'. Although c i t y of Batavia. A r e c e n t p r e l i m i n a r y survey36)shows a c u l t u r a l map t a n j i d o r a r e a s t h a t mainly occupy former "Batavia Onmelanden". The 1

boundary goes up t o Krawang d i s t r i c t , w h i l e t h e E a s t e r n p a r t extend: t o Tangerang. The Southern p a r t i s Bogor d i s t r i c t . Since those bounc a r e a l s o m a r g i n a l l y p a r t of o t h e r c u l t u r e s , a s t r o n g i n f l u e n c e on ei t a n j i d o r group of c e r t a i n a r e a s i s remarkably conspicuous. For i n s t i many t a n j i d o r group of Western boundary (Krawang, Bekasi, Rengasdeni

show a s t r o n g c h a r a c t e r i s t i c of Sundanese music of k l i n i n g a n . J a i p o ~ i s a new developed v e r s i o n of t a n j i d o r , some people say.37) While

il

Tangerang a r e a , 'lagu-lagu Betawi a s l i ' o r Kromongan a r e s t i l l domil t a n j i d o r music. Accordingly, t a n j i d o r groups of Southern a r e a s i n Ciseeng, Parung, Cibinong, should s t i l l be a b l e , and some of the1 t o m a i n t a i n i t s c h a r a c t e r i s t i c of 'lagu-lagu lama jaman Blanda', thc

t a n j i d o r , nowadays, i s incompatible with o t h e r Betawi f o l k a r t s such a s lenong and topeng Betawi o r komedi stambul, i t i s s t i l l an i n d i s p e n s a b l e p a r t of a "hajatan", e s p e c i a l l y i n wedding p a r t i e s a t the beginning of t h e

i t m i g h t u n d e r s t a n d a b l y b e v e r y d i f f i , c u l t t o do t h e s e days.
I t c a n b e presumed t h a t due t o I n d o n e s i a n pop m u s i c development, t h i s

f u n c t i o n f o r topeng Betawi performance. So f o l l o w i n g t h e p a t h of long c o n t i n u i n g h y b r i d i z i n g p r o c e s s on B a t a v i a , o r a n g Betawi and Betawi

CL

c e r t a i n k i n d of l a g u - l a g u lama i n t a n j i d o r r e p e r t o i r e s c o u l d n o t l a s t any l o n g e r . A p a r t from lagu-lagu lama, lagu-lagu Betawi a s l i o r Kromongan

a f t e r a l l , t a n j i d o r h a s t o remain i n i t s Betawi w o r l d , r e a d y f o r any r u s h i n g change and new-fashioned things.

do n o t even e n t i c e t h e young J a k a r t a n e s e any more. I t i s u n d e r s t a n d a b l e , s i n c e J a k a r t a i n h a b i t a n t s a r e much more newcomers from o t h e r e t h n i c c u l t u r a l o r i g i n s than o r a n g Betawi a s l i . Another d i s c o u r a g i n g a s p e c t comes from t h e o r a n g Betawi themselves, f o r i n Betawi s o c i e t y , a r t and a r t i s t s do n o t have a r e s p e c t a b l e p o s i t i o n . 38) H a j i i s t h e most r e s p e c t a b l e one o v e r t h e o t h e r s , even "orang dagang" i s c o n s i d e r e d a b i t h i g h e r t h a n "panjak". To speak a b o u t Betawi c u l t u r e would b e more f o l k l o r i c b e c a u s e i t s c u l t u r e b e a r e r s c o m p l e t e l y r e l y on o r a l t r a d i t i o n i n e v e r y c u l t u r a l t r a n s m i t t i n g way. On t h e o t h e r hand, t h e r e a r e n o t many w r i t i n g s a b o u t them, e i t h e r of o r a n g Betawi o r t h e Betawi c u l t u r e . Dutch w r i t e r s and h i s t o r i a n s d i d w r i t e a b o u t many a s p e c t s of B a t a v i a , how t h e y p e r c e i v e d i t a s a c o l o n i a l s o c i e t y , a s 'Koningin v a n h e t O o s t e n ' , how t h e Dutch government was i n v o l v e d i n i t s development and changes, how I n d i s c h s o c i e t y and c u l t u r e was c r e a t e d i n t h i s m e l t i n g p o t , b u t they h a r d l y e v e r touch t h e i n n e r l i f e of Betawi.
I t i s l i k e l y t h a t o r a n g Betawi and t h e i r c u l t u r e s t i l l s u f f e r t h e same

unbroken view of o t h e r s , even i n t h e s e d a y s . S u r e l y t h e non-Betawi

could

n o t t a k e a l l blame. The f a c t t h a t t h e r e i s a v e r y h i g h r a t e of i l l i t e r a c y among o r a n g ;etawi3')might a l s o c o n t r i b u t e t o t h e poor c - o n d i t i o n of any

knowledge a b o u t Betawi p e o p l e and c u l t u r e .

'r-

Being a p l a c e where such g r e a t p l u r a l i t y grew i n t h e c i t y and " p a r t i c u l i e r e l a n d e r i j e n " developed i n t h e c o u n t r y s i d e a t t h e same time, B a t a v i a c o u l d n o t h e l p f a l l i n g under t h e non-Batavian r u l i n g c l a s s . I n o t h e r words, orang Betawi n e v e r r u l e d t h e i r own l a n d . But t h i s i s n o t t o s u g g e s t a g r e a t weakness of Betawi i d e n t i t y , though t h e r e may have b e e n a n element of i t . A s t r u g g l e i s a p p a r e n t i n t h i s " k e s e n i a n t a n j i d o r l ' t o keep t h i s i d e n t i t y a l i v e , p a r t i c u l a r l y i n s u c h I n d i s c h element which a r e g e t t i n g r a r e t h e s e d a y s . I n c o n t r a s t t o o t h e r forms l i k e gambang kromong, lenong, topeng, r e b a n a , kroncong, e t c . , original

t a n j i d o r t e n d s t o b e l e s s known. The word " t a n j i " and i t s meaning, though a r e s t i l l i n t a c t , used t o b e combined w i t h o t h e r s . F o r i n s t a n c e , " j i k r e s " ( t a n j i and o r k e s ) means a group who m o s t l y p l a y s modern p o p u l a r t u n e s . "Jinong" ( t a n j i and lenong) i s t a n j i s e t up f o r l e n o n g performance a s ( t a n i i and topeng) h a s s i m i l a r

m Q s i c a l i l l u s t r a t i o n . While " i i p e n n "

FOOTNOTES
1 . F. d e . Haan i n "De l a a t s t e d e r Mardijkers" ( i n : B K I 73 (1917) 219-254) and J . B . J . van Doren w r o t e h i s f a m i l y name M i c h i e l s z . , V . I . van d e WX p u t M i c h i e l s , w h i l e most of h i s f a m i l y p a p e r s k e p t i n A r s i p Nasional J a k a r t a use Michiels. See: V . I . van d e Wall, I n d i s c h e Landhuizen en hun Geschiedenis (Batavia: G. Kolff & Co, 1932) 69-101; J . B . J . van Doren, Fragmenten u i t d e r e i z e n i n den I n d i s c h e A r c h i p e l . 2 v o l s Amsterdam: J . D . Sybrandi, 1855-1856.

2. Van Doren, Fragmenten, 230. 3. See h i s Testament d a t e d 29 Maart 1831 and Van de Wall, I n d i s c h e Landhuizen, 87. 4. Encyclopaedie van Nederlandsch-Indie, 295-296.

5. De Haan, "De l a a t s t e d e r ~ a r d i j k e r s " , 223.

6. Ibidem, 230. 7. B.S. B a t a v i a no. 172.

8. Augustina Agraphina m a r r i e d f i r s t t o Jacobus A n t h o n i j Beijvanck i n 1809 and secondly t o P e t r u s Henricus Menu i n 1844. She d i e d on 4 February 1875. She was t h e o n l y l i v i n g daughter of h i s f i r s t m a r r i a g e when A u g u s t i j n M i c h i e l s d i e d i n 1833. She g o t t h e heirdom of Kalapanoenggal. See p. 7. 9. There was a l s o a n o t h e r Augustina M i c h i e l s , a d a u g h t e r of T h a l i a from Tabanan, adopted by A u g u s t i j n M i c h i e l s on 12 J a n u a r y 1821. See a l s o p. 6-7. 10. Based on h i s f a m i l y p a p e r s and g e n e a l o g i c a l f i c h e s c o l l e c t i o n i n A r s i p Nasional J a k a r t a .
1 1 . Van d e Wall, I n d i s c h e Landhuizen, 80.

2 pedati-drivers 5 men f o r m e l a t i - g a r d e n 2 men f o r pineapple-garden 1 man f o r coconut-garden 9 men f o r vegetables-garden 2 g r a s s c u t t e r s f o r cows s t a b l e 3 men i n T j i p a n a s where t h e bathhouse of t h e h o t s p r i n g was 6 men w i t h montly allowance 1 mandoer f o r fire-wood 3 men under d j o e r a g a n s 4 "ronggeng-players" 2 "gambalang-players" 2 "topeng-players" 1 Chinese b a r b e r 1 saddler 24 men i n t h e s t a b l e f o r 362 h o r s e s 1 mandoer i n t h e s t a b l e 1 carrier 1 man f o r Majoor h o r s e c a l l e d "Kalm" 2 men f o r "de M e r r i e s t a l " 20 men f o r bakery 28 g r a s s c u t t e r s f o r h o r s e s t a b l e 48 " f r e e men" i n t h e house and 117 s l a v e s . Van de Wall, I n d i s c h e Landhuizen, 85. 18. Van Doren, Fragmenten, 223; Van de Wall, I n d i s c h e Landhuizen, 83. 19. T h i s looked q u i t e t y p i c a l of wayang cokek dance i n Betawi c u l t u r 20. P.P. Roorda van Eysinga, Handboek d e r Land- en Volkenkunde, Gesc Taal-, A a r d r i j k s - , en S t a a t k u n d e van ~ e d e r l a n d s c h - 1 n d i Z ( 3 v o l s . Amsterdam: L. van Bakkenes, 1842) v o l . 11, 354. 21. Van de Wall, I n d i s c h e Landhuizen, 84. 22. Testament A u g u s t i j n M i c h i e l s , 29 March 1831. 23. From f a m i l y p a p e r s , r e s p e c t i v e l y : Fam A. 109 (Michiel A u g u s t i j n M i c h i e l s ) ; Fam M. 120 (Engelina M i c h i e l s ) Fam M. 135 (Augustina M i c h i e l s ) Fam M. 136 (Andries M i c h i e l s ) Fam J. 82 ( J . Wilhelminus J u l i u s M i c h i e l s ) Fam M. 137 ( G e e r t r u i j d a M i c h i e l s ) 24. His Testament of 1831 and S e c r e t S t a t e m e n t s a r e k e p t i n : Testament Boek B a t a v i a (1833), A r s i p N a s i o n a l J a k a r t a . 25. Van d e Wall, I n d i s c h e Landhuizen, 92-93. 1 26. A v e r y a c c u r a t e d e s c r i p t i o n of 1622 t o l d u s about t h i s v a r i e t y a mixture: "There cannot b e a n y t h i n g more c u r i o u s , o r any s p e c t a c l e more e n t e r t a i n i n g , than t o s e e i n s o l a r g e a c i t y , such a m u l t i t u d e o: d i f f e r e n t n a t i o n s l i v i n g - a l l of them a t t h e i r own d w e l l i n g s - ; t h e i r manner. One s e e s , e v e r y moment, new customs, s t r a n g e manne: black, white v a r i e t y of h a b i t s , and f a c e s of d i f f e r e n t c o l o u r s brown, o l i v e . Every one l i v e s a s h e p l e a s e s ; e v e r y one speaks h i : Notwithstanding such a v a r i e t y of customs, s o o p p o s i t e t o one anc one o b s e r v e s an union v e r v s u r ~ r i s i n eamone t h e s e c i t i z e n s . whict

12. Bought by h i s f a t h e r , Jonathan M i c h i e l s . See p. 2. 13. Tjipamingkis and Tjimapag were A n d r i e s ' heirdom, which passed t o A u g u s t i j n i n 1805. Tanahbaroe was bought i n 1808, S j i b a r o e s a i n 1810, and Nanggewer t o g e t h e r w i t h T j i t r a p i n 1817. 14. "Loehoer" means "high" or "uppern i n Sundanese language. 15. Van d e Wall, I n d i s c h e Landhuizen, 72. 16. De Haan, "De l a a t s t e d e r Mardijkers", 17. They comprised o f : 243.

1 1 2 1 1 4 2 1 1 1 7

major-domo, c a l l e d Corner s t a b l e m a s t e r , c a l l e d Rensy s t e w a r d s , c a l l e d M i c h i l and F i l i p s g a r d e n e r , c a l l e d Du Puy guard, c a l l e d De Puy d r a u g h t i n s p e c t o r s , i . e . Wahatima, Rominken, Landenborg, J u l i u s djoeragans wakil djoeragan c e r t a i n Djans c e r t a i n Radin S a l i e Moors, i . e . Alimohamat, Seyd A l i e , Goepa, S a p i e r o , T j a n , Mahoka and Naysan 1 inspector for bird nests 1 1 inspectors

p u r e l y t h e e f f e c t of commerce, which i s t h e c o m o n s o u l t h a t a c t u a t e s t h i s g r e a t body of people; s o t h a t t h e y move u n i f o r m l y and harmoniously i n e v e r y r e s p e c t , and l i v e e a s i l y and h a p p i l y under t h e g e n t l e and p r u d e n t laws e s t a b l i s h e d under t h e E a s t I n d i a Company". See: John Crawfurd, A D e s c r i p t i v e D i c t i o n a r y of t h e I n d i a n I s l a n d s and Adjacent C o u n t r i e s , Kuala Lumpur, Oxford U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s , 1971, p. 44-45. 27. Muhadj i r , "Dialek Melayu J a k a r t a dewasa i n i " i n Husein Wij a y a (ed) Seni-Budaya Betawi, J a k a r t a , P u s t a k a J a y a , 1976, p . 156-179. 28. Most of t h e time such k i n d of performing a r t s a r e combined i n one show, f o r example, i n a lenong performance, t h e r e a r e always dances, songs and music, and p l a y . See Y u l i a n t i P a r a n i , " T a n j i d o r s e b a g a i ungkapan s e n i pertunjukkan" i n T a n j i d o r sebuah l a p o r a n pengamatan lapangan, J a k a r t a , LPKJ, 1980, p. 81-93. 29. I p r e f e r t o u s e I n d i s c h s o c i e t y f o r t h e whole p e r i o d of Dutch o c c u p a t i o n , from t h e Company time t o t h e I r i a n B a r a t d i s p u t e i n 1963, t o emphasize t h e Western a s p e c t s i n n a t i v e s o c i e t y and t o look i n t o m a r g i n a l m e e t i n g s of b o t h . 30. F. d e Haan, Oud B a t a v i a , Bandoeng, A.C. Nix & Co., 1935, p. 603-605. and P r i a n g a n , De Preanger-Regentschappen onder h e t Nederlandsch B e s t u u r t o t 1811, B a t a v i a , G. Kolff & Co., 1912, v o l . I V . p a r a g r a p h s 1778, 1781, 1783 and 2834. 31. V . I . van de Wall, op. c i t . p. 92.

32. P a r a m i t a R. Abdurrachman, "Kroncong Moresko, T a n j i d o r dan Ondel-Ondel; sebuah dongengan s e j a r a h " , Budaya J a y a , no. 109, June 1977. 33. "Manjak" i s t h e v e r b of "panjak". P a n j a k i s a r t i s t a s c a l l e d by orang Betawi a s l i . See Mona Lohanda, " T a n j i d o r d i dalam kehidupan sang seniman", i n Tanj i d o r , sebuah l a p o r a n pengamatan lapangan, op. c i t . p. 46-58. 34. F r a n s y a r y a d i , " T a n j i d o r s e b a g a i ungkapan musik" i n T a n j i d o r , sebuah l a p o r a n pengamatan lapangan, i b i d . p . 97-123. 35. According t o t h e m u s i c i a n s , "mares" ( f o r mars) and 'has" (for waltz)

36. T a n j i d o r , sebuah l a p o r a n pengamatan lapangan k e s e n i a n T a n j i d o r d i d a e r a h J a k a r t a dan s e k i t a r n y a , Mei Oktober 1979 J a k a r t a , Departemen T a r i - Lembaga Pendidilian Kesenian J a k a r t a , 1980, 166 pages.

37. Her Suganda, " T a n j i Kesenian r a k y a t yang belum d i k e t a h u i a s a l u s u l n y a " Kompas, 14 Maret 1978. 38. See Mona Lohanda, op. c i t . 39. Lance C a s t l e s , "The E t h n i c Prof < l e of J a k a r t a " , I n d o n e s i a , no. 1 A p r i l 1966, - p. - 153-204. a i d P a t r i c k Guiness, "The A t t i t u d e and Values of Betawi F r i n g e Dweller i n ~ j a k a r t a " , B e r i t a A n t r o p o l o g i , no. 8 , 1972, p. 78-159.

PAPbKS U P 1 HL: U U 1 LH-1N UWlY E31HlU

HISTORICAL CONFERENCE
held at Lage Vuursche, The Netherlands 23-27 June 1980

Edited by Gerrit Schutte and Heather Sutherland

RELlG 'JS LND CRQSS - C JLTURAL STUDIES

LIBRAkY
CR..JUATE SCHOOL. G A C J A r M A C ? UNI\'ER!',ITY

,-

: NV

LAE -- E L :

l01sg/-/201 -D 99L Sch P

S ' IBJ :

Published by the Bureau of Indonesian Studies under the auspices of the Dutch and Indonesian Steering Committees of the Indonesian Studies Programme Leiden / Jakarta 1982

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