Other Languages, Societies, and Cultures Commons^™

Maa’: An Analysis From The May Weber Ethnographic Study Collection, Claire T. Chilla

Department of Anthropology

An analysis of Maa’ textiles from Sulawesi Indonesia. Discusses both the artistic symbolism, possible physical creation, and the spiritual connection of the textile for the Torajans. Informs through the lens of globalization, colonization, and funerary practices from the country of origin.

Bakpia: Perjalanan Akulturasi Cina-Indonesia Dalam Makanan Khas Yogyakarta, Martiana Noviopy Rae Rato, Rahadjeng Pulungsari Hadi

Multikultura

Pencampuran dua budaya menjadi suatu budaya baru merupakan pengertian dari akulturasi budaya. Salah satunya yakni percampuran budaya Indonesia dengan Cina. Banyak hasil akulturasi yang sudah melekat dalam kehidupan sehari-hari masyarakat Indonesia utamanya dalam makanan. Namun makanan tersebut tidak diketahui oleh banyak orang bahwa makanan yang sering mereka konsumsi adalah hasil dari akulturasi. Adapun hasil dari akulturasi tersebut yang kini lebih dikenal sebagai makanan khas Yogyakarta, yakni Bakpia. Dengan adanya akulturasi budaya, Bakpia diolah dengan resep dan bahan yang disesuaikan untuk masyarakat Yogyakarta sehingga dapat diterima dengan baik dan digemari oleh masyarakat. Seiring berjalannya waktu, dengan manajemen yang baik dalam berbisnis …

Etnis Tionghoa Dan Dinamikanya Dalam Kesuksesan Bulu Tangkis Indonesia, Michelle Ladykia Naftali, Albert P. J. Roring

Multikultura

Penelitian ini membahas tentang peran etnis Tionghoa dalam perjalanan kesuksesan bulu tangkis Indonesia pada tahun 1966-1998. Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah untuk menjelaskan etnis Tionghoa dari berbagai bidang dan dinamikanya dalam kesuksesan bulu tangkis Indonesia. Metode yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah metode penelitian kualitatif dengan pendekatan sejarah. Dalam pengumpulan data akan menggunakan teknik studi pustaka dan wawancara. Kesimpulan dari penelitian ini adalah sekalipun di tengah dinamika sosial dan politik pada masa Orde Baru (1966-1998) yang diskriminatif seperti kewajiban memiliki SBKRI dan adanya kekerasan rasial, tetapi etnis Tionghoa dari berbagai bidang tetap melakukan perannya masing-masing dalam kesuksesan bulu tangkis Indonesia …

Under Sundanese Eyes; Raden Ajoe Abdoerachman’S Journey To Europe, Atep Kurnia

Wacana, Journal of the Humanities of Indonesia

This article examines the travel account written by Raden Ajoe Abdoerachman, the wife of a senior native official, the Regent of Meester Cornelis (Jatinegara), Raden Aria Abdoerachman, who, with his family, was sent at the expense of the colonial government to the Netherlands to study agricultural practices in 1928. The account shows the colonial subject’s admiration for and mimicry of European behaviour and practices, but occasional ironic comments show her ambivalence towards some institutions in the Netherlands while at the same time she also criticises unfair representations of Indonesia.

Woman Becoming… Gender Possibilities In Selected Speculative Short Stories Of Intan Paramaditha And Isabel Yap, Grace V.S. Chin

Wacana, Journal of the Humanities of Indonesia

The ontological question of woman’s nature forms the focus of this essay, which develops the theory of “woman-becoming…” to examine how the hegemonic patriarchal discourses and constructs of woman and femininity are subverted and reinterpreted in two speculative short stories by transnational Southeast Asian women writers, namely Intan Paramaditha’s “Beauty and the Seventh Dwarf” (2018) and Isabel Yap’s “Good Girls” (2021). Of interest here are the gender possibilities of the female characters, which uphold women’s freedom, agency, thinking, feeling, creation, narration and expression in the making of herstory—indeed, everywoman’s potential for change and transformation, and to become more than what …

Mount Merapi In Drawings And Paintings; A Dynamic Reflection Of Nature, 1800-1930, Ghamal Satya Mohammad

Wacana, Journal of the Humanities of Indonesia

Mount Merapi in Central Java is one of the world’s most studied volcanoes. The frequent eruptions of this volcano and the densely populated areas on its slopes make Merapi particularly important to scholars of the natural and social sciences. Considerable attention has been devoted to contemporary aspects of this volcano, including research into forecasting and monitoring possible volcanic activity and eruptions. However, research investigating artistic representations of Merapi in a historical context, particularly local artworks referring to how people responded to a natural hazard such as a volcanic eruption, is still rare. In this paper, I explore how artists in …

Where Is Home? Changing Conceptions Of The Homeland In The Surinamese-Javanese Diaspora, Rosemarijn Hoefte, Hariëtte Mingoen

Wacana, Journal of the Humanities of Indonesia

In 1890 the first Javanese indentured labourers arrived in Suriname to work on the colony’s plantations. In total almost 30,000 indentured and free immigrants arrived in this small Caribbean colony. Fifty years later, at the end of the migration period, they formed more than one fifth of the population. Consequently, they constituted a substantial community which had to adapt to a different socio-cultural environment but, at the same time, managed to keep in touch with their homeland. The Javanese thus shaped their own cultural expressions and traditions in Suriname.

We attempt to analyse the processes of identity formation, adaptation, and …

Searching Transnational Relations Between Moluccans In The Netherlands And The Moluccas, Fridus Steijlen

Wacana, Journal of the Humanities of Indonesia

This article deals with the transnational relations between Moluccans in the Netherlands and the Moluccas. Former Moluccan colonial soldiers and their families were forced to go to the Netherlands because of political developments in Indonesia after the transfer of sovereignty in 1949. They hoped to return soon to an independent South Moluccan Republic but, more than seventy years later, they still live in the Netherlands. This article first describes how and why Moluccans came to the Netherlands and began to build a community. At the very beginning, the foundations for a transnational relationship were laid through village-based organizations and political …

The Drum In The Mosque; A Modern Short Story By Djajus Pete, George Quinn

Wacana, Journal of the Humanities of Indonesia

The short story “Bedhug” (The drum in the mosque) by Djajus Pete (born 1948) was first published in the Javanese-language magazine Panjebar Semangat in 1997. It describes what happens in a small village when well-intentioned local people unsuccessfully attempt to replace an old mosque drum with a bigger, more resonant one. In many Muslim communities, the call to prayer is made by beating a drum in the mosque’s vestibule. The story gives a glimpse of how Islam is changing, and not changing, in Java. It is critical of village institutions and functionaries, but also humorous and deeply affectionate.

Vowel Fronting, Raising, And Backing In Luzon And North-Central Sulawesi, Jason William Lobel

Wacana, Journal of the Humanities of Indonesia

This article presents an overview of four shifts – low vowel fronting, low vowel backing, back vowel fronting, and mid vowel raising – found in a number of languages on or near the Pacific coast of Luzon in the Philippines and in north- central Sulawesi in Indonesia. A more extensive illustration of low vowel fronting is given for Umiray Dumaget than has previously been made available, and a second, sporadic correspondence in Umiray Dumaget is shown to be only irregular and unconditioned. Interactions with Philippine-type morphology are also shown to result in synchronically productive alternations in Umiray Dumaget and several …

Panji In The Age Of Motion; An Investigation Of The Development Of Panji-Related Arts Around Java, Adrian Perkasa

Wacana, Journal of the Humanities of Indonesia

The first half of the twentieth century in Indonesia is often remembered as the Age of Motion. The term “motion” (pergerakan) is invariably used in history textbooks for students and in the official Indonesian historiography: Sejarah nasional Indonesia (Kartodirdjo, Poesponegoro, and Notosusanto 1975; Poesponegoro and Notosusanto 2008) and in the new edition, Indonesia dalam arus sejarah (Lapian and Abdullah 2012). Political movements in Indonesia always dominated the discourses of pergerakan at the expense of developments in other sectors, including culture. This cultural development, particularly in Java, was intricately intertwined with the upsurge in Javanese and then Indonesian nationalism, an expansion …

Finding A Place For Art Archives; Reflections On Archiving Indonesian And Southeast Asian Art, Farah Wardani

Wacana, Journal of the Humanities of Indonesia

This article is a collection of reflections of art archiving work in Indonesia and Southeast Asia, focusing on building an Indonesian art archive at Indonesian Visual Art Archive (IVAA), 2006-2015, and Southeast Asian art archives at National Gallery Singapore, from 2015 to the present. The article provides insights, learning points, and perspectives on the importance of art archives to support art historical research and the development of art history in Southeast Asia. It sheds light on the challenges, opportunities, and current developments in the field of building archives.

Endangered; When Newspaper Archives Crumble, History Dies, Gerry Van Klinken

Wacana, Journal of the Humanities of Indonesia

Historians accept the death of oral sources, but expect newspaper archives in state institutions to be available for ever. Yet the majority of Indonesian newspaper titles in the National Library are today endangered. These crumbling papers are often the only copy in the world. This article frst reviews the role these archives have played in pathbreaking historical work, both Indonesian and foreign. Provincial newspapers record the chatter of a new, literate middle class that emerged in the middle of the tumultuous twentieth century. Indonesian historiography is transformed by the many surprises scholars experience when reading their lives there. When those …

Gods, Birds, And Trees; Variation In Illustrated Javanese Pawukon Manuscripts, Dick Van Der Meij

Wacana, Journal of the Humanities of Indonesia

Many libraries in the world own illustrated manuscripts containing calendrical divination based on the Javanese 30 seven-day wuku cycle. Although the contents of these pawukon manuscript have been studied, the illustrations they often contain have almost been ignored. Apart from stating that these illustrations usually depict the gods, trees, buildings, and birds associated with each individual wuku, the variety among these illustrations has escaped scholars so far. Variation is found at many levels such as the general lay-out of the illustrations, the depiction of the various gods, trees, et cetera but also with reference to the position of the illustrations …

Virtual Meeting Ground For Colonial (Re)Interpretation Of The Banda Islands, Indonesia, Joëlla Van Donkersgoed

Wacana, Journal of the Humanities of Indonesia

The history of the Banda Islands is revealed in material and immaterial heritage which can still be narrated, visited and experienced today. Using the technological tools available in the Digital Humanities, this paper proposes a project to create a virtual interactive platform in which documents and stories related to the colonial past can be gathered. Tools like crowd-sourcing and crowd-mapping can be used to establish this archive from the bottom-up, creating a platform allowing both the former colonizer and colonized to reflect on the past. Moreover, it will provide scholars with a source of information to revisit the history of …

The Chinese From Indonesia In The Netherlands And Their Heritage; Chinese Indonesian Heritage Center (Cihc), Patricia Tjiook Liem

Wacana, Journal of the Humanities of Indonesia

Chinese from Indonesia in the Netherlands are (post)colonial migrants who share a long historical tie with the Dutch. In this article the author brings together and focuses on three interconnected subjects: Chinese from Indonesia in the Netherlands; the historical development and present meaning of "heritage"; and the Chinese Indonesian Heritage Center (CIHC). For her research on the Chinese Indonesians in the Netherlands, the author has used the literature available on this minority group. The scarce specific data for this group are part of the explanation of its "invisibility" in society and research, and of the difficulty in quantifying them. The …

Violent, Political, And Administrative Repression Of The Chinese Minority In Indonesia, 1945-1998, Mary Somers Heidhues

Wacana, Journal of the Humanities of Indonesia

Since Indonesian independence, its Chinese minority has been a victim of violent outbreaks, but also of restrictive policies arising from politics and administrative measures. From about 1957, with the closure of Chinese-language schools and subsequent regulations about expression of Chinese culture, many speak of the "erasure" of that culture through such restrictions. Violent anti-Chinese outbreaks have proceeded from the Indonesian Revolution and the presidency of Soekarno (especially the so-called "PP-10" measures against Chinese rural traders) to the era of Suharto, which began with the 1965-1967 anti-Communist massacres and their effects on ehtnic Chinese and came to an end with the …

Telling And Selling; Literary Fiction In Early Malay Language Newspapers In Colonial Indonesia, Joachim Nieβ

Wacana, Journal of the Humanities of Indonesia

When newspapers in the colloquial Malay language appeared in the Dutch East Indies in the middle of the nineteenth century, they did more than just publish news reports and advertisements. They also created a new platform for the telling and distribution of literary fiction. In effect, literary texts soon played an important role in the vernacular print media. The first part of this article analyses the attraction of newspaper literature from the perspective of both the reader and the editor in general and gives a survey of the various forms of literary genres which can be found in newspapers in …

A Linguistic Kaleidoscope Of The Malay Letter; The Case Of The Eighteenth Century Official Letters From The Sultanate Of Buton, S. Suryadi

Wacana, Journal of the Humanities of Indonesia

The Malay letters make up the largest category of documents among the Malay manuscripts preserved at Leiden University Library, the Netherlands. The corpus represents the scope of the territories under Dutch East Indies authority during the colonial era. In fact, they are authentic documents which denote not only political contact between the local kingdoms in the Archipelago (Nusantara) with the Dutch East Indies government in Batavia during colonial times but also constitute an important source for the study of the historical development of the Malay language. This essay looks at the language characters of such letters which came from the …

The Esperanto Movement In The Dutch East Indies And Indonesia, Heidi Goes

Wacana, Journal of the Humanities of Indonesia

The Esperanto movement in Indonesia has grown in the past five years from being almost non-existent to having a national association with several clubs. One might therefore assume that the Esperanto movement in Indonesia is a totally recent phenomenon. However, already at the beginning of the twentieth century there were Esperantists in the territory of today's Indonesia. Between the two World Wars the movement was active: periodicals and books were published, courses held, and clubs and associations established. As a result of the Second World War this vigorous movement collapsed, but following independence the movement reflourished under the guidance of …

The Moral Panic About The Socializing Of Young People In Minangkabau, Lyn Parker

Wacana, Journal of the Humanities of Indonesia

This paper analyses the discourse surrounding the perceived threat of free seks and pergaulan bebas (free socializing) to the moral health of young Minangkabau people, and in particular, young women, in West Sumatra. It uses the sociological frame of "moral panic" to examine contemporary discussions about globalization and the influence of "the West" in West Sumatra. The paper examines the way in which "the authorities" in West Sumatra (media, such as teen magazines and newspapers, academics, government and law, teachers, and community leaders) present the threat, and the way in which young people, who are the target of the moral …

Early Marriage, Adolescent Motherhood, And Reproductive Rights For Young Sasak Mothers In Lombok, Linda Rae Bennett

Wacana, Journal of the Humanities of Indonesia

This article focuses on Indonesian adolescents who are wives and mothers, demonstrating how early marriage and adolescent motherhood are normative among women from poor Sasak communities in Western Lombok. It is based on ethnographic research with 28 young mothers that included focus group discussions, in depth interviews, and observations. Demographic and ethnographic data on the aetiology of early marriage and adolescent motherhood are discussed, and confirm that low educational attainment for girls, lack of employment prospects, poverty, and low levels of economic development are all associated with a higher probability of adolescent marriage and motherhood in Indonesia. The article also …

Anak Jakarta; A Sketch Of Indonesian Youth Identity, Solita Sarwono

Wacana, Journal of the Humanities of Indonesia

Anak Jakarta refers to the youth of Jakarta, the trend-setters of the Indonesian youth. This paper gives a sketch of the youth in Jakarta as characterized by their appearance, language and lifestyle. Information is derived from discussions and personal contact with different groups of youth and parents (adults with children) in Jakarta; literature review, observations, as well as from flashbacks given by the adults, providing a portrait of anak Jakarta since late 1980's. The youth in Jakarta is Western (American) oriented, copying from the mass- and social media, often times conflicting with local norms and parental advices. Anak Jakarta profile …

Family Stories; Oral Tradition, Memories Of The Past, And Contemporary Conflicts Over Land In Mentawai - Indonesia, Juniator Tulius

Wacana, Journal of the Humanities of Indonesia

This is a study of oral tradition on Mentawai family stories. The family stories relate to historical events and contemporary social issues occurred in the Mentawai Islands and affecting the Mentawai kin groups. The Mentawai family stories comprise significant elements defining different kin groups living on the Mentawai Islands. They are also an important source of information with regard to claims to ancestral land. The Mentawai family stories can furthermore be regarded as the kin groups' verbal form of identities. Therefore, to maintain the family stories is indispensable to Mentawai communities and the power of human memory plays an important …

The Urban Anthropologist As Flâneur; The Symbolic Pattern Of Indonesian Cities, Peter J.M. Nas

Wacana, Journal of the Humanities of Indonesia

Cities are places full of symbols. In the past decades, Indonesian cities have become the cradle of urban symbolism studies. In this article, the author presents the results of these studies. The cities researched differ tremendously, ranging from the national capital to provincial capitals and small towns; some of them, such as Jakarta, are purely colonial in origin, while others are more or less traditional in character. Some of them have a top-down symbolic structure, largely the product of government activities, while others have symbolic configurations which have a more grassroots character and are based in the religious domain. The …

Mending The Imaginary Wall Between Indonesia And Malaysia; The Case Of Maritime Delimitation In The Waters Off Tanjung Berakit, I Made Andi Arsana

Wacana, Journal of the Humanities of Indonesia

Due to its geographical location, Indonesia shares border areas with at least ten neighbouring countries with which maritime boundaries must be settled. As of March 2011, Indonesia is yet to finalize its maritime boundaries with various States including Malaysia with which four maritime boundaries need to be settled: the Malacca Strait, the South China Sea, the Sulawesi Sea, and the Singapore Strait (off Tanjung Berakit). It is evident that pending maritime boundaries can spark problems between Indonesia and Malaysia. The dispute over the Ambalat Block in 2005 and 2009 and an incident in the waters off Tanjung Berakit on 13 …

Diplomasi Ri Di Mesir Dan Negara-Negara Arab Pada Tahun 1947, Suranta Abd. Rahman

Wacana, Journal of the Humanities of Indonesia

In 1947, the Republic of Indonesia (RI) sent a diplomatic mission to seek the international community's acknowledgement for the nation's independence. The mission in the Arab nations, particularly in Egypt, was severely challenged by the Netherlands. However, with a spirit of solidarity, the people and government of Egypt supported the struggle and acknowledged RI's independence, de facto and de jure. Diplomacy was implemented in maintaining RI's sovereignty which was threatened to be retaken by the Netherlands. Meanwhile, the struggles in military area were maintained to dissipate the Netherlands from Indonesia.