Understanding Dutch Cultural Heritage

Understanding Dutch Cultural Heritage –  In 2019, Dido Mitchelsen’s bestselling book, Lichter me Ik (Lighter than me, whiter than me in Indonesian) will be published for the first time. This novel tells the story of an Indonesian woman named Isa who grew up in Kraton, a royal palace in Yogyakarta.

Understanding Dutch Cultural Heritage

surlerythme – However, Issa chose the path of life as a nyai (concubine/concubine) to a Dutch soldier, who was then blessed with two daughters. Jesus also believed that the man would marry him. However, the soldier chose to return to the Netherlands and marry a white woman, leaving Isa and his two daughters behind. As a widow with no income, Issa had to accept the offer of an Indo-European family who wanted to adopt her two daughters. Surprisingly, Jesus then became babu (servant) to his children, who never knew that Jesus was their mother.

Whiter Than Me is part of a new post-colonial interventionist movement involving oral production and cultural representation. Although these interventions differ in substance and form, they share common characteristics. In several cases he was able to present a critical view of old Dutch colonial ideas which were considered (both in terms of time and place) foreign, nostalgic and positive. These ideas have been embedded in the memory of Dutch society for centuries.

Postcolonial nostalgia and nyai/babu
Indonesia is the oldest and most economically influential Dutch colony. Although Indonesia gained its independence more than seventy-seven years ago, the tradition of memory stories and nostalgic depictions of the Dutch East Indies still permeates and is rooted in the collective memory and imagination of the Dutch. Today, the memory of colonialism is colored by narratives created by people who never lived in the colony or experienced the colonial period itself. These memories come in various forms, from literary works, podcasts, history books, to cookbooks, as well as in visual forms, such as films, photographs, theater performances, and public monuments.

Dutch archives containing images from the colonial era are often released to the public with the aim of evoking nostalgia for the ‘good old days.’ Many of these images depict the close relationship between the white colonizers and the colonized, as if to show the period as a time worthy of remembrance and full of harmony. This phenomenon also contributes to perpetuating the myth of inter-ethnic harmony which is believed to be closely related to the colonial period.

Therefore, it is not surprising that the peak of prosperity of that time is shown by a white boy next to Babush, a dark-skinned Indian slave. The aim of these memorable stories and intimate images is to hide the reality of the colonial government system in its dark past, full of injustice, sexism and racism.

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Whiter Than Me represents a new shift in Dutch post-colonial memory. This novel tells the story of two famous women, Babu and Niai, who appear several times in various written and personal memoirs from the Dutch East Indies. In India, European families often employed Indonesian women and girls to care for their children. Many of these children will carry fond memories of their grandfather into their adulthood. Being a surrogate mother, Babu is believed to have a stronger emotional bond with the children compared to the biological mother. In the villages, they were treated like domestic workers, namely workers who worked for European families.

Given Babu’s closeness to the white children who looked after them, it is not surprising that Babu’s image figures prominently in Dutch colonial memories. However, this situation is different with the bad news. In colonial Indonesia, it was unusual for unmarried white men to live with local women, nannies, and fathers of their children. As a mother figure for children, the nyai must be recognized and integrated into the family. But in reality, their lives are neglected.

Changes in postcolonial memory
Whiter Than Me was born in the context of strong criticism of Dutch colonialism, which emerged in various forms of anti-colonial movements in countries such as Indonesia. Apart from that, criticism of colonialism comes from various international critics. Efforts to challenge nostalgia for the past emerged from a large study entitled “Independence, Decolonization, Violence and War in Indonesia, 1945-1950, the Tolerated Republic of Indonesia.”

Public debate regarding the status of the Netherlands in its colonial past caused controversy and sparked debate at various levels of society. Each group has a different view of the colonial period, ranging from military veterans, people of Dutch descent born in India, historians to politicians. Several major investigations, the discovery of disturbing new facts, as well as court cases, strengthen the Dutch culture of postcolonial memory. Nostalgic memories of Indonesia, which were once considered beautiful, were suddenly tarnished.

For many people in the Netherlands, memories of the colonial past are now embarrassing. They feel guilty and sad. But a recent survey shows that more than half of Dutch people are very proud of their colonial memories. It could be said that the old style and romanticism of the colonial era continued along with the anti-colonial debate surrounding the Dutch East Indies. My own novel emerged amidst postcolonial debates over understanding and representing this history.

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The New Awakening of Indonesian Women
This book tells the story of Isa, an old woman and noble woman. This is different from most Dutch colonial documents which depict nyai negatively. Nyai was used as a symbol of immorality and sexuality, was seen as a threat to the existence of white women, and was often seen as seducing or teasing white men. This negative image is used as a warning about the social phenomenon of racial mixing which has been common in the Dutch East Indies for centuries. Influenced by eugenic ideas that emerged in the late 1800s, racial mixing and intermarriage were considered disgusting and indecent, especially by white people. Some believe that this could lead to a decline in European influence. Therefore, in the context of formal marriage, Dutch men often “dumped” or replaced their “grandmothers” with white women. The children of these relationships are captured by these powers. Aisa’s story reflects the suffering of many Indonesian women and girls in the colony.

In Dutch memory, Babu in Indonesia is considered a kind and loving mother, while Nai is the “ancestor” of the Indo-European people who is glorified in Indonesia and the Netherlands. there is little attempt to explain the lives of these women. Whiter Than Me is the first book to show the vulnerability and vulnerability of Indonesian women working in European homes. Rather than repeating, slowing down, or exaggerating their story, the novel places Niai and Babu’s personal lives in a political and historical context. The author, Michielsen, himself an Indo-European from Naian, used his family archives as a research source, as they provided a contextual basis for his stories.

Although nyai and babu appear frequently in Dutch accounts of India, their voices are few and far between. One of them is the description of Nyai Ontosoroh in the book Bumi Perempuan. The first book in the popular Boro Trilogy by Pramodya Ananta Toer depicts Nyai Ontosoroh as a strong and brave woman. Pramudia describes how Nyai Ontosoroh managed to survive colonial rule which ultimately destroyed her.

In contrast to most Dutch memoirs, Whiter Than Me does not focus on Dutch’s story about the babu and his mistress. On the other hand, Isa is a real figure who tells his personal experiences. More importantly, Whiter Than Me is able to express postcolonial prejudice by placing Indian female characters at the center of the story. Fiction can provide space for people who are ignored and considered marginal in the official history of colonial countries.

Michelsen depicts Issa as a rebellious woman who suffers from gender norms and colonial rules. Issa also chooses her own path in life, exploring her sexuality, and facing the consequences of her sometimes bad decisions. Even though the story in this book does not have a happy ending, Isa still maintains his strength until the end, which is reflected in the book’s narrative structure. Even though he couldn’t read, Jesus tried to tell his life story to a spiritual writer so that his story would be recorded and saved. This way he can contribute to the history of Niaya and Babu.

Whiter Than Me represents a significant cultural symbol. This story is a form of representation of former colonial people who have recently become interested in the Netherlands. Postcolonial efforts to erase the collective memory of the Dutch East Indies. In this way, the story helps to dispel memories of a past that was often racist and is still part of Dutch culture.