Indos in pre-colonial history
Encyclopedia
Indo people are a Eurasian
people of mixed Indonesian and European descent. Through the 16 and 18th century known by the name Mestiço (Dutch: Mestiezen). To this day they form one of the largest Eurasian communities in the world. The early beginning of this community started with the arrival of Portuguese traders in South East Asia in the 16th century. The second large wave started with the arrival of the Dutch East India Company
(VOC) employees in the 17th century and throughout the 18th century. Even though the VOC is often considered a state within a state, formal colonisation by the Dutch only commenced in the 19th century.
was beaten by the Dutch maritime traders of the VOC
, the Portuguese Indo (aka Mestiço) communities remained active in local and intra-island trade. The Dutch found merit in collaboration with these early Eurasian communities through their role as intermediaries with local traders, but also to help mitigate the threat of the encroaching British traders. Up to the 1st hundred years of Dutch (VOC) dominance the cultural influence of the Portuguese Indo population continued as can be seen by the fact that Portuguese Malay mix languages remained in existence well into the 2nd hundred years of the VOC era and autonomous Portuguese Indo groups existed into the 19th century.
Even long after the Dutch had defeated and expelled their Portuguese competition from the islands, the language of trade remained the Malay/Portuguese mix language
, which is reflected in the relatively many Portuguese words that survive in the Indonesian language to this day. The census taken of the population of Ambon island in 1860, still showed 778 Dutch Europeans and 7793 mostly Mestiço and Ambonese 'Burghers'. Portuguese/Malay speaking Indo communities existed not only in the Moluccas, Flores
and Timor
. But also in Batavia (now Jakarta) where it remained the dominant language up to 1750.
, based on Malay and Portuguese. It remained the dominant lingua franca for trade throughout the archipelago from the sixteenth century through to the early nineteenth century. Many Portugis words survive in the Indonesian language including: sabun (from sabão = soap), meja (from mesa = table), boneka (from boneca = doll), jendela (from janela = window), gereja (from igreja = church), bola (from bola = ball), bendera (from bandeira = flag), roda (from roda = wheel), gagu (from gago = stutterer), sepatu (from sapato = shoes), kereta (from carreta = wagon), bangku (from banco = chair), keju (from queijo = cheese), garpu (from garfo = fork), terigu (from trigo = flour), mentega (from manteiga = butter), and Minggu (from domingo = Sunday). The word Sinyo (from Señor) was used for Indo boy and the word Nona or the variation Nonni (from Dona
) for Indo girls.
, which the VOC legally acknowledged as a separate ethnic group. Most of them were freed Portuguese slaves with ethnic roots in India, but of Christian faith. Eventually the term came into use for any freed slave and is the word from which the Indonesian word 'Merdeka' meaning freedom is derived. This group and its descendants heavily inter-married with the Portuguese Mestiço community. Kampung Tugu was a famous Mardijker settlement in Batavia, but Mardijker quarters could be found in all major trading posts including Ambon and Ternate. The majority of this group eventually assimilated completely into the larger Indo Eurasian community and disappear from the records. Into the 18th century Indo culture remained dominantly Portuguese/Malay in nature.
people who were based in Solor, Flores and pre-dominantly Timor
. The community in Larantuka
on Flores called themselves Larantuqueiros. This powerful group of Mestiço controlled the sandalwood trade and strongly opposed the Dutch. They manifested themselves very independently and actually fought many wars with both the Dutch and Portuguese in the 17th and 18th century. Portuguese Mestiço that chose not to cooperate with the Dutch and VOC deserters often joined with the Topasses. This group eventually assimilated into the indigenous nobility and Eurasian elite of East Timor. Famous family clans are 'De Hornay' and 'Da Costa', that still exist as Timorese Raja to this day.
The distance to Europe was far and transport still took a very long time. High mortality rates among its employees were common. To a degree racial mixing was even encouraged by the VOC, as it was aiming to establish a prominent and consistent presence in the East Indies. A considerable number of these men can be considered emigrant settlers, that had no intention of leaving the East Indies, creating their own local Indo Eurasian families.
Moreover the VOC needed larger European representation to run its local business and therefore stimulated growt in numbers of an Indo population of Dutch descent. These Indos played important roles as VOC officials. VOC representatives, called residents, at the royal courts were often Indos able to speak the indigenous languages.
Over the centuries of intensive Portuguese and Dutch trade with the islands of the East Indies a relatively large Indo Eurasian population developed. These old Indo families make up the native (Indonesian: Peranakan) stock of Europeans during the ensuing colonial era. Throughout formal colonisation of the Dutch East Indies
in the coming century, the majority of registered Europeans were in fact Indo Eurasians.
. From this European outpost on Kisar a relatively large and almost forgotten Indo Eurasian community developed named the Mestizo of Kisar to this day their descendants live as Rajas and chiefs on Kisar. Surviving, mostly Dutch, family names include: Joostenz, Wouthuysen, Caffin, Lerrick, Peelman, Lander, Ruff, Bellmin-Belder, Coenradi, van Delsen, Schilling and Bakker. In 1795 the Kisar Mestizio were under English rule, in 1803 under Dutch/French rule and in 1810 again under English rule. 1817 Kisar was returned to Dutch rule until the outpost was abandoned in 1819. After that time Kisar Mestizo upheld close ties with their Mestizo
neighbours on Timor and by and large integrated into indigenous society.
The Kisar Mestizo have been made famous in 1928 by the German Professor E.Rodenwaldt who published his study "Die Mestizen auf Kisar", "Mikroskopische Beobachtungen an den Haaren der Kisaresen und Kisarbastarde". His two volume work details measurements and photographs of the observed Kisar Mestizos and contains a family tree showing the very complicated inter-marriages between the descendants of Mestizo families, as well as indicating skin, eye, and hair colour heredity. The study shows a unique natural experiment spanning over 2 centuries and is considered an essential academic work in the area of human heredity.
, Portugis
and other creole languages, not Dutch
. It was also matriarchal and most Europeans, even the VOC governor-generals would marry into Indo clans. Only by doing so they were able to obtain the necessary connections, patronage, wealth and know how.
The arts and crafts patronized by the Indo elite were usually indigenous e.g. gamelan
, batik
, various court dances, etc. In their immediate personal habitat they were closely surrounded by indigenous servants. Overall lifestyle was similar to the indigenous elite. Women clothing was often indistinguishable from indigenous fancy dress and many practices were rooted in ancient indigenous court culture.
In an attempt to mitigate cultural dominance of Indo society the expatriate aristocrat baron van Imhoff (1705–1750), VOC governor from 1743 to 1750, founded several institutions to cultivate Dutch culture among the native colonial elite. His Naval Academy for maritime VOC officers in Batavia was exemplary in its aim to foster western identity. Van Imhoff showed how well he understood the strength of the Indo-Europeans' indigenous derived beliefs and manners when he decreed that even the academy's cooks, stewards and servants were to be European. Another academy decree strictly stipulated: "There shall be no native tongues spoken in the house."
Next governors also vainly tried to introduce the Dutch language in the VOC operated schools and churches, but Portugis and Malay remained the dominant languages. Even the highest VOC officials were unable to pass on their own mother tongue to their offspring. In general the VOC had always recognised the tendency of its servants to be absorbed by the hybrid Indo culture and repeatedly issued regulations limiting higher company positions to men born in the Netherlands.
Eurasian (mixed ancestry)
The word Eurasian refers to people of mixed Asian and European ancestry. It was originally coined in 19th-century British India to refer to Anglo-Indians of mixed British and Indian descent....
people of mixed Indonesian and European descent. Through the 16 and 18th century known by the name Mestiço (Dutch: Mestiezen). To this day they form one of the largest Eurasian communities in the world. The early beginning of this community started with the arrival of Portuguese traders in South East Asia in the 16th century. The second large wave started with the arrival of the Dutch East India Company
Dutch East India Company
The Dutch East India Company was a chartered company established in 1602, when the States-General of the Netherlands granted it a 21-year monopoly to carry out colonial activities in Asia...
(VOC) employees in the 17th century and throughout the 18th century. Even though the VOC is often considered a state within a state, formal colonisation by the Dutch only commenced in the 19th century.
The position of Indos in pre-colonial history (16th, 17th and 18th century)
Before the formal colonization of the East Indies by the Dutch in the 19th century, the islands of South East Asia had already been in frequent contact with European traders. Portuguese maritime traders were present as off the 16th century. Around its trading posts the original Portuguese Indo population, called Mestiço, had developed. In the 17th century the Dutch started to expand its mercantile enterprise and military presence in the East Indies in an effort to establish trade monopolies to maximise profit. Even after the Portuguese competitionDutch East India Company
The Dutch East India Company was a chartered company established in 1602, when the States-General of the Netherlands granted it a 21-year monopoly to carry out colonial activities in Asia...
was beaten by the Dutch maritime traders of the VOC
Dutch East India Company
The Dutch East India Company was a chartered company established in 1602, when the States-General of the Netherlands granted it a 21-year monopoly to carry out colonial activities in Asia...
, the Portuguese Indo (aka Mestiço) communities remained active in local and intra-island trade. The Dutch found merit in collaboration with these early Eurasian communities through their role as intermediaries with local traders, but also to help mitigate the threat of the encroaching British traders. Up to the 1st hundred years of Dutch (VOC) dominance the cultural influence of the Portuguese Indo population continued as can be seen by the fact that Portuguese Malay mix languages remained in existence well into the 2nd hundred years of the VOC era and autonomous Portuguese Indo groups existed into the 19th century.
Portuguese roots of Indo society
Originally the greatest source of profit in the East Indies, was the intra islands trade within the archipelago (Dutch: inlandse handel) and the intra-Asiatic trade in general. Here one commodity was exchanged for another, with profit at each turn. This included the trade of silver from the Americas, more desirable in the East than in Europe. In this trade the original Indo or Mestizo population remained to play an intermediary role.The VOC made good use of such (Indo) people, born and brought up locally. They could speak the language of their birth country and understood its conventions, and proved excellent middlemen for the Europeans. For the same reason these Eurasians were extremely useful for Asian rulers. Historian Ulbe Bosma.
Even long after the Dutch had defeated and expelled their Portuguese competition from the islands, the language of trade remained the Malay/Portuguese mix language
Portugis language
Portugis, or Ternateño, was a language spoken by Christians of mixed Portuguese and Malay ancestry in the islands of Ambon and Ternate in the Moluccas , from the 16th to the middle of the 20th century....
, which is reflected in the relatively many Portuguese words that survive in the Indonesian language to this day. The census taken of the population of Ambon island in 1860, still showed 778 Dutch Europeans and 7793 mostly Mestiço and Ambonese 'Burghers'. Portuguese/Malay speaking Indo communities existed not only in the Moluccas, Flores
Flores
Flores is one of the Lesser Sunda Islands, an island arc with an estimated area of 14,300 km² extending east from the Java island of Indonesia. The population was 1.831.000 in the 2010 census and the largest town is Maumere. Flores is Portuguese for "flowers".Flores is located east of Sumbawa...
and Timor
Timor
Timor is an island at the southern end of Maritime Southeast Asia, north of the Timor Sea. It is divided between the independent state of East Timor, and West Timor, belonging to the Indonesian province of East Nusa Tenggara. The island's surface is 30,777 square kilometres...
. But also in Batavia (now Jakarta) where it remained the dominant language up to 1750.
Portuguese Creole Language
For the Mestizo-Indo of the pre-colonial era their first language was often the Portuguese creole language called PortugisPortugis language
Portugis, or Ternateño, was a language spoken by Christians of mixed Portuguese and Malay ancestry in the islands of Ambon and Ternate in the Moluccas , from the 16th to the middle of the 20th century....
, based on Malay and Portuguese. It remained the dominant lingua franca for trade throughout the archipelago from the sixteenth century through to the early nineteenth century. Many Portugis words survive in the Indonesian language including: sabun (from sabão = soap), meja (from mesa = table), boneka (from boneca = doll), jendela (from janela = window), gereja (from igreja = church), bola (from bola = ball), bendera (from bandeira = flag), roda (from roda = wheel), gagu (from gago = stutterer), sepatu (from sapato = shoes), kereta (from carreta = wagon), bangku (from banco = chair), keju (from queijo = cheese), garpu (from garfo = fork), terigu (from trigo = flour), mentega (from manteiga = butter), and Minggu (from domingo = Sunday). The word Sinyo (from Señor) was used for Indo boy and the word Nona or the variation Nonni (from Dona
Don (honorific)
Don, from Latin dominus, is an honorific in Spanish , Portuguese , and Italian . The female equivalent is Doña , Dona , and Donna , abbreviated "Dª" or simply "D."-Usage:...
) for Indo girls.
Mardijker people
Another notable Portuguese/Malay speaking group were the Mardijker peopleMardijker people
The Mardijker were a community in amongst others Batavia , made up of descendants of freed slaves. They could be found at all major trading posts in the East Indies. They were mostly Christian, of Indian and some Portuguese ancestry, and spoke a Portuguese patois...
, which the VOC legally acknowledged as a separate ethnic group. Most of them were freed Portuguese slaves with ethnic roots in India, but of Christian faith. Eventually the term came into use for any freed slave and is the word from which the Indonesian word 'Merdeka' meaning freedom is derived. This group and its descendants heavily inter-married with the Portuguese Mestiço community. Kampung Tugu was a famous Mardijker settlement in Batavia, but Mardijker quarters could be found in all major trading posts including Ambon and Ternate. The majority of this group eventually assimilated completely into the larger Indo Eurasian community and disappear from the records. Into the 18th century Indo culture remained dominantly Portuguese/Malay in nature.
Topasses people
An independent group of Mestiço of Portuguese descent were the TopassesTopasses
Topasses were a group of people in maritime Asia in the early modern period, who claimed Portuguese ancestry or had taken up Portuguese culture and language. Topasses were found in the various places of South Asia and Southeast Asia which were frequented by the Portuguese, such as Goa, Malacca and...
people who were based in Solor, Flores and pre-dominantly Timor
Timor
Timor is an island at the southern end of Maritime Southeast Asia, north of the Timor Sea. It is divided between the independent state of East Timor, and West Timor, belonging to the Indonesian province of East Nusa Tenggara. The island's surface is 30,777 square kilometres...
. The community in Larantuka
Larantuka
Larantuka is a subdistrict of East Flores Regency, on the eastern end of Flores Island, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. Like much of the region, Larantuka has a strong a colonial Portuguese influence...
on Flores called themselves Larantuqueiros. This powerful group of Mestiço controlled the sandalwood trade and strongly opposed the Dutch. They manifested themselves very independently and actually fought many wars with both the Dutch and Portuguese in the 17th and 18th century. Portuguese Mestiço that chose not to cooperate with the Dutch and VOC deserters often joined with the Topasses. This group eventually assimilated into the indigenous nobility and Eurasian elite of East Timor. Famous family clans are 'De Hornay' and 'Da Costa', that still exist as Timorese Raja to this day.
VOC roots of Indo society
During the 200 years of the VOC era intermixing with indigenous peoples kept running its natural course. Over the years the VOC had sent out around 1 million employees, of which only one third returned to Europe. Its personnel consisted of mostly single men traveling without families.The distance to Europe was far and transport still took a very long time. High mortality rates among its employees were common. To a degree racial mixing was even encouraged by the VOC, as it was aiming to establish a prominent and consistent presence in the East Indies. A considerable number of these men can be considered emigrant settlers, that had no intention of leaving the East Indies, creating their own local Indo Eurasian families.
Moreover the VOC needed larger European representation to run its local business and therefore stimulated growt in numbers of an Indo population of Dutch descent. These Indos played important roles as VOC officials. VOC representatives, called residents, at the royal courts were often Indos able to speak the indigenous languages.
Over the centuries of intensive Portuguese and Dutch trade with the islands of the East Indies a relatively large Indo Eurasian population developed. These old Indo families make up the native (Indonesian: Peranakan) stock of Europeans during the ensuing colonial era. Throughout formal colonisation of the Dutch East Indies
Indos in colonial history
Indos are a Eurasian people of mixed Indonesian and European descent. The pre-colonial evolution of this hybrid Eurasian community in the East Indies commenced during the arrival of Portuguese traders in the 16th century and continued with the arrival of Dutch traders in the 17th and 18th...
in the coming century, the majority of registered Europeans were in fact Indo Eurasians.
Mestizo of Kisar
In 1665 the VOC built a remote military outpost on the island they named KisarKisar
Kisar, also known as Yotowawa, is a small island in the Southwestern Moluccas in Indonesia.-Description:It is located to the northeast of Timor Island in an area of great tectonic activity....
. From this European outpost on Kisar a relatively large and almost forgotten Indo Eurasian community developed named the Mestizo of Kisar to this day their descendants live as Rajas and chiefs on Kisar. Surviving, mostly Dutch, family names include: Joostenz, Wouthuysen, Caffin, Lerrick, Peelman, Lander, Ruff, Bellmin-Belder, Coenradi, van Delsen, Schilling and Bakker. In 1795 the Kisar Mestizio were under English rule, in 1803 under Dutch/French rule and in 1810 again under English rule. 1817 Kisar was returned to Dutch rule until the outpost was abandoned in 1819. After that time Kisar Mestizo upheld close ties with their Mestizo
Topasses
Topasses were a group of people in maritime Asia in the early modern period, who claimed Portuguese ancestry or had taken up Portuguese culture and language. Topasses were found in the various places of South Asia and Southeast Asia which were frequented by the Portuguese, such as Goa, Malacca and...
neighbours on Timor and by and large integrated into indigenous society.
The Kisar Mestizo have been made famous in 1928 by the German Professor E.Rodenwaldt who published his study "Die Mestizen auf Kisar", "Mikroskopische Beobachtungen an den Haaren der Kisaresen und Kisarbastarde". His two volume work details measurements and photographs of the observed Kisar Mestizos and contains a family tree showing the very complicated inter-marriages between the descendants of Mestizo families, as well as indicating skin, eye, and hair colour heredity. The study shows a unique natural experiment spanning over 2 centuries and is considered an essential academic work in the area of human heredity.
Indo society
Pre-colonial Indo culture dominated the European segment of society in the East Indies. This culture was heavily Eurasian i.e. hybrid in nature and even the most high ranking Dutch VOC officials were absorbed by it. Indo society was polygot and its first languages were MalayMalay language
Malay is a major language of the Austronesian family. It is the official language of Malaysia , Indonesia , Brunei and Singapore...
, Portugis
Portugis language
Portugis, or Ternateño, was a language spoken by Christians of mixed Portuguese and Malay ancestry in the islands of Ambon and Ternate in the Moluccas , from the 16th to the middle of the 20th century....
and other creole languages, not Dutch
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
. It was also matriarchal and most Europeans, even the VOC governor-generals would marry into Indo clans. Only by doing so they were able to obtain the necessary connections, patronage, wealth and know how.
"Women based clans absorbed the immigrant males who came without wives. the clan enfolded the newcomer in a network of immigrants with locally born wives, mestizo (Indo) and Asian (Indonesian) kin alike. In the same time the clan eased the adoption of Indies manners for the newcomers." Historian Jean Gelman Taylor in The social world of Batavia, European and Eurasian in Dutch Asia.
The arts and crafts patronized by the Indo elite were usually indigenous e.g. gamelan
Gamelan
A gamelan is a musical ensemble from Indonesia, typically from the islands of Bali or Java, featuring a variety of instruments such as metallophones, xylophones, drums and gongs; bamboo flutes, bowed and plucked strings. Vocalists may also be included....
, batik
Batik
Batik is a cloth that traditionally uses a manual wax-resist dyeing technique. Batik or fabrics with the traditional batik patterns are found in Indonesia, Malaysia, Japan, China, Azerbaijan, India, Sri Lanka, Egypt, Nigeria, Senegal, and Singapore.Javanese traditional batik, especially from...
, various court dances, etc. In their immediate personal habitat they were closely surrounded by indigenous servants. Overall lifestyle was similar to the indigenous elite. Women clothing was often indistinguishable from indigenous fancy dress and many practices were rooted in ancient indigenous court culture.
In an attempt to mitigate cultural dominance of Indo society the expatriate aristocrat baron van Imhoff (1705–1750), VOC governor from 1743 to 1750, founded several institutions to cultivate Dutch culture among the native colonial elite. His Naval Academy for maritime VOC officers in Batavia was exemplary in its aim to foster western identity. Van Imhoff showed how well he understood the strength of the Indo-Europeans' indigenous derived beliefs and manners when he decreed that even the academy's cooks, stewards and servants were to be European. Another academy decree strictly stipulated: "There shall be no native tongues spoken in the house."
Next governors also vainly tried to introduce the Dutch language in the VOC operated schools and churches, but Portugis and Malay remained the dominant languages. Even the highest VOC officials were unable to pass on their own mother tongue to their offspring. In general the VOC had always recognised the tendency of its servants to be absorbed by the hybrid Indo culture and repeatedly issued regulations limiting higher company positions to men born in the Netherlands.
Further reading
- Bosman, Ulbe and Raben, Remco. De oude Indische wereld 1500-1920. (Bert Bakker, Amsterdam 2003) ISBN 90-351-2572-X
External links
- Portuguese colonial history
- Portuguese roots of Kroncong Music. Retrieved 22 May 2010.