IIAS Newsletter 36 | March 2005 | free of charge | published by IIAS | P.O. Box 9515 | 2300 RA Leiden | The Netherlands | T +31-71-527 2227 | F +31-71-527 4162 | [email protected] | www.iias.nl

Private Collection / Bridgeman Art Library. www.bridgeman.co.uk Library. Art Bridgeman / Collection Private 36 Theme: Maritime piracy

A pre-colonial language

pp.33-39 in a post-colonial world Sheldon Pollock is a man of many interests. A Sanskritist by training, he is also concerned with history, politics and social theory, while some of his work is controversial. He spoke to Gijs Kruijtzer last December about his career, research, and the politics of writing the pre-colonial.

GK: During your career you’ve moved from ancient Sanskrit The new book is a history of culture and power as expressed poetry through the Medieval to the brink of the colonial peri- in the medium of Sanskrit, and what happened when Sanskrit od. Can you describe some of the stages along this journey? was superseded in the course of the second millennium CE,

pp.1 & 4-5 a period I have called the ‘vernacular millennium’. Given my SP: Let me try to cut into this question by describing some of earlier training as a classicist and belief in the value of serious my recent projects, especially my new book, which concerns comparativism, I also look at the role of Latin in the Roman the history of Sanskrit itself. I think a lot of Sanskritists are Empire, the very different forms empire took in India and Italy, interested in this question, since Sanskrit occupies a strange and the displacement of Latin and Sanskrit and their imperi- social location among the classical languages of the world, and al embodiments through vernacular poetries and vernacular many Sanskritists ask themselves early in their careers what polities in the medieval period. There are absolutely stunning exactly Sanskrit was for, who used it and how it differed from symmetries in every sense. It is remarkable to compare the other Kultursprachen. In the early 1990s I became interested court of King Alfred at the end of the ninth century and the pp.16-19 p.3 in precisely these questions and realized - and I think a lot of relationship between that developing polity and its attitude people have realized this long before I came along - that under- towards the Carolingian Empire with their contemporaries in

pp.23-28 standing the history of Sanskrit requires understanding the southern India, the Rashtrakutas and western Calukyas, and

pp.6-12 history of non-Sanskrit. This brought me to the study of Old their cultivation of a Kannada cultural-political region. San- Kannada. skrit maintained only a kind of ghostly existence in the liter- ary domain during the latter half of this vernacular millenni- I first began to study Kannada in Chicago, with my colleague um. I am well aware that as a language of scholarship it has A.K. Ramanujan, trading Kannada lessons for Sanskrit les- continued into the present - I studied only in Sanskrit medi- sons, and then with scholars in Mysore, above all T. V. Venkat- um with my various teachers in India, including the great P. Shamsul A.B. and Raul Pertierra on kratonized knowledge cultural exchange: and labour in decolonising Indonesia the People’s Capital Republic of China: Publications, achala Sastry. That was a very important moment in my career, N. Pattabhirama Sastry - but my book will show that its dis- > > > for I began to see the powerful interactions between Sanskrit placement began long ago, and that by the middle of the sec- and a local literary language in ways you simply cannot see if ond millennium, Sanskrit in many places was no longer rel- Sheldon Pollock on writing the pre-colonial: New projects, upcoming events, conference and arts agenda: you’re looking at the history of Sanskrit divorced from the his- evant in the literary and political spheres. The real creative > > tory of regional languages. Some years later my editor at the energies were from then on located in the desha bhashas, the

Maritime piracy past and present - politics, trade, popular culture a face-to-face encounter: University of California Press encouraged me to develop all languages of Place.

> this into a larger book project that turned into The Language of the Gods in the World of Men. continued on page 4 > Asia, what Asia? Contents #36 hile few previously appreciated the extent of the interconnections between WEurope and Asia, this all changed within hours on 26 December 2004 when 1, 4-5 A pre-colonial language in a post-colonial world / Sheldon Pollock, interview by Gijs a tsunami hit the shores of South and Southeast Asia, causing terrible suffering and Kruitzer enormous devastation. The amateur video images of the tsunami and its victims, 3 Some thoughts on how knowledge on Southeast Asia came to be / Shamsul A.B. Asians and Europeans alike, imprinted on everyone’s memory the human ties 3 Cultural diversity and exchange within globalization? / Raul Pertierra binding the continents. Although the tsunami generated a worldwide charitable 5 Poems from Amsterdam / J. Neil C. Garcia reflex of unprecedented proportions, the lack of effective political structures to direct relief operations reinforced negative images of Asia where ‘Asian’ is a pejorative Maritime piracy label - as in ‘Asian crisis’, ‘Asian values’ or ‘Asian flu’. 6 Introduction: piracy in the Asian seas / John Kleinen & Manon Osseweijer 7 Piracy in early modern China / Robert Antony Be this as it may, there is also a growing tendency to view Asia in a more positive 8 Sailing in dangerous waters: piracy and raiding in historical context / Esther Veltoen light, due in large part to impressive economic growth in China and India, and new 9 From ‘piracy’ to inter-regional trade: the Sunda Straits zone, c. 1750-1800 / impulses in scientific cooperation. In my previous director’s note I reflected on how Ota Atsushi to establish Asia-Europe collaboration in research and education, and how Euro- 10 Piracy in the Malacca Straits: notes from the field / Eric Frécon pean countries - instead of trumpeting unrealistic statements about Europe’s future 11 Local pirate gangs, strategic waterways / Adam Young as the world’s foremost knowledge-economy by 2010 - need to begin organizing a 12 Piracy: a critical perspective / Stefan Eklöf pan-European structure for scientific education and research, and to channel sig- nificant resources to secondary and tertiary education. Research 13 Opium: building block of empire / Anne L. Foster I do not have the illusion that my director’s note is avidly read in Brussels. Nonethe- 14 Can personal names be translated? / Charles Macdonald less, the Secretary General of the Council of the European Union, J. Solana, admit- 15 Sisterhood in saffron: women of the Rashtra Sevika Samiti / Namrata Ravichandra ted in January 2005 that statements about Europe being the foremost knowledge- Ganneri economy by 2010 were rhetorical and unrealistic. Instead, the EU should take on 16 Social stratification in contemporary China / Ravni Thakur note Director’s the role of catalyst. According to Solana, the EU should fuel and stimulate promis- 17 International supply chains and labour standards in China / Gemma Crijns and ing new initiatives in all realms of society, including research and education. Frans Paul van der Putten 18 Dutch enterprise in independent Indonesia: cooperation and confrontation, 1949- I sincerely hope this line of thinking on the EU’s role will blossom, as only then can 1958 / Jasper van de Kerkhof bottom-up initiatives develop. This will take time, as it will involve a change in men- 19 Decolonization and urban labour history in Indonesia, 1930-1965 / Ratna Saptari tality among European civil servants, who have been trained to implement and exe- and Erwiza Erman cute (research) programmes adhering to narrow criteria. These programmes are 20 Vedic studies: texts, language and ritual / J.E.M. Houben the result of extensive lobbying in the corridors of power: the outcome, for exam- 21 Dravidian studies in the Netherlands part 2 (1860s-1970s): classical India ple, of the Sixth Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development rediscovered / Luba Zubkova 2002-2006, in its almost exclusive fixation on the hard sciences and information 22 Shamanism in contemporary Siberian music / Larissa Burnakova and technology, mirrors the interests of the ‘powers’ which have the upper hand in Brus- Liesbet Nyssen sels. The meagre amount of money ear-marked for the ‘soft’ sciences is spent on politically correct research following the latest trends, which are, in nature, short- Publications term in outlook. 23 Srib Leb Rgad Po / translated by Simon Wickham-Smith 24 Recovering from crisis: more than just survival? / Elizabeth Morrell The voice of the human and social sciences needs to be heard. Before this can hap- 25 Thailand’s rice bowl: perspectives on agricultural and social change in the Chao pen, we need a Euro-Asian proto-structure of education and research that can make Phraya Delta / Graeme MacRae a strong case for cooperation between Asia and Europe. This will be no easy task, 26 The guns of February: ordinary Japanese soldiers’ views of the Malayan campaign though the rapidly growing research and development capacities of Asian countries and the fall of Singapore, 1941-42 / Chandar S. Sundaram make the creation of such a platform realistic. A promising initiative in this direc- 27 Strange parallels: Southeast Asia in global context, c. 800-1830 / Volker Grabowsky tion is the one by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences for an Asian alliance of 28 Books received research institutes, which in combination with the European Alliance for Asian Studies could become the first step in the formation of such a proto-structure. IIAS / ASEF / Alliance / Announcements 29 IIAS fellows It is important to reinforce these initiatives but we need to, at the same time, keep 30 Asian and European perspectives on old age vulnerability / Elisabeth Schröder- on creating more favourable conditions for Asia-Europe cooperation to flourish. Butterfill and Ruly Marianti European secondary schools should be offering courses in Asian cultures and lan- 31 China’s need for soft power / Zhai Kun guages, thus acquainting pupils with Asia in their formative years. When they leave 32 IIAS research programmes school in 2010, European universities should be offering an array of courses on Asia 33-35 Projects / events / call for papers combined with disciplinary specializations. To attain the critical mass to achieve 36-37 International conference agenda this objective, education and research on Asia should be co-ordinated at the pan- 38-39 Arts agenda European level. But before we can start thinking about this, we need to take stock of existing Asian Studies in Europe, so that in the future we will not be tongue-tied when asked: ‘Asia, what Asia?’ <

Wim Stokhof Director, IIAS The International Institute for Asian Studies (IIAS) is a postdoctoral research centre based in Leiden and Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Our main objective is to encour- age the interdisciplinary and comparative study of Asia and to promote national and international cooperation in the field. The institute focuses on the humanities and social sciences and their interaction with other sciences.

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2 IIAS Newsletter | #36 | March 2005 > Comment Some thoughts on how knowledge on Southeast Asia came to be

s teachers and researchers in the humanities and social Once colonial rule was established and the plural society inter-nation-state relations, intra-nation-state problems, Asciences, we often refer to the corpus of empirical knowl- installed in the region, followed later by the formation of nationalism and so on. This gave rise to what could be called edge labeled ‘Southeast Asian studies’ but seldom reflect close- nation-states, the analytical frame, too, changed. Analysts ‘methodological nationalism’, a way of constructing and ly on the nature of this knowledge. As pointed out by Charles now had to address the reality of the plural society, and also using knowledge based mainly on the ‘territoriality’ of the Macdonald in ‘What is the use of area studies?’, IIAS Newslet- subsequent developments generated by the existence of a nation-state and not on the notion that social life is a uni- ter 35, the utility of this knowledge is not only academic in community of plural societies in the region. We began to versal and borderless phenomenon - hence the creation of nature, but also professional and political. In response to his narrow our analytical frame to nation-state, ethnic group, ‘Indonesian studies’, ‘Philippines Studies’, ‘Malaysian Stud- important and timely comments, I wish to offer some of my ies’, ‘Thai Studies’ and so on. own thoughts on the matter. With the advent of the Cold War and modernization theo- I propose that social scientific knowledge on Southeast Asia ry, analysts further narrowed their frames of reference. has a clear knowledge baseline, a continuous and inter-relat- They began to talk of poverty and basic needs in the rural ed intellectual-cum-conceptual basis, which emerged from areas of a particular nation, focusing on resistance and war- its own history and has, in turn, inspired the construction, fare, slums in urban areas, and economic growth of small- organization and consumption of this knowledge. Two con- holder farmers. The interests of particular disciplines, such cepts in particular - ‘plurality’ and ‘plural society’ - have fre- as anthropology, became narrower still when it focused on quently been used to characterize Southeast Asia. Both are particular communities in remote areas, a particular bat- social scientific constructs that emerged from empirical stud- tle in a mountain area, a failed irrigation project in a delta, ies conducted in the region. or gender identity of an ethnic minority in a market town. Hence social scientific knowledge on Southeast Asia It is not difficult to show that the production of social sci- became, to borrow a Javanese term, kratonized, or com- entific knowledge on Southeast Asia has moved along this partmentalized. ‘plurality-plural society’ continuum. When scholars research and write on pre-European Southeast Asia they are com- Inevitably a substantial amount of social scientific knowl- pelled to respond to the reality of Southeast Asian plurality edge on Southeast Asia has been generated, produced and during that period, when the region was a meeting place of contextualized within the plural society framework, because world civilizations and cultures, where winds and currents ‘nation-state’ as an analytical category matters more than, converged bringing together people from all over the world Map of East Asia compass detail, drawn by Shou Karota, approx. 16th century say, the plurality perception of the Penan of Central Borneo,

Kano Collection, Tohoku University Library

Letters & comment & Letters pursuing ‘God, gold and glory’, and where groups of indi- who, like their ancestors centuries ago, move freely between genes moved in various regional circuits seeking their for- Indonesia and Malaysia to eke out a living along with other tunes. As a result, we have had, in Java, a Hindu king with tribal group and outside traders, ignoring the existence of an Arabic name entertaining European traders. In Champa, the political boundaries. In fact, anthropologists seem to we had a Malay raja ruling a predominantly Buddhist popu- have found it convenient, for analytical, scientific and aca- lace trading with India, China and the Malay Archipelago. demic expedience, to separate the Indonesian Penan from Even shunning orientalism, we cannot avoid writing about those of Malaysia when, in reality, they are one and the same that period within a plurality framework, thus emphasizing people. the region’s rich diversity and colourful traditions. In other words, the social reality of the region to a large extent dic- The ‘plurality-plural society continuum’ is thus not only a tates our analytical framework. ‘knowledge baseline’ but also a real-life social construct endowed with a set of ideas, vocabulary and idioms, within ‘Plurality’ characterizes Southeast Asia before Europeans came which people exist day-to-day in Southeast Asia. As teachers and dismantled its flexible traditional polities, installing their and researchers in the humanities and social sciences our systems of governance and dividing the region into a com- primary task is to separate the reality from the social con- munity of ‘plural societies’. The latter signifies both ‘coercion’ structs, thus separating, even momentarily, ‘the analytical’ and ‘difference’ and the introduction of large-scale migrant from ‘the real’. It is not an easy task but try we must. Per- communities originating from various civilizations, includ- haps then we will be in a better position to understand how ing Chinese and Indian migrant laborers who came to the ‘Southeast Asian studies as a form of knowledge’ has been Malay world. It also signifies the introduction of knowledge, utilized beyond academia. < social constructs, vocabulary, idioms and institutions hither- to unknown to the indigenous population, such as maps, cen- Shamsul A.B. sus, museums and ethnic categories, the introduction of a cap- Mapa y Plan Orisontal que manifiesta la Villa de León con sus Barrios, Director, Institute of the Malay World & Civilization / italistic market-oriented economy, and systematized and Pueblos calles y cuadras Institute of Occidental Studies hegemonic bureaucratic politics. Benson Latin American Collection, University of Texas at Austin The National University of Malaysia < Cultural diversity Cultural within exchange and globalisation? international at discussion for topics common most the of one become has Culture corner exotic its of out come has it anthropologists, of preserve the Formerly meetings. cul- discovered have economists and scientists political Even stage. global the mount to com- a as it view latter the while power, of form a as it see generally former the ture: down pedestal aesthetic its from culture taken meanwhile have scholars Literary modity. culture of grip the escape can now nothing that seems It life. of details grittiest the into and this all course of is Culture significance. its to awakening are organizations while more. much Inter- the 2004, in culture: for agenda the pushing factor important an is Globalisation participatory for quest its of centre the at culture placed Organisation Labour national with concerned increasingly is Society Information on Summit World The democracy. issues of communication and the role culture in ensuring its success. The 2001 cul- how on discussions initiated Diversity Cultural of Declaration Universal UNESCO ministeri- ASEM the while shared and encouraged preserved, be should diversity tural cultural of promotion the recommended 2003 December in Beijing in held meeting al preservation the promotes also ASEM conflict. global reduce to exchange and diversity Asia between exchange cultural encourages and arts contemporary and traditional of Europe. and and diversity cultural to approaches such of skeptical remain I anthropologist, an As weight the under disappears life day every of aspect an as culture of notion The exchange. obvious too becomes Culture orientations. civilizational or achievements creative of of part as effects its disguise to ability its in lies power real its whereas artifactual, and assigns It consensual. nor hegemonic neither is Culture behaviour. traditional or natural and Women concerned. subjects the of interests the against often positions subject return in culture; patriarchal a in values negative assigned invariably are homosexuals invari- are cultures Hence, values. cultural these subvert to can they as best as try they transformation. in and conflict in ably Cul- and Diversity Cultural on Seminar ‘Asia-Europe the attending before weeks few A (September Hanoi in conference Globalization’ of Framework the in Exchange tural con- abused much (another globalization on Warwick in conference a at was I 2004), abeyance. ritualistic almost an from apart mention, a rated barely culture Here, cept). I When globalization. of aspects economic and political the on was focus the Instead, Cul- globalization. of part integral an was culture that was reply the objections, raised after life social of remnant a explain; not could economics or politics whatever was ture removed. been had aspects rational most its culture Hanoi in that felt I conference, Warwick the at under-rated was culture While conference, Warwick the At unproblematized. was culture cases both In over-rated. was its only Hanoi at while economics, and politics of weight the under disappeared culture assumptions cultural When recognized. were expressions exemplary and obvious more in as difference with confronted when but invisible, is culture Warwick, in as shared are expres- its of some while that is culture of paradox The overwhelming. is culture Hanoi, taken- The life. everyday of routines the in disappear others obvious, too only are sions aspect this is It practitioners. their to invisible mostly are culture of elements for-granted overlooked. conferences Hanoi and Warwick the that culture of cul- take to begun has world the while that is practice disciplinary of ironies the of One The category. analytical serious a as it discarded have anthropologists seriously, ture are anthropologists why reason major a are uses growing its with associated difficulties Oth- life. social contemporary explaining for culture of concept the employ to hesitant non-anthropolo- place, market overcrowded this in and culture, claimed now have ers peddlers. persuasive most the often are gists Pertierra Raul Philippines the of University Center, Asian

IIAS Newsletter | #36 | March 2005 3 > Interview continued from page 1 > tice of culture and power, are the real prize. Why do we care about the past, especially a past that some myopic observers GK: Was your desire to view literature historically in Literary might say is not our own? We care about the past because we Cultures in History in any way inspired by the ‘literary turn’ care about the future. And we want to have a more humane among researchers of colonial history? world, where we have better choices than we had in the past. And one question that motivates me is: are there resources in SP: No, the literary cultures book didn’t come out of any the non-capitalist, non-modern, non-western world, theoret- methodological shift in Indian historiography, let alone from ical resources in particular, that are available to us to remake a Western literary-theoretical problematic, whether derived our world? from Bakhtin or Derrida, both of which Indianists must find inadequate for their materials. It emerged out of a set of issues GK: There are also people who care about the past in order to that poets and novelists and anybody who writes in South Asia stake their heritage claims, most notably Hindu nationalists, has confronted for a very long time, the Indian version of the and some have associated you with them.... Questione della Lingua. I’ll give you an example. The Kanna- da novelist U.R. Ananthamurthy, a friend of mine since the SP: I think you’re referring to an article on the Ramayana I 1970s, did his PhD in England in the early 1960s and could wrote in 1993 (‘Ramayana and Political Imagination in India’). have stayed to become a Salman Rushdie, avant la lettre, of the I feel this piece has been woefully misinterpreted by some Anglo-Indian fiction world. Instead he decided not only to go readers. When I was traveling in India early in 1992 and home but to write in Kannada. This was a huge choice - a arrived in Hyderabad, there were atrocities against the Mus- choice that in the 1960s a lot of post-colonial intellectuals were lim community and the Ramayana was everywhere, and I making - to sort of recapture the deshi literary aesthetic and to Sheldon Pollock in a way that is impossible in Europe. Just look at the depth of thought: I have been working on the Ramayana for so long, I refuse English. There is an old and interesting essay on this the archive. In German or French, for example, you have have got to say something about the role of this text in Indian by the poet R. Parthasarathi, another old friend, called ‘Whor- almost nothing from the ninth or tenth or even eleventh cen- political life. And my need to understand what enabled it to ing after Strange Gods’, written when he abandoned English tury, whereas India is awash with texts from that era. To pur- function as an instrument of violence became even more des- poetry for Tamil. There is sometimes a certain indigenism or sue this issue one second further: there are certain kinds of perate after the Babri Masjid was destroyed - actually twelve nativism in such gestures, which is not my political cup of tea, history that are very difficult for us to do in South Asia, since years ago today. So I decided to look at the long history of but Ananthamurthy has no nativism about him at all - his was we simply don’t have the archival materials. Why not do the Ramayana discourse and what I saw was very upsetting. But a cultural-political decision. history that we have the materials for? And the material that how are you supposed to suppress that sort of information? we have in abundance is literature. Making literature is one My feeling was that it was crucial to bring that material out of the most important things that South Asians have done with and to critique and defang it. there is a convergence between a sort of neo- their lives and they have lovingly preserved its written forms orientalism and a nativism that wants to somehow in harsh conditions for centuries. There you can really dis- Some people were upset, especially with my criticism of a pam- cover something about the history of South Asian sensibili- phlet on the uses of history brought out by Jawaharlal Nehru disallow a critical historical analysis of pre-colonial ties, standards of aesthetics, about language and modes of University scholars. When you are on the frontline of strug- South Asia, because critique and history in their view social or political identification, about the place of culture in gle I understand you have to do certain things, like denounc- were not indigenous conceptual schemes the world of power. ing the Vishwa Hindu Parishad for its ‘political abuse’ of his- GK: This nativism and what you’ve called the neo-orientalist Twenty years later I wanted to do a project about the long his- view of ideas of history, how are they problematic? much more crippling tory of the Ananthamurthy problem, one that in Kannada is the implicit argument began around the time of Pampa in the tenth century: poets SP: There are two ways to think about that. There are definitely and writers confronting the choice of how to write, of what multiple temporalities in pre-modern India and multiple ways that we cannot know anything language to write in, of which audience to address. These were of encoding these temporalities, as the work of Sanjay Sub- about a people that they always choices. In Benedict Anderson’s theory of nationalism, rahmanyam shows. I think his project of developing more sen- language diversity is a fatality. It is a sort of negative, biblical sitivity towards South Asian visions of time, of change and themselves did not know vision of language diversity as a curse. As I’ve argued, India transformation is very important. The belief that everybody in has no tower of Babel myth, and in any case language diver- South Asia before the coming of some western historical tory. But my feeling was this is rather naïve, all history writing sity is a product of culture, not a product of nature. Culture model thought in terms of cyclical history strikes me as com- is political, there is not political history on one side and tran- does not, in any meaningful sense of the term, ‘evolve’. Peo- pletely erroneous. But that false assumption is the least of our scendentally true history on the other, only better political his- ple actively develop language diversity because it serves their problems. Much more crippling is the implicit argument that tory and worse political history. My feeling was we have to write aesthetic, political or spiritual purposes. When and how those we cannot know anything about a people that they themselves choices were made is an important question behind Literary did not know. Even if you grant for the sake of argument that Cultures in History. In a place like South Asia, where you have all South Asians through all of time believed in cyclical histo- the longest continuous multi-lingual literary history in the ry, does this mean that scholarship cannot achieve knowledge world, you have a very big research project. How do you begin about a text or event or tradition that the people themselves did not have? culture does not, in any meaningful sense of the term, I agree that the only way to know anything about South Asia evolve. People actively develop language diversity is to start with South Asia, with the categories and presuppo- because it serves their aesthetic, political or sitions and expectations that people in South Asia have had. But there is a convergence between a sort of neo-orientalism spiritual purposes and a nativism that wants to somehow disallow a critical his- torical analysis of pre-colonial South Asia, because critique to explore the problem of literary language choice over a two and history in their view were not indigenous conceptual thousand-year period with dozens of languages? It seemed schemes. First of all this is not true. And secondly, even if it better political history than the bad guys, and some people did- sensible to develop a collaborative project. I also like collabo- were true, it is irrelevant to our critical project except insofar n’t like that criticism. To attack me for being somehow aligned rative projects for political reasons; if we can’t have a socialist as it presents yet another problem to theorize. It is crucial for with the VHP is ridiculous. Some of the most inspiring letters world we can have socialist research projects. So for me there us to know, for example, that people in the past may have held I received were from Muslim colleagues, from Aligarh and as is real political value in collaborative work. a geocentric view of the cosmos. But this does not mean that far away as Malaysia, thanking me for that article, and they in the past the earth did not go around the sun, or that we can- didn’t view it as ‘oh you see Muslims have been rakshasas for And you see, the Indian material is so much richer than the not know what they did not know or actively reflect on. We 800 years and we should continue to kill them the way Ram- European, we are able to follow the history of literary culture should be able to develop a critical historical account of cul- candra killed Ravana’. That is an absurd interpretation of the ture which first of all describes the nature of the traditional argument. The Ramayana article was meant as a contribution views, but also probes what they couldn’t see and asks why to the critique of Hindutva, to the critique of the Ramayana as they couldn’t see it. For me historicism remains an essential an instrument of political manipulation and to the critique of dimension of scholarship, even if pre-modern South Asians domination. And if the historical record looks bad for some themselves were not historicists (though they sometimes people, if the pre-British past is not entirely utopian, well, were). But the old historicism needs to be complimented by a that’s unfortunate. But the only way you get out of the past is spirit of political - in the largest sense of the term - criticism. by confronting it. These are the two core components of what I would call a crit- ical philology. Let me explain this a little further. GK: A latent question behind your new knowledge systems project is: what if colonialism hadn’t happened? A core problem for me in all this - it occupies the third part of The Language of the Gods - remains capitalist theory, the social SP: The project was designed in the first instance to address theory developed to explain culture and power in the era of the great lacuna of colonial intellectual history - our profound capitalism. How to get beyond such theory, which is entirely ignorance of late pre-colonial intellectual history. You can’t inappropriate for thinking through non-capitalist culture and know what it meant for the British to invade the epistemic power, and what that might mean for a radically different prac- space of India, as my late colleague Barney Cohn once put it,

4 IIAS Newsletter | #36 | March 2005 > Interview without understanding what that space was. But one of the When will it ever end- things the project will show, I am increasingly convinced, is the strangeness to write about? that forces internal to the Sanskrit scholarly tradition and social order ensured its breakdown before colonialism in its strong The apartment I stay in form even arrived. How to show an ending (no less than how is next door to the Black Tulip: to show a beginning) is a very serious empirical and episte- mological problem. There is always the possibility that there an exclusive guesthouse will be texts we haven’t found, some brilliant treatise on aes- for clients into leather and chain. thetic theory from 1893 turning up in some village. Also, what epistemically it means for a cultural form to end needs to be In other words: bondage, specified. and all the gory theater it entails.

The way I look at the record now, in 2004, on the basis of I’ve had half-a-mind to go visit materials accessible to me, is that something big in Sanskrit as next-door neighbors are supposed to, science and scholarship happened around the beginning of the sixteenth century and something big happened around scholarly relations with India. We were able to collect several but with pleasure and pain the end of the eighteenth century. You have a 300-year period hundred manuscripts, but at every library - Bhandarkar Insti- I’m already fully acquainted, tute, Adyar Library, Saraswati Mahal in Tanjavur, the Govern- ment Oriental Manuscripts Library in Madras, Ganganath Jha and for the inflictions of felt language forces internal to the Sanskrit scholarly tradition Research Institute, and worst of all, Saravasti Bhavan, Banaras I no longer have to pay. and social order ensured its breakdown before - all kinds of obstacles were put in our way, and in some cases we were turned away altogether. (No one can even get into At least, not in hard currency. Neil Garcia was an ICOPHIL fellow and artist in residence at IIAS in 2004 in IIAS at residence in artist and fellow ICOPHIL an was Garcia Neil colonialism in its strong form even arrived some really crucial collections, such as KSSU and MRI Darb- But I can imagine hanga.) We have even been denied permission to print from of remarkable efflorescence and then, for reasons we still have microfilm duplicates held in the Indira Gandhi National Cen- how comparable they are- to figure out, this began to slow and then almost completely tre for the Arts. The reasons range from regional chauvinism writing and sadomasochistic sex: cease. It would be convenient to argue that colonialism came to xenophobia (one librarian in Allahabad accused us of try- in and destroyed Sanskrit intellectual life but it is not clear to ing to steal India’s cultural heritage) to what seems almost they are both peak experiences me that such is the case. It is demonstrably not the case in lit- magical thinking about the loss of a manuscript’s value if it is that blur body and spirit, erary history. Somehow Sanskrit had become a world enclosed read. This project is for the greater glory of India, nobody is going to read these manuscripts if not the sort of people work- pushing one into the other’s ing on our project and the students they train. Some west- transforming embrace. erners may have been insensitive in the past, but this is 2004 and those days are gone, there has got to be some sort of open This may be why desire’s idiom access to these materials. approaches the idiom of death: XXXIV GK: Why have you chosen to compare Sanskrit knowledge sys- to be breathless, to know passion, tems rather than say Indian Persianate knowledge systems to to be utterly consumed. European systems? Or perhaps, I’m only being analogical, SP: The project is not meant to be another exercise in Sanskrit wishing to see kinship hegemony. My longer term hope is to develop an ongoing sem- inar and publication series on the seventeenth century and from the sympathy of distance. work with scholars elsewhere, in China, for example, the Mid- Perhaps, it’s not as I think it is. on itself, which wasn’t able to communicate, literarily, as effec- dle East, and Europe to do a kind of global intellectual histo- tively as the languages of Place. That may have been one of ry of the early modern age. But yes, it is difficult to draw in the The metaphor of the suffering self the conditions for the slow decline of Sanskrit, but I don’t can be stretched just so far: know how important other elements were. When Lord Minto wrote his minute on native education in 1811, he describes there is a whole world of intellectual production wheals and bruises on an exposed flank how ‘abstract sciences’ had been abandoned in India, ‘politi- that both Indian scholars and western scholars have are too literal to be abstracted cal literature’ neglected, and so on, and he ascribed this to the erosion of patronage systems in the recent past. It is conceiv- simply ignored in favor of the colonial archive, to a verbal device. able that the breakup of certain kinds of patronage structures and that has something crucial to tell us about the The burning of lashed leather after the collapse of the Mughal Empire was a factor in the ero- sion of Sanskrit knowledge, as the coming of the Mughal peace history of modernity on a buttock or a thigh two centuries earlier was a factor in its efflorescence. But that is irreducibly what it is. can’t be the whole story. Indo-Persian material because the actual number of people - you can put this in the interview, I’ll be delighted if I am shown Drawn blood from a pricked nipple GK: You said earlier that you wanted to discuss the problems to be wrong - the actual number of people working on Indo- isn’t quite inspiration. the project encountered... Persian knowledge systems, such as political philosophy, his- As I write this, into the courtyard

toriography, or aesthetics, is almost zero. Muzaffar Alam is cycle a Amsterdam: from Poems SP: The knowledge system project has three components. one of the very few, that is why he is so precious to us. You outside my window waft First, we want to write a book on the history of the disciplines have to create a buzz, you have to show people that, while the that expressed themselves in Sanskrit in the period 1500-1800. Mughal documents are important and the Sufi and other reli- muffled moaning and screams Second, we want to make a bio-bibliographical database (I gious texts, so are Indo-Persian moral philosophy, political counterpointed by the deliberate sound hope that we will eventually include vernacular language texts thought, and literary criticism. What I hope this knowledge and persons and also Persian language texts and persons, to system project does is create a sense of possibility for work in of hard, rhythmic spanking. have a new and powerful research tool for the history of South all South Asian traditions. People will begin to see that there I can see a fat belt slapping Asian intellectuals). The third component was to be an online is a whole world of intellectual production that both Indian scholars and western scholars have simply ignored in favor of against a rippled expanse of skin, if the historical record looks bad for some people, if the the colonial archive, and that has something crucial to tell us freckled and progressively shading about the history of modernity. < pre-British past is not entirely utopian, well, into deeper moods of red. that’s unfortunate. But the only way you get out of the Sheldon Pollock is George V. Bobrinskoy Distinguished Service Pro- My mouth waters fessor of Sanskrit and Indic Studies at The University of Chicago. His past is by confronting it work focuses on the literary and intellectual history of premodern at the remembered sensation India. Recent publications include Literary Cultures in History: of a splintered finger, a stubbed toe, digital archive of sixteenth- and seventeenth-century manu- Reconstructions from South Asia (2003); Visvatmaka Desabhase scripts. For me that was a very important element because (2003, in Kannada); (with Homi Bhabha et al.) Cosmopolitanism the waves of dark heat cresting these materials are extremely difficult to get hold of, and can (2002); Ramayana: Ayodhya, recently reissued in the Clay Sanskrit from the body’s midpoint be very hard to read and understand. The idea was to make Library. The Language of the Gods in the World of Men: Sanskrit, digital images, put them on our website and let scholars Culture, and Power in Premodern India is due out at the end of the to the quickening head; around the world have access to these materials. It would be year. He currently directs the international collaborative research proj- which reels and unhinges a goldmine for future scholarship. ect Sanskrit Knowledge Systems on the Eve of Colonialism. and throbs into a flower- But we ran into problems with Indian libraries from the begin- Gijs Kruijtzer teaches at the department for South and Central Asian a tulip blossoming ning, and this has been a source of profound disappointment Studies of Leiden University and is preparing a PhD thesis on group

to me, and also a sign of a serious problem in international behaviour and group ideologies in seventeenth-century South India. Garcia C. Neil J. on the whiteness of the page.

IIAS Newsletter | #36 | March 2005 5 > Maritime piracy Theme introduction Piracy and robbery in the Asian seas

Academic workshops on maritime pira- cy have repeatedly stressed the need to view contemporary maritime piracy within what has imaginatively been called the ‘tapestry of maritime threats’. Social scientists still need to fully under- stand the knots in this tapestry. While undertaking this research, academics should bear in mind that their purpose and priorities fall under the purview of scientific research, not Southeast Asian governments or private organizations. There is a need for research on the human dimensions of maritime piracy: the pirates and their socio-economic backgrounds.

The articles compiled here address dif- John Kleinen and Manon Osseweijer anathema, detailed information on ferent aspects of Asian maritime piracy pirates and their lives is difficult to come in historical and contemporary per- aritime piracy has become a focal by’. For ‘what pirate would want to keep spective. Three articles address piracy in Mpoint of media attention. Togeth- written accounts of activities which, if the past. Robert Anthony addresses the er with governments and military the records should fall into government economic and cultural significance of experts, the media tends to link maritime hands, would automatically convict piracy along China’s southern coast in piracy with international terrorism as an them?’ (2002: 257) the early modern period, a co-habitation ongoing threat in the post-Cold War era. of rulers, peasants, fisher people and In particular the Strait of Malacca, the This does not imply that social science ‘froth of the sea’, as pirates were called. necessity of studying everyday piracy out John Kleinen is senior lecturer at the Uni- strategic sea-lane linking the oil fields of research on robbers and pirates is In Southeast Asia, many coastal zones of the limelight of sensation and roman- versity of Amsterdam, and affiliated to the the Middle East and the production impossible; maritime piracy, unlike and their hinterlands started out as fron- ticism, and takes us on a journey to Centre for Maritime Research (MARE). His economies of East Asia and beyond, is maritime terrorism, can be regarded as tier societies where all kinds of illicit some of the pirates living in the vicinity current research focuses on marine and mar- portrayed as a future battlefield. one of many ‘grey-area’ phenomena. activities took place; coastal areas were of Singapore operating in the Strait of itime developments in Southeast Asia, par- Like smuggling, gambling, prostitution, ruled for centuries by kingdoms that Malacca. Adam Young explores the ticularly Vietnam. The media, however, has a tendency to the trafficking of goods and people and thrived on trade and raiding. In her arti- interests and difficulties involved in for- [email protected] overstate the issue on the basis of insuf- petty crime on land, piracy exists in cle Esther Velthoen addresses the polit- mulating a workable international ficient evidence - data supplied by the more or less organized forms in con- ical implications of raiding for booty and response to piracy in Southeast Asia’s Manon Osseweijer is coordinator of aca- International Maritime Bureau (IMB) texts of diminishing human security slaves in Eastern Indonesia, and Dutch strategic sea-lanes, and brings the read- demic affairs at IIAS, and of the IIAS-MARE and its UN counterpart, the Interna- (Chalk 1997). Maritime Southeast Asia’s colonial attempts to suppress it. Ota er back to the timeless issue of poverty. programme ‘Piracy and Robbery in the Asian tional Maritime Organization (IMO). coastal zones are increasingly charac- Atsushi focuses on the role of piracy in Finally, Stefan Eklöf argues that piracy Seas’. The absence of thorough research has terized by environmental degradation, transforming inter-regional trade pat- continues to exist precisely because it [email protected] led to the romanticization and misun- illegal fishing, high unemployment, terns in the late eighteenth century, remains insignificant for the shipping derstanding of piracy to such an extent migrant labour, smuggling, crime and where local raiding groups competed industry - and for that matter, Indonesia that, in many cases, fiction has overtak- prostitution. Piracy in this context is and cooperated with the Dutch East - and concludes with a call for a broader en reality. This is not to underestimate truly an economic activity, be it a busi- India Company, British country traders research agenda on human insecurity in the difficulty of researching pirates. As ness concerned with the transport and and Chinese merchants. coastal areas. Dian H. Murray observed: ‘like other distribution of commodities rather than Three articles address contemporary groups for whom written records are their production. maritime piracy. Eric Frécon defends the The guest editors hope the issue of mar- itime piracy will remain on the interna- tional research agenda after the immi- The front page illustration and all sketches in the theme, nent link with terrorism and cataclysm unless otherwise noted: Sebastien Brunel, 2004, has faded away. < watercolour on paper, 20x30 cm. He is based in Lyon, France. His webpage is: http://seb.brunel.free.fr References - Chalk, P. 1997. Grey-area phenomena in Southeast Asia: piracy, drug trafficking and political terrorism. Canberra Papers on Strategy and Defence no.123. Canberra: ANU Press. - Murray, Diane. 2001. ‘Cheng I Sao in Fact and Fiction’. C.R. Pennell, ed. Bandits at Sea: A Pirates Reader. New York: New York University Press. Pp.253-282.

IIAS and the Centre for Maritime Research (MARE) at the University of Amsterdam are hosts of the programme ‘Piracy and Robbery in the Asian Seas’, an initiative to facilitate research, workshops and publications on piracy in Asia. Two workshops have been held to date: ‘Inter- national Piracy and Robbery at Sea’ at the 2nd MARE conference in Amsterdam in 2003, and ‘Maritime Security, Maritime Terrorism and Piracy in Asia’, co-organized by IIAS and ISEAS, in Singapore in 2004. Papers from these workshops will be published in edited volumes with- in the IIAS-ISEAS Series Maritime Issues and Piracy in Asia. The 3rd MARE conference in Ams- terdam, 7-9 July 2005, will feature a panel on maritime risks including piracy. ‘Ports, Pirates and Hinterlands in East and Southeast Asia’, co-organized with the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, will take place in Shanghai, 10-12 November 2005. For more information, please visit: www.iias.nl/piracy

6 IIAS Newsletter | #36 | March 2005 > Maritime piracy Piracy in early modern China Over the centuries, piracy has captured the imagination of writers and readers alike. Theme > Described as daring adventurers, heroic rebels, or bloodthirsty villains, pirates in fact and South China fiction continue to fascinate people of all ages. But why should we study pirates? Are they important? Can they tell us anything about society, culture, and history?

Robert Antony overall income. Because tens of thou- independently of and even overshad- sands of people on both sea and shore owed that of the government and local irates are not only interesting but came to depend on piracy either direct- elites. Piracy therefore became a signif- Psignificant for what they can tell us ly or indirectly for their livelihoods, it icant and pervasive force in South about Chinese history. Between 1520 became a self-sustaining enterprise and China’s coastal society. and 1810, China witnessed an upsurge a significant feature of early modern in piracy all along the southern coast China’s history. Piracy was also impor- Furthermore, pirates built strongholds from Zhejiang province to Hainan tant because it allowed marginalized not only on remote islands, but in and Island. This was China’s golden age of fishermen, sailors, and petty entrepre- around key commercial and political piracy. During that time there were three neurs, who had otherwise been exclud- hubs such as Canton, Macao, Chaozhou, great pirate cycles: first, the merchant- ed, to participate in the wider commer- Amoy, and Fuzhou. There they defiant- pirates of the mid-Ming dynasty from cial economy. ly set up their ‘tax bureaus’ to collect trib- 1520 to 1575; second, the rebel-pirates of ute and ransom payments and to con- the Ming-Qing transition between 1620 While piracy detracted from legitimate spire with soldiers, yamen underlings, and 1684; and third, the commoner- trade and profits, it nonetheless had and officials on their payrolls. The close pirates of the mid-Qing dynasty from important positive economic conse- proximity of pirate lairs to economic and 1780 to 1810. For no less than half of quences. As the growth of legitimate political centres was clear indication of those 290 years pirates dominated the commerce promoted the development of just how deeply piracy had penetrated seas around South China. Never before new ports, so too did pirates’ illicit trade. China’s maritime society. in history had piracy been so strong and Numerous ports and black markets enduring. While in the West the heyday sprung up along China’s coast and on Piracy and popular culture of piracy was in decline by the early eigh- Taiwan to handle the trade in stolen Although many scholars agree that early modern China was becoming more cul- pirates, and seafarers in general, existed uneasily on turally homogeneous, this was not the case among some segments of the the fringes of respectable society labouring poor, whose culture was in Small Pirate Junk with Sail and Oars. Source: Gujin tushu jicheng (1884) many respects the antithesis of Confu- Antony, Robert J. 2003. Like froth Floating on the Sea: the World of Pirates and Seafarers in Late Imperial South China. teenth century – the pirate population at goods and to service pirate ships and cian orthodoxy. Pirates, and seafarers in Berkely: Institute of East Asian Studies. p. 109 its peak never exceeded 5,500 men – the crews. Black markets operated as a shad- general, existed uneasily on the fringes number of pirates in China at its height ow economy alongside and in competi- of respectable society. They were social ingly lived and died as outlaws. Several well as length of time - made it a signif- was no less than 70,000. On the one tion with legitimate trade centres. Fur- and cultural transgressors, who stood in female pirates even became powerful icant factor in modern China’s histori- hand, pirates brought havoc to many thermore, this illegitimate trade tended marked defiance of orthodox values and chieftains, such as Zheng Yi Sao and Cai cal development. There were not only local communities and disrupted the to perpetuate piracy. Once pirates gener- standards of behaviour. Forged out of Qian Ma, both of whom commanded tens of thousands of sailors and fisher- economy; on the other, they contributed ated supplies of goods for sale at discount hardship, prejudice and poverty, pirates formidable pirate fleets. These and other men who became pirates, but at least as to the economic, social, and cultural prices, buyers were attracted to the black created a culture of survival based on vio- female pirates were able to survive in a many or even more people on shore who development of early modern China. markets that arose to handle the trade in lence, crime and vice, characterized by man’s world by proving themselves as aided and supported pirates, thus affect- stolen goods. Large amounts of money excessive profanity, intoxication, gam- capable as men in battle and in their ing a large portion of the coastal popu- Maritime history from the and goods flowed in and out of black bling, brawling, and sexual promiscuity. duties as sailors. Women were not mere- lation. Both directly and indirectly, pira- bottom up markets, all of which were outside the Mobile seamen carried their ideas and ly tolerated by their male shipmates but cy had a great impact on the economic The study of pirates is important for control of the state and normal trading values from port to port and between were actually able to exercise leadership development of South China in the early what it can tell us about the lives of ordi- networks. The establishment of markets ships. The mobility of crews helped to roles aboard ships. modern period. Pirates helped open up nary people. The vast majority of Chi- to specifically handle stolen merchandise ensure social uniformity and a common new trading ports and markets in areas nese pirates came from the discontent- was a clear indication of weakness in the culture among pirates and other seamen. Female pirates represented the most that had previously been little touched ed underclass of labouring poor, sailors structure of normal, legal markets. radical departure from dominant socie- by the prevailing marketing system, and fishermen forced into piracy by Pirates therefore made important con- The culture of pirates and seafarers did ty and customs, defying accepted thereby boosting the local economies poverty. They were typically single males tributions to the growth of trade and the not share the dominant Confucian val- notions of womanhood, breaking with with goods and money. who lacked steady employment and reallocation of local capital. ues of honesty, frugality, self-restraint, established codes of female propriety, were constantly in debt. Most pirates and hard work, but rather espoused virtue, and passivity. Unlike their coun- Large-scale piracy acted as a state with- were in their twenties; few were over At the height of their power huge pirate deception, ambition, recklessness, and terparts on Western ships, Chinese in the state. Pirates established their forty. Sailors were a highly mobile work leagues gained firm holds over many getting ahead by any means. In a socie- women pirates did not have to disguise own regime of military power, tax force, moving around from port to port coastal villages and port towns, as well ty that was becoming increasingly polar- themselves as men. They lived and bureaus, and bureaucracy, which exist- taking whatever jobs were available. as over shipping and fishing enterpris- ized, restless and contentious, poor worked openly as women aboard ships. ed side-by-side with, but independently When times were hard and jobs were es, through the systematic use of terror, sailors and fishermen had to devise their From the perspective of the Chinese of, the Chinese imperial state and local scarce many sailors took work aboard bribery, and extortion. During such own lifestyles, habits, and standards of state, such women who behaved like elites. Pirates and seafarers created their pirate ships as they would aboard any times all ships operating along China’s own underworld culture of violence, other ship. Piracy was a rational and coast were liable to pirate attack unless crime, and vice. It was a survival culture viable alternative or supplement to inad- they bought safe-conduct passes. To the extortion system was highly institutionalised with significant because it was distinguish- equate employment and low wages. For avoid attack, merchant and fishing junks registration certificates, account books, full-time able from that of the dominant Confu- most people it was a part-time occupa- paid protection fees to the pirates, who cian culture. For men and especially for tion; most gang members were occa- in turn issued passports guaranteeing bookkeepers, and collection bureaus women, piracy offered an important sional, not professional pirates. Piracy impunity to the purchaser. In the early alternative way of life. < therefore had an important function in nineteenth century pirates had virtual behaviour to survive. For many sailors, men perverted the social order and nor- providing work, even on a part-time control over the state-monopolized salt piracy was a normal, rational, and even mal gender relationships, turning Con- References basis, for countless numbers of people trade, and even Western merchants had legitimate means of maintaining mini- fucian orthodoxy on its head. Indeed, - Antony, Robert. 2003. Like Froth Floating who could not be fully absorbed into the to pay ‘tribute’ to the pirates to protect mal standards of living, perhaps a way they challenged the patriarchal hierar- on the Sea: The World of Pirates and Seafar- labour market. their ships. The extortion system was out of poverty. Their socio-cultural world chy upon which both the state and soci- ers in Late Imperial South China. Institute highly institutionalised with registration was significant because it challenged the ety rested. For seafaring women, piracy for East Asian Studies, China Research Clandestine economy certificates, account books, full-time mainstream Confucian model and presented opportunities to escape from Monographs, No. 56. Berkeley: University Whenever piracy flourished, so too did bookkeepers, and collection bureaus. offered a viable alternative for China’s poverty and the rigid restraints placed of California Press. the clandestine economy, providing tens Extortion was not only a major form of poor and discriminated. on females. It gave them the chance for - Murray, Dian. 1987. Pirates of the South of thousands of additional jobs to coastal pirate income, but the basis of their adventure and freedom unheard of for China Coast, 1790-1810. Stanford: Stanford residents. Like the pirates themselves, regional domination. Pirates were able The role of women most women on land. University Press. most of the individuals who traded with to penetrate the structure of local socie- Among Chinese pirates, there were also - Kwan-wai So. 1975. Japanese Piracy in Ming them were fishermen, sailors and petty ty through the establishment of protec- significant numbers of women. Because To conclude, reading about pirates is China During the 16th Century. East Lans- entrepreneurs who engaged in both licit tion rackets. Extortion was the most many women made their homes aboard simply interesting: the stories can actu- ing: Michigan State University Press. and illicit enterprises for survival. In direct and effective way that pirates exer- ship and worked alongside their men- ally inform us about popular ideas and many instances extra money gained cised hegemony over an area. Pirates folk, it was not unusual to find females attitudes towards crime and violence. Robert Antony, Department of History, from clandestine activities provided an actually constituted a level of control among pirates. Many women had mar- The very scale of piracy during its gold- Western Kentucky University, USA. important, even major, part of their over maritime society that operated ried into the pirate profession and will- en age - both in number and scope as [email protected]

IIAS Newsletter | #36 | March 2005 7 > Maritime piracy Sailing in dangerous waters: piracy and raiding in historical context Piracy and raiding in Southeast Asian waters has a long pedigree that time has done little to diminish. As late as 1994, memories of Theme > nineteenth century Tobelo raiders were used to frighten children into obedience in parts of central Sulawesi, Indonesia. The Tobelo, Eastern Indonesia portrayed as merciless predators, were active in the nineteenth century, were one of many groups for whom piracy was an important Tobelo chiefs raided nearby coastlines, source of livelihood in eastern Indonesia’s ‘geography of coasts’. This article examines how such groups functioned as part of the sharing the booty with their new political system in eastern Indonesia and how this came to a temporary end with the maritime expansion of the colonial state in the patrons. The pattern of alliance nineteenth century. between political elites and raiders thus continued in a new context as a result Esther Velthoen Bone and Ternate differed in some dition led by Ternate. The final clause of I-Dondang, closely linked to Magin- of Dutch anti-piracy campaigns in the important respects. Diasporas in both this treaty, stipulating that the Sultan danao raiders in northern and eastern eastern archipelago. State-condoned raiding cases were instrumental to the expansion receive a share of any booty acquired, is Sulawesi. Vosmaer’s trading post was to Wandering groups of armed men were of their spheres. In the case of Ternate, clear evidence that he condoned such serve both as a base to draw Tobelo away The Dutch realised that suppressing a common sight in the eastern archi- aristocrats settled in eastern Sulawesi to activities. Raiding was not a sporadic, from piracy, and to attract indigenous small scale raiding entailed working pelago in the late seventeenth and eigh- represent the Sultan and to keep a close random activity but was closely related to traders hitherto beyond Dutch control. through their existing alliances. In 1853, teenth centuries. They were active not eye on local elites. In the case of Bone, the formation and functioning of region- Vosmaer negotiated a treaty with many the Sultan of Ternate issued a decree only during periods of regional warfare the expansive diaspora of aristocrats and al spheres of influence and polities. of the same Tobelo chiefs as had Daeng calling all Tobelo to return to Ternate but in relatively peaceful times. Raiders traders was not as closely linked to the Magassing, but his untimely death pre- within a year or else be treated as pirates were one part of a mobile population main centre of power, and was accom- Taming pirates vented this venture from succeeding. by the Dutch. More Tobelo started to engaged in a combination of raiding, panied by a dissemination of the Bugis With the advent and expansion of the Had Vosmaer lived, it is doubtful drift to eastern Sulawesi to report to Ter- political pursuits, trading and fishing. language and customs beyond the area colonial state in the early nineteenth whether he would have been able to naten representatives, but were inter- Such groups were often associated with of Bone’s political influence. century, raiding was branded a criminal ‘tame’ the pirates, since his own safety cepted by Dutch warships and returned larger regional centres and were espe- activity to be eliminated. The Dutch had depended on his alliance with a chief to Ternate directly. In the 1870s and cially active in the peripheries where For regional centres, it was essential to to deal not only with piracy but with a who was involved in raiding networks. 1880s, anti-piracy campaigns in eastern they often formed alliances with local ‘manage’ affairs in ways that ensured political and economic system which These early attempts to transform and Sulawesi were no longer conducted with elites and settled for longer periods. potential violence would not be directed included raiders and other mobile pop- settle raiders were destined to fail so European ships but with Ternaten korak- ulations. Raiding was a way of levying long as the Dutch had only limited con- korak that could enter shallow coves and tribute, increasing wealth and waging trol over the seas and lacked the forces creeks and had the necessary flexibility raiding was not a sporadic, random activity but was war that occurred on a large scale in the needed to prevent alliances between to chase small craft. Local rulers and closely related to the formation and functioning of eastern archipelago during the last raiders and political elites. aristocrats were heavily fined if caught regional spheres of influence and polities decades of the eighteenth century, at the maintaining connections with Tobelo or time of Prince Nuku’s war against the Anti-piracy campaigns other raiders. The last Tobelo raiders VOC. The presence of ‘pirates’ was one of the were transported back to Ternate from The two main political centres in east- against themselves, and that tributaries main justifications cited for the maritime eastern Sulawesi in 1880. A direct result ern Indonesia were Ternate and Bone. and raiding chiefs did not form alliances In the 1820s and 1830s, several unsuc- expansion of the colonial state that was the repopulation of the coasts, the Their spheres of influence were based against the centre. For this reason, it was cessful attempts were made to transform occurred in eastern Indonesia in the sec- revival of local trade and a boom in copra on alliances with tributaries and on ill- necessary to direct violence outwards semi-nomadic raiding groups into seden- ond half of the nineteenth century. The production. The waters had finally been defined flows of traders, aristocrats, fish- towards the periphery, by allowing trib- tary fisher-folk and peasants through resettlement plans for raiders were aban- secured for the colonial state. er-folk and raiders. In contrast to the utaries and aristocrats with their armed negotiation and the provision of land. doned and naval campaigns were Dutch East India Company’s (VOC) followers to conduct their activities away The largest was that of Nuku’s successor, launched against the Magindanao and Incidences of piracy abated after the ideal of a centrally managed system of from the centre. Eastern Sulawesi with Raja Jailolo, who was given land on the Balangingi in particular, whose large sea- 1880s. Interestingly, the next resurgence political relations where peace-keeping its three small maritime polities of north coast of Seram. Here thousands of sonal fleets struck terror in coastal pop- of piracy occurred in the 1950s as part and mediation were instrumental, this Buton, Tobungku and Banggai was sit- his subjects who had taken up a roaming ulations across maritime Southeast Asia. of a regional rebellion against the central tributary system resembled a series of uated between Bone and Ternate’s existence during the Nuku War were to But the Dutch did not rely on the use of government that controlled most separately negotiated non-aggression spheres; it consequently felt the effects settle on a permanent basis. Lack of food force alone, since it proved ineffective in of southern Sulawesi. Many hilltop pacts between a centre and its tributar- of raiding/trading groups from both and suspicion of continuing contact with ies. Centres were unable to control the centres and had to look to them for pro- active raiding chiefs brought the experi- movements and actions of their subjects tection - with fluctuating success. ment to an abrupt end. the presence of ‘pirates’ was one of the main but were able to mount military cam- justifications cited for the maritime expansion paigns to revenge affronts or discipline In 1743, a treaty was negotiated by Ter- Two similar projects on a smaller scale wayward tributaries, campaigns in nate to resolve a conflict between the two were undertaken by the colonial gov- of the colonial state which both raiding groups and tribu- tributaries Banggai and Tobungku, so ernment to resettle and pacify the Tobelo taries participated. both could participate in a punitive expe- around Flores, also descendents of areas such as eastern Sulawesi where fortresses used in defence against the Nuku’s followers. The first was carried raiding was, like its polities, small-scale Tobelo were once again re-occupied, out by Daeng Magassing, an aristocrat and diffuse. Also, the links between local while island populations in particular Mindanao from Bonerate, a small island to the aristocracies and raiders persisted. became vulnerable to tribute demands Sulu south of Sulawesi with longstanding by rebel forces. The Indonesian state,

courtesy of author of courtesy connections to maritime raiders. He An unexpected side-effect of the anti- just as the colonial state had done half a used his ‘local’ knowledge and status to piracy campaigns in the Flores area was century earlier, established control anew form alliances with raiding groups and an increase in small-scale raiding in over the seas through an adroit use of resettle them on Tanah Jampea. This eastern Sulawesi. The destroyed settle- force and negotiation with rebel leaders. tiny island to the south of Selayar had ments belonged to the Tobelo who pro- Given this history, it may be appropriate become depopulated due to frequent vided the Magindanao with shelter and to question whether there is any con- Halmahera Toli-toli Ternate attacks. Here the resettled raiders were supplies on their long journeys. Now nection between the present resurgence to engage in agriculture and live in that the Magindanao were a source of of piracy and the weakening of the cen- Bacan peace under the protection of the Dutch. danger rather than economic patronage, tralised state with the fall of Suharto Sulawesi and, more to the point, if the reassertion Kalimantan In 1830, fifteen Tobelo chiefs signed a several Tobelo chiefs left the area in Tobunku Banggai Obi peace treaty, reinforced by oath, with search of new overlords who could pro- of historical patterns requires the state Daeng Magassing. Only three years tect them against Dutch warships. East- to abandon its over-reliance on strong- Kendari Gulf Buru Seram later, however, it was evident to the colo- ern Sulawesi, with its Ternaten tribu- arm tactics to negotiate anew with of nial authorities that the project had taries provided such a safe-haven. These regional power holders? Java Sea Bone < Banda Sea failed and that Daeng Magassing him- waters remained unpatrolled; the indi- self was engaging in acts of piracy with rect link with the Dutch through Ternate Esther Velthoen is currently working as a Tanahjampea Flores Sea Java Kalao supplies the Dutch had subsidised. provided, at least in theory, immunity researcher on regional autonomy in southern against Dutch warships. Sulawesi in the 1950s at the Netherlands Bali Lombok Sumbawa Flores A second attempt to ‘tame’ the Tobelo Institute for War Documentation in Amster- Timor Sumba was undertaken by a Dutch adventurer, In 1846, three Tobelo chiefs and their dam. This article is based on her PhD disser- Magindanao Jan Nicholas Vosmaer, who opened a followers arrived in Banggai where tation, ‘Contested Coastlines: Diasporas, Tobelo trading post on Sulawesi’s east coast in they were welcomed as allies to the Ter- Trade and Colonial Expansion in Eastern the 1830s. He was supported by the colo- naten aristocrats in the midst of armed Sulawesi 1680-1905’, Murdoch University, Tobelo and Magindanao routes, bases and settlements affecting the east coast of Sulawesi in the first nial government and enjoyed the conflict with the local ruler. After the 2002. half of the 19th century patronage of a powerful chief, Tuanna- Ternatens emerged victorious, the

8 IIAS Newsletter | #36 | March 2005 > Maritime piracy From ‘piracy’ to inter-regional trade: the Sunda Straits zone, c. 1750-1800 Incessant ‘piracy’ in the Sunda Straits Zone in the second half of the eighteenth century Theme > was tied to the expanding Canton trade. Bugis, Iranun, Malay, Chinese and English Trade patterns traders were directly or indirectly involved in the plunder of pepper, a profitable Although the Dutch continuously and English country traders were able to commodity to exchange for tea in Canton. Their activities accelerated the demise of the attempted to prevent raiding, their bring large amounts of pepper to Can- already malfunctioning Dutch East India Company trading system and the emergence of efforts proved ineffective. Dutch ships ton: fifty to ninety per cent of all the pep- a new order in Southeast Asian trade. could not catch up with those of the per transported by European traders. raiders, as the latter could move faster Ota Atsushi Dutch trading system. This is why a cer- tions to Lampung. Stimulated by these with their sailing and rowing tech- The growing Canton trade and its tain proportion of the pepper had to be groups, Chinese, Bugis, Malay, and niques. It was also difficult to find the demand for Southeast Asian products The declining Dutch collected by way of ‘piracy’ and ‘smug- Palembang raiders also intensified their raiders hidden in small inlets and on the transformed the maritime trade in the trading system gling’.2 activities. many islands in the area. Archipelago in the second half of the Since their arrival in Java towards the eighteenth century. Demand for prod- end of the sixteenth century, the Dutch Raiding Raiders’ plundering seriously impacted A new pattern in ucts ‘banned’ by the VOC fuelled ‘pira- attempted to establish an exclusive trad- The Chinese demand for pepper made on the pepper trade in the Archipelago. inter-regional trade cy’ and ‘smuggling’ in many places, ing system in the Indonesian Archipel- Lampung one of the most important According to a report sent by F. H. Bei- The risky business of raiding would not among them the Sunda Straits Zone. ago. They concluded treaties with local raiding targets from the 1750s. Lam- jnon, Commander of the VOC Banten have been possible without a network From the raider’s booty the English rulers, often in return for military assis- pung was the largest pepper-producing factory to the Governor-General in that exchanged the booty for money or obtained, among others, pepper, in tance, stipulating that the Dutch East region in Southeast Asia in the eigh- Batavia on 30 September 1792, in the India Company (VOC) would retain the teenth century, providing about forty to period from January 1791 to September access to opium from Bengal gave the English an right of monopoly on important export eighty per cent of the pepper the VOC 1792 - the only one for which informa- products and prohibiting all but author- annually collected in Batavia. Neverthe- tion on the scale of raiding is available - upper hand in competition with the Dutch ized Dutch, indigenous, and Chinese less the region was vulnerable as neither 6,000 pikul of pepper, 4,190 Spanish merchants from their trade. Although its sovereign, the sultan of Banten, nor Reals and 35 men lost to raiders, the other necessary and profitable com- exchange for opium and ammunition. the system was not always effective, it his overlord, the VOC, could effectively result of attacks on 18 villages and 23 modities. From the 1760s the increase This exchange formed a new trade pat- contributed to the VOC’s collection of control the region due to their chronic vessels in the Lampung and Sunda in raiding around the Sunda Straits tern in the Sunda Straits Zone, and sub- Southeast Asian products for the Euro- financial and administrative problems. Straits regions. 6,000 pikul of pepper coincided with the development of an sequently undermined the old Dutch pean market. organized trade pattern, in which trading system. raiders’ booty was exchanged for money Although raiding and inter-regional In the second half of the eighteenth cen- and foreign commodities. The English trade existed in this area since older tury, the emergence of the Canton trade Sumatra were the most important buyers; a times, the trade pattern in this period began to seriously affect the Dutch trad- group of English traders staying in Sile- was distinguished by two new factors: to Riau (until 1787) ing system. As tea was becoming more bu, a raiders’ meeting point, bartered the role of the English in inter-regional to Lingga, Bilitung (after 1787) and more profitable in Europe, Euro- Bengkulen ammunition for pepper from the trade and the role of Bengali opium. peans - the English East India Compa- raiders. They even arranged a ship for Since opium was further distributed in Tulang Bawang ny (EIC), English country traders, and the raiders to rob pepper from cargo the area by the Chinese, the English and the VOC, among others - enthusiasti- Puti Java Sea ships passing near Pulau Lagondi. the Chinese emerged as partners. These cally promoted their trade in Canton, the Lampung factors became precursors to the South- only port in Qing China open to foreign Apart from direct contact around Sile- east Asian trade that the British presided Sumanka Kalianda traders. bu, Chinese traders based on Silebu and over after the establishment of Singa- China Silebu Pulau Lagondi usually mediated pore in 1819. Raiding and the new trade To facilitate their trade in tea, European between the raiders and the English. patterns in the Sunda Straits Zone in the traders needed Southeast Asian prod- The Chinese traders maintained regu- late eighteenth century were an embryo ucts, which were in great demand in The Sunda Straits Banten lar contact with the English in of the new order in nineteenth-century China. Tin, pepper and edible maritime Bengkulen, and exchanged their pepper Southeast Asia. < products were, in this order, the most Java for opium. Chinese intermediaries fur- valuable commodities in terms of trade ther promoted inter-regional trade: in Notes value; the EIC, English country and Chi- defiance of the Dutch monopoly, they 1. My discussion is based on Dutch and Eng- Pulau Lagondi nese traders sought after these products collected pepper, elephants’ tusks and lish primary sources from the National in independent ports outside the Dutch Opium birds’ nests along the Lampung coast, Archives in The Hague and Jakarta, and in trading system. In response, Riau, the Pepper, elephants’ tusks, birds’ nests in exchange for English opium and tex- the British Library. Source references will capital of the kingdom of Johor, tiles. They also brought a part of the be given in my forthcoming PhD disserta- emerged as a new trade centre. South- Inter-regional trade in the Sunda Straits Zone in the second half of the eighteenth century English opium to the eastern part of tion. east Asian products were transported by Banten, where the sugar industry - 2. Although Chinese-owned plantations in local and Bugis traders to Riau in Raiding intensified from the late 1780s; in twenty-one months, or some 3,400 mostly in the hands of Chinese sugar Trengganu and Brunei produced consider- exchange for Chinese and Indian com- two factors were behind this. First, pikul per year, equalled thirty-five to sev- entrepreneurs - had developed since the able amounts of pepper, it was directly modities, and carried by Chinese and Lingga emerged as a major base for raid- enty per cent of the amount previously early eighteenth century. In spite of their brought to China by Chinese traders. English country traders to Canton. In ing. The 1784 VOC attack on Riau and traded in Riau. It also amounted to obligation to purchase opium from the Aceh’s extraordinary increase of pepper contrast to the ineffective VOC monop- its subsequent occupation abruptly about twenty per cent of all the pepper VOC, sugar mill owners looked for production occurred only after 1800. oly system, Riau prospered by attracting ended Riau’s prosperity. Although Sul- the VOC gained from Lampung. Thus cheaper opium from Bengkulen traders from various regions in Asia. tan Mahmud of Johor successfully raiding became an important channel brought by Chinese traders. Ota Atsushi is a research fellow of the Japan for collecting pepper - and to a consid- Society for the Promotion of Science, and a erable extent, at the expense of VOC This trade pattern benefited not only for- PhD candidate at CNWS, Leiden University. the growing Canton trade and its demand for trade. eign traders, but local elites. Raden His previous publications include ‘“Tradi- Southeast Asian products transformed the maritime Intan in Kalianda, for example, sold pep- tional” versus “Modern” Administrative Con- Although the Dutch report above men- per to the English, thereby demonstrat- cepts: Dutch Intervention and Its Results in trade in the Archipelago…. Demand for products tions a relatively small number, man- ing his disloyalty to the sultan of Banten Rural Banten, 1760-1790.’ Itinerario 27-2, ‘banned’ by the VOC fuelled ‘piracy’ and ‘smuggling’ power was also an important plunder- and the Dutch. The English bought pep- and ‘Banten Rebellion, 1750-1752: Factors ing target for raiders. Raiders per at higher prices than the sultan of behind the Mass Participation’. Modern conducted kidnappings every year, and Banten had set, and brought textiles and Asian Studies 37-3 (2003). Pepper was one of the most important recaptured Riau three years later with in the largest such case, 130 people opium for local people. [email protected] trade items in Riau. According to Dutch the help of Iranun raiders, he moved his were captured in one attack. Some of and English reports, some 5,000 to capital to Lingga while Riau was left the captured were sent to a market in Thus the English presence in Silebu and 10,000 pikul (one pikul = 61.75 kg) of deserted. On Lingga, Sultan Mahumud Bilitung, probably to be resold to other Bengkulen led to their obtaining a large pepper were traded in Riau in the 1780s. turned to privateering, crafting an regions, while others were brought to part of the plundered and secretly trad- This meant that English country traders alliance of raiders from Siak, the orang the pepper-growing region in Lam- ed Lampung pepper. Their trading collected the greater part of their pepper laut and the Iranun. Second, groups of pung, probably as enslaved labourers. methods using various groups of raiders in Riau. Nevertheless, important pep- Iranun who had assisted in the recap- In order to maintain their activities, and traders, and their access to opium, per-growing regions, such as Lampung, ture of Riau settled in Reteh on the east raiders also plundered food, cargo which they brought from Bengal, gave Palembang, Jambi, and Banjarmasin coast of Sumatra where they joined their ships and other necessities during their the English an upper hand in competi- had already been incorporated into the relations from Sulu in raiding expedi- attacks on villages. tion with the Dutch. As a result, the EIC

IIAS Newsletter | #36 | March 2005 9 > Maritime piracy Piracy in the Malacca Straits: notes from the field 30 September 2004, at night, 03:27N - 99:47E, Malacca Straits: Theme > Robbers board a tug with a barge in tow. They break the windows, steal equipment and take the master and a Field notes sailor hostage, whose whereabouts remain unknown. Three days later in the same area, eight armed pirates in a At two o’clock in the morning, the pirates get back to their den fishing boat fire at another tug, damaging the wheelhouse and destroying navigation equipment. Four pirates at the far end of the bay. Their houses on piles, in the middle armed with guns board the ship and steal the crew’s belongings, again taking hostages. of a maze of rickety footbridges, are accessible only from the sea. Their neighbours are either smugglers or fishermen with Eric Frécon families. During the day, pirates work as taxi-boat drivers and can move freely. Inhabitants never talk of their nocturnal activ- lthough the number of incidents worldwide has dimin- ities. Crouched on his boat docked at the jetty, a sailor sport- Aished, pirates are attacking more and more vessels in the ing Ray-Ban glasses drawls: ‘Pirates, they existed an eternity South China Sea and in the Singapore Straits. According to ago...’ But what does ‘eternity’ mean in the jam karet - or elas- the latest reports, the pirates - who can be violent and tic time - country? This is a kind of omerta, the oath of secre- unscrupulous - focus on small, local vessels: tugs, supply ships cy that rules triads. Pirates exist but nobody dares to talk about and fishing trawlers. But who are the pirates? Why do they them. Even the village chief opts for a laissez-faire policy - so take such risks? And where do they come from? In order to long as the unemployed do not rebel and heavy weapons from answer these questions, one has to meet the pirates, their fam- Aceh aren’t involved. This is the price of the social peace. ilies, their neighbours and friends. Pirate gangs in the maritime suburbs of The pirate story in brief Singapore In the 1980s and 90s, pirates came from many places to the The village chief continues to survey everybody; he asserts that Riau Archipelago, especially the city of Palembang on Suma- there are seven bands of five to six men, like the Buton gang tra. Syaful Rozy was a famous chief, a Robin Hood of the sea, which his former son-in-law manages. The oldest, occupying who distributed the booty from plundered vessels. Thanks to beautiful hillside buildings, train the younger generations who him, the imam could finance the building of the mosque. play sepak takraw - a spectacular mix of football, volleyball and From their kampung in the archipelago, pirates travelled to badminton - everyday until the mahrib, the fourth prayer after other islands in the Malacca Straits or the South China Sea. sunset. Some of them like Arif can’t wait to get money and In the late 1990s and at the beginning of the millennium, the wear jerseys and shoes ‘made in West’. Young idle people and gang of Winang settled near Jemaja, in the Anambas Archi- poor unmarried taxi-boat drivers collaborate with external pelago. There the pirates lived among local fishermen for a recruits. Indeed, the old chief adds: ‘recently, a group came few months, surveying and attacking vessels. They then came from Palembang (south of Sumatra) to be trained on the job!’. back to the Riau Archipelago before joining their families in All these sea-brigands obey more experienced and charismatic Sumatra. pirates. Their gangs are far from the triads of Hong Kong who make off with boats, then repaint and rename them. The The village on piles hidden in a bay between mangroves and attacks on the waters off the den arise from petty robbery, and small islands is located six kilometres south of Singapore in their weapons are worn. In the Sulu Sea, the gangs possess the Riau Archipelago, at the epicentre of modern day piracy. M-16s and bazookas; in the Riau Archipelago, one has to be Since breaking his thigh bone boarding a ship, Winang’s for- content with parang, long Malayan knives and pistols. mer assistant is handicapped. Today his gang attacks small vessels crossing the strait between Singapore’s opulent sky- The main actors of this shady play are two powerful brothers. scrapers and the sordid houses on piles. Although its golden One of them adds political shrewdness to the courage of his age is over, the kampung remains one of the main pirate dens ing the port with a view of the Straits. Local police are no doubt warrior brother. Both control the entire island - the main vil- of the Malacca Straits. It seems to perpetuate a tradition - or aware of the criminal activities - to get to the Straits, pirates pass lage, the market and the den along the bay. They act like lords habit - of armed robbery of ships from the Malay coast and under their windows. People say that a few years ago, police in front of the inhabitants, their serfs, whom they strike when along strategic sea lanes. used to collect a tax from boats sailing around the island. Two angry. They are as warlords vis-à-vis the government in Jakar- one-engine sampans are the police’s only patrol boats; the ta, the central power far away. The two brothers know all and In the beginning of the thirteenth century, the Chinese trav- pirates have two- or three-engined speedboats. Clad in sarongs, enjoy political connections; pirates have to give them accounts eller Tchao Jou-Koua described in an explanatory note on San- the policemen prefer to take fresh air in front of the station or of their activities.4 fo-ts’i, the Chinese name for the Sumatran maritime power of to visit the prostitutes on Pulau Babi - Pig Island - close by. Sriwijaya, how the local authority controlled navigation in the The visitor won’t meet long or black beards in the den but sea- region: ‘if a merchant ship passes through without putting modern Malay piracy has no romantic, anarchist, hooligans and the desperate poor. Modern Malay piracy has into port, boats go out to attack it in accordance to a planned no romantic, anarchist, utopian or religious roots. After the manoeuvre; people are ready to die (to carry out this enter- utopian or religious roots.... if Joseph Conrad came demise of the pirate myth, people seem to be transferring their prise).’1 Later, Muslim sultanates developed along the mar- back in the Malay world, he would draw his fears and fantasies to fundamentalist terrorists. If Joseph Con- itime routes - until the nineteenth century, entire communi- rad came back in the Malay world, he would draw his inspi- ties lived by pirate raids, and were armed by local authorities inspiration from terrorists, not idle pirates ration from the terrorists, not the idle pirates. < (see also the article by Ota Atsushi). They contributed to the development of strategic commercial warehouses in Malacca, Pirates gather on Pulau Babi before attacking vessels in the Notes Johor and the Riau Archipelago in the heart of the Malay Straits. They drink and take morphine, probably to forget the 1. Coedes, George. 1964. Les Etats hindouisés d’Indochine et d’Indonésie Straits. Maritime guerrillas regulated regional relations, as did danger. Boarding incidents at night are delicate, as they can [Hindu States of Indochina and Indonesia]. Paris: de Boccard, p. Barbarossa in the Mediterranean. count on neither a Global Positioning System nor spotlights. 439. The backwash of the ships’ propellers make climbing onto the 2. Two trips were necessary in 2002 and 2003 to localize the den, Guided tour into a pirate den 2 boats perilous. This is done with the help of grapnels or large made possible by the stories of an old missionary and a retired Before arriving, one has to stop at Batam Island, where one is gaffs with a sickle on the end, more suitable for collecting pirate who now organises boxing matches in Batam. Then, the chal- confronted by the economic crisis. In this free trade zone, the coconuts than for boarding ships moving at 25 knots. lenge consisted in entering the kampung where the pirates live. For- sidelined masses of the Asian boom inhabit 40,000 illegal tunately, a young Indonesian, who grew up in this village on piles residences. Idle people look for jobs; the atmosphere is heavy. hidden in a bay, between mangroves and small islands, kindly acted Batam is close to exploding - the population has grown from as my guide; I had met him in a school near Batam. In the den, he 38,000 in 1980 to some 500,000 today.3 The island where the introduced me to pirates, fishermen and procurers. Above all, he pirates live is very close to the coast of Batam. Here, as else- warned me about attempts to rob or attack me. where in Indonesia, the market road is colourful and stalls 3. Frécon, Eric. 2005. Jolly Roger over Southeast Asia: history of the resur- bustle with life. Following the muezzin’s call, merchants fry gence of the sea piracy. New Delhi: Sampark. their rice in stalls for the pilots of the taxi boats and the rick- 4. Nasrul, a fisherman from Kampung Tanjung. Interview by author, shaws drivers. Apart from its gaming rooms, which remain 5 February 2004. Kampung Tanjung (Riau), Indonesia. open during the day, it looks just like any other village on piles. After the post office, at the end of the market road, we turn left Eric Frécon is based at the Institut des hautes études de défense and enter the den in Kampung Tanjung. The hideaway is ideal: nationale and the Center for International Studies and Research, an island amidst many others, only six kilometers from Sin- Paris, and the Research Institute on Contemporary Southeast Asia, gapore. Bangkok. His research focuses on maritime security in East Asia. [email protected] The first house is the police station, a crude cabin overlook-

10 IIAS Newsletter | #36 | March 2005 > Maritime piracy Local pirate gangs, strategic waterways Indonesian piracy has moved over the last fifteen years from the remote back waters to Theme > newspaper front pages, even to international dialogues on regional security. The spotlight Intenational has focused on multi-lateral approaches to deal with the transnational nature of maritime best to deal with maritime security in multilateral aid effort organized by the security piracy, but putting together an effective, sustained international effort to address the problem the region. The intended message of United Nations has emerged out of the has proven difficult and controversial. In an interesting twist, one of the region’s worst the RMSI, apparently and unfortu- disaster. The aid effort can help rebuild natural disasters may point a way forward. nately delivered to Indonesia and the infrastructure of these coastal areas, Malaysia through the mass media, did secure immediate poverty alleviation, Adam Young terrorists, or why not pirates working for There appear to be two main tensions appear to come across, as there now and hopefully provide stimulus for eco- terrorists? The existence of extremist complicating maritime security efforts appears to be a renewed commitment nomic development, thus addressing Strategic waterways groups in the region - the Tamil Tigers to address piracy. First is the touchy sub- to multilateral security initiatives some of the chronic poverty of these Piracy is a problem for everyone with in Sri Lanka, Jemmah Islamiya and GAM ject of Indonesian sovereignty, and any between Malaysia, Singapore and regions. Additionally, the more than 30- economic and/or strategic interests in (Gerakan Aceh Merdeka, Free Aceh perceived slight to that sovereignty, Indonesia. Notably a series of joint year-old conflict between GAM and the region, except of course the pirates. Movement) in Indonesia, Patani sepa- intended or not, creating tension These local thugs are practicing a mod- ratists in Southern Thailand, and Abu between Indonesia and all other con- if pirates could hijack and steal an entire vessel then ernized variant of an ancient socio-eco- Sayyaf in Mindanao, Philippines have cerned parties. An illustrative example nomic-political system endemic to the made potential terrorist links with pirate is the recent request by Indonesia to why not terrorists, or why not pirates working for Southeast Asian maritime region. The groups an attractive security issue. have all foreign troops helping in the terrorists? prominence of Indonesia in Southeast relief effort in Aceh out of Indonesia by Asian piracy stems from the strategic The 5th Tri-annual Conference on Pira- the end of March 2005. Second are the patrols was initiated this year with Indonesia has created an unstable socio- nature of its heavily trafficked straits, cy and Maritime Terrorism, held in broader tensions between the US and hopes of tightening security, although political environment, inhibiting any including the renowned and notorious Kuala Lumpur in June 2004 and spon- Asia; between conflicting styles of poli- there is worry that these patrols may be modest efforts at regional development. Strait of Malacca. These sea-lanes con- sored by the International Maritime cy and what is often perceived as grow- more for appearance, a way of appeas- However, in the wake of the tsunamis nect the oil fields of the Mid East and the Bureau, concluded that linkages ing Asian regionalism, based on a foun- ing the US and Singapore rather than there is the possibility that the tempo- production economies of the Indian between pirate gangs and extremists dation of multilateralism, vs. US any real commitment to a multilateral rary cessation of hostilities between Ocean with Singapore, Beijing, Tokyo, were weaker than previously speculated unilateralism. The situation, painted in security effort. GAM and Indonesia may mature into a Seoul, the resources of the Indonesian in security literature. Brian Jenkins, a broad strokes, is that Indonesia and the more lasting peace. Archipelago, the South China Sea, and recognized expert on terrorism and a rest of its Asian neighbors favour an A new opportunity? then with all points in the Americas. senior analyst of the Rand Corporation, Asian based multilateral approach, a A tragic yet potentially interesting devel- While this multilateral coalition for dis- This region, inclusive of the South acknowledged the threat of a terrorist commitment to consensus and non- opment on the issue of piracy that may aster relief will only be a temporary China Sea, accounts for an enormous attack but concluded: ‘...I don’t think it interference in domestic issues among point a way forward for concerned poli- endeavor, and much of the aid effort portion of world sea-borne trade - is appropriate to blend the increasing partners. This process is, however, slow, cy makers arises from the recent earth- already seems tainted by attempts to gar- approximately 50,000 vessels annually problem of piracy with the potentially transit these waters - and is strategic to more dangerous consequences of ter- the navies of the Asia-Pacific region, rorism’.1 This assessment, coming from allowing the most direct route between a well known US security think tank, the Pacific and Indian Oceans. These should prove important in directing waterways are also highly ‘strategic’ for maritime security policy in the region as the tens of thousands of local fishing it will detract from the importance people and traders (not necessarily accorded to more aggressive initiatives included in the 50,000 vessels men- focused on countering a maritime ter- tioned above) that eke out a meager liv- rorist threat. Additionally, Jenkins men- ing from these waters. The safety of tioned evidence suggesting pirates to be these vital sea-lanes are therefore of gangs of loosely organized thugs and great concern to many parties. criminals lacking contact with organized criminal and/or terrorist networks. It is, Indonesia routinely accounts for the however, unclear if the tempering of per- largest share of piracy in Southeast ceived terrorist-piracy conflation, and Asia, statistically the most piracy prone the threat posed by this conflation, will region in the world. The threat posed alter the security dialogue in Southeast and has yet to produce any broad com- quake and tsunami that devastated the ner political capital, it will hopefully by pirates to human life and cargo has Asia. mitment to actively address the prob- northern end of the Malacca Strait. Typ- direct policy makers towards a more been enough to grab the attention of lem, while marginalizing the role of the ically security concentrates on the symp- cooperative, comprehensive approach to specialists, local media and interna- Approaching the problem US. The US, on the other hand, is far toms of a problem, and this is very much maritime security in Indonesia, and in tional headlines, especially as the num- One of the main questions is how the from content with this slowly evolving, the case with piracy. Both ASEAN and Southeast Asia at large. Increased ber of attacks dramatically increased immediate threat of piracy and the poten- Asian-led policy effort. US initiatives focus on patrols, infor- patrols, information sharing, and other during the 1990s and into the new mil- tial vulnerability to a maritime terrorist mation sharing, hot pursuit agreements security measures are important, but lennium. Moreover, analysts speculat- attack are to be addressed. Indonesia, Not wanting to rely on the slow and and so forth. However, the massive need to be combined with serious efforts ed that the lack of security allowing Malaysia, and Singapore have asserted questionable deliberations of their coun- destruction and death resulting from the to address the structural causes of mar- piracy to flourish might also create their responsibility for the strategic sea terparts in Asia, the US unilateralist pol- tsunamis has highlighted a direction of itime piracy. It is a shame that it takes a openings for maritime terrorists, the lanes in the region, as they fall within icy machine in Washington begin to multilateral cooperation which appears disaster of this magnitude to force coop- strategic nature of the straits making their declared maritime jurisdictions rumble over the potential terrorist acceptable to all parties, one that will eration, but it is encouraging that the them a prime target. under the United Nations Convention of threat. These gave rise to the comment address underlying issues of piracy as a catastrophe may have positive, long- the Law of the Sea, with Indonesia and by the then US Pacific fleet command- criminal practice, a product of the envi- term impacts on efforts to address pira- Piracy and terrorism Malaysia sharing responsibility for the er Admiral Fargo that if the security ronment from which it arises. cy in the straits region. < It was not unpredictable that in the wake Strait of Malacca. However, other coun- situation did not improve, US patrols of the September 11 attacks on the World tries have vital interests and legitimate might be useful. Indonesia and The earthquake and tsunamis leveled Note Trade Center and the subsequent wars concerns as well: the rest of the Associa- Malaysia, long standing opponents of much of the infrastructure and killed 1. Ahmad, Reme. ‘Pirates and terrorists not any attempt to internationalize the tens of thousands of people from coastal natural allies,’ Straits Times Interactive, 29 straits and thus compromise their juris- populations, creating a near blank slate June 2004, (cited 5 February 2005). Avail- these sea-lanes connect the oil fields of the Mid East dictions and sovereignty, immediately in some areas. In the immediate after- able at: http://straitstimes.com. and the production economies of the Indian Ocean and predictably refuted any such notion math of the destruction there have been as a possibility. no reports of piracy in this northern Adam Young is currently a research guest at with Singapore, Beijing, Tokyo, Seoul, the resources of stretch of the Strait. This can be attrib- IIAS, pursuing a cross-disciplinary study on the the Indonesian Archipelago, the South China Sea, Fargo’s comment was ameliorated by uted to, among other things, the possi- roots of contemporary maritime piracy in assurances that the US wanted a mul- ble annihilation of some pirate groups, Southeast Asia, and implications for regional and then with all points in the Americas tilateral effort, leading to the unveiling destruction of or damage to their boats, policy. His future research plans include trying of a US-led multilateral security the need of these groups to cope with to fill the conspicuous gap in social science- in Afghanistan and Iraq, any potential tion of South East Asian Nations, the East arrangement, the Regional Maritime the probable tragedy in their families, based research on contemporary Southeast terrorist threat would receive much Asian countries, the United States, and Security Initiative (RMSI), designed to and the temporary cessation of hostili- Asian maritime piracy. greater attention. To many analysts and India as it develops its ‘Look East’ policy. address issues of transnational crime ties between GAM and Indonesian policy makers, the security threat posed All of these parties recognize the need for including piracy and terrorism. Singa- forces. by piracy in the straits region and the a multilateral solution to piracy; the dif- pore has enthusiastically signed on, but potential threat of a terrorist attack ficulty lies in developing a multilateral Indonesia and Malaysia remain reluc- From this position there is an enormous became conflated. If pirates could hijack approach that is satisfactory to most par- tant, renewing old tensions between opportunity to address one of the struc- and steal an entire vessel then why not ties, and functional. these three security partners on how tural causes of piracy, i.e. poverty. A truly

IIAS Newsletter | #36 | March 2005 11 > Maritime piracy

Piracy: a critical perspective Maritime piracy, especially in Southeast Asia, has recently attracted a great deal of attention Theme > in international media and among analysts. Contrary to popular impression, however, piracy Discourse is not a great or growing menace to international shipping, and as far as academic research Representatives of the shipping indus- only on piracy, but on human security goes, there are a range of more pressing issues that demand the attention of social scientists. try have often accused the authorities of and non-traditional security threats to Southeast Asian countries - particularly maritime regions. Such an agenda Stefan Eklöf reported 160 cases of actual and est from most shipping companies to Indonesia - of not taking the problem of would take its point of departure from attempted attacks on ships in Southeast cooperate with the authorities of the lit- piracy seriously. Well-founded as such the problems facing maritime regions o the casual observer of contempo- Asia (ICC - International Maritime toral states in curbing the problem. Rep- allegations may seem, they need to be and their inhabitants, addressing the Trary Southeast Asia, it may seem as Bureau 2005: 4). Many of these, howev- resentatives of the governments of accompanied by a further question: why impact of states and international mar- if piracy and the armed robbery of ships er, were little more than cases of petty Indonesia and Malaysia have long should they? With a coastline twice as itime borders on economic and social is an increasingly serious, even alarm- theft against ships in harbour, with the demanded that the international com- long as the circumference of the earth, activities and the interplay between ing problem for international shipping. perpetrators typically sneaking onboard munity and shipping companies share and with no more than a few dozen human activity and the maritime envi- Especially since the beginning of the to steal some cans of paint, ropes, the costs of policing the Straits of Malac- operating vessels to patrol its territorial ronment. In that context, however, pira- 1990s, piracy seems to have returned to engine spare parts or other supplies. ca against pirates. In spite of the support waters, there are a range of more impor- cy may turn out to be little more than a the region after having been all but Excluding hijackings of commercial which such cost-sharing has in interna- tant problems for the Indonesian navy footnote. < extinct for over a century. Over the past ships - none of which have been report- tional law, particularly the 1982 United and marine police to tackle. Many of decade, numerous articles in interna- ed over the past two years - and tugs and Nations Convention on the Law of the these, including the smuggling of peo- Note tional news media, including The Econ- barges, the IMB estimates that the aver- Sea, it has met with little enthusiasm ple and goods, illegal fishing and degra- 1. In 2004, the IMB (2005: 8-9) recorded 16 actu- omist, Time, Newsweek and the Far East- age haul of an attack is around US from most international actors involved dation of the maritime environment due al and 20 attempted attacks against steaming ern Economic Review have drawn $5,000 (Gottschalk & Flanagan 2000: - with the notable exception of Japan, to human activity, have grown to alarm- ships in the Malacca Straits. The calculation attention to the problem, often with dra- 90), making the economic cost of most which has funded a number of initia- ing proportions in recent decades. The assumes that the real numbers are twice the matic, even sinister undertones, remi- piratical attacks virtually negligible for tives to provide training and resources Indonesian government, for example, reported, giving a total of 72 attacks, and that niscent of the great tales of the sword- the shipping industry as a whole. to the law enforcement authorities in the has estimated that the country loses US an average of 200 ships transited the Straits swinging buccaneers of the seventeenth region (see Bradford 2004). $4 billion each year due to illegal fish- each day. This figure excludes intra-Straits traf- and eighteenth centuries West Indies. For an individual ship, moreover, there ing alone (Suara Pembaruan, 31 October fic. See Ahmad (1997: 7) is very little risk of being attacked while Of more direct importance is the reluc- 2002) - several times more than the esti- The main source of information on con- transiting Southeast Asia, even if the tance on the part of ship owners to mated cost of all pirate attacks world- References temporary piracy, both qualitative and IMB’s reported figures are doubled to report pirate attacks to the authorities or wide. The problem of poaching, more- - Ahmad, H. 1997. ‘The Straits of Malacca: quantitative, is the Kuala Lumpur-based take account of the 40-60 per cent of all otherwise assist in the investigations of over, is not only economic, but A Profile’, in H. Ahmad, ed. The Straits of Piracy Reporting Centre operated by the attacks which the Bureau estimates go pirate attacks. In fact, many shipping contributes to the rapid depletion of fish Malacca: International Co-operation in International Maritime Bureau (IMB), stocks in the region, pressing tradition- Trade, Funding and Navigational Safety. a unit of the International Chamber of the combination of low risk and economic al small-scale fishermen to turn to bomb Kuala Lumpur: Pelanduk Publications and Commerce. The Centre, first founded in fishing, thereby destroying large tracts Maritime Institute of Malaysia. 1992, has the task – in addition to insignificance for the victims - the shipping industry of coral reef. For Indonesia, such prob- - Bradford, J. F. 2004. ‘Japansese Anti-pira- assisting victims of pirate attacks and and insurance companies - is an important lems obviously pose a much greater cy Initiatives in Southeast Asia’, Contem- investigating authorities – of collecting, threat to the maritime environment, porary Southeast Asia, 26:3, pp. 480-505. analysing and disseminating informa- but often unacknowledged reason why piratical human security and long-term eco- - Chalk, P. 2000. Non-military security and tion about piratical activity. In doing so, activity persists nomic development than the few hun- global order: the impact of extremism, vio- the IMB has succeeded, both in raising dred petty piratical attacks which each lence and chaos on national and interna- awareness among ship owners of the year befall international vessels in or tional security. New York: St Martin’s Press. problem, and in drawing international unreported. For example, in the heavily companies explicitly prohibit ship mas- around the country’s territorial waters. - Gottschalk, J. A. and Flanagan, B. P. 2000. attention. The IMB’s annual piracy trafficked Straits of Malacca - frequent- ters from reporting pirate attacks (Chalk Jolly Roger with an Uzi: The Rise and Threat report, published each January for the ly referred to as one of the most ‘pirate- 2000: 59-60). Apart from reflecting In times of scarce funding for the social of Modern Piracy. Annapolis, MD: Naval preceding year, usually attracts a great infested’ seas of the world - the risk of a badly on the company’s image, report- sciences, academics need to carefully Institute Press. deal of interest from the media and gen- transiting ship being attacked was less ing a pirate attack may mean that the vic- consider which issues to study. Piracy is - ICC - International Maritime Bureau. 2005. erates a string of articles in newspapers than 0.1 per cent in 2003.1 tim vessel is detained in harbour for certainly an interesting phenomenon ‘Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships: around the world. The thrust of the investigation, while the cost of such worthy of academic attention, but as far Annual Report 1 January - 31 December IMB’s reports - and thus of most of the The combination of low risk and eco- delays may easily exceed the losses as contemporary relevance goes, it is dif- 2004’. Barking, Essex: ICC - International media reporting - is that piracy is a seri- nomic insignificance for the victims - incurred by a pirate attack. Another ficult to see why it should be given pri- Maritime Bureau. ous threat to international shipping, that that is, the shipping industry and insur- problem for the investigating authori- ority from publicly funded sources. the problem is increasing in numbers ance companies - is an important, but ties is that when a group of suspected Eliminating piracy is above all the task Stefan Eklöf, research fellow, Centre for East as well as in the incidence of violence, often unacknowledged, reason why pirates are arrested, they sometimes can of various maritime law enforcement and Southeast Asian Studies, Lund Universi- and that the authorities of the littoral piratical activity persists in Southeast not be prosecuted because the witness- agencies, and in conducting their task ty, Sweden, is the author of Pirates in Par- states of the most affected regions, par- Asia. There is little incentive for ship- es - that is, the crew members of the vic- they need to be assisted, not by social sci- adise: A Modern History of Southeast ticularly Southeast Asia, are not doing ping companies to implement anti-pira- tim ship - are not present at the trial. The entists, but by the victims of the pirate Asia’s Maritime Marauders, Copenhagen: enough to suppress it. cy measures onboard their ships, even reason for this may be either that the activity, including, first and foremost, NIAS Press 2005 (forthcoming). His research though many measures such as equip- crew members are too scared or other- the shipping industry. If, on the other interests include piracy, maritime and A closer look at the IMB’s figures, how- ping the superstructure with proper wise unwilling to testify, or that the ship- hand, contemporary piracy in Southeast human security in Southeast Asia, contem- ever, shows that the problem might not locks and providing anti-piracy training ping companies are unwilling to pay for Asia is to be an object of study for the porary Indonesian politics and female politi- be all that alarming after all - at least not for the crews would incur very little extra their travel and other expenses to attend social sciences, it should be part of a cal leadership in Southeast Asia. in economic terms. In 2004, the Bureau cost. Moreover, there is even less inter- the trial, or both. broader research agenda, focusing not [email protected]

12 IIAS Newsletter | #36 | March 2005 > Research Opium: building block of empire When Sidney Mintz, in his now-classic Sweetness and Power, began to tug at the multiple meanings, purposes, Research > and uses of sugar in Caribbean, European and American societies, he found it to be the essential ingredient in Southeast Asia the creation of particular regimes of power, labour, taste, and consumption. Although sugar was also a major ad ideological constructs at the heart of the colonial state. Some product in parts of Southeast Asia, the product which stood at the centre of government, social, cultural and of the most lurid descriptions were of the opium dens, which colonial relations was opium. in this literature were not merely local places for opium smok- ers to stop and consume their purchase, but dens of iniquity Anne L. Foster posing grave danger to, in approximately this order, children who might live nearby or have to go there on errands or to ike sugar, opium initially had purposes mainly medicinal, retrieve parents; young women, mostly indigenous, who might Lbut came to enjoy wider consumption. As consumption begin by entering the den merely to smoke but whose addic- grew, opium did much to shape the nature and purpose of gov- tion and/or poverty might lead them into illicit relationships; KITLV collection, Leiden collection, KITLV ernment in the colonies as well as trading practices and routes, and then young white men who might enter a den on a lark finance the infrastructure necessary for profit from other colo- but be quickly drawn into a spiral of addiction. These men nial ventures, and create and reinforce social, racial and gen- were in danger because they had sufficient funds to consume der hierarchies which underlay the ideology of empire. By the addictive quantities of opium, and their potential addiction end of the nineteenth century, opium began to be contested would lead them into behaviours which would undermine the in ways which both foreshadowed and reflected the ways in prestige, even the authority of Europeans over ethnic Chinese which empire itself would be resisted. and Southeast Asians. Photos of opium dens, so standard across colonies as to be nearly generic, always show languid, From medicine to drug Administrative offices of the opium factory, Weltevreden, Batavia,1899. The building which housed often feminised men, disorder and dirt, and poverty. The hor- Opium is not native to Southeast Asia; foreigners brought it the Opium Regie appears solid, respectable, and permanent, and gives the impression that Dutch ror stories about degraded women are rarely reflected in the with them for both their own consumption and for trade. As rule can transform even opium consumption into a tool for modernization. composition of photos (usually women appear only in litho- with the early history of opium worldwide, the initial years are graphs), since in fact women rarely smoked in dens. shrouded in myth, but already in the seventeenth century both housed the Opium Regie appears solid, respectable, and per- Chinese and Europeans brought opium to Southeast Asia. It manent, and gives the impression that Dutch rule can trans- Only sometimes did this literature mention those who actu- functioned in much the same way that it did in China: as a form even opium consumption into a tool for modernization. ally went to these dens in large numbers - indigenous men product among the very few considered desirable by South- The Opium Regie was supposed to serve as part of a regime of and, by far the largest group to go, ethnic Chinese men. Clear- east Asians, as an exchange for their goods which Europeans tutelage, since its ranks were more open than many other parts found irresistible (Trocki 1999). In these early decades of Euro- of the civil service to Indonesians. The successes, both in pro- pean sojourning in Southeast Asia, however, opium had lim- viding training in self-government and in more careful regu- government-granted monopolies over the retail sale ited appeal, primarily as a medicine. Like attempts at Euro- lation of who had access to opium, were at best partial. The of opium brought in approximately pean rule, opium was accepted by Southeast Asians on their Opium Regie was usually perceived as a second-rate career, low own terms, only partially, and in ways not compatible with the in prestige and ill paid. Not surprisingly, corruption continued half of Singapore’s revenue power we associate in later decades with the narcotic - or the and evasion of the opium regulations through smuggling and from the mid-nineteenth century until the colonial state, for that matter. illicit production perhaps even increased. first decade of the twentieth Indeed, in many ways the power of both drug and colonial Gender, resistance and the problem of opium state grew up together. Singapore provides the most dramat- The economic and political implications of opium’s role in the ly their habit was seen as nearly inevitable and possibly less ic example. A near-empty island before the British decided to building of the colonial state have received attention from problematic. At one level, such critiques of opium seem to make it a hub port, Singapore did not have the ready supply scholars such as Carl Trocki, James Rush, Chantal Descours- mirror the paternalistic understandings colonial reformers of inexpensive workers for the docks and the heavy work of Gatin, and Alfred McCoy. Opium also served as a marker of had of the task before them. It might still be possible to ‘save’ loading and unloading ships. Imported Chinese labourers gendered, racial, and social hierarchies in the creation of colo- the children through education and removing them from their could meet the need, but opium, as Carl Trocki so persuasively nial empire. Scholars, however, have typically ignored opium ‘natural’ environment; it was important to ‘protect’ young argued, meant that those workers could be induced to work in the increasingly sophisticated discussions of gender and women so they could bear and nurture the next generation of long hours at physically demanding jobs, in medically chal- race in the construction of the ideology of empire. The anti- children; the men would be divided into two groups: those lenging environments, and for low pay (Trocki 1990). opium movements which grew during the late nineteenth and already beyond the government’s reach (radical nationalists early twentieth centuries provide the most telling examples. and addicts, for example) and those who would follow the gov- Ethnic Chinese were sometimes even paid in opium, literally The heart of their anti-opium message was that there was an ernment’s dictates. smoking away their chances of saving up for a better future. While Singapore relied more than other colonies on opium to with at least ten percent of revenues coming from The imperial system in Southeast Asia rested on opium. Colo- tie workers to undesirable jobs, European enterprise in all the nial labour markets and state budgets would not have func- colonies faced the same labour shortage, and many turned to opium, the colonial projects of modernity - whether tioned without it. Customary or accepted use of opium rein- the same solution. Europeans facilitated provision of opium roads, schools, irrigation canals, or public health forced, reflected, but inevitably also undermined hierarchies to ethnic Chinese and indigenous Southeast Asians, usually of race and gender which provided the ideological underpin- in modest quantities. These workers became addicted, but clinics - depended on addiction ning of empire. Not surprisingly, then, Southeast Asian nation- only marginally so. When they did not have work, they went alists by the 1920s came to believe that part of their struggle into forced withdrawal. This periodic abstinence meant that incongruence between the increasing emphasis on a mission to gain independence was to also end legal sales of opium, no many workers developed tolerance only slowly, and therefore civilisatrice (or ethicishe koers or white man’s burden, depend- matter how profitable those sales might be to the government. limited their craving for ever-greater amounts of the drug. ing on which colony one was in) and the colonial state’s The relative success of newly independent Southeast Asian reliance on opium revenue. nations in prohibiting opium during the early years, through Empires built upon opium most of the region, reveals the extent which colonial rule and If opium was as necessary as forced cultivation and high Certainly the observation was sensible, but the rhetoric then Malay Opium Smokers, opium consumption were seen as intertwined by Southeast taxes to draw Southeast Asians into production for export, used to argue against opium consumption reveals the myri- Nineteenth Century Asians. < opium also provided revenue crucial for the functioning and growth of the colonial state and its infrastructure. Singapore, References as a free port with no reliable tax base, relied most heavily - Mintz, Sidney. 1985. Sweetness and power: the place of sugar in mod- on the opium farms for revenue. These opium farms, or gov- ern history. New York: Viking. ernment-granted monopolies over the retail sale of opium - Trocki, Carl. 1990. Opium and Empire: Chinese Society in Colonial in a certain geographical area, brought in approximately half Singapore, 1800-1910. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, p. 67. of Singapore’s revenue from the mid-nineteenth century - Trocki, Carl. 1999. Opium, Empire and the Global Political Economy: until the first decade of the twentieth century. The other A Study of the Asian Opium Trade, 1750-1950. London: Routledge, colonies earned less from their opium farms but all, with pp. 13-32. the exception of the United States in the Philippines, imple- mented the farm system. Anne L. Foster is assistant professor of History at Indiana State Uni- versity. Her manuscript Projections of Power: The U.S. in Colonial With at least ten percent of revenues coming from opium, the Southeast Asia, 1919-1941 is forthcoming from Duke University colonial projects of modernity - whether roads, schools, irriga- Press. She is currently exploring the construction and contestation of tion canals, or public health clinics - depended on addiction. opium policies in Southeast Asia from 1850 to 1950. As part of that The Dutch even made administration of the sale of opium a key project, she will be a visiting fellow at IIAS beginning in January 2006. part of the modernizing project by creating the Opium Regie in 1894. To replace the opium farms, increasingly seen as cor- rupt and outside state control, the Dutch implemented a gov- ernment bureaucracy to make distribution of opium to the prop-

er people more efficient and regulated. The building which London Library, Wellcome

IIAS Newsletter | #36 | March 2005 13 > Research Can personal names be translated? In a short story entitled ‘Gogol’ published in The New Yorker, an Anglo-American author of Bengali descent tells Research > the story of a young couple from Calcutta recently settled in Boston.1 Upon the birth of their first child, a boy, Naming practices they are required by law to give him a name. At first their surname Ganguli is used, and ‘baby Ganguli’ is written can, even European. The name is a per- on his nursery tag. But later, when a clerk demands that the baby’s official given name be entered in the registry, fect fit because it suits the Indian Ben- the parents are in a quandary. Eventually the father gives him the name ‘Gogol,’ a pet name but one that gali system, but also, through nick- possesses powerful personal connotations for the father. naming, the American English system. The girl thus belongs to two worlds and Charles J-H Macdonald As the boy grows older he becomes dis- Gogol. The reason involves a personal four: nickname, first name, middle name there is no inner identity conflict. satisfied and embarrassed by his name. episode in the father’s life prior to his and surname. These name types do not he parents call him Gogol at home. The name means nothing. It is the sur- son’s birth. Lying among the dead after match from Bengali to English and vice- In every language, personal names are TWhen he enters kindergarten the name of a Russian author, neither Ben- a train crash, the father owed his life to versa, except for the Bengali pet name linguistic objects and complex represen- parents give him another name: Nikhil. gali nor American. It is not a ‘good the fluttering pages of a book he held in and the American nickname, which are tations. Psychological aspects to naming It means ‘he who is entire,’ while the name’, but ‘a pet name-turned-good his hand when he was found by a team roughly equivalent. If we look at the prop- are at least partly dependant on the for- name Gogol seems undignified and name’. It is also a surname-turned-first of rescuers and saved from certain erties of the Bengali good name, we see mal rules of naming. There is another unfit for public life. But the child refus- name. It sounds awkward, ridiculous. death. The book was by the Russian the differences with the English first or aspect to it. The name ‘Gogol’ is the title es to be named Nikhil. He thinks his He is afraid girls will make fun of him. author Gogol. After hearing this story middle name: of Lahiri’s story, but it also the title of the name is Gogol and he does not under- the young man is stunned, and feels stand the change. In a funny scene with The boy is now a freshman at Yale. He ashamed. Suddenly, the sound of his pet the schoolteacher, who claims that the goes to the courthouse to change his name ‘means something completely Bengali ‘good name’ American ‘first name’ or ‘middle name’ child does not respond to Nikhil, the par- name from Gogol to Nikhil, the good new’. End of story. for public use only for public and private use ents argue with her and explain that Indian name that his parents chose for according to their custom, Gogol is only him in the first place. But he does not What’s in a name? autonym part of the autonym a name used at home and that Nikhil is feel like Nikhil. The new name does not Although not an ethnography per se, chosen by maternal great-grandmother chosen by parents a ‘good name’. seem right. He was Gogol for eighteen this tale illustrates the phenomenon of years, Nikhil is new. People who knew naming, the principles that underlie usually given several years after birth given at birth - ‘What do you mean,’ asks the school- him as Gogol now call him Nikhil, and naming systems, the implications of belongs to a list of words belongs to a special list of words teacher, ‘a good name? You mean a mid- this makes him feel ill at ease, like an names in people’s lives and how they in common use used for names only dle name? A nickname?’ impostor. Switching names also seems define people’s identity. One aspect so (is ‘motivated,’ in linguistic terms) (‘not motivated’) - ‘No, no,’ protest the parents, ‘a good incorrect, awkward, like using English entertainingly outlined in this story is name, a school name!’ with his parents and not Bengali. the conflict and misunderstanding that name is not inherited, is often inherited, arise between two different cultures, but sometimes shared and always shared The name Gogol prevails and the boy In the last section of the story the father and, more deeply, the conflict that aris- ends up being so named at school. explains to the boy why he called him es in the character’s mind about the degree of ‘fit’ of a name in mental and Not only do name types differ in content story of the character’s father. In other emotional terms. The story shows the and definition, they function different- words, a name is a narration. When [advertisement] enormous personal value that a name ly. In English a nickname can be added Gogol the son hears the story of how this has for both those who give it and those to the first name (as in ‘Sugar Ray’) but particular pet name came to be he is who wear it, and the conflicting aspects a Bengali pet name substitutes the good deeply moved. Something has changed of what is private and what is public in name entirely, and the two are never in his understanding of his own inner a name. An anthropological theory of used together. Whereas the English first identity. Being named Gogol now has a names should be able to take into (or given) name is always used together history and authenticity that it had pre- account all these aspects. with the surname to form the complete viously lacked. The subject has become name, the Bengali good name is self- ‘entangled’ in this particular name which If Jhumpa Lahiri’s tale is taken seri- contained and a fully autonomous label. has become one of the many narrative ously as an ethnographic account of a In other words, names belong to sys- strands making up his personal identity. recurring pattern of behaviour, this is tems, or relations between name types. The name binds him to his father, and how an explanation might look: the Name types can differ enough to prevent binds his father to him - an interesting name ‘Gogol’ does not fit the require- exact translation, but what deepens cul- psychological follow-up to a functional ments of a Bengali ‘real, complete tural misunderstanding is the system- study of personal names.3 < name’ (or autonym). This should be a atic way name types function together. ‘good name’-type for public use, not a As in kinship terminologies, personal Notes pet-name-type for private use. It does names are organized according to pre- 1. Lahiri, J. 2003. ‘Gogol’, in The New Yorker, not meet the requirements for an determined cultural and linguistic com- June 16 & 23 2003, pp. 171-187. American English autonym, which binations. Their use and meaning is 2. The Bengali naming system contains other should be drawn form a ‘closed list’ of subject to cognitive rules that bear on name types, particularly a middle name first or middle name types for public the definition of each name type, their (Dr. Prasanna Kumar Patra, personal com- and private use. ‘Gogol’ sticks, howev- number, and most importantly, their munciation). Only name types that appear er inadequate, until the subject combination in each utterance and con- in this story are mentioned here. changes it to meet the requirements of text. Once this is recognized, an anthro- 3. Naudin, J., J.M. Azorin, L. Giudicelli, and a good Bengali autonym. But this pological study of personal names can D. Dassa,. 1995. ‘Binswanger avec Schapp change is not accepted because the begin. : analyse existentielle ou analyse narrative’. psychological and social process can- L’Evolution Psychiatrique 60:575-591. not be reversed or aborted. The But as this literary example illustrates, autonym ‘Gogol’ is culturally wrong our insightful writer makes the reader Charles Macdonald holds a PhD and a Doc- but still carries the subject’s true iden- privy to the mental and emotional con- torat d’Etat from the University of Paris, Sor- tity. The origin of the name from the sequences of naming. The main char- bonne, and is currently senior research fellow father’s personal history eventually val- acter struggles with his name because at the Centre national de la recherche scien- idates the name, still perceived as cul- the mental and cognitive Bengali map tifique, Paris. He was a guest research fellow turally wrong but personally correct. does not fit the American English one. at IIAS in 2004. He has done research among The name Gogol does not fit either - it the Palawan (of Palawan Island, Southern The cultural misunderstanding arises does not even resemble a first name in Philippines) and among the Raglai (South from the confrontation of two different English. In the story, the name of Central Vietnam). His latest research work naming systems whose elements do not Gogol’s sister is given as an example of deals with the anthropology of suicide (in correspond. In the conversation between a perfect fit. Not only is she named press, CSEAS-University of Hawai’i Press) the teacher and the father, the teacher Sonali right away (a ‘good name’ that and with personal names and naming asks: ‘Is Nikhil a first name?’ The father means ‘she who is golden’) but at home practices. protests: ‘No, it is a good name!’ They are she is called Sonu, Sona, and Sonia. [email protected] unable to understand each other since Sonia sticks because it sounds Ameri- the name types are culturally-specific. A Bengali ‘good name’ has no equivalent in American English, and a ‘first name’ has The conference ‘Naming in Asia: Local identities and global change’ will take place at the Asia no equivalent in Bengali. Bengali has Research Institute, National University of Singapore, on 23-24 February 2006. Please see page three name types: pet name, good name 35 of this Newsletter and www.ari.nus.edu.sg and surname.2 American English has

14 IIAS Newsletter | #36 | March 2005 > Research Sisterhood in saffron: women of the Rashtra Sevika Samiti In the politics of the Indian subcontinent, the principle of Hindu majoritarianism has roots in the early twentieth Research > century. The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS, or National Volunteer Corps), founded in 1925, is now the India leading disseminator of the most virulent and exclusionist version of the Hindutva doctrine; its strategy of eight hands symbolising women’s infinite capacities. Key here establishing affiliated groups has ensured the spread of its political message to all areas of civil society. To is the attempt to put women at the centre of the worldview and investigate how the movement reaches out to women, I focus on the Rashtra Sevika Samiti all-women’s affiliate, to affirm the feminine. An entire array of women from histo- its institutional structure and discourse of the feminine which enables women to identify with and support the ry and mythology - Vedic scholars, heroines from epics, Rajput Hindutva agenda. princesses, women ascetics, brave rulers, dutiful wives and heroic mothers - are all eulogized and held up as models wor- Namrata Ravichandra Ganneri Sevikas in a Mumbai thy of emulation. Shakha, April 2004 hile traditional literature has focused on women as vic- More importantly, however, motherhood itself has been pow- Wtims and targets of patriarchal control and violence, only erfully redefined. Even in their traditional roles, women as marginal attention has been paid to the complicity of women mothers are invested with immense potential for change. in perpetuating the Hindutva vision and its politics. Howev- Mothers have a privileged position in fashioning the history er, the involvement of women in right-wing organisations has of the Hindu Rashtra, and women as mothers, in the Samiti’s had a long unbroken history, and challenges long-standing discourse, seek to become true actors and agents. For instance, assumptions about women’s low levels of politicisation and in the representation of the story of Shivaji (especially vener- traditional pacifism. In particular, the quiet and enduring work ated by the RSS), it is Jijabai - Shivaji’s mother, the Samiti ideal of the Rashtra Sevika Samiti (‘Samiti’), formed in 1936 and the of ‘enlightened motherhood’ - who is credited with imbuing oldest RSS affiliate, has eluded academic attention. in Shivaji the zeal to fight Muslim rulers and found a Hindu Kingdom. While women have traditionally been accepted as

In the service of Hindutva author of courtesy the transmitters of culture, the challenge in this construction The politics behind the Samiti’s inception is telling of RSS lies in the central role accorded to the mother. In this sense, gender ideology. The group’s founder Laxmibai Kelkar first Originating in Wardha in the state of Maharashtra, the Samiti traditional accounts are subverted and Jijabai becomes a larg- approached RSS founder K.B. Hedgewar seeking the possi- has spread throughout India and claims a membership of one er icon than even Shivaji. Indeed, mothering features promi- bility for women to join the RSS, but was turned down. million women. The constituency remains the traditional maha- nently in Samiti ideology as the creators of a glorious nation. Instead, she was encouraged to start a separate organisation rashtrian Brahmin, while shakhas also exist in Brahmin-dom- The Samiti prayer sends out a similar message: women pray- composed exclusively of women, an ideological parallel to the inated localities. Although there have been efforts to reach out ing for strength to inspire men, but, more importantly, to act all-male RSS to organise and train Hindu women. Signifi- to other upwardly mobile caste groups, the social base has large- directly to transform the Hindutva vision into reality. Hence cantly, the most enduring aspect of the RSS was the creation ly remained the same since its inception. Most women were women’s role is not confined to motherhood and ‘homemak- of the ‘brotherhood’ - a band of dedicated and disciplined work- initiated into the Samiti by their mothers, and were also mar- ing’ since the greater ‘family’ is ultimately the nation. ers engaged in paramilitary training who pledged to safeguard ried into families sympathetic to the RSS. In some cases, Women’s participation in the Samiti then becomes a practical the nation and its borders. The only feminine form allowed to women enter into marriage with the condition that they be means of turning femininity into empowered motherhood in intrude in the shakhas (local RSS branches) was the Bharat- allowed to maintain their association with the Samiti after mar- the service of the Hindu nation. mata (Mother India). Given that women have traditionally riage. Thus Samiti membership is usually a lifelong commit- been segregated even when they entered the public sphere, a ment. Recruitment and participation in Samiti activities separate organisation appeared to conform to the notion of involves association with welfare schemes operated by the Sami- separate yet complementary (gendered) domains of concerns ti - girls’ hostels, volunteer work in remote areas, teaching in and activities for men and women. the involvement of women in right-wing organisations Interestingly, links with the RSS are minimised in the Sami- ti’s own account of its founding. It is said that the founder has had a long unbroken history herself was inspired most by the need to train women in self- defence and self-protection. This again seems remarkable, schools, informal teaching centres and so on. The combination as traditional upper-caste Hindus (the core group from of social service with organisational work is the most enduring Darshan, Gallery of Hindu Art: www.hindunet.org Art: Hindu of Gallery Darshan, which the RSS draws its members) do not celebrate women’s feature of their activity, and the key to the organisation’s entry into the public sphere. The protection of the ‘sexual strength: flexibility and the ability to move into different fields honour’ of the nation’s territory and its women being so inte- of activity, as well as into affiliates of the parent RSS, enabling gral to the nationalist project, this assertion of agency can the group to retain members from many backgrounds. be read as a challenge to Hindu males and their masculini- Bharat-Mata ty. Moreover, the fact remains that women decided to step Crafting the feminine out of ‘their domain’ in order to serve Hindutva, even if to Hindutva discourse conceptualises all women as mothers, or Creating identities invariably involves a dialectic of exclusions work only with other women. The private domain thus matrishakti (mother power); biological motherhood - produc- and inclusions. Creating an ‘ideal’ identity also papers over a became increasingly redefined, with the idea of ‘home’ ing sons and imbuing them with Hindutva ideology - is seen variety of fractures, and homogenises cross-class and caste extended to include the shakha as well, clearly subverting the as Hindu women’s primary function. Nevertheless, while differences. It is well known that the threat of the ‘other’ is a theoretical and spatial division between women’s and men’s remaining within the boundaries of the RSS worldview, Sami- constituent element of Hindutva, and in Hindutva discourse worlds. Hindutva ideology perceived no contradictions even ti women have tweaked and twisted its gender ideology to the feminine is constructed to include all Hindu women but when the Samiti women transgressed the world of the home enable their own participation. Their task has been to craft an exclude all others. By privileging their communal identity, this by performing physical exercises in open spaces, as long as ideal of womanhood for the Hindu nation, and its departure group of women transform into self-proclaimed soldiers com- the overall project remained the sangathan (organisation) of from the parent ideology is clear to the discerning eye. Here, mitted to the Hindutva cause. < Hindu women. However, it is clear that women themselves the feminine is eternally empowered and the discourse cele- took the initiative to organise Hindu women in the service brates active womanhood. This is reflected best in the ideals Namrata Ravichandra Ganneri is a doctoral candidate at the Cen- of the Hindu nation. of valiant womanhood that the Samiti highlights: Hindu Ksha- tre for Historical Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. triya queens and their idol and goddess Ashtabhuja Devi (lit- Her thesis examines the politics of Hindu right-wing organisations in To an outsider, the RSS and the Samiti appear the same - in erally, ‘the devi with eight hands’), said to embody qualities of western India. their salutation of the bhagwa dhwaj (the saffron flag regard- strength, intellect and wealth as well as war-like qualities, her [email protected] ed as the guru), their physical exercises and ideological train- ing. Indeed, the Samiti replicates the hierarchical structure of the RSS: all power is vested in the Pramukh Sanchalika (chief [advertisement] director), who is appointed and holds the post for life, while a band of celibate peripatetics (the pracharikas) are responsible for the organisation’s expansion. Samiti shakhas and training camps are modelled on those of the RSS, and its public face remains that of the RSS’ women’s wing. However, the fact that the organisation is exclusively comprised of women and its chief ideologues are women ensures that there is no straight- forward emulation. The Samiti has its own prayer and festi- vals, plans its own programmes, and its publication wing dis- seminates its own view of history and glorifies its own ideals and heroines.

IIAS Newsletter | #36 | March 2005 15 > Research Social stratification in contemporary China One of the most significant changes in post-reform China has been the emergence of social Research > inequality and differentiation. In many ways, the problem is relatively new to China as the China last fifty years of Communist rule enforced a strict egalitarianism both in ideological and the entrepreneurial class of the understand this emerging social differ- material terms. 1950s, this category, after 20 years of entiation in China. While Croll has existence, has emerged as a powerful focused on increasing inequalities faced Ravni Thakur out by Chinese and foreign scholars. China today. These groups are still not interest group. by women, Pieke and Parrish have Work on the issue of social stratification classified as classes and rightfully so, as 6. Women: are seen to consistently lose focused on urban inequality. Davin has, hile social differentiation was not is one such subject. The direct result of the social stratification of the past twen- out in the reform process. Statistics apart from gender, examined inequali- Wcompletely wiped out in the pre- China’s economic reforms, these ty years is still fluid and the administra- show that women form sixty per cent ties emerging within China due to large ceding half-century, it was hard to spec- inequalities are both regional, within tive control exercised by the Communist of the laid-off work force and contin- scale rural-urban migration. This is also ify in terms of mere wealth. The major regions and are now clearly visible in the Party still sacrosanct. And of course, it ue to get salaries far lower than that an area that has been identified by Ma inequality of this period existed between large urban metropolis. These differ- continues to rule in the name of the of men. and Day. All have testified to the funda- rural and urban areas, a differentiation ences are here to stay for the near future, working classes. Six different interest mental structural changes occurring in artificially maintained by the stringent and will impact both internal policy mak- groups were identified by the authors of Further, differentiation amongst groups Chinese society after, as Parrish says, a Hukou or registration system which kept ing and the future of China’s polity. Deng the special issue. These are: such as high income groups and a new socialist contract society was turned into the rural population out of urban areas. legitimized this emerging inequality impoverished strata are also identified. a marketing contract society. While the wealth of landlords and the when he pronounced ‘that some will get 1. Workers: defined as the group that While the former includes senior cadres captalist class was immediately nation- rich more quickly’, thus tacitly accepting has lost both economic and social sta- and private entrepreneurs, the latter Research on changes in post-commu- alized in 1950, small entrepreneurs and the idea of a trickle down effect. Today, tus under the reforms. Increasing consists of laid-off workers, potentially nist East European societies also sheds middle peasants were forced into col- after twenty years, this social differenti- stratification within the group has unemployed workers, retired personnel, light on the social changes that can lectivization under Mao’s Commune ation has stabilized - understanding this been identified amongst technical and poor rural residents drifting in cities result from reforms. Kornai’s work is campaigns in 1958. Until the reforms, emerging social differentiation in China workers, private sector workers and and towns. This is the migrant labour of exemplary here. It stressed the way peo- Chinese society, especially in terms of will be intrinsic to an understanding of those who still remain within the urban China today. Estimates show that ple’s daily interactions changed due to wealth, was hardly differentiated. Stud- China as it develops. state sector. there are more than 100 million people the prevalence of what he calls ‘vertical ies have shown that for income differ- in this stratum, making up 8 per cent of dependency’, where rather than depend- entiation, the span ranged from 30 to the total population. Another significant ence on the self, one relied on the state 560 yuan among government cadres source of material by Chinese scholars and its representatives to meet one’s while an official guideline set a ratio of can be found in the new series of Blue material needs. Notions of the self and 6:1 for top and bottom wages in all enter- books that have been recently published the individual were replaced by collec- prises. Amongst the rural population, FOTOE / Hongjie Ma on society, politics, etc. The Blue Book of tivized identities. around 60 per cent were classified as Sociology, 2002, for example, identifies middle peasants. the emergence of social differentiation This leads us to an understanding of as one of the major challenges of the social difference in all its complexity, However, if the analysis of inequality is reform process. It identifies ten differ- and here I want to come back to Bour- broadened to consider other forms of ent groups. dieu’s work. Bourdieu has extended the capital, i.e. cultural and social, the main notion of social differentiation to differentiation existed between the Kinship and Social Status include aspects of social, economic, cul- members of the communist party and Another perspective that has regained tural and symbolic capital. His intention others. As Stockman points out, ‘Virtu- importance in understanding growing was not to add to the corpus on class the- ally the entire population was brought social stratification in China today is pre- ory but to assess, as it were, a set of prac- within the compass of two intertwined sented by sociologists such as Fei Xiao- tices that structure social differentiation organizational systems, those of the tong. They argue for the need to under- and ways in which social differentiation State and the Communist Party’ (p. 189). stand the huge role played by family and is expressed. China today presents an Administrative hierarchy was estab- kinship ties in traditional China. Sever- excellent example of the complexity of lished to control work organization and al researchers (e.g. Bian and Ruan) have social differentiation that occurs when co-ordinate economic activities while the pointed out the re-emergence of kinship a society undergoes economic and struc- danwei (urban work unit) was the basic ties in business networks, as well as tural change. Social stratification is an organization looking after the material their role in providing the social safety area that deserves to be watched closely, well being of its members. Salaries were net that is being progressively with- and not just by the state for the ramifi- paid according to a work point system. drawn by the state. Family and kinship cations it creates for political stability is an important criteria of upward social and social unrest, but also for scholars Here again, China’s use of a strict class mobility and seems to encompass all the interested in social change. < terminology (jieji chengfen) created other groups identified by the academy. Here, forms of inequality. The practice of label- more informed and anthropological References ing people with evaluative titles (hats or studies dealing with guanxi - a term par- - Bian, Yanjie. 1994. ‘Guanxi and the alloca- maozi) such as ‘counter revolutionary ticular to China meaning at once con- tion of urban jobs in China’. China Quar- element’, intellectuals as the ‘ninth nections, kinship, access, and the older terly 40, 971-98. stinking category’, etc., created further gift economy - also help uncover the - Kornai. Janos. 1995. Highways and Byways: social differentiation. Further, these bad Migrant labour in urban China complexity of social stratification. Studies of Reform and post-Communist Tran- class categories were hereditary, leading sition. Cambridge: M.I.T. Press. to a group of people who fell outside the Chinese scholars themselves have been 2. Peasants: this group is also marked Thus China today no longer represents - Li Peilin. 2002. ‘Introduction to special rhetorical devise of ‘egalitarian dis- quick to identify these emerging social by increasing stratification within the egalitarian and strictly structured, issue Social Stratification in China since course’ used by the Communist Party. inequalities, as is demonstrated by the their ranks and here income differ- totalitarian social system that it once did. Reform’. Social Sciences in China Today, This egalitarianism, at the practical level, excellent issue on the subject bought out entiation is enormous. While Even if one were to look only at the Spring 2002. was forced through constant political by the Academy of Social Sciences. As remaining registered as peasants, different groups being identified by - Stockman, N. 2000. Understanding Chinese mass campaigns such as the Great Leap Li Peilin says in his introduction to the some have gone into small scale Chinese sociologists, a deeper under- Society. Oxford: Polity Press. Forward, and of course the Cultural Rev- special issue: ‘Very profound economic manufacturing enterprises and com- standing of the social relations evolving olution. Mao’s continuous revolution and social changes have taken place in modity trade. within these groups is crucial. Natural- Ravni Thakur is Reader in the Department also meant the creation of continuous China in the 20 years since the 3. Cadres: identified as an upwardly ly, the topic has drawn the interest of of East Asian Studies, Delhi University. enemies. reform.... It is imperative to solve the mobile group, with a lower mean many western scholars as well. Unger, [email protected] social issues of the gap between the rich age, more education and higher Parrish, Pieke, Croll, Davin and Davis, Understanding social and the poor, environmental pollution, technical skills. to name but a few, have all attempted to stratification today corruption and poverty during the eco- 4. Intellectuals: stratification within this China has not only opened its econom- nomic growth and it is of utmost impor- group is defined as largely ideologi- ic doors; a breath of fresh air has swept tance to establish a common concept of cal, i.e. those inside the system, those This article originates from the India-China Comparisons: State and Society workshop held in through its academic disciplines. After social justice under a market econo- outside the system and those Leiden, the Netherlands, 27-28 May 2004, organized and funded by the Indian Council for years of no serious academic research - my’.(p. 45) opposed to the system. Social Science Research (ICSSR), the Centre d’Etudes et de Recherches Internationales (CERI) intellectuals were the ninth stinking cat- 5. Private business owners: one of the in Paris and IIAS. Please see page 32 for an announcement of the second workshop in this egory during the cultural revolution - The issue further goes on to specify the newly emerged categories. Although series. some excellent research is being carried different status groups emerging in no direct links have been found with

16 IIAS Newsletter | #36 | March 2005 > Research International supply chains and labour standards in China Companies in China that export directly to Western markets or supply foreign-owned firms Research > operating inside the country are under increasing pressure to adapt their working conditions China to UN-sponsored international standards. While the impact on businesses practices is still SA8000 does seem to be affecting work- introduction of SA8000 to more Chi- slight, it is potentially a major development within China’s labour system. ing conditions in China. In facilities that nese firms. Depending on the future have adopted SA8000, observers have growth of auditing firms’ activities in Gemma Crijns and Frans Paul van der Putten reported not so much formal improve- China and their willingness to promote ments, but workers becoming aware of SA8000, their importance in imple- hina has become a major manu- their rights. This is not easy to measure, menting certification may grow. Cfacturing base in the global econo- nor does it remove immediate concerns my. Many companies in the EU, North in Western markets; it does, however, The long road ahead America and Australia - where the create a basis for more fundamental To date, the main impact of SA8000 in media, consumers, investors, NGOs and long-term change. This may especially China does not seem to be direct governments are putting increasing be so if SA8000 emphasizes issues con- improvement in working conditions in pressure on businesses to operate in a sidered most relevant by workers them- individual factories. Though in some ‘socially responsible’ manner - have sup- selves, and is communicated in a way cases, it may have raised awareness of ply chains originating in China. that is understood in the Chinese con- labour rights among workers, the main Although China has stringent labour text. For Chinese companies that are not impact may lie in the longer term. laws, many are only weakly enforced. As http://www.cgstock.com/ Gregerson, Chris of courtesy photo certified, SA8000 may provide a model SA8000 helps put labour issues on the a result, working conditions often for managing the introduction of labour agenda of government authorities, com- include long working hours, low wages standards. As the relevance of ILO con- panies, industry organisations and and limited health and safety measures. ventions grows among Chinese export- auditing firms, while providing a model Various systems of labour standards are Welder at Work, oriented firms, systems such as for Chinese companies based on ILO currently in use by international com- Zhejiang, China SA8000 based on them may become norms. panies; many of these are based - implic- more relevant. itly or explicitly - on the conventions of media attention and the attendance of improvement. Child and forced labour, Although the number of SA8000 certi- the International Labour Organisation Social Accountability International rep- and injuries and fatalities from unsafe There are also signs that local govern- fied factories is increasing, there has (ILO). One of the labour standard sys- resentatives at a number of Chinese sem- working conditions feature prominent- ment agencies are studying the poten- been no breakthrough, either in China tems that has recently attracted consid- inars earlier in 2004, the certification ly. Even though the SA8000 system has tial of SA8000 to increase competitive- or elsewhere. In theory, the impact of erable attention in China is Social system was little known. The most fre- a broader scope, the system’s success in ness in areas under their authority. The SA8000 and similar certification sys- Accountability 8000 (SA8000). quently stated motivation for factories to China depends on these high-profile attitude of government authorities is tems could be great. It remains impor- seek certification is that working condi- issues being successfully addressed. key, given the close relationship between tant to study developments in specific Social accountability tions already fulfil SA8000 require- the government and economy. Beijing contexts to give realistic assessments of In the first half of 2004, the Chinese ments, due to the factory owner’s desire Another factor influencing SA8000’s might more readily adopt an SA8000- the system’s potential impact. < media featured a large number of to maintain labour standards, or because impact in China is the population’s per- like system were it backed by an inter- reports on SA8000. Chinese firms and the facility was forced by its customers to ception of it. Competition may drive national organization or group of gov- Note government agencies worried that West- conform to a particular code of conduct. Chinese firms to adopt the certificate or ernments, as in the case of the ISO 1. http://www.sa-intl.org/sa8000/sa8000.htm ern governments were planning to ban Factories here adopt SA8000 as it is to purchase only from certified factories, (International Standardization Organi- (21 February 2005). Chinese imports that did not originate cheap and improves their image vis-à-vis but for medium and small companies sation) system which is widely support- from SA8000-certified factories. This competitors. the costs involved may outweigh any ed by Chinese government agencies. Gemma Crijns and Frans Paul van der Put- would force all Chinese export-oriented competitive advantages. Only if demand ten are based at the Institute for Integrity, producers to adopt the system, impact- Western pressure is strong enough will these enterprises Finally, the role played by auditing firms Corporate Social Responsibility and Socially ing on costs and China’s competitive- Since it is still too early to draw conclu- become part of SA8000 supply chains. is relevant. Currently, they are the most Responsible Investing (EIBE), Nyenrode ness as a manufacturing and export sions, we need to look at factors that will Unless the majority of their foreign important promoters of SA8000 in Business Universiteit, the Netherlands. economy. As it turned out, no Western most likely impact on the system in the counterparts switch to SA8000, this is China. Their activities, aimed primarily [email protected] government closed its country to non- future. Pressure from Western export likely to happen only where pressure at monitoring Chinese firms on behalf [email protected] certified goods. Nevertheless, pressure markets, which originally led to the from Western markets influence the of Western clients, would enable the www.nyenrode.nl/eibe/ from foreign buyers to verifiably raise establishment of supply chain labour entire sector, such as medium size firms labour standards is being felt. This par- standards in Western countries, is a in clothing, shoes and similar product ticularly applies to Chinese suppliers of major impetus for improving working chains. However, manufacturers of This report is based on interviews conducted at Tsinghua University, Renmin University, Fudan international brand companies in the conditions in China. At its core is the cheap consumer goods tend to work University, Social Accountability International, Hong Kong Christian Industrial Committee, footwear, clothing and toy sectors. desire for Western firms to protect their with minimal profit margins; foreign Fair Wear Foundation, China Enterprise Federation, BVQI (Guangzhou), Metaltex (Guangzhou) corporate and brand images. Large com- pressure on Chinese suppliers to bear and Philips Electronics (Shanghai). It was partly financed by the Dutch Ministry of Social The main goal of SA8000 certification panies with strong brands usually have the cost of introducing SA8000 without Affairs. The authors thank all those involved. is to help companies ‘maintain just and their own supplier monitoring pro- raising prices will incur resistance. decent working conditions throughout grams; for smaller firms that cannot the supply chain.’1 Certification enables afford their own monitoring systems, companies to guarantee commitment buying SA8000-certified goods may be [advertisement] to working conditions that meet mini- an attractive option. mum standards based on ILO conven- tions. The certification system is uni- Introducing higher labour standards versally applicable, regardless of often means higher costs. Companies geographic location, industry sector or whose brands are relatively unknown company size. Developed in the mid- are less vulnerable to attacks in the 1990s, SA8000 is comprised of a set media, and it may not be cost efficient of labour standards, a management for them to invest in reputation insur- standard for labour standard imple- ance by joining an SA8000 supply mentation, a certification procedure chain. For most Western companies including training and audits, the cer- trading in Chinese-made goods, there tificate, and an accreditation system for thus appears to be no immediate cause auditors. A U.S.-based organisation, for action. This leaves promoting Social Accountability International SA8000 up to specific groups, includ- (SAI), is responsible for accrediting ing firms that promote better working auditors, while certificates are issued conditions, and those that are them- to factories or workplace units, not selves under pressure from customers. companies. At the start of 2005, there were 572 certified facilities worldwide, Such companies are not necessarily of which 79 were in China. interested in Chinese labour issues. They are interested in public concern in Factories in China often learn of SA8000 the West, and in responses that can through auditing firms. Prior to the deliver visible signs of short-term

IIAS Newsletter | #36 | March 2005 17 > Research Dutch enterprise in independent Indonesia: cooperation and confrontation, 1949-1958 Indonesian independence was achieved between 1945 and 1949, but the decisive step Research > towards economic decolonization was only taken in 1957/58, when the Indonesian Indonesia government ousted the remaining Dutch and nationalized Dutch corporate assets. Western superiority and the inaptness exception of oil company BPM and of Asians to lead and assume responsi- Unilever, which were considered British Jasper van de Kerkhof ernment exerted direct influence over indigenous merchants and formulating bility. The proportion of Indonesians in enterprises. Thus with one stroke the business operations, such as banking, criteria ‘national importers’ had to meet the work force of Dutch companies Republic of Indonesia acquired posses- n December 1949, after four years of mining and transportation. to receive import licenses. The program increased appreciably in the 1950s but, sion of a large part of the country’s pro- Idiplomatic and military struggle, the was directed against the ‘Big Five’, the with a few notable exceptions, their ductive capacity. State trusts were set up Dutch government finally acknowl- The nationalization in 1951 of Indone- principal Dutch trading houses in the advancement remained confined to the to manage the formerly Dutch compa- edged Indonesian independence. The sia’s circulation bank, the Javasche Bank archipelago. Benteng led to an astro- lower and intermediate levels (van de nies, but lack of capital and expertise protection of Dutch economic interests (later renamed Bank Indonesia), pro- nomical growth in the number of Kerkhof 2005). In Dutch corporate continued to be major problems. Many in Indonesia had been the focal point of ceeded without major difficulties and by Indonesian importers. However, enterprise, genuine indonesianisasi had important industries declined after the the Dutch delegation at the Round Table way of adequate financial compensation Indonesian lack of capital and expertise to await the expulsion of the Dutch in departure of the Dutch. Conference (RTC) in The Hague, which (Lindblad 2004). For the Indonesian led to degeneration of the system: the December 1957. was to settle the future relationship government, however, such lawful vast majority of Indonesian ‘national Further research between the former colony and coloniz- takeover of Dutch assets had two draw- importers’ were so-called Ali Baba con- Nationalization Indonesia in the 1950s offers a fasci- er. The Financial and Economic appen- backs. First, although the top positions structions or importir aktentas, indige- The final stage of the economic decolo- nating case of the many-sided process dix to the RTC Treaty, the so-called in the nationalized firms were taken nous Indonesian front men controlled nization of Indonesia began on 3 of economic decolonization. Yet, its Finec, offered ‘maximum available guar- over by Indonesians, on the level imme- by Chinese and Western capital. December 1957 when members of a uniqueness should be placed within antees to the continued existence of diately below the Dutch continued to Favouritism in the allocation of import local labour union occupied the head- the broader perspective of roughly par- Dutch firms in Indonesia’ (Baudet form an almost impenetrable bastion. licenses further perverted the scheme, quarters of the Dutch shipping compa- allel developments in other decoloniz- 1983:213). Independent Indonesia not Second, the acquisition of Dutch shares resulting in its virtual collapse in ny KPM in Jakarta. The activists ing societies. Comparisons with, for only respected the rights, concessions rapidly depleted the Indonesian treas- 1954/55. declared that they had taken over the instance, Malaysia and the Philippines and licenses extended to Dutch enter- ury. Indonesia therefore attempted to firm and that Indonesians would at once would bring to light the differences and prises under Netherlands Indies law, but extend its control over Dutch firms with- Thus the first and only noteworthy replace the Dutch managers. Similar similarities with the British and Amer- also pledged that their future operations out formal nationalization - at least for attempt to promote indigenous private takeovers of Dutch companies occurred ican approaches towards economic would not be obstructed. the immediate future. An example was entrepreneurship in a foreign-dominat- in the following days. These dramatic decolonization and the responses in the ed sector failed. At the same time, efforts events found their roots in a dispute that emerging nations. towards a modus vivendi between the seemingly had little to do with Dutch A different set of questions is related to Indonesian government and Dutch enterprise in Indonesia in general, or the social and racial components of eco- enterprise met with limited success. KPM in particular. Throughout the nomic decolonization. Racial prejudice Indonesia could not fully dispense with 1950s, Indonesia had challenged Dutch played an important role in the Dutch Dutch capital and expertise and the sovereignty over western New Guinea, reluctance to promote Indonesians to Dutch firms were loath to surrender excluded from the RTC agreements and leading positions. Equally, Indonesian their privileged positions. The break- therefore still under Dutch control. The views of the Dutch as ‘shameless down of the Benteng program convinced issue had increasingly soured Indone- exploiters’ hindered fruitful cooperation. the government that state direction over sian-Dutch relations. the ‘commanding heights of the econo- Finally, the takeover and nationalization my’ was the only viable alternative. When on 29 November 1957 Indonesia of Dutch assets in 1957/58 raises further for the third time failed to receive Unit- questions. There is no strong evidence Indonesianisasi ed Nations backing for a resolution call- that Sukarno engineered the takeover of The 1949 Finec agreement obliged ing on the Dutch to negotiate over New Dutch assets, yet it is unlikely that he Dutch firms to ‘as quickly as possible Guinea, the Indonesian government was completely oblivious to what was bring skilled Indonesians into executive threatened to use all methods ‘short of about to happen. Also, one wonders if a (including top managerial) and staff war’ to achieve its goal. The authorities more gradual elimination of Dutch eco- The manager of a Dutch trading firm in Jakarta, December 1957. The graffiti states: ‘You must be positions’ (Finec: article 12d). However, deliberately encouraged popular anti- nomic interests would not have been swept from West Irian’. no time schedule was given, nor did the Dutch sentiment as aggression turned possible, which certainly would have Jonker, Joost, Keetie Sluyterman. 2000. Thuis op de wereldmarkt; Nederlandse handelshuizen door de eeuwen heen. Den Haag; Sdu Uitgevers. p.270 agreement specify the percentage of against Dutch citizens and property. In had less detrimental effects on the Indonesians to be promoted to leading this tense atmosphere, KPM - the ‘colo- Indonesian economy. < There was no overwhelming Indonesian the joint venture with the Dutch airline positions. nial’ shipping company - became a opposition to the restoration of Dutch KLM, which provided for the establish- scapegoat for Indonesian frustrations References business interests. Most Indonesian ment of Garuda Indonesian Airways in The replacement of Dutch expatriates by over New Guinea and the unfulfilled - Baudet H. and M. Fennema. 1983. Het Ned- politicians grudgingly conceded that 1950. The Indonesian government was locally recruited personnel was known promise of a national economy. erlands belang bij Indië. Utrecht: Spectrum. Indonesia still badly needed Dutch cap- co-owner but delegated management of - Lindblad, J. Th. 2004. ‘Van Javasche Bank ital and expertise for its economic sur- the new company to KLM. The Dutch the inferiority of the Indonesians in their own naar Bank Indonesia’. Tijdschrift voor Sociale vival (Sutter 1959:662-8). There was, carrier, in turn, was to train Indonesians economy was an intolerable relic of Dutch en Economische Geschiedenis 1-1: 28-46. however, widespread feeling in Indone- as technicians, managers and pilots in - Kerkhof, J.P. van de. 2005. ‘Indonesianisasi sia that the achievement of political sov- preparation for formal nationalization. imperialism of Dutch economic interests, 1930-1960: The ereignty should be followed by the real- case of Internatio’. Bijdragen tot de Taal-, ization of economic independence. The The strategy to increase influence over as indonesianisasi. In the Dutch firms The takeover of Dutch enterprise in Land-, en Volkenkunde 161. Forthcoming. continued supremacy of the Dutch and Dutch firms in vital sectors was not that were legitimately nationalized in Indonesia led to an exodus of Dutch per- - Meijer, Hans. 1994. Den Haag - Djakarta: the attendant inferiority of the Indone- always successful. In 1950, negotiations the early 1950s, such as the Javasche sonnel and their families. Over 50,000 De Nederlands-Indonesische betrekkingen sians in their own economy were con- broke down between the Indonesian Bank, the government had usually Dutch and Indo-Europeans left for the 1950-1962. Utrecht: Spectrum. sidered an intolerable relic of Dutch government and the Dutch shipping already placed Indonesians in the top Netherlands. Meanwhile, the Indone- - Sutter, John O. 1959. Indonesianisasi: A His- imperialism. Sooner rather than later, company KPM - which held a virtual positions while the expatriate Dutch sian government tried to direct the torical Survey of the Role of Politics in the the ‘colonial economy’ needed to be monopoly in the archipelago’s inter- staff continued to run day-to-day-opera- ‘spontaneous’ outburst of anti-Dutch Institutions of a Changing Economy from the replaced by a ‘national economy’ in island shipping. The Indonesians want- tions. Here, indonesianization took place sentiment. Dutch companies were put Second World War to the Eve of the General which Indonesians would own and con- ed to create a mixed company in antici- prior to nationalization. However, under nominal control of local military Election, 1940-1955. Unpublished Ph.D. dis- trol the country’s productive assets and pation of future nationalization along indonesianisasi was not easily forth- commanders, while day-to-day opera- sertation, Cornell University: Ithaca, NY. take up key economic positions. the lines of Garuda, but KPM refused. coming in private Dutch firms over tions were taken over by leading Indone- In the event, the Indonesian govern- which the Indonesian government sian personnel. In December 1958, the Jasper van de Kerkhof is a research fellow at A ‘national economy’ ment decided to set up the state ship- exerted little control. Dutch companies Indonesian parliament enacted the for- IIAS and a freelance journalist for Dutch In the early 1950s, successive Indone- ping company Pelni that rather ineffec- were reluctant to invest large sums in mal nationalization of all Dutch corpo- national newspapers. sian cabinets tried to give meaning to tively competed with the Dutch shipping training schemes for their indigenous rate assets in the archipelago - with the [email protected] the ideal of a ‘national economy’ within line until December 1957. workers, since many Indonesians after the boundaries set by the RTC agree- graduation opted for more reputable The research project ‘Indonesianisasi and nationalization: emancipation and reorientation of ments. Policies aimed at cooperation The most ambitious Indonesian effort careers in government service (Meijer the economy and the world of industry and commerce’ is part of the Indonesian across orders with Dutch capital, and limited social- to advance the ‘national economy’ was 1994:354). Also, legitimate Dutch claims programme at the Netherlands Institute for War Documentation (NIOD) in Amsterdam. ization to maximize prosperity for the the Benteng (fortress) program launched that the training of Indonesian employ- Participants are Thomas Lindblad, the author, and a group of Indonesian historians. A mono- Indonesian people. This occurred main- in April 1950. Its emphasis was on ees for higher functions would take time graph on the economic decolonization of Indonesia is forthcoming. ly in sectors where the Indonesian gov- reserving the import of certain goods for coincided with iniquitous assertions of

18 IIAS Newsletter | #36 | March 2005 > Research Decolonization and urban labour history in Indonesia, 1930-1965 Conventional historiography is often regarded as the history of political elites and of large events; Research > Indonesian historiography’s dominant narrative features accounts of nationalist fervour and anti- Indonesia colonialist struggle. This narrative, however, hides contradictions and overlooks different forms of understanding of ‘history from above’, compliance and accommodation to colonial rule, while local responses to decolonisation varied - as is one cannot have a sense of what influ- evident in the history of urban labour, 1930-1965. ences local responses. At the same time, a history from below is beset with a NIOD / LIPI workshop number of problems. Reports of local Yogyakarta, Indonesia, 20-21 August 2004 uprisings are usually conducted by gov- ernment officials and thus subject to Ratna Saptari and Erwiza Erman bias. We have to critically examine colo- nial and post-colonial regimes’ attitudes he early 1940s to the early 1960s to local populations. Twas a period of political unrest, and protests by urban workers were com- We also need to look more critically at monplace. Focusing on urban labour in how different political figures claim to Indonesian cities on Java, Sumatra, Kali- represent ‘the masses’. Government mantan and Sulawesi reveals how officials have tended to look more at national-level politics was reformulated political organizations and labour at the local level, and how government unions than the lives of ‘ordinary peo- policies to control or deploy labour were ple’ at the margins of these organiza- related to debates on the creation and tions. Organized workers have been

maintenance of a social and moral order. collection KITLV considered to be more threatening, par- Makassar Harbour: transporting rattan to Europe, c.1925 ticularly within the decolonization Two factors in particular resulted in dif- process. Because of the imbalance in the fering local urban experiences: their geo- Despite this generalized narrative, col- Japanese had created during their occu- expatriates shifted from Dutch to nature of written sources, researchers graphical location and the occupational lective responses and individual expe- pation. English. have paid more attention to labour sectors of the labouring groups. Urban riences varied. In Jakarta, Semarang, unions than unorganized workers. We areas with regular labour shortages and Majalaya and Surabaya, Japanese rule However, the revolution occurred simul- Nationalist rhetoric also became the rhet- need to look for alternative sources to limited inter-regional transport net- was mainly associated with the taneously with the re-establishment of oric of the trade unions. Graffiti on walls, study local histories. Moving away from works unquestionably differed from romusha (forced labour) and with eco- state control by the national government. cars and Shell oil tanks included slogans organized labour to look at those who areas with a labour surplus, close to nomic decline to below-subsistence lev- In the late 1950s, with the nationaliza- such as ‘the British are bandits’, and work in fragmented settings is still not ports and closely connected to their hin- els. Dockworkers in Semarang, how- tion of foreign enterprises, the army ‘Tengku Abdul Rahman is a puppet of an easy task; researchers need to address terlands. Whether there were local rebel- ever, felt they were more privileged swiftly took control of different eco- the Imperialists’. As in other areas, the these issues sensitively and critically. < lions in an area, such as the DI/TII, Per- than their fellow villagers. They were nomic sectors. Workers made redundant nationalization of foreign companies in mesta, or whether an area was part of the given clothing (albeit from gunny as a result of the departure of foreign Balikpapan was backed by the military; Ratna Saptari is a research fellow at the Dutch-created East Indonesia Republic sacks), and food three times a day. In management were referred to the new unlike the other areas, however, the mil- International Institute of Social History in the 1950s, shaped not only local polit- Balikpapan, the Japanese Army, want- collective bargaining procedures estab- itary was not prepared to clamp down on (IISH), Amsterdam, researching urban ical dynamics, but also political orienta- ing to retain oil supplies, moved the lished by the Indonesian government workers’ political activism since the head labour history and Indonesian historiography. tions towards the Indonesian nation- local labouring population to safer during nationalization. When strikes of the military command was also head She is part of the CLARA network and is state. areas away from the oil refineries dur- protesting against these procedures of the workers’ National Front. writing a book on cigarette workers in ing Allied bombing sorties. Indicative- occurred, the union leaders in Tanjung Indonesia. Policy makers, whether colonial or ly, local groups provided contributions Priok harbour were arrested by the local ‘History from below’ versus [email protected] national, treated economic sectors dif- to the Japanese army so they could buy military. The mayor of Semarang placed ‘history from above’ ferently. Workers in the harbours and fighter planes. restrictions on the Dockworkers Union, The focus on workers’ politics and their Erwiza Erman is at the Lembaga Ilmu railways, for instance, had greater strate- which had staged a number of strikes in place in local histories leads us to ask Pengetahuan Indonesia (LIPI), the Indone- gic significance than textile and cigarette Revolution and nasionalisasi 1948. In Balikpapan tensions among the how we should approach the question sian Institute of Sciences. workers. Access to social networks, and Unions were politically active in the new unions reflected tensions between the of a ‘history from below’. Without an [email protected] possibilities for supplementary sources Republic. In Tanjung Priok, hundreds Islamic, Nationalist and Communist of income, provided workers and labour- of workers were involved in placing political parties. ing communities with different social stickers with slogans of ‘Milik RI’ (RI This article originates from the workshop Decolonization and Urban Labour History 1930 - 1965, and economic means of survival and property) on equipment owned by Also in Balikpapan, attacks against the held in Yogyakarta, 20-21 August 2004. Part of the Netherlands Institute for War Documen- struggle. Dutch companies. Unions also actively Dutch expatriate community drove Shell tation’s (NIOD) ‘Indonesia Across Orders’ project, the workshop was held in collaboration participated in dismantling Japanese to send Dutch personnel and their fam- with Pusat Studi Sumber Daya Regional (PSDR, Centre for the Study of Regional Resources). Historical accounts have often por- military installations in Tanjung Priok ilies back to the Netherlands. They were The forthcoming edited volume will be published in Indonesian and English. trayed Japanese rule in Indonesia as and Semarang, and helped to take over replaced by British, Americans, French www.indie-indonesie.nl more repressive than that of the Dutch. institutions and companies which the and Italians; the main language used by

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IIAS Newsletter | #36 | March 2005 19 > Research Vedic Studies: Texts, Language and Ritual The Vedas form one of the oldest elaborate corpuses of texts in an Indo-European language, Research > connected to a ritual system still in use. In 2003, UNESCO declared the tradition of the Vedic Vedic studies chant, alive in present-day India, a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of strengths and limitations, are basic to cated and thus cannot be tested by the Humanity. the work of Bharati Krishna Tirtha, the experimental method. But studying the philological method underlies the stud- same phenomenon from many differ- IIAS workshop and book launch the Atharvan, the fourth Veda, rich in Publications ies presented in Texts, Language and Rit- ent angles, from many disciplines, each Vedic Ritual and Recent Archaeological Studies unexplored textual, linguistic and ritual There has been no lack of interest in ual. Philology may be described as the of which supplies independent facts, has in Central Asia material. Improved editions of these Vedic studies over the last twenty years, art of ‘listening’ to a text; Witzel defined the value of largely independent repeti- 12 November 2004 texts are forthcoming. nor lack of publications catering to that it as ‘the study of a civilization based on tion. This makes the multidisciplinary Leiden interest. In view of the divergent uses of its texts’ (1997: v). Philology has a solid approach indispensable’. < - Griffiths, A. and Houben, J.E.M. eds. 2004. The localization debate the terms ‘Vedas’ and ‘Vedic’, it is use- background in the Western tradition of Vedic Studies: Texts, Language and Ritual: A fourth development consists of ful to point out that certain connotations textual scholarship, and also in a more References proceedings of the Third International Vedic advances in identifying when and where are not intended in Texts, Language and dispersed way in India (Katre 1954; - Bhaaratii K.r.s.na Tiirtha. 1965. Vedic Math- Workshop. Groningen: Egbert Forsten the people to whom we owe the Vedas Ritual. While the term Veda literally Colas 2001). It is perhaps the only dis- ematics or Sixteen simple Mathematical For- lived. The contributions by Michael means ‘knowledge’, here it primarily cipline in which the West and India are mulae from the Vedas (For One-line Answers J.E.M. Houben Witzel, Harry Falk and Wilhelm Rau in refers to a group of orally transmitted close to accepting overlapping basic to All Mathematical Problems). Delhi: Moti- the proceedings of the First Interna- texts that became canonical in the first principles - an important topic for future lal Banarsidass. he modern study of the Vedas has a tional Vedic Workshop (Witzel 1997) are millennium B.C.E. on the Indian sub- comparative research. - Cavalli-Sforza, Luigi Luca. 2000. Genes, Tsolid history in nineteenth-century a good introduction to the subject. The continent. The ‘knowledge’ is concerned Peoples and Languages. (Translated by Mark scholarship, when it stimulated devel- debate on the localization and the pos- with an intricate ritual system that is The researchers in this book agree on Seielstad). Berkeley: University of Califor- oping disciplines such as linguistics, sible displacements of the Vedic people regarded to have definite implications the importance of the philological nia Press. comparative religious studies and cul- dates back to the early days of Indology for man and the cosmos. These canon- method, where possible supplemented - Colas, Gérard. 2001. ‘Critique et transmis- tural anthropology. The field of Vedic and is of continuing interest to both ical texts became embedded in a tradi- by ‘Vedic fieldwork’ - the study of Vedic sion des textes dans la littérature san- studies has known periods of exciting scholars and a wider audience. tion that regards them as having indis- ritualists in South Asia who continue skrite’. Des Alexandries I: Du livre au texte developments, consolidation and dusti- putable authority. Justification for this the ritual tradition into which they were (sous la dir. de L. Giard et C. Jacob): 309- ness; today important developments Developments from outside Indology authority is usually derived from either, born. In addition, the study of the lin- 328. Paris: Bibliothèque nationale de inside and outside Vedic studies are have changed the terms of the debate: for logicians, the divine nature of the guistic and ritual aspects of the Vedas France. opening the way to new achievements. the work of modern geneticists may author(s), or, for Vedic exegetes, from requires disciplinary approaches rang- - Katre, S.M. 1954. Introduction to Indian Tex- shed light on the waves of immigration the absence of any author, human or ing from linguistics to the social sci- tual Criticism. Poona: Deccan College. Technological advances into the Indian subcontinent. Geneti- divine. Traditional texts directly dealing ences. - Oberlies, Thomas. 1998. Die Religion des Computer technology and the use of cists suggest these started from the with the canonical core texts, for .Rgveda. Erster Teil: Das religiose System des electronic texts greatly reduce the time In a recent overview of research on the .Rgveda. Wien: Institut fur Indologie der required for the extensive searches and philology is perhaps the only discipline in which oldest of the four Vedas, the .Rgveda, Universitat Wien. comparisons that form the basis for lin- Oberlies (1998, 1999 and 2001) raised - Oberlies, Thomas. 1999. Die Religion des guistic and textual research. Nowadays the West and India are close to accepting overlapping crucial issues in Religionswissenschaft. .Rgveda. Zweiter Teil: Kompositionsanalyse most Vedic scholars use computerized basic principles Oberlies’ work has given rise to a long der Soma-Hymnen des .Rgveda. Wien: Insti- data collections. Some contributions at due discussion on the theories and meth- tut fur Indologie der Universitat Wien. the workshop in Leiden were specifical- ods underlying Vedic research. Even if - Oberlies, Thomas. 2001: ‘Von Fach- und ly devoted to new computer applica- south, via the ocean, and later came instance the ritual texts devoted to the the value of Oberlies’ approach is unde- Sachgrenzen, von Exkursen und roten tions. from the north. Because the Vedas con- revealed ;sruti texts and hence called niable, Vedic studies should be explored Faden: Bemerkungen zur Religion des stitute such an old and elaborate corpus ;srauta, are still the subject of Vedic by different disciplines, which should .Rgveda.’ Wiener Zeitschrift fur die Kunde The availability of high-quality filming of texts, in a language that is ‘Indo-Euro- studies. cooperate without being conflated. Sudasiens, Band 45, 5-22. technology enables the recording of rit- pean’ but which has important remains - Smith, Frederick M. 1987. The Vedic Sacri- uals performed in India, which to date of substratum or adstratum languages, However, a modern work such as that The combination of different disciplines fice in Transition: A translation and Study of has been little done by ‘classically’ ori- the scientific relevance for investigation by Sri Bharati Krishna Tirtha (1884- (by scholars who are well-grounded in the Trikaa.n.dama.n.dana of Bhaaskara entated Indologists. The performances into the contacts between various waves 1960) on ‘Vedic mathematics’ (cf. edi- at least one of them) is an important tool Mi;sra. Poona: Bhandarkar Oriental usually structurally correspond to of early African emigrants meeting on tion by V.S. Agrawala, Bhaaratii K.r.s.na in overcoming a limitation of the philo- Research Institute. ancient sources (Smith 1987); this pro- the Indian subcontinent can be expect- Tiirtha 1965), whatever its intrinsic logical method. This limitation has led - Witzel, Michael, ed. 1997. Inside the Texts - vides us with the opportunity to analyse ed to increase. value as a set of easily learnt and appli- to criticism of its status as a scientific Beyond the Texts: New approaches to the rituals whose basic patterns go back to cable algorithms, is beyond the scope discipline: reliance on the personal study of the Vedas. Cambridge, Mass.: Dept. the pre-.Rgvedic period. Recently another breakthrough occurred of Vedic studies as intended here, even judgement of a critical mind, though of Sanskrit and Indian Studies, Harvard in a different area, which in time may though it informs us of the algorithmic formed over a long process of training University. New important Vedic manuscripts have have an impact on Indology and Vedic and pedagogic skills of the author and and research, makes subjectivism been found which, while long known by studies. In 2003, for the first time, India his convictions regarding the nature of inevitable. This problem exists for any- J.E.M. Houben is Directeur d’Etudes for name, were only available in imperfect became a creditor to the International the Veda as a still valid source of direct one who tries to reconstruct a past real- ‘Sources et Histoire de la Tradition Sanskrite’ form. This new manuscript material Monetary Fund. Indian economic revelation. ity on the basis of limited available tex- at the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, la concerns the ;Srautasuutra of the Vaad- growth will hopefully also bring new tual or other remains. In the words of Sorbonne, Paris. He has published several huulas, the Braahma.na of the Jaimini- government policies to stimulate solid Listening to texts Cavalli-Sforza (2000: VIII): ‘To some, books and articles on Vedic ritual and ancient iya branch of Saamaveda, and, last but scholarship in the field of Vedic and As much as methods of personal reve- history (including evolution) is not a sci- Indian philosophy of grammar. not least, the Paippalaada recension of other Indological studies. lation and intuition, with all their ence, because its results cannot be repli- [email protected] Fellowships at the International Institute for Asian Studies

IIAS invites postdoctoral researchers to apply for fellowships in Leiden or Amsterdam. IIAS has five categories of fellowships for researchers: • Affiliated fellows The institute focuses on the interdisciplinary and comparative study of Asia in the humanities • Research fellows (upon vacancy only) and social sciences, and their interaction with other sciences. IIAS research covers South, East, • Senior fellows • IIAS professors (upon vacancy only) Southeast and Central Asia. • Artists in residence IIAS Fellows are offered office facilities, while the institute will mediate in gaining access to IIAS fellowship applications can be submitted at any time. libraries, archives and other institutions in the Netherlands. Fellows may be asked to give a Vacancies are announced in the IIAS Newsletter and on the website. lecture or organise a workshop, remain in contact with European researchers, and make due For more information and an IIAS fellowship application form see the IIAS website at: www.iias.nl reference to IIAS in (future) publications, (partly) made possible through research done during For specific information, please contact Lena Scheen or Wouter Feldberg at: your stay. [email protected]

20 IIAS Newsletter | #36 | March 2005 > Research Dravidian studies in the Netherlands part 2 (1860s-1970s): Classical India rediscovered

as a unique collection of 1,580 Tibetan serve their linguistic and cultural iden- manuscripts and block prints. tity. In addition to comparative linguis- tics, Zvelebil explored the disappearing Aryan Letters at universities skills, cultural and religious practices of In 1921, Aryan Letters, alias Indian the Dravidian people, as well as Tamil philology, was introduced at Leiden Uni- myths and legends (see ‘Een bescheiden versity. Its aim was the study of Sanskrit onderkomen’ 1981:131-134). and ‘related subjects’, including Indian archaeology, and the study of the Indian On one occasion Zvelebil wrote that cultural impact on Indonesia - the coun- while there was no ground for setting try where pragmatic interest of the apart Dravidian literature - Dravidian Netherlands lay. Curiously, the very term here meaning that which originated and ‘Indology’ until the 1950s meant flourished in the south of India - from research relating to Dutch colonial pos- other literatures of India, Tamil litera- sessions in Indonesia. Despite their late ture was an entirely different matter: rediscovery of Indian cultural heritage, ‘There, and only there, are we able to the Dutch distinguished themselves point out a whole complex set of features during the twentieth century as (...) separating this Dravidian literature Europe’s top researchers in the field. not only from other Indian literatures

Kern Institute Library, Leiden Library, Institute Kern Among them was F.B.J. Kuiper, appoint- but from other Dravidian literatures as Subrahmanyaswaminamavali, Sanskrit palmleaf manuscript in Grantha script ed at Leiden University in 1939, who well.’ (Zvelebil 1973:1) This thesis rep- studied the influence of non-Aryan resents a turning point in the scholar’s Dutch curiosity about South India triggered by overseas trade expeditions faded by the end (Dravidian) languages of ancient India career (to be discussed later), when he Research > of the seventeenth century, resulting in a gap in Dravidian studies that lasted for 170 years. on Sanskrit and attempted to identify plunged into the two millennia-old lit- Dravidian studies Meanwhile, elsewhere in Europe, research on Indian antiquity was evolving. As H.W. the meaning of myths and other aspects erary tradition of the Tamils, striving to Bodewitz recently argued: in Britain, the winner of colonialist competition in India, of the Vedic religion. Kuiper’s later reveal its richness and beauty to a West- Indomania gave way to either Indophobia or disinterest. In France, the defeated colonizer, research on innovations in spoken ern audience. initial enthusiasm waned but research, spurred by national ambition, went on. In Germany, Tamil was taken up in the 1950s by K. an outsider to colonial competition in India, zealous scholars turned from romantic de Vreese of Amsterdam University. It was due to his copious work that Dra- fascination to a more scientific approach. In the Netherlands, ‘there was absolutely After specializing in Sanskrit philology, vidian studies in the Netherlands final- nothing’. (2002:11) De Vreese was given a new course to ly began to take shape, reaching its launch: modern Indian languages - the zenith in the following two decades. A Luba Zubkova lished in 1865 at Leiden University. tems, contributing to a revival of Bud- first time the term ‘modern’ was used prolific author, Zvelebil produced a large Hedrik Kern (1833-1917), an expert in dhism and Hinduism. Back in the in reference to Orientalism. part of his nearly 490 publications at A standstill and a new start Indo-European philology and Bud- Netherlands, Orientalists such as J.W. Utrecht University. On his retirement As the Dutch lost their economic strong- dhism, was appointed the first profes- Boissevain also became interested in the Zvelebil’s Dravidology in 1990 he mentioned that his goal - to hold in India to the British, they also lost sor of Sanskrit upon his return from the new intellectual trend. Some even began As education and research grew in make the study of Dravidian languages interest in South Indian studies. The Dutch East Indies. Yet it was not until to associate it with the Western approach importance in the post-war period, uni- and cultures part and parcel of Indolog- Dutch Republic in the eighteenth centu- 1876 that Pieter de Jong, a farmer’s son to Aryan wisdom. Kern’s successor in versities received increasingly large gov- ical research - had been achieved. He ry was in decline, and society was domi- who became a professor of Arabic his- Leiden, Indian antiquity specialist J.S. ernment subsidies which they could use said: ‘When I coined the term “Dravi- nated by rentiers who profited by divi- tory, announced the official separation Speyer, referred to the subject of Indian at their own discretion. By the mid- dology”, proposing to establish a legiti- dends from colonial company shares, of Oriental studies from theology at philosophy mainly as ‘theosophy’. 1960s the Dutch economy was in recov- mate field of study on a par with the field ‘living off the legacy of the past.’ (Israel Utrecht University. Dravidian studies, ery and flourishing, and many former of Indology, my attempt met with 1995:1017) Voltaire caught a glimpse of however, had to wait another century for While in Adyar, van Manen studied Indi- colonial intellectuals who had to leave incredulous reactions varying from the fading glory of Dutch universities in recognition in university curricula and an wisdom with a Tamil guru and wit- Indonesia ended up at university depart- ridicule to hostility. (...) I am happy to 1737 and marvelled at their ability to research. nessed the discovery and initial educa- ments of Oriental studies. The attraction say that nowadays it has become fully attract foreign students with new ideas tion of the future philosopher Jiddu of the generation’s youth to the spiritu- acceptable to speak of Dravidianists and and methods, especially in science and Johan van Manen (1877-1943) Krishnamurti, who happened to be his al culture and art of modern India stim- Dravidology’. (Zvelebil 1991:1) < medicine. Yet economic decay, general Self-taught Orientalist Johan van Manen teacher’s son. Van Manen was especial- ulated this scholarly interest, another despondency and a preoccupation with (1877-1943) took on the responsibility of ly interested in Himalayan tradition and incentive being decolonisation in Asia References national decline turned Dutch scholars introducing ancient Indian (‘Aryan’) wis- aspired to unveil the essential unifor- and the need to build international rela- - Bodewitz, H.W. 2002. De late ‘ontdekking’ and publicists away from many of the dom to the Dutch public (see Richardus mity of sacred eastern philosophy at its tions on a new foundation. The Dravid- van het Sanskrit en de Oudindische cultu- broader issues debated elsewhere, such 1989). At the age of eighteen he was car- two poles: Aryan (north) and Dravidian ian south of India received much atten- ur in Europa (afscheidsrede, 01.11.02). Lei- as in France. The physico-theological ried away by the teachings of H.P. (south). Unhappy with the TS Presi- tion at that time (in Eastern Europe and den: Universiteit Leiden. approach of the early eighteenth century the Soviet Union, for instance) and at - ‘Een bescheiden onderkomen’. 1981. His- - combining empirical science with ven- van Manen was especially interested in Himalayan Utrecht University a special Institute of torisch overzicht van de studie van de eration for an omnipresent God - Eastern Languages was founded in 1955, Oosterse talen en kulturen aan de Rijk- remained dominant in Dutch universi- tradition and aspired to unveil the essential creating a basis for promoting Indolog- suniversiteit te Utrecht. Utrecht: Utrecht ties, while the quality of intellectual life uniformity of sacred eastern philosophy at its two ical disciplines other than Sanskrit and University. left much to be desired. Vedic studies. - Israel, Jonathan I. 1995. The Dutch Repub- poles: Aryan (north) and Dravidian (south) lic: Its Rise, Greatness, and Fall 1477-1806. Conservatism during this time also In the early 1970s, the head of that insti- New York: Oxford University Press. extended to Oriental studies, which were Blavatsky, founder of the theosophical dent’s involvement in Indian politics, he tute, J. Gonda, invited exiled Czech - Richardus, Peter. 1989. The Dutch Orien- traditionally associated with university movement (since 1875) following Bud- left Tamilnadu in 1916 and settled in scholar K.V. Zvelebil, who had lectured talist Johan van Manen. Leiden: Kern Insti- theology departments and did not go dhist and Brahmanic theories of pan- Darjeeling. He thereafter reviewed and for some time in Chicago, to Utrecht. A tute. beyond the established field of Semitic theistic evolution and reincarnation. translated various Orientalist materials brilliant researcher, Kamil Zvelebil was - Zvelebil, Kamil V. 1973. The Smile of Muru- languages. After the fall of the Republic Believing that this movement could and lectured extensively, including at the a Dravidianist by definition. In Utrecht gan: on Tamil literature of South India. Lei- (1808) and the consolidation of the Con- instigate Western respect for Asian peo- Indological Kern Institute, founded in he was active in linguistics, philology, den: E.J. Brill. stitutional Monarchy, the Netherlands ples as well as enhance their self-esteem, 1925 in Leiden. comparative religion, cultural anthro- - Zvelebil, Kamil V. 1991. Long-range linguis- still lagged behind other leading Euro- he took to spreading theosophy in pology and literary history, introducing tic comparisons: the case of Dravidian. Vale- pean nations. Only in the mid-nine- Europe and in the Dutch East Indies. In For many years van Manen spent his pri- not only innovative subjects but meth- dictory lecture delivered on 5 September teenth century, when urban liberal burg- 1909 van Manen set off for Madras to vate, modest means collecting impor- ods as well. Zvelebil began with a recon- 1990. Utrecht: Utrecht University. ers gained the upper hand, did the work at the Theosophical Society (TS) tant works of South Indian art and struction of a historical grammar of economy and culture begin to rapidly headquarters in Adyar. archaeology. Thanks to him some 350 Tamil and became involved in phono- Luba Zubkova (Bytchikhina) worked as a recover: a revised colonial policy in the Tibetan Buddhist scroll-paintings and logical and morphological problems of researcher of modern Tamil literature in the spirit of imperialist European expansion Since the first Dutch contact with TS Himalayan artefacts are stored at the comparative Dravidology. He organized academic Institute of Oriental Studies in stimulated Orientalism. founders in Java around 1880, theoso- National Museum of Ethnology in Lei- a project on the hitherto unexplored lan- Moscow. At present she is a freelance phy was an important issue for colonial den. The Kern Institute holds over 300 guages of Nilgiri - the remote Blue researcher and teaches at the Utrecht Insti- Sanskrit was the first language deemed intellectuals. It provided an impetus for palm-leaf manuscripts (ola in Tamil) he mountain region in Tamilnadu where tute of Translators (ITV). worthy of a chair, and one was estab- research in Asian philosophical sys- collected between 1928 and 1931, as well local tribes (the Irulas) managed to pre- [email protected]

IIAS Newsletter | #36 | March 2005 21 > Research

Lullaby of the godess Umay

Shalginova, Tat’yana, 2001. Solnechnïy chatkhan:

Al’bom fortepiannïkh p’es [Sun chatkhan: Piano pieces].

Abakan:privately published, pp. 24-26. Shamanism in contemporary Siberian music Allusions to Khakas traditional culture resonate in the music of many composers from this Composition > southern Siberian region. Other musical works, such as the musical sketches for piano that Siberia Tatiana Shalginova has been composing since 1995, draw inspiration from Khakas animism upper world). In other miniatures such as the ‘Sun Chatkhan’ and its view of man’s place in the world. and ‘Lullaby of the Goddess Umay’, the composition creates an emotional, impressionist narrative that reflects on present Larissa Burnakova and Liesbet Nyssen dances, and utters sounds from whispers and mumbles to reality (the middle world). This is gradually subsumed to evoke deep aspirations and shouts. Finally, the shaman returns to benevolent spirits and natural elements such as water and n the 1950s, Aleksandr Kenel, a Leningrad composer who ‘reality,’ and ends with a chant. mountains. Finally, the last tones sound and fade in harmony Ihad studied the musical traditions of the Khakas region, with clear chords. started a Khakas composing movement with his songs, chorals While chanting, the shaman alternates from mumbling to and instrumental compositions. In 1970, he set the tone for chant, recitation, and throat singing with exclamations. There By adapting the musical features of shaman’s songs and rep- generations to come with an opera based on a Khakas epic, in is no strict repetition but improvisation on basic themes. As resenting spirits and other notions about the world in her which he combined the structure of Western classical music, in the performance as a whole, rhythm plays a major role - instrumental work, Shalginova challenges the idea of music harmony, polyphonic devices and other Western composition flexible, with a steady beat that pulses continuously. Repeat- as an autonomous aesthetic piece of art. Whether her music techniques with Khakas heroic themes and melodies. Draw- ed monotonously, together with a melody based on several indeed evokes spirits and forces from the upper and under- ing on elements of traditional vocal music and Western form, pitches and small intervals, it induces the trance state the worlds is left for the listener to decide. < this composition style lives on today through the work of com- shaman needs to travel and heal. A dense sound texture is posers such as Georgiy Chelborakov, Nina Kataeva, and Pavel formed when alternating throaty vocal techniques are added. Notes Borgoyakov. Alongside this mainstream style, the national 1. In Russian, the term ‘national’ (natsional’niy) refers to an ethnic school since the 1980s has been developing a composition Shalginova uses these religious practices and notions in her group, not to a nation in the sense of nation-state. style that more substantially incorporates elements of Khakas music in three ways. She incorporates the entire shamanic rit- 2. For instance in Tokmashov’s ‘Shaman,’ Shalginova’s ‘Shaman’s culture, including its traditional instruments, folk songs and ual and makes the compositions unfold as condensed shaman- dream’ and Tuvan composer Khuresh-Ool’s ‘Shaman’s way.’ epics, as well as religious notions and practices.1 ic sessions, a concept also explored by other composers. She also uses musical elements of the shaman’s song. Finally, she References Until the 1980s, most compositions at the school were con- refers to the underlying animistic worldview through the ideas - Asinovskaya, Anna. 1997. ‘Khakasï’ [The Khakas]. Boris Shindin, sistent with the mainly vocal Khakas musical tradition - the she represents in her music. Her cycle for piano ‘Sun Symbol’ Vladimir Mazepus, and Savolina Galitskaya, eds. Muzïkal’naya kul’- easiest way to infuse them with a ‘national flavour’. Over the expresses such animistic notions, besides using musical ele- tura Sibiri [The music culture of Siberia] part 1, book 1, pp. 317-45. last decade, however, Khakas composers such as Yuriy Kish- ments from epic and shamanic practices: she includes a sus- Novosibirsk: NGK. teev, Anatoliy Tokmashov, and Tatiana Shalginova have con- tained fifth stemming from the instrumental accompaniment - Giguashvili, Tamara. 1997. Muzïka - ikh zhïzn’ [Music is their live]. centrated on composing instrumental, though still Khakas, of storytelling, and uses the hypnotic rhythms and melodic Abakan: izd-vo KhGU. music. Particularly interesting are their piano miniatures in repetition of a few tones to create the mesmerising beat of a - Giguashvili, Tamara, ed. 2001. Soyuz kompozitorov Khakasii [The which they adopt musical elements from Khakas epic tradi- shamanic ritual. The animistic notions Shalginova expresses composers’ union of Khakasia]. Abakan: Pechatny Dvor’. tion.2 Features such as rhythm and elasticity in Kishteev’s in this cycle are the spirits of fire, water, and wind. She depicts - Shalginova, Tat’yana. 2001. Solnechnïy chatkhan: Al’bom fortepi- sketches, and instrumental recitation over a long, sustained them by imitating the sounds of the corresponding natural annïkh p’es [Sun chatkhan: Piano pieces]. Abakan: privately pub- tone in Shalginova’s pieces recall the nomadic past for Khakas elements with modern composing techniques: crackling fire, lished. audiences . running water and whooshing wind. - Shindin, Boris, Arkady Mikhaylenko and N. Golovneva. 1997. ‘Muzïkal’naya kul’tura Respubliki Khakasiya’ [The music culture of Shamanic inspiration Musical, miniature storytelling the Republic of Khakasia]. Boris Shindin, Arkady Mikhaylenko and In addition to conveying her love for the land and history, Such expressions of animistic ideas abound in Shalginova’s N. Golovneva, eds. Muzïkal’naya kul’tura Sibiri [The music culture Shalingova, herself a descendant of shamans, incorporates music and shape her compositions. According to Khakas tra- of Siberia] part 3, book 2, pp. 436-59. Novosibirsk: NGK. shamanic practices and the animistic worldview in her music. dition, the world consists of three layers: a lower layer of According to the Khakas, everything in the world is infused demonic power, a middle one with humans and animals with Larissa Burnakova is a piano teacher and candidate at the Faculty with spirits. This is expressed through symbols representing warm breath, and the divine world. When a shaman performs of Arts at the Khakas State University in Abakan, Russia, preparing the spirits, and ritual practices like prayers, offerings, and an incantation, she or he can sing themes from this middle to defend her thesis on the national and international aspects of con- shamanic sessions. In such a shamanic ritual, word, sound, world, as well as those on behalf of upper and under-world temporary Khakas musical compositions. She is the representative for and body movement fuse into a whole, its sound component beings. The voices from the different realms are also musi- Khakasia at the North Asia Institute Tengri. www.tengri.nl incorporating drum beating, sound imitation, recitation, cally differentiated, with beings from the middle and upper [email protected] incantation, singing, whispering and a range of throaty world singing in a natural style while those of the underworld sounds. sing in a non-human voice (reciting monotonously in a lower Liesbet Nyssen is a PhD student at the School of Asian, African, and register, with shifts in voice and unexpected leaps). Amerindian Studies, Leiden University, writing her thesis on conti- A shamanic performance reflects the shaman’s journey nuity and change in traditional Khakas music. She is Siberia special- between the visible and invisible worlds. The shaman first calls In her piano compositions, Shalginova transforms this tri- ist at the North Asia Institute Tengri and author of the forthcoming helping-spirits by beating a drum and imitating the voices of partite worldview into a temporal one. Consistent with the ‘Traditional and Modern Khakas Conceptions of Sound and Music’. birds and wild animals. Next, in the longest and most impor- shaman’s choice of voice, a composition may start melodiously Oideion - Performing Arts Online, issue 4. tant phase, she or he transforms into a supernatural being to (evoking the human world), followed by speech-like intona- www.iias.nl/oideion travel to these other realms. Here the shaman beats the drum, tion (the underworld) and ending with a celestial hymn (the [email protected]

22 IIAS Newsletter | #36 | March 2005 > Publications Srib Leb Rgad Po Srid leb rGad po is an excerpt from Simon Wickham-Smith’s new translation of Ringu Tulku’s Fairytale > Bod kyi gna’ bo’i shod gsung, co-edited with Alexander Zorin and illustrated by the Tibet St Petersburg artist Gleb Ershov.

Translated by Simon Wickham-Smith of flour and went off, in tears, to search and he became angry. He put his hand for her daughter. On the road she met down into the bag, the droplets hit his nly those who have a balanced and with a raven. “Why are you crying, hand and became furious. “Ardzi! She’s Owise mind then, even if their bod- mother”, asked the raven. The mother some girl, daring to scratch. I’ll give it ies be weak, can still be powerful and said, “My daughter has been taken by a cuts of meat and drops of blood.” He attain mastery over others. demon and I’m looking for her.” The opened the bag and looked inside. The raven said, “Please give me some flour child wasn’t there. “Akhakha!” he Once in Tibet there were many demons. and I’ll help you.” So she gave him gasped. “That evil fox has deceived me. Among them was a big demon named some flour and the two of them went off Now there’s nothing left to do but pay Srib-leb rGadpo, who stole other peo- together. They met with a fox. “Where her back.” And he went off to find the ple’s children. He took them to his cave are you two going?” the fox asked. “My fox. The fox saw him coming and went for food. Naturally, because he was a daughter has been taken by a demon”, to the riverbank. He kicked up the sand. powerful demon, everyone was fright- said the woman. “We’re going looking When the demon came close, he said, ened of him. At that time, in the center for her.” The fox replied, “Give me some “Wicked fox, you tricked me. You took of a mountain valley there lived an old flour and I’ll help you.” So she gave the the child and finally it’s time to kill you.” women and her child. In the late morn- fox some flour and the three of them The fox said, “Over on that mountain ing, the old woman would go out to dig went off together. Then they met a wolf. there are a hundred foxes, and a hun- for sweet potatos, saying to her daugh- The wolf said, “Where are you three dred foxes here on this mountain - and ter, “Child, stay here with the door going?” The woman said, “My daugh- a thousand nine hundred vixens. I am closed. Open up to no-one until your ter has been taken by a demon and the vixen Sand-blower, who lives beside mother returns - else Sribleb rGad-po we’re going to look for her.” The wolf the river. The demon said, “I should will take you away.” The child did as her replied, “Give me some flour and I’ll learn the way of Sand-blower.” the fox mother had said. Suddenly, there was a help you.” She gave the wolf some flour said, “Open your mouth, open your knock at the door. “Who is it?”, said the and the four went looking for the child. eyes wide and lie down.” The demon lay child. “I am not to open the door to any- Suddenly, they came to the demon’s down. The fox kicked up the sand into one but my mother.” The demon said, rock-cave. The wolf said, “Now we need the demon’s mouth, eyes and nose and “I am your mother.” The child said, a method, otherwise the demon will eat ran off. The vixen went to boil up glue “Well, show me your hand through the us.” They had a discussion and came up on a rocky peak. Suddenly the demon crack in the door.” The demon showed with a plan. appeared. “Evil vixen”, he said, “you her his hand. It was a hairy hand and have done wrong. You took the child, when the child saw it, she said, “You’re you almost killed me by filling my not my mother. Mother’s hand is mouth and nose with sand and now, if smooth and pudgy; yours is all hairy.” I didn’t kill you, I’d not be a demon.” Then the demon said to the child, The fox replied, “What? Over on that “Then, you mustn’t open the door. mountain there are a hundred foxes, Please just give me fire and some oil.” and a hundred foxes here on this moun- And the child gave him fire and some tain - and a thousand nine hundred vix- oil. ens. I am the vixen Offering Maker, who lives at the base of this rock.” And he The demon went away. He burnt the said, “so I should learn how to make hairs from his hands and smeared them glue.” The vixen replied, “Come. Melt with grease. He knocked again at the glue on this flat stone. Now place your door and cried out, “Daughter, your eye on the stone.” He did so and the fox mother has come home. Open the smeared the glue all over his face and door.” And the child said, “You don’t then ran off. sound like my mother. Show me your hand.” Straightaway, he showed his The fox came to a rocky outcrop. He hands to her and, seeing that they were made a basket with willow shoots. Sud- smooth and pudgy, she opened the door denly the demon appeared, the skin a crack. But the child quickly realised peeled from his buttocks and blood drip- that it was the demon and she fled and Following their plan, the wolf chased the ping down his face. With a great roar, he hid amongst the beams. The demon demon’s sheep here and there. The said, “Evil fox, not one more thing will looked for her but couldn’t find her. He demon emerged from his cave and gave you do! You stole the child, you filled my said, “The child must be here. She can’t chase to the wolf. The fox was lying mouth and nose with sand, you stuck fly into the sky, she can’t burrow into the down in another place, pretending to be my rear-end to the stone, you smeared earth.” As he said this, he farted - and dead, the raven jumping around on top my face with glue - you’ve been tortur- the child let out a laugh and he saw her of him, chattering away. When the ing me. Now you must die.” The fox where she was. But, even though he saw demon saw this, he thought, “I will kill replied, “Great demon. I have not done her, he couldn’t reach her. “You there, the wolf easily then. now if I don't take these unimaginable things. Over on that tell me truthfully how I can get down to the fox's pelt this bird will harm it.” He mountain there are a hundred foxes, you. If you don’t tell me, I’ll eat cuts of made a big show of following the wolf and a hundred foxes here on this moun- your flesh and drops of your blood.” The and came to where the fox was. He came tain -and a thousand nine hundred vix- child said, “I stacked needles on needles up close, but the fox moved slowly away. ens. I am the vixen Basket Weaver, who and got up that way”. He too stacked As fast as the demon went, the fox lives on the top of the rock. The demon needles on needles, but couldn’t get up. matched his pace. Finally, the demon said, “Now I should learn how to weave Tell me again. If you don’t tell me, I’ll eat came rushing up very quickly and the baskets.” “Slip in here and I’ll teach cuts of your flesh and drops of your fox fled like the wind and faded into a you”, said the fox. blood.” And the child said, “I piled cups thick forest. The demon chased after the on cups and got down that way.” Still he fox. The woman and the wolf slipped The demon got his body half-way inside couldn’t reach her. He menaced and into the empty cave and looked and saw the basket, where he remained, stuck. threatened her very cruelly. The child the child tied in a bag and lying on the Little by little twisted the edge of the bas- was frightened and told him the truth: hearth. They opened the bag and ket and finally only the demon's head “I stacked barrels on top of one another released the child. They filled the bag was seen and so the plaiting was done. and got up that way.” He did as she said, with ice and thorns and replaced it as She rolled the basket to the slope and it stretched out and carried her off. before. turned and fell into the river under the rock and the demon was killed. From When the mother returned that The demon came back and lit the fire. that time all the people of that land lived The book is a collection of thirteen folktales and will include parallel Tibetan and English texts, evening, the girl was no longer there Inside the bag, the ice melted and happily, with the mother and her child together with a full glossary and lists of idioms. The editors are currently looking for a publisher and she realised that the demon had dripped. The demon said, “Stop pissing, as their leaders, free from the evil of the and can be contacted at [email protected] or [email protected] taken her away. She filled a pouch full child!.” But now the drops were trickling demon. <

IIAS Newsletter | #36 | March 2005 23 > Publications Recovering from crisis: more than just survival? Resilience and a capacity for making the best of difficult circumstances are striking Review > characteristics of many communities in the developing world. This ability to adjust is often Indonesia tested by lack of opportunity and other obstacles that are beyond the control of society’s of continuing adverse impacts. For exam- On the whole, Indonesian society weakest members. ple, the tables show shifts in employment appears to have survived the financial patterns between private and government crisis of 1997-98. That event has since Elizabeth Morrell ticipants, providing a detailed database cials. In health fields, midwives or staff sectors, self-employment and unpaid been overshadowed by other crises across a range of welfare issues such as in village clinics also often determined family labour, without identifying any which continue to test the population’s hen the Asian economic crisis hit employment, household expenditure inclusion or exclusion. social problems associated with those ability to ‘make do’ through difficult sit- WIndonesia in 1997-98, it threat- and health. Data sets with particular rel- movements. Employment rates actually uations. One attempt to address the ened the slow yet steady gains that had evance to the economic crisis are those Indonesian Living Standards: Before and rose slightly between 1997 and 2000, country’s many problems is the radical been achieved in health, education, evaluating the social safety net programs After the Financial Crisis is one of sever- though approximately half of this work regional autonomy program which reduced infant mortality and poverty introduced to minimise the crisis’im- al recent books based on Indonesian sta- was unpaid labour in family businesses. increases decision-making and finan- reduction. As banks failed, businesses pact. They cover four main areas - sub- tistics, following improvements in the The number of people holding more than cial responsibility at local levels. and factories closed, the rupiah declined sidized food, employment creation, country’s data collection and processing. one job also rose. Overall, wages had Although it was implemented after the in value and food prices soared, it access to health and educational welfare These publications help to fill knowl- recovered by 2000, though unevenly, latest Family Life Survey, the book con- seemed that livelihoods and the emerg- programs and assistance for small and edge gaps which, for political reasons, with private sector wages still low. tains a preliminary discussion of its ing social welfare programs might be medium sized enterprises. could not be adequately examined dur- impact on social welfare. It will be critically undermined. However, statis- ing the Suharto period. The contributors While the drought and fires of 1997-98 interesting to see the results of future tics from the Indonesian Family Life The Family Life Surveys show that sub- to this publication have backgrounds in are acknowledged as factors exacerbat- surveys, and the team’s evaluation of Surveys, collected before the crisis and sidized rice, health cards and educa- economics, population studies and pol- ing the economic downturn, the figures Indonesian living standards before and again in the latter half of 2000, do not tional scholarships were more success- icy studies and provide statistics in over do not differentiate between the eco- after decentralization. < show long-term negative impacts on ful in reaching their target communities 200 figures and tables, accompanied by nomic crisis and other disruptive events individual, family or community wel- than employment creation programs, explanatory notes and brief analysis. The which occurred during the survey peri- - Strauss, John et al. 2004. Indonesian Living fare. Many survey respondents experi- which were often not established. How- authors admit the limitations of an ods. One of these is communal violence Standards: Before and After the Financial enced dramatic downturns from 1997, ever, not all target households received econometric orientation, and point out which caused displacement and unem- Crisis. Singapore: ISEAS; Santa Monica: but for most this trend had either slowed benefits, and not all recipients were unanswered questions which need fur- ployment, and reduced tourism income. RAND Corporation, Yogyakarta. Universi- or reversed by 2000. Although not all poor. In one year, 38 per cent of non- ther qualitative research. Despite the For a variety of reasons, many people ty of Gadjah Mada, pp 402, ISBN 981 230 survey respondents had regained pre- poor households in the survey received quantitative focus, the accompanying have found alternative work in petty 168 2 (ISEAS), 0 8330 3558 4 (RAND Cor- crisis living standards, some had exceed- subsidized rice, whereas it reached only text contains valuable background infor- commodity production and trade, pedi- poration). ed their previous levels. 57 per cent of respondents classified as mation on employment, health, educa- cab or motorbike-taxi driving. One com- poor. Interviews sought information, tion and other social welfare issues in mon impact of this is an inability or Elizabeth Morrell lectures in the Flinders Asia The Central Bureau of Statistics con- not only about the availability of pro- Indonesia. unwillingness by local government to Centre, School of Political and International ducted the Family Life Surveys, in which grams, but also about the selection cri- accommodate more informal traders Studies, Flinders University, Australia. Her data was collected from more than teria for beneficiaries, and categories of Identifying gaps and increased traffic congestion. New current research examines socio-economic 30,000 people across thirteen provinces people who decided upon eligibility. The writers point out that the survey regulatory policies are being formulat- development and public participation in rural between 1993 and 2000. Individual Unsurprisingly, decision makers were results present a macro-image of overall ed that may initiate another employ- Indonesia. [email protected] interviews were conducted with all par- usually village heads or other local offi- recovery which may conceal the existence ment shift, or further unemployment.

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24 IIAS Newsletter | #36 | March 2005 > Publications Thailand’s rice bowl: perspectives on agricultural and social change in the Chao Phraya Delta The tsunami of December 2004 reminded us that most people in monsoon Asia still live Review > as they have for generations. Despite the changes and economic developments of the Thailand globalisation era, many remain dependent on fishing and agriculture. Understanding sensitive to local conditions. To address wider socio-economic factors. The lack changes within these sectors and their relationship to processes such as the relationship between local social and of an index is surprising and potential- industrialisation and urbanisation are essential to a balanced understanding of administrative structures and develop- ly problematic for serious users of such contemporary Southeast Asia. ment, Shin’ichi Shigetomi (missing from a large and comprehensive volume. the list of contributors) constructs a Graeme MacRae shed - appropriate given the historical and on comparative case studies of three vil- three-tiered model of kinship/commu- A further weakness of the volume is its increasingly critical role of water supply lages with different water-supply charac- nity organisation, local administrative cursory treatment of environmental and he basin of the Chao Praya river sys- and management in the region’s econo- teristics. The village study by a Japanese structures and ‘development organisa- alternative/sustainable agricultural devel- Ttem in central Thailand has long my. The watershed also contains Bangkok, research team addresses similar issues tions’. Michael Nelson focuses on the opment issues, both of which are signif- been known as one of the great ‘rice a huge concentration of people, and on a smaller scale. current decentralisation of government icant for rural development in Thailand. bowls’ of monsoon Asia. In the mid-nine- industrial and commercial development functions and asks whether this has a Given that the unit of analysis is a water- teenth century, visitors were amazed by that puts massive pressure on resources, Other chapters focus on a single sub-dis- real democratising effect. shed, and in particular, a network of relat- the scale of production there, much of it giving rise to a ‘critical competition trict where agriculture is increasingly ed economic sub-systems linked by a for export. Over the past fifty years, how- between agriculture, industries and urban the mainstay of the economy and exam- The book, the product of joint research common water supply, this could have ever, rice cultivation has been trans- domestic consumption’ (p.203). ine aspects of agricultural diversifica- between Kasetsart University, Thailand provided a stronger and more interesting formed by new seed varieties, increased tion, paying attention to both the vul- and Institut de Recherche pour le framework for the book. There is perhaps mechanisation and lower labour require- Persistence and change nerability of small economies and the Développement, France, emerges from a case for a companion volume based on ments. At the same time emigration from Two chapters on land tenure and labour environmental risks involved in large- a conference held in 2000. The con- water and environmental issues. < the main rice-growing areas, urbanisation in the agricultural economy form the core scale production. Looking at the rural- tributors, from diverse disciplines and and diversification of agriculture have led of the book. Both show mixed patterns of urban frontier on the northern fringe of nationalities, include development prac- - Molle, Francois and Thippawal Srijantr, eds. to very different patterns in the Thai rural persistence and change. The first, by the ever-expanding Bangkok, Marc Askew titioners as well as academics. Thailand’s 2002. Thailand’s Rice Bowl: perspectives on landscape, economy and society. editors, critically evaluates the assump- argues that local communities are not Rice Bowl accomplishes the traditional Agricultural and Social Change in the Chao tion that land has been progressively con- passive victims but active agents in task of agrarian studies: detailed docu- Phraya Delta. Studies in Contemporary Thai- The book’s fifteen chapters contain liter- centrated into larger units and that ten- processes which blur the boundaries mentation of the various dimensions of land No. 12 (Series Editor: Erik Cohen) ature reviews, overviews and detailed case ancy rates have increased. They find between rural and urban environments. agrarian systems in a defined, if large, Bangkok: White Lotus Press. pp 450 studies, and cover topics such as ethnog- instead a complex pattern of demo- area. However, any attempt to cover raphy, ethnicity and local government graphic change, migration and changing The local level such a large field is bound to have gaps Graeme MacRae is an anthropologist cur- structures, with the main focus on ongo- tenancy arrangements, all related to wider Ssirisup and Kammeier, looking at agri- and weaknesses. The book could have rently working on alternative forms of agri- ing processes of transformation. This economic processes. The second, by Isvi- cultural diversification in the context of benefited from a more thematic organ- cultural development in Bali and Java. He focus is neither on Thai agriculture in lanonda and Hossain, completes this pic- the interaction between government pol- isation - perhaps by grouping chapters teaches anthropology at Massey University, general, nor on local communities, but on ture with an analysis of the dynamics of icy and farmers’ decision-making, stress in terms of scale of focus and/or by pay- Auckland, New Zealand. the natural/ecological unit of the water- technological change and labour, based the need for flexible approaches that are ing attention to purely agricultural and [email protected]

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IIAS Newsletter | #36 | March 2005 25 > Publications Guns of February: ordinary Japanese soldiers’ views of the Malayan campaign and the fall of Singapore Sixty years after its end, the Second World War still continues to fascinate the general Review > public as well as scholarly academics. In recent years, the latter have veered away from Japan treating this most terrible and significant of all wars purely as a military contest, towards dots. These were supposed to protect the thought provoking facts. For instance, an approach that privileges its social and cultural contexts. A component of this trend has wearer against enemy bullets. They the men of Ichikawa detachment, which been the effort to bring to light the experiences of the ordinary soldiers who daily put clearly did not, but it nevertheless included Ochi, and which had been con- themselves ‘in harm’s way’. cheered the Japanese soldier to know stantly on the move, had lost on average that 1000 women back home had ten kilograms during the campaign. Ochi Chandar S. Sundaram Japanese conquest of Malaya and Sin- useless than the Japanese Army’ (p.6). spared a bit of their time to think of him. himself had gone down from 71 to 55 gapore. This brings an immediacy to the And Warrant Officer Arai knew some- Frei further humanizes the Japanese kilos, a daily weight loss of 340 grams. e now have works like Fritz’ book, so vital when discussing soldiers’ thing big was afoot when soldiers were soldier by detailing some of the chance WFrontsoldaten, and Linderman’s lives at ‘the sharp end of war’. It also ordered to put some of their hair and fin- encounters they had with locals during Complete with taut battle descriptions The World Within War, which look at the helps that the four soldiers Frei chose - gernail-clippings into small red their drive to Singapore. Ochi, for (pp. 85-97) and photographs - the one of German Landser (conscript) and the Warrant Officer Arai Mitsuo of the 114th envelopes for the folks back home. instance, met a bewitchingly beautiful a tanker getting a haircut amidst palm American GI respectively. To these must Regiment, Captain Ochi Harumi of the These, ominously, would constitute Eurasian woman, whom he dreamed of fronds with his tank in the background be added the book under review, which 11th Regiment, Major Onishi Satoru of their last remains in case they didn’t undressing (p. 49). At Alor Star, is particularly apt - this is a first rate book, is really the first attempt - Toyama and the 2nd Field Police Unit, and Sergeant make it back alive (p. 5). Tsuchikane made friends with Taro, a and should be essential reading for any- Nonnaly’s Tales by Japanese Soldiers First Class Tsuchikane Tominosuke of thirteen-year-old Indian boy, who was one interested in the Second World War notwithstanding - to showcase the the 4th Regiment - wrote memoirs detail- Particularly interesting are the contents obviously fascinated by the sight of in Southeast Asia. There could have been Japanese fighting man of World War II. ing their wartime experiences. Frei, a of the mail Japanese soldiers received. Japanese troops drilling (p. 51). Also illu- a few more maps, and some rigorous The picture that emerges is both fasci- historian of Japan, plumbed these assid- Besides the inevitable letters from girl- minating, given the rather high-handed fact-checking – the Zero was a fighter, nating and groundbreaking. uously, along with other Japanese lan- friends, Japanese soldiers received little way the Japanese Army was later to act, not a bomber (p. 37) – but these are guage sources, to write this book. ‘comfort bags’ which contained such is the way their military police came minor quibbles, and do not detract from Frei, who died before completing the things as patriotic drawings by grade- down hard on men of Tsuchikane’s unit the overall excellence of the book. < book, ‘...wanted the world to understand Frei more than succeeds in realizing his school children, ‘...mascots, dolls of the caught breaking into and looting a civil- the Japanese army...as human beings purpose. The Japanese soldier emerges province, temple charms, ornamental ian home. Particularly telling is - Frei, Henry. 2004. Guns of February: Ordi- rather than as automatons blindly serv- from the pages of the book as a real per- paper, photographs, usually some food, Tsuchikane’s fear that the incident nary Japanese Soldiers’ Views of the Malayan ing the Emperor, or as inhuman fight- son, with hopes, desires, aspirations, pressed flowers, anything the folks at ‘...would bring dishonour on the Impe- Campaign and the Fall of Singapore, 1941-42. ers lacking emotion and compassion for and fears. For instance, we are told that home thought would brighten up the rial Guards and the disgrace would Singapore: National University of Singa- their enemies’ (p. xiii). To effect this, he Private Miyake Genjiro, part of the first spirits of their men at the front.’ (p. 41) reach all the way to their villages back pore Press. ISBN 99 71 69 27 32 eschewed a comprehensive approach, amphibious wave hitting the beaches at A unique feature of the comfort bag was home’ (p. 52). focusing rather on four soldiers, Singora, upon hearing the Japanese dec- the ‘Thousand Stitch Belts’: wide cloth Chandar S. Sundaram is Assistant Profes- involved in a significant event in the laration of war against the Allied pow- belts on which a thousand different Fascinating vignettes like this are pep- sor in the History Department at Lingnan Greater East Asia war - the lightning ers, thought there was ‘...nothing more women had stitched a thousand red pered throughout the book, as are some University, Hong Kong.

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26 IIAS Newsletter | #36 | March 2005 > Publications Strange parallels: Southeast Asia in global context, c. 800-1830 Victor Lieberman’s Strange Parallels: Southeast Asia in Global Context, c. 800-1830, which Review > won the prestigious 2004 World History Association Book Prize, connects a millennium of Southeast Asia Southeast Asian history with long-term administrative, cultural, economic, demographic, on Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam, Staat (Stuttgart 1994) he probably would even climatic developments and cycles on the Eurasian continent. This remarkable book will on the other hand, rely on the work of have qualified Aung-Thwin’s theory that become one of the seminal studies on the history of pre-modern mainland Southeast Asia. recognised authorities such as David the decline of Pagan was spurred by Wyatt and Dhiravat na Pompejra (on excessive donations of royal land to reli- Volker Grabowsky different. In Southeast Asia, the ‘char- from one another by mountain chains, Thailand), David Chandler and Charles gious institutions. ter polities’ of Pagan (Burma) and in three chapters of roughly equal Higham (on Cambodia) and Keith Tay- ore than a decade ago, Anthony Angkor (Cambodia) succumbed to a length. At the beginning of each chap- lor and Li Tana (on Vietnam). Lieber- Such reservations, however, are of MReid published his two-volume combination of foreign invasions, ter, Lieberman explains which regions man thus succeeds to write balanced minor importance. Lieberman has writ- study Southeast Asia in the Age of Com- shifting trade relations and ecological are included in the respective ‘main- and highly informative chapters on the ten an impressive work of great impor- merce, 1450-1680 (New Haven/London: strains to core areas (p. 242). The col- lands’. Then he discusses in detail how central and eastern ‘mainlands’ as well. tance in the field of Southeast Asian his- Yale University Press, 1988 and 1993). lapse of Kiew Rus can largely be attrib- the three parts of the mainland devel- In each chapter, results of the preceding tory. It is certain that this book will Mainly relying on evidence from the uted to conquest by the Mongols, oped politically, economically, and cul- ones are used to highlight political, eco- stimulate further debate among histori- insular world, Reid tries to demonstrate while the crisis in France, it can be turally over a period of one millennium. nomic, and cultural interactions among ans specialised in the region and, prob- that Southeast Asia as a whole went argued, resulted from the Black Death The rise, consolidation or collapse of the different parts of the mainland. ably, also in world history. His work has through a rapid phase of economic and military conquests by England in political entities are discussed chrono- opened a new window of approaches to development sped up by maritime trade. the Hundred Years’ War. logically and in relation to their modes While Strange Parallels is an extraordi- Southeast Asian history, and deserves to This upturn was followed by a decline of economy and trade relations; Lieber- nary book of superb scholarship, it has be highly recommended. < due to European interference in the The reader may also be stunned by the man frequently neglects ecological and its lopsidedness. In Lieberman’s dis- Asian trading system. coincidence of short-lived political climatic factors. The reader also gains a cussion about the Tai polities of Lan Na - Lieberman, Victor. 2003. Strange Parallels: crises in the second half of the eigh- state-of-the-art overview of changes in (Northern Thailand) and Lan Sang Southeast Asia in Global Context, c. 800- In the introductory chapter of Strange teenth century, followed by a long peri- the cultural landscape, ranging from (Laos), for example, he has not made use 1830. Vol. 1: Integration on the Mainland. Parallels, Lieberman criticizes Reid’s od of intensified administrative and religious dynamics to linguistic and eth- of the most recent scholarship. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, concept of a ‘17th century crisis’ - per- cultural integration. Lieberman con- nic changes. Although important studies of South- xxiii + 484 pp. ISBN 0-521-80496-5 (paper- ceptible in a deteriorating climate, cludes: ‘Whereas Europe as a whole in east Asian history written in German are back) falling profit margins, and competitive 1450 had some 500 political units, by Lieberman is a highly reputed and pro- quite rare, some of them should not be disadvantage due to advances by Euro- the late nineteenth century the num- lific writer of Burmese history, and it is ignored. To give one example, for the Volker Grabowsky,Professor of Southeast pean and Chinese traders. Lieberman ber was closer to 30. Between 1340 and not surprising that the chapter on economic history of Pagan, Lieberman Asian History at the Westfälische Wilhelms- argues that a seventeenth century cri- 1820 some 23 independent Southeast Burma is by far the most convincing. It relies almost entirely on Michael Aung- Universität Münster, Germany. He works on sis may have some explanatory Asian kingdoms collapsed into three. relies on decades of original research, Thwin’s work, the leading authority in the history and literary traditions of the Tai strength for developments in Insular Each nineteenth century survivor was and will serve as a standard work on pre- this field. If he had consulted Tilman peoples in northern mainland Southeast Southeast Asia, but does not hold true more effectively centralized than any modern Burmese history. The sections Frasch’s PhD thesis Pagan: Stadt und Asia. for the mainland, which enjoyed a peri- local predecessor’ (p.2). This last quo- od of sustained territorial consolidation tation shows Lieberman sometimes and economic growth throughout the oversimplifies arguments to draw par- [advertisement] seventeenth century. allels between incompatible phenom- ena. The vast majority of the more than Refuting the dichotomous distinction 500 political units identified by Lieber- between the ‘West’ and the ‘Rest’ of the man in mid-fifteenth century Europe Eurasian landmass (i.e. Europe and Asia were German kingdoms, duchies, china respectively), Lieberman reveals paral- counties, and imperial free cities lel long-term trends in large parts of (Reichsfreie Städte). The German Europe, Japan and mainland Southeast Empire at the time still possessed pow- perspectives Asia. He argues that ‘the combination erful imperial institutions that tied of accelerated political integration, together its member states, the auton- Benefit from an original and in-depth analysis firearms-based warfare, broader litera- omy of which were probably less than of Greater China’s fast evolution cy, religious textuality, vernacular litera- that of several nineteenth century tures, wider money use, and more com- Siamese and Burmese vassal states. plex international linkages’ marked the period between the mid-fifteenth to early As to the ‘strange parallels’ that link nineteenth centuries ‘as a more or less Vietnamese and Japanese history, coherent period’ in each region of this Lieberman does not provide concrete ‘Eurasian periphery’ (p.79). Island details but leaves the reader’s anxiety to A bimonthly journal on contemporary China Southeast Asia, on the other hand, the second volume of his oeuvre, to be published in Hong Kong, though sharing similar ‘early modern published separately under the title by the CEFC (French Centre features’, had more in common with the Mainland Mirrors: Russia, France, Japan, for Research on Contemporary China), Eurasian ‘heartland’, namely China, the and the Islands. One is tempted to spec- china perspectives offers Middle East and India. These zones, all ulate that such an analogy seems obvi- insightful commentary ruled by conquest elites at the turn of the ous due to the political, cultural and on all the issues —political, economic, seventeenth century – Manchu, Turkish, demographic expansion of Vietnam and anthropological or cultural— Persian, Dutch and Iberian – did not Japan along an axis running from North through in-depth analysis experience growing cultural unity to South and from South to North of all the latest key developments, between elites and masses, and entered respectively. Whether such a compari- background articles the nineteenth century politically frag- son is the only and most suitable choice on a wide range of subjects and reviews mented (p.80). for putting pre-modern Vietnamese his- of the latest publications tory into a wider Eurasian perspective For the millennium spanning the remains to be substantiated. period 800-1830, Lieberman identi- ONE YEAR (6 ISSUES) PERSONAL INSTITUTIONAL STUDENTS fies four roughly synchronised cycles For Southeast Asia specialists the first Hong Kong & Macau HK$ 450 HK$ 700 HK$ 350 of political consolidation in mainland volume nevertheless offers many Southeast Asia, as well as in France insights into the longue durée histories Europe € 70 € 110 € 55 and Russia. It is indeed striking that of the three parts of the mainland: the Other countries US$ 80 US$ 120 US$ 60 in all these disparate regions a period western mainland (mostly Burma), the of rapid demographic growth and central mainland (Siam, Laos, and Cam- commercial expansion began in the bodia) and the eastern mainland (Viet- You can subscribe online at tenth and eleventh centuries, followed nam). The book discusses historical http//:www.cefc.com.hk by a general political and social crisis developments in these three distinctive Information: Tel: (852) 2815 1728 Fax: (852) 2815 3211 E-mail: [email protected] extending from the early thirteenth to regions, characterised by agriculturally the late fourteenth centuries. The productive river basins running in a causes of crisis were, however, quite north-south direction and separated

IIAS Newsletter | #36 | March 2005 27 > Publications Interested in reviewing one of our Books editors the from copy a Request Received? [email protected] at: Smith, Paul, ed. 2005 ed. Paul, Smith, Southeast in Violence and Terrorism to Challenges Transnational Asia: Stability Regional and States 262, pp. Sharpe, M.E. Armonk: 0-7656-1434-0 ISBN 2004 ed. Philip, Taylor, the and Vietnam in Inequality Social Reform to Challenges tables, 392, pp. ISEAS, Singapore: 981-230-275-1 ISBN 2005 L. Katharine Wiegele, and Shaddai El Miracles: in Investing Popular of Transformation the Philippines the in Catholism Press, Hawai’i of University Honolulu: 0-8248-2861-5 ISBN ill., 206, pp. 2004 Helen. Creese, World: Kakawin the of Women Indic the in Sexuality and Marriage Bali and Java of courts ill., 357, pp. Sharpe, M.E. Armonk: 0-7656-0160-5 ISBN ICAS the for contestant a is book This Bookprize 2004 Hildred. Geertz, Artistry, Temple: Balinese a of Life The Peasant a in History and Immitation, Village Press, Hawai’i of University Honolulu: 0-8248-2533-0 ISBN ill., 292, pp. 2004 C. Stephen Headly, Cosmology, Mosque: Durga’s Central in Community and Conversion Islam Javanese ill., 604, pp. ISEAS, Singapore: 981-230-242-5 ISBN 2005 Anthony. Reid, & Aecehnese Frontier: Indonesian An Sumatra of Histories other Press, University Singapore Singapore: 9971-69-298-8 ISBN ill., 439, pp. ICAS the for contestant a is book This Bookprizes 2005 Ruben. Stoel, Grammar, Malay: Manado in Focus intonation and particles, ill., 285, pp. Publications, CNWS Leiden: 90-5789-101-8 ISBN 2004 N. Andrew Weintraub, Puppet Golek Wayang Plays: Power Java West of theater ill., 295, pp. ISEAS, Singapore: 981-230-249-2 ISBN ICAS the for contestant a is book This Bookprizes Indonesia Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press, Hawai’i of University Honolulu: 0-8248-2879-8 ISBN ill., 224, pp. 2004 Tana. Li and Nola Cooke, the and Commerce Frontier: Water Region, Mekong Lower the in Chinese 1750-1880 Press, University Singapore Singapore: 0-7425-3083-3 ISBN tables, & maps 202, pp. 2005 Ian. Harris, and History Buddhism: Cambodian Practice Press Hawai’i of University Honolulu: 0-8248-2765-1 ISBN ill., 352, pp. 2004 ed. Fiona, Kerlogue, Museums. Objects: Performing in Performance and Culture Material Asia Southeast and Museum Horniman The London: 1-903-33801-8 ISBN ill., 188, pp. Gardens, Henk Raben, Remco H., Paul Kratoska, 2005 Nordholt. Schulte Geographies Asia: Southeast Locating Space of Politics and Knowledge of Press, University Singapore Singapore: 997-69-288-0 ISBN 326, pp. Jacques Sellato, Bernard Pierre, Roux, Le 2004 Ivanoff. / Sud-Est du Asie en mesures et Poids Southeast in Measures and Weights and Systems Metrological Asia; Societies -Orient, d’Extreme Francais Ecole Paris: French/English, ill., 423, pp. 9-782855-396330 ISBN 2004 James. Ockey, Class, Leadership, Democracy; Making in Participation Political and Gender, Thailand Press, Hawai’i of University Honolulu: 0-8248-2781-3 ISBN 233, pp. 2005 ed. G., Norman Owen, Modern of Emergence The Asia Southeast Press, Hawai’i of University Honolulu: 0-8248-2890-9 ISBN ill., 540, pp. 2004 Baker. Chris and Pasuk Phongpaichit, Politics of business The Thaksin: Thailand in ill., 302, pp. publishing, NIAS Copenhagen: 87-91114-78-0 Mendoza, Lunita and Madanmohan Rao, 2005 eds. and wireless The Unplugged: Asia Asia-pacific the in boom media mobile tables, 464, pp. Books, Sage Delhi: New 0-7619-3272-0 ISBN Yuriko and Ramsay Guy Anna, Shnukal, 2004 eds. Nagata, Asian The boundaries: Navigating Strait Torres in Diaspora ill., 330, pp. Books, Pandanus Canberra: 1-74076-089-1 ISBN Cumings, Bruce. 2004 Bruce. Cumings, Korea North Press, Hawai’i of University Honululu: 1-56584-940-x ISBN 241, pp. 2005 Andrei. Lankov, of Failure The Korea; North in Crisis 1956 De-Stalinization, Press, Hawai’i of University Honolulu: 0-8248-2809-7 ISBN ill., 274, pp. 2005 ed. I., David Steinberg, United the toward Attitudes Korean Dynamics Changing States: tables, 366, pp. Sharpe, M.E. Armonk: 0-7656-1436-7 ISBN 2005 ed. Jasodhara, Bagchi, in Women of Status Changing The 1970-2000 West-Bengal, 263, pp. Publications, Sage Delhi: New 0-7619-3242-9 ISBN tables, 2004 Geoff. Childs, Death to Birth From Diary: Tibetan of Valley Himalayan a in Beyond and Nepal Press, California of University Berkeley: 0-520-24109-6 ISBN ill., 217, pp. 2005 ed. Lowell, Dittmer, Security Nuclear Asia’s South China and Pakistan, India, Dilemma: tables, 274, pp. Sharpe, M.E. Armonk: 0-7656-1419-7 ISBN 2005 Kumar. Ananta Giri, Mobilizations: and Reflections and Movements with Dialogues Organizations Voluntary 436, pp. Publications, Sage Delhi: New 0-7619-3295-x ISBN 2004 Annemarie. Schimmel, Mughals: Great the of Empire The Culture and Art, History, ill., colour 352, pp. Books, Reaktion London: 1-86189-185-7 ISBN 2004 B.P. Jai Sinha, the Managing India: in Multinationals Cultures of Interface 290, pp. Publications, Sage Dehli: New 0-7619-3204-6 ISBN 2005 C. Franklin Southworth, Asia South of Archaeology Linguistic tables, 369, pp. RoutledgeCurzon, London: 0-415-33323-7 ISBN 2004 Arifin. Nuvidya Evi Aris, Ananta, in Migration International Asia Southeast 981-230-279-4 ISBN 372, pp. ISEAS, Singapore: 2005 Jiemin. Bao, and Sexuality, Gender, Acts: Marital Thai Chinese the among Identity Diaspora Korea Asia South Asia Southeast Taylor, Kim. 2005 Kim. Taylor, Communist early in medicine Chinese of medicine a 1945-63; China, revolution 236, pp. RoutledgeCurzon, London: 0-415-34512-x ISBN 2004 C. Dorothy Wong, and Pre-buddhist Steles: Chinese form symbolic a of use Buddhist Press, Hawai’i of University Honolulu: 0-8248-2783-x ISBN ill., 225, pp. 2004 Yingjin. Zhang Cinema National Chinese ill., 327, pp. RoutledgeCurzon, London: 0-415-17290-x ISBN 2005 Kuroshima. Denji, other and Crows: Swirling of Flock A writings proletarian Press, Hawai’i of University Honolulu: 0-8248-2926-3 ISBN 257, pp. 2004 C. James Dobbins, of Images Eshimi: Nun the of Letters Japan Medieval in Buddhism Land Pure Press, Hawai’i of University Honolulu: 0-8248-2870-4 ISBN 258, pp. 2004 Herwig. Henk Arendie, Herwig, stage kabuki the of Heroes 358, pp. Publishing, Hotei Amsterdam: 90-74822-61-4 ISBN ill., colour 2004 Henry. Johnson, in instrument traditional A Koto; The Japan Contemporary 199, pp. Publishing, Hotei Amsterdam: 90-74822-63-0 ISBN ill., colour 2004 Sugiyama. Takie Lebra, Logic Cultural in Self Japanese The Press, Hawai’i of University Honolulu: 0-8248-2840-2 ISBN tables, 303, pp. 2004 P. Ronald Loftus, in Self-Writing Women’s Lives; Telling Japan Modern Press, Hawai’i of University Honolulu: 0-8248-2834-8 ISBN 310, pp. 2004 Hiroshi. Nara, The Detachment: of Strucutre The Shuzo Kuki of Vision Aesthetic Press, Hawai’i of University Honolulu: 0-8248-2735-x ISBN 185, pp. Hammon, Claude Jean-Jacques, Tschudin, 2004 eds. culture La L’horizon: a modernité La années des Japon le dans populaire vingt 244, pp. Picquier, Philippe Editions Arles: 9-782877-307413 ISBN French, ill., 2004 Mari. Yamamoto, Post-War in Pacifism Grassroots Nation a of Rebirth The Japan: 290, pp. RoutledgeCurzon, London: 0-415-33581-7 ISBN Japan Scott, Llyn, Norman Szabo. 2004 Szabo. Norman Llyn, Scott, Radio A Formosa; Dutch of Tales episodes Four in Docudrama 283, pp. International, Taiwan Radio Taipei: 957-97881-4-6 ISBN 2004 Ying. Huang and Li Fei Vibeke, Bördahl, Storytelling: Chinese of Masters Four Yangzhou of Repertoires Full-length Video on Storytelling ill., pp.197, publishing, NIAS Copenhagen: 87-911114-64-0 ISBN English/Chinese, 2004 Anne-marie. Broudehoux, of Selling and Making The Beijing Post-Mao ill., 270, pp. RoutledgeCurzon, London: 0-415-32057-7 ISBN 2004 ed. Zong-qi, Cai, of ordering The Aesthetics: Chinese Universe the and Arts, the Literature, dynasties six the in Press, Hawai’i of University Honolulu: 0-8248-2791-0 ISBN 359, pp. 2004 Anita. Chung, Architectual Boundaries: Drawing China Qing in Images Press, Hawai’i of University Honolulu: 0-8248-2663-9 ISBN ill., 210, pp. 2005 A. Kirsten Day, challenge the and enviroment China’s development sustainable of 293, pp. Sharpe, M.E. Armonk: 0-7656-1471-5 ISBN 2004 Ann. Heylen, Looking Toumet-Ortos; du Chronique Oost, van Joseph of lens the through Inner-Mongolia in Missionary (1915-1921) 409, pp. Press, University Leuven Leuven: text), source (French English 90-5867-418-5 ISBN 2004 ed. W., Martin Huang, Continuations, Sequels, Legs; Snakes’ fiction Chinese and Rewritings, Press, Hawai’i of University Honolulu: 0-8248-2812-7 306, pp. 2004 Ellen. Laing, Johnston Posters Calendar Happiness: Selling Twentieth- Early in Culture Visual and Shanghai Century Press, Hawai’i of University Honolulu: 0-8248-2764-3 ISBN ill., 305, pp. 2004 Pun. Ngai S., Agnes Ku, Kong: Hong in Citizenship Remaking city global the and nation community, 260, pp. RoutledgeCurzon, London: 0-415-33209-5 ISBN China Chhokar, Kiran B., Mamata Pandya, Meena Pandya, Mamata B., Kiran Chhokar, 2004 eds. Raghunathan, Enviroment Understanding ill., 326, pp. Publications, Sage London: 0-7619-3277-1 ISBN 2004 Gönül. Dönmez-Colin, cinema and islam Women, ill., 206, pp. Books, Reaktion London: 1-8619-220-9 ISBN 2004 eds. Park, Chul Yung Takatoshi, Ito, bondmarkets Asian Developing tables, 178, pp. Press, Pacific Asia Canberra: 0-7315-3804-8 ISBN 2005 ed. Linda, Learman, of Era the in Missionaries Buddhist Globalization Press, Hawai’i of University Honolulu: 0-8248-2810-0 ISBN 245, pp. 2004 eds. Yoshina, Naoyuki J., Mark Scher, Asian and mobilization savings Small of role the development; economic services financial postal tables, 264, pp. Sharpe, M.E. Armonk: 0-7656-1484-7 ISBN eds. Mehendale, Sanjyot and Touraj Atabaki, 2004 Caucasus: the and Asia Central diaspora and Transnationalism tables, 235, pp. RoutledgeCurzon, London: 0-414-33260-5 ISBN eds. Popova, F. Irina and Wallace Johnson, 2004 Historical An Law: Asian Central The for Festschrift A Overview. Franke Herbert of Birthday Ninetieth history, Legal Asian of Society Lawrence: 318 pp. Kansas, of University The 2005 Alexis. Dudden, Korea: of Colonization Japan’s Power and Discourse Press, Hawai’i of University Honolulu: 0-8248-2829-1 ISBN ill., 214, pp. Rubinstein, Murray Lee, Anru Catherine, Farris, 2004 eds. Gender Taiwan: New the in Women a in Consciousness Gender and Roles Society Changing 389, pp. Sharpe, M.E. Armonk: 0-7656-0814-6 ISBN 2004 Yan. Lu, Chinese Japan: Re-understanding 1945 - 1895 Perspectives, Press, Hawai’i of University Honolulu: 0-8248-2730-9 ISBN ill., 339, pp. General Asia Central Asia East > Books Received Books > Books Received Books

28 IIAS Newsletter | #36 | March 2005 > IIAS Fellows (Finland) (USA) (Korea) (China) (Taiwan) (China) (China) (USA) (Australia) (China) (China) Research, the Netherlands the Research, Japan Buddhism, of tion Netherlands the Studies, Development Sciences Research Research Tropical of Affiliated fellow Affiliated Affiliated fellow Affiliated Senior Visiting fellow Visiting Senior PhD student within the joint NWO/ Leiden NWO/ joint the within student PhD Programme Research /IIAS University Visiting exchange fellow, sponsored by NSC by sponsored fellow, exchange Visiting Dr Peter King Peter Dr Indonesia in Disintegrasi 2006 March 1 - 2005 February 28 Pei-Chia LAN Dr Indonesian and Filipina of employment The Taiwan in workers domestic migrant 2005 September 22 - June 22 MA Leppänen, Jan-Eerik vulnerable and marginalisation Socio-genetic China Southwest in groups ethnic 2009 February 1 - 2005 February 1 BA Boya, LI China’ Southern of Languages the of Syntax ‘The 2005 December 31 - 2001 January 1 Odo David Dr photography Japanese of study Ethnographic 2005 October 15 - July 15 Runxia LI Dr poetry Chinese 2005 April 4 - February 4 Jik Sang RHEE Dr Phonetics, language: Korean the of structure The morphology and phonology 2005 September 1 - 2003 September 1 BA Joanna, SIO China’ Southern of Languages the of Syntax ‘The 2005 December 31 - 2001 January 1 Waldron Arthur Prof. 1500-1700 Asia, in warfare Comparative 2005 July 31 - May 1 MA Ping, WANG its and 11 Sept. after relations Euro-Sino The prospects 2005 September 15 - 2004 September 15 MA Leo, WONG syntax Cantonese 2005 September 13 - 2004 September 13 ASSR:Science Social for School Amsterdam BDK:Promo- the for Society Kyokai, Dendo Bukkyo CNWS:Amerindian and African, Asian, of School IDPAD:in Alternatives on Programme Indo-Dutch KNAW:and Arts of Academy Netherlands Royal KRF:NIOD:Korea Foundation, Research Korea Documentation War for NSC:Institute Netherlands NWO: Taiwan Council, Science National Scientific for Organization Netherlands WOTRO:Advancement the for Foundation Netherlands PhD student within the ASSR/IIAS/NWO the within student PhD Marginalization ‘Socio-Genetic programme Asia’ in Affiliated fellow, sponsored by KRF by sponsored fellow, Affiliated Affiliated fellow within the joint NWO/Leiden joint the within fellow Affiliated ‘The programme research University/IIAS China’ Southern of Languages the of Syntax Affiliated fellow Affiliated PhD student within the joint NWO/ Leiden NWO/ joint the within student PhD Programme Research /IIAS University Stationed at the Branch Office Amsterdam Office Branch the at Stationed guest Research (Taiwan) (the Netherlands) (the (Malaysia) (UK) (the Netherlands) (the (Taiwan) (Japan) (Indonesia) (USA) (the Netherlands) (the (Germany) (Indonesia) Affiliated fellow Affiliated Visiting exchange fellow, sponsored by NSC by sponsored fellow, exchange Visiting Affiliated fellow Affiliated Affiliated fellow Affiliated PhD student within the programme ‘Islam in ‘Islam programme the within student PhD Indonesia’ Dr William Southworth William Dr states coastal The Panduranga: and Huanwang AD 750-875 c. Vietnam central in Campa of 2005 October 5 - 2004 October 5 MA Subhan, Arief Madrasah Indonesian the of role changing The authority Muslim of dissemination the and 2005 June 15 - 2001 June 15 Terwiel Jan Barend Prof. and Asia Southeast Mainland of floodplains The history environmental 2007 January 1 - 2005 January 1 Ufen Andreas Dr Asia. Southeast in democracy and Islam democratization and cleavages Islam, Political Malaysia and Indonesia in 2005 March 31 - March 1 Vel Jacqueline Dr Sumba on action in Adat politics: Uma (Indonesia) 2005 August 31 - 2004 September 1 Wijaya Putu Mr. poetry Indonesian 2005 November 30 - October 1 Yaapar Salleh Md. Prof. Malay- in study A Pantoum: and Pantun relations literary European 2005 February 5 - 2003 February 5 in Tuah Hang Relations: Literary Malay-Dutch Netherlands the 2006 February 5 - 2005 February 5 MA Young, Adam in ‘Piracy’ Maritime Contemporary of Roots Asia Southeast 2005 April 10 - 2005 January 10 Asia East I-Chung CHEN Dr Asia in Genomics 2005 September 17 - May 17 Cheng Chu Chris HUANG Dr issues policy of study comparative A space: Asian 2005 October 31 - 2005 May 1 MA Masea, KATO pro- ASSR/IIAS/NWO the within student PhD Asia’ in Marginalization ‘Socio-Genetic gramme marginali- socio-genetic on study comparative A “West” the to relation in “Asia” in Japan sation: group reference a as 2008 September 1 - 2005 March 1 Kemenade van Willem triangle US-China-Europe The 2005 August 31 - 2004 January 1 Poet in residence in Poet Research guest Research Professorial fellow, holder of the European the of holder fellow, Professorial Studies Malay of Chair Affiliated fellow, sponsored by NWO by sponsored fellow, Affiliated NSC by sponsored fellow, exchange Visiting Affiliated fellow Affiliated (UK) (the Netherlands) (the (Japan) (Indonesia) (Indonesia) (Denmark) (the Netherlands) (the (Indonesia) (Philippines) (Indonesia) (the Netherlands) (the PhD student within the programme ‘Islam in ‘Islam programme the within student PhD Indonesia’ Stationed at the Branch Office Amsterdam Office Branch the at Stationed fellow Affiliated Junior research fellow, sponsored by NIOD by sponsored fellow, research Junior Affiliated fellow within the programme ‘Islam programme the within fellow Affiliated Indonesia’ in Muhammad Dahlan, MA Dahlan, Muhammad for institute state Indonesian the of role The Muslim of redistribution the in studies Islamic authority 2005 June 15 - 2001 June 15 Dijk Wil Dr Slaves Asian in trade VOC’s The 2005 March 31 - 2004 October 1 MA Fauzia, Amelia history The society: civil and state, Philanthropy, Indonesia in philanthropy Islamic of 2005 April 11 - February 11 MA Ichwan, Nur Moch Islam: statism of unmaking and making The New in discourse Islamic of production state afterwards and Indonesia Order 2005 April 6 - 2001 April 6 MA Kerkhof, de van Jasper emancipa- The nationalism. and Indonesianisasi the and economy the of reorientation and tion commerce and industry of world 2005 December 31 - 2002 October 15 Lindblad Thomas Dr emancipa- The nationalism. and Indonesianisasi the and economy the of reorientation and tion commerce and industry of world 2006 October 1 - 2002 October 1 MA Morville, Kristian fieldwork A hearts. Medina minds, German between connections on project research based Indonesia in democracy and modernity religion, 2005 April 28 - February 1 MA Noorhaidi, identity and Islam force: paramilitary jihad The Indonesia in transition of era the in 2005 April 30 - 2001 April 1 Satoshi NAKAGAWA Prof. in exchange ritual and management Resource survey historical A (Indonesia): Ende 2006 January 31 - 2005 April 1 Reyes Portia Dr into exploration An history: of Filipinization The Southeast of indigenization contemporary the historiography Asian 2005 August 10 - 2004 August 10 Schröder-Butterfill Elisabeth Dr in networks social and vulnerability Old-age Asia Southeast 2005 April 30 - 2004 May 1 Research guest within the ‘Islam in Indonesia in ‘Islam the within guest Research Programme’ PhD student within the framework of the of framework the within student PhD Indonesia’ in ‘Islam project Affiliated fellow Affiliated Affiliated fellow Affiliated PhD student within the programme ‘Islam in ‘Islam programme the within student PhD Indonesia’ fellow Affiliated Research fellow, sponsored by NIOD by sponsored fellow, Research (Thailand) (Nepal) (Russia) (India) (India) (India) (Indonesia) (India) (India) (UK) (India) Gonda fellow Gonda fellow Affiliated Affiliated fellow Affiliated Stationed at the Branch Office Amsterdam Office Branch the at Stationed fellow IDPAD guest Research Research fellow, sponsored by Gonda Foun- Gonda by sponsored fellow, Research dation Dr Saraju Rath Saraju Dr texts Sanskrit collection Catalogue 2006 June 5 - 2004 January 5 Ratnagar Shereen Dr to stone From history: technological Indian Early iron? to copper or iron 2005 June 15 - April 15 Roy Tirthankar Prof. regime new India’s in Labour 2005 June 30 - 1 Sharma Ram Suhnu Dr language Manchad of Grammar 2005 July 15 - April 17 Shrestha-Schipper Satya Dr The Himalayas: the in hills the from Migrating Jumli the of organization social the on impacts Nepal) (Western 2005 December 31 - 2004 March 1 Srivastava Neelam Dr writing Indian and Secularism children: Nehru’s English in 2005 August 31 - July 1 Stolyarov Alexander Prof. cop- Indian North mediaeval early of list Digital grants plate per 2005 June 4 - March 7 Vijaisri Priyadarshini Dr colonial post and prostitute sacred Outcaste in state and community Sexuality, modernity: 2000 - 1947 India. South 2005 May 31 - March 1 Asia Southeast MA Ariyasajsiskul, Supaporn in study A policy: trade foreign Ayutthaya’s Late an with context international and regional its Boromakot King of reign the on emphasis (1733-1758) 2007 September 1 - 2003 September 1 Bankoff Gregg Dr natural and Community coping: of Cultures Philippines the in hazard 2007 August 31 - 2004 September 1 MA Burhanudin, Jajat trans- The modernism. Islamic of making The Middle the from reformism Islamic of mission the in archipelago Malay-Indonesian the to East century twentieth early and nineteenth late 2005 September 18 - 2001 September 18 PhD student within the programme ‘Islam in ‘Islam programme the within student PhD Indonesia’ Gonda fellow Gonda Gonda fellow Gonda Stationed at the Branch Office Amsterdam Office Branch the at Stationed fellow Affiliated CNWS by sponsored fellow, Research (Tibet) (the Netherlands) (the (the Netherlands) (the (Uzbekistan) (USA) (Russia) (India) (Indonesia) (UK) (New Zealand) (New (United States) (United (the Netherlands) (the Affiliated fellow Affiliated Research fellow, sponsored by NWO by sponsored fellow, Research Affiliated fellow, sponsored by NWO by sponsored fellow, Affiliated Numata visiting professor, sponsored by BDK by sponsored professor, visiting Numata Research guest Research Dr David N. Soo N. David Dr emerging the into investigation an Globalisation: space? in force new A industry. space Asian 2005 June 3 - 2002 October 4 Asia Central Amineh Parvizi Mehdi Dr Office Branch the and Leiden at Stationed Amsterdam fellow Research Asia Programme Energy 2007 April 15 - 2002 July 1 Karmay Gyaltsen Samten Dr teach- Dzogchen the to introduction general A tradition Bon the and Buddhism Tibetan of ings 2005 July 1 - February 15 McKay Alex Dr Himalayas Indian the and Tibet of history The 2005 October 1 - 2000 October 1 Morozova Irina Dr the in development and security Conflict, economic regional toward era: post-Soviet region Asian Central the in cooperation 2005 May 31 - 2003 April 24 Odé Cecilia Dr taiga and tundra the from Voices 2005 July 1 - 2002 July 1 Rahimov Mirzohid Dr Asia Central in cooperation regional Inter-states Southeast and East with relations region the and countries Asian 2005 May 31 - March 1 Asia South Gupta Agnihotri Jyotsna Dr India: in counselling and genetics Reproductive and screening genetic regarding Decision-making diagnosis prenatal 2007 August 31 - 2004 September 1 Hauser Walter Prof. Sangharsh, Jivan Mera of translation edited An Saraswati Sahajanand of memoir the 2005 July 31 - May 1 Marianti Ruly Dr Pakistan in women Elderly 2005 May 31 - 2004 June 1 Plofker Kim Dr with CE, 1800 - BCE 500 India, in Mathematics Islamic with relationship its on emphasis special CE) 1800 - (750 mathematics 2006 September 9 - 2004 September 9 Prakash Om Prof. Ocean, Indian the of world trading The 1500-1800 2005 July 31 - May 1 Affiliated fellow Affiliated Research fellow, within the ASSR/IIAS/NWO the within fellow, Research in Marginalization ‘Socio-Genetic programme Asia’ Stationed at the Branch Office Amsterdam Office Branch the at Stationed fellow Affiliated den Van by sponsored fellow, visiting Senior Foundation Heemstede van Berch Research fellow Research fellow Affiliated (the Netherlands) (the (Australia) (Japan) (India) (Belgium) Affiliated fellow Affiliated Amsterdam Office Branch the at Stationed > IIAS Fellows IIAS > 2005 July 15 - 2005 March 15 doc- post of categories several hosts IIAS The Studies. Asian in (fellows) researchers toral to contributes fellows these of Sponsorship and expertise enhancing of aim institute’s the underdevel- of exploration the encouraging objec- main the of One study. of fields oped establishing in mediate to is IIAS the of tives to and Studies Asian of field the in contacts and national between cooperation stimulate IIAS The institutes. and scholars international research and universities offers consequently the fro benefit to opportunity the institutes of terms In fellows. resident its of knowledge IIAS, the to contribution scholarly their partici- lectures, present to invited are fellows research in cooperate and seminars, in pate be can applications fellows IIAS programmes. application (no time any at submitted deadline). fellowship IIAS an and information More at: available are form application www.iias.nl/iias/fellowships.html contact: please information, specific For [email protected] fellows of Categories fellows Research 1. fellows Professorial 2. fellows visiting Senior 3. fellows exchange Visiting 4. fellows Affiliated 5. fellows Gonda 6. guests Research 7. listed are IIAS at engaged currently fellows All in and specialty of region by selected below order. alphabetical General Tien-shi CHEN Dr globalization of era the in nationality and Border statelessness and diaspora migrants, - 2006 January 15 - 2005 June 1 McWilliam Andrew Dr region- for strategies economic and Ethnography development al 2005 March 15 - February 7 Pande Amba Prof. - India in diaspora Indian of role The relations Netherlands 2005 April 28 - March 28 Remijsen Bert Dr systems prosodic word Hybrid 2005 July 31 - 2002 July 1 2005 July 31 - June 1 Leiden: in IIAS At Sleeboom Margaret Dr cultur- social, political, its and genetics Human implications ethical and al, 2005 December 15 - 2001 September 17 Research fellow Research Stationed at the Branch Office Amsterdam Office Branch the at Stationed fellow Affiliated Affiliated fellow Affiliated Stationed at the Branch Office Amsterdam Office Branch the at Stationed fellow IDPAD IIAS Fellows IIAS

IIAS Newsletter | #36 | March 2005 29 > Alliance/ASEF

Asia Alliance Asian and European perspectives The European Alliance for Asian Stud- ies is a cooperative framework of European institutes specializing in on old-age vulnerability Asian Studies. Its partners are: Population ageing and old-age support are topics of growing importance to Europe and Asia. Currently one in NIAS/Nordic Report > five Europeans is 60 and over; by 2050, it will be more than one in three. Compared to Europe, most Asian Institute of Asian Studies Asia-Europe populations, with the exception of Japan, are still young. However, the speed at which age-structural changes are Director: Dr Jørgen Delman taking place, the huge absolute size of some of Asia’s elderly populations, and the comparatively low levels of Leifsgade 33 DK 2300 Copenhagen S, aggregate wealth and formal provisions are cause for concern and have spawned a large body of research on Denmark older people in Asia. This has led to good, oftentimes comparable data on elderly support in European and Asian T +45-35-32 9500 countries - yet few attempts have been made to draw parallels or learn from the different experiences. F +45-35-32 9549 [email protected] ASEF/Alliance Workshop or a switch to lighter work, by under- www.nias.ku.dk Brawijaya University, Malang, Indonesia stating physical or emotional com- 8-10 July 2004 plaints, by engaging in small-scale recip- IFA Gerard Persoon Gerard rocal exchanges or by relying on age Director: Dr Werner Draguhn Elisabeth Schröder-Butterfill and peers for some of their support. Rothenbaumchaussee 32, D-20148 Ruly Marianti Hamburg, Germany The workshop closed with a discussion T +49-40-428 8740 n response to the common challenge of policy suggestions on how to target F +49-40-410 7945 Iof understanding the impact of age- vulnerable groups and prevent both the [email protected] ing on societies, families and individu- increase in the number of vulnerable www.duei.de/ifa als, an international workshop entitled older people, and the progression from Old-Age Vulnerabilities: Asian and Euro- vulnerability to serious harm. Partici- EIAS pean Perspectives was organised by Braw- pants emphasised the importance of Director: Dr Willem van der Geest ijaya University (Malang, Indonesia), in targeting material protection, paying 35 Rue des Deux Eglises cooperation with the Universities of more attention to health and long-term 1000 Brussels, Belgium Oxford and Amsterdam. The aim was to care without ‘medicalising’ old age, T +32-2-230 8122 initiate intellectual exchange on ageing rethinking legal aspects of protection F +32-2-230 5402 within a theoretical framework of vul- and policy enforcement, and maintain- [email protected] nerability by focusing specifically on dis- Kubu woman, Jambi province, Indonesia ing and strengthening family and com- www.eias.org advantaged subgroups of elderly. The munity support. Whilst these points reasons for this focus were threefold: larly, life-time poverty or exclusion from munities and society. Thus, one of the were certainly not new for those inter- CERI vulnerable older people are of obvious the labour market may prevent the accu- key points in discussions was the impor- ested in vulnerability and well-being in Sciences Po humanitarian concern; by studying vul- mulation of assets, savings or pension tance of formal, legally enshrined pro- later life, their communication by Director: Prof. Christophe Jaffrelot nerability, we are interested in process- entitlements on which to rely in old age. tection for vulnerable subgroups. Until researchers (who tend to emphasise Alliance contact person: Dr David es of relative inclusion or exclusion, thus now, many Asian countries have tended complexities) to policy makers (whose Camroux absolute differences in socio-economic But of course not all childless, divorced to provide state support to those groups attention is not easy to win and hold) is Fondation Nationale des Sciences or policy context can be set aside; and a or poor elders are vulnerable. They are who are already relatively privileged, often still far from perfect. By involving Politiques vulnerability framework encourages embedded in societies, communities such as civil servants or members of the the media and organisations like Help- 56 rue Jacob, 75006 Paris, France debate about realistic, targeted inter- and kin networks, and therefore inti- formal labour market. The notion of Age International, who are able to lobby T +33-1-58717000 ventions. mately affected by the resources and universal benefits, widely accepted (if policy makers directly, it was hoped that F +33-1-58717090 limitations of these wider structures. For increasingly under threat) in Europe, is small but lasting contributions towards [email protected] In studying vulnerability we seek to this reason the study of vulnerability only gradually gaining currency in Asia. reducing vulnerability in old age may www.ceri-sciencespo.com understand why some individuals are at always necessitates the study of people’s Indonesia, for example, recently passed have been made. < heightened risk from bad outcomes, CEAO whilst others are apparently secure. The shared poverty remains poverty, and in situations Elisabeth Schröder-Butterfill is British Acad- Director: Prof. Taciana Fisac concept is, of course, not new. Vulnera- emy Post-doctoral Research Fellow at Centro de Estudios de Asia Oriental / bility has a long history in studies of nat- of economic constraint, it is rarely the elderly who are St Antony’s College, Oxford. Autonomous University of Madrid ural disasters, epidemiology, and regarded as a priority by families, communities Ruly Marianti is Senior Researcher at the Edificio Rectorado famine, but has rarely been applied to SMERU Research Institute in Jakarta. 5a planta Campus de Cantoblanco the study of ageing in a systematic way. and society 28049 Madrid, Spain Doing so entails distinguishing the T +34-91-397 4695 domains of exposure (or ‘risk factors’), differential strategies and resources. a new Social Security Law seeking the F +34-91-397 5278 threats, coping capacities and outcomes, Here attention to cultural and social con- gradual expansion of protection to more [email protected] and examining their inter-relationships text, which shape the normative trans- vulnerable groups, including informal www.uam.es/ceao over time. mission of goods between generations sector workers. and genders, is crucial, as not everyone SOAS Research on vulnerability needs to clar- has access to the same strategies or The potential of poverty to heighten Director: Prof. Colin Bundy ify first what outcomes people are seek- resources. exposure to threats and reduce School of Oriental and African Studies ing to avoid. In other words: what is it resilience in the event of a crisis should University of London that older people feel vulnerable to? This Unusually, among the matrilineal not blind us to the importance of other Thornhaugh Street / Russel Square may be an untimely or degrading death, Minangkabau of Sumatra it is men who sources of vulnerability in old age. Social London, WC1H 0XG, United Kingdom lack of care or social support, exclusion find themselves in a vulnerable position and psychological threats to well-being T +44-20-7637 2388 and poverty, dependence, institutional- in old age, as their entitlement to assets in later life, like loss of autonomy, lone- F +44-20-7436 3844 isation, or loneliness. Old age can be a and support is via sisters or wives. In liness or disempowerment, loom large [email protected] period of marked discontinuities, and it Europe and among better-off groups in in older people’s narratives. Thus, in www.soas.ac.uk is often specific threats or crises, like the Asia, formal welfare arrangements pro- urban North Sulawesi and the Nether- loss of a spouse, cessation of work, or ill- vided by the state or market can protect lands alike, people fear outright depend- SSAAPS ness episodes, which have the potential older people from destitution following ence on others, especially where this Director: Thommy Svensson to precipitate dramatic declines in well- retirement or from a lack of quality entails reliance on distant kin or non- The Swedish School of Advanced Asia being unless compensatory mecha- health care in illness. Although the kin or on already over-burdened care- Pacific Studies nisms are in place. Understanding vul- importance of informal social networks givers. Consequently older people work Stiftelsen STINT nerability therefore requires attention to among poorer segments of Asian pop- hard to ‘manage’ their dependence, for Skeppargatan 8, 114 52 Stockholm the ways in which exposure to threats is ulations has often been stressed, their instance, by maintaining a degree of T +46-70-6355160 shaped over the life course. For exam- capacity for mitigating risks and reduc- independence through continued work F +46-8-6619210 ple, childlessness, affecting as many as ing vulnerability should not be overesti- [email protected] one in four or five older people in cer- mated. As several of the papers in the www.ssaaps.stint.se tain Asian and European populations, workshop illustrated, poor people tend The authors would like to thank the Asia-Europe Foundation and the European Alliance for may result in a lack of care and support to have poorer and smaller networks Asian Studies for their generous funding for the workshop in Malang, and IIAS for invaluable IIAS in old age; divorce - which is common than their richer peers. To put it blunt- help with its organisation. The full report for this workshop can be accessed at: www.asia- (secretariat Asia Alliance) in Europe and Islamic Southeast Asia - ly, even shared poverty remains poverty, alliance.org. Electronic copies of the papers can be received by emailing: elisabeth.schroed- may leave older men with small social and in situations of economic con- [email protected]. The journal Ageing and Society will be publishing a special issue More information: networks and make them particularly straint, it is rarely the elderly who are arising from the workshop on the theme of Old-Age Vulnerabilities later this year. www.asia-alliance.org vulnerable should illness strike. Simi- regarded as a priority by families, com-

30 IIAS Newsletter | #36 | March 2005 > IIAS/ASEF

China’s need for soft power The 8th Asia-Europe Young Leaders Sympo- sium (AEYLS 8) was held in Scheveningen, There is no doubt that China is strong in economic and military terms. It is, however, better the Netherlands from 29 November to 3 Comment > to get what one wants through the perceived legitimacy of one’s culture, ideals and policies December 2004. Organised by the Asia- International than through force or payment. Such ‘soft power’ is one of the most effective ways for China Europe Foundation, the Dutch Ministry of relations to gain international acceptance, especially from Western industrialised countries. Foreign Affairs and the International Institute for Asian Studies, hosting the event in the Zhai Kun power. A better image would make Japan, India, and Indonesia are the head of the country’s National Netherlands was particularly timely as it was it easier for China to develop either democratic or on the path to Audit Office, who launched the the holder of the EU Presidency and had co- oes China lack soft power? peacefully, while a bad image democracy. Will this leave China, anti-corruption campaign. As anti- hosted the Fifth ASEM Summit in Hanoi, DWhile this may have been so makes cooperation with other with its ‘socialist democracy’, iso- corruption becomes an ever more October 2004. in the past, it is not today. In May countries more difficult. America lated in Asia? popular theme, CCTV is airing 2004, Time magazine’s foreign and Europe say democracy can more prime-time series on the The theme, ‘Shifting Paradigms in Asia- editor Joshua Cooper Ramo coined lead to cooperation and peace; a It is worth bearing in mind that the subject. Ordinary people are Europe Relations: Translating Common the term ‘Beijing Consensus’ to ‘democratic China’ or ‘clean China’ preamble of China’s Constitution watching shows like Hail The Challenges into Common Opportunities’ describe China’s reform and devel- may be preferable to a ‘strong states that ‘the Chinese people Judge, about a righteous judge in underlined the importance of current devel- opment model, the most widely- China’. Democracy and trans- waged many successive heroic ancient China who kills corrupt opments within the ASEM process. The used term in international rela- parency could also enhance the struggles for national independ- ministers, or the more contempo- main goal set for the young leaders was to tions last year. He argued that Communist Party’s future legiti- ence and liberation, and for rary Black Hole and Absolute gain new perspectives on Asia-Europe rela- China is offering hope to develop- macy as a ruling party, though this democracy and freedom’. Hu Jin- Power. tions and put forward recommendations ing countries by providing a more may sound strange to Westerners. tao reiterated in a speech in Aus- based on the plenary lectures and separate equitable development paradigm.1 As General Secretary Hu Jintao tralia’s parliament that democracy The Party has declared it has taken working groups. A quick search on the internet recently said, the CCP is trans- is the common goal of all human measures to fight corruption - for- shows that the ‘Beijing Consensus’ forming from a revolutionary into beings, and that all countries mer Premier Zhu Rongji memo- The symposium approached the complex aca- has captured the excitement of a a ruling party, and today the Chi- should guarantee the democratic rably said in a speech: ‘I prepared demic, social and cultural relationships country where change, novelty and nese people look to the party with rights of its citizens. This said, 100 coffins, 99 for corrupt offi- between the two regions in an interdiscipli- innovation feature regularly in different demands. In the past they China may have to create a new cials, 1 for myself’ to express his nary manner, bringing together the diversity journal articles, dinner table con- needed survival and development, way to implement democracy, step determination. But this is not of local histories, ideas, and agencies in both versations and policy debates. now they need more rights and by step, just as it forged its own enough. The Party is leading Europe and Asia. The symposium also aimed freedoms. The party must recog- path to economic development. China’s rise, and a deeply corrupt to move beyond dialogue, towards deeper The Beijing Consensus is one nize these changes and adjust its China has experimented with elec- Party is sure to lose the authority and more practical knowledge on areas such example of China’s soft power. strategy accordingly. tions in the countryside for some to lead. Yet supervising the Com- as social welfare, financial architecture, elec- Some of China’s Southeast Asian years now; however, with the munist Party and the government tions and interfaith discourse. As we all know, neighbors seem to sense this Towards democracy world’s largest population, holding is like being both player and refer- dialogue is the basis of successful relations; strength. China was the first major Few countries believe China to be direct elections for the top leader- ee in a soccer match. China should sometimes, however, the process itself is dis- power visited by President Arroyo democratic. The American media ship would be a huge project reinforce the rights of the Nation- cussed more than what the process should of the Philippines, Premier Hun- often use the phrase ‘Communist requiring complex social transi- al People’s Congress (NPC) and deliver. Hence the young leaders were invit- sen of Cambodia and Premier China’ to set the country apart tions. the Chinese People’s Political Con- ed not only to debate issues of importance to Abdullah Ahmad Badawi of from western countries. They also sultative Conference (CPPCC), Asia and Europe, but to pinpoint crucial ele- Malaysia when they began new criticize the Communist Party for Clean hands and coffins and especially the rights of the ments within the themes to enable future terms in office. In 2001, President refusing to grant more freedoms The CCP is also making great mass media to monitor the CCP. symposia to produce concrete steps towards Arroyo told Asia Week that looking and rights, key indicators for devel- efforts to address corruption, a closer Asian-European partnership. at Deng Xiaoping’s experience oped countries. During a speech at which is not only a threat to the What will China be like in twenty could help her lead the Philippines Beijing’s Tsinghua University in regime but a challenge to the years? Will world leaders regard In total some 90 academics, politicians, jour- to become a ‘strong republic’. On February 2002, President Bush party’s legitimacy. Top party lead- China as a democratic and clean nalists, businessmen and artists from 26 the multilateral level, all ASEAN presented a view of what Ameri- ers are aware of how the former power? For the Chinese govern- countries, including the new member states members, as well as Japan and can-style democracy would bring president of the Philippines was ment and the CCP, there is a long Cambodia, Latvia, Lithuania, and the Czech Korea, agreed with China’s policy to China’s future elites. Greater overthrown by the second ‘People road ahead to translate its hard Republic, took part in the event, comprised on regional cooperation. democracy in other Asian coun- Power’ revolution, how Indonesia into soft power. < of plenary discussion and working group ses- tries also adds to pressure on and the Suharto family collapsed sions. The keynote speakers were: Sastro- Does this mean China has enough China. India, the Philippines and during the Asian financial crisis, Note handoyo Wiryono (Fellow of the Center for soft power? No it does not. Aside Malaysia all held general elections and how difficult it is for Abdullah 1. Cooper Ramo, Joshua. 2004. The Strategic and International Relations in from its economy and military, last year, but the largest impact Ahmad Badawi to fight corruption Beijing Consensus. London: The For- Indonesia), Frank Majoor (Secretary General there are serious concerns on came in September 2004 with the in Malaysia. eign Policy Center. of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs) and issues such as democracy and the first ever direct presidential elec- Wim van Gelder (Commissioner to the Communist Party’s (CCP) anti-cor- tions in Indonesia, the largest In CCTV (Chinese national state Zhai Kun is Director of the Southeast Queen of the Province of Zeeland). ruption campaign. These two country in Southeast Asia with the television)’s recent poll of the top Asian Studies department of China issues, vital to China’s image world’s largest Muslim population. ten people of the year in the field Institutes of Contemporary Interna- For more information on AEYLS please see

abroad, are key components of soft Large Asian countries including of economics, first place went to tional Relations. opportunities into challenges common translating Relations: Asia-Europe in Paradigms Shifting www.asef.org and www.iias.nl

[advertorial] Connecting Civil Society of Asia and Europe: The Barcelona Report

The recently published Barcelona Report is the result of an informal consultation among civil society groups on Asia-Europe relations. It is the fruit of the ‘Connecting Civil Society of Asia and Europe - An Informal Consultation’ conference held in Barcelona, 16-18 June 2004, jointly organised by the Asia Europe Foundation (ASEF), Casa Asia, IIAS and the Japan Center for International Exchange (JCIE).

Featuring an introductory message from J.E. Salarich, General Director of Foreign Policy for Asia and the Pacific (Spanish Ministry for Foreign Affairs) and keynote speeches by S. Pitsuwan, former Foreign Minister of Thailand and J.P. Dirske, Director General of the Dutch Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations, The Barcelona Report consists of concrete recommendations formulated by more than 180 representatives of leading civil society organisations from Asia and Europe over three days of intense debate and brainstorming.

The issues of mutual concern include human rights and governance, environment and urbanisation, labour and social issues, regionalisation and security issues, trade and development co-operation, migration, education, inter-cultural and interfaith dialogue.

The Barcelona Report was sent to all ASEM heads of states and governments prior to the 5th ASEM Summit in Hanoi in October 2004. It is downloadable at www.civdialogue.asef.org

To order this book, please contact IIAS.

IIAS Newsletter | #36 | March 2005 31 > IIAS Research

[advertisement] IIAS research programmes & Announcement new initiatives Changing Labour Relations in Asia (CLARA) > Programmes Labour relations in different parts of Asia are undergoing diverse historical processes and experiences in terms of their Socio-Genetic Marginalization in Asia national economies, their links with international markets and The development and application of new biomedical and genet- the nature of state intervention. This network aims to under- ic technologies have important socio-political implications. This stand these changes comparatively and historically, focusing NWO/ASSR/IIAS research programme aims to gain insight into on five overlapping themes: the labour process, labour mobil- the ways in which the use of and monopoly over genetic infor- ity, labour consciousness, gendered labour and labour laws and mation shape and influence population policies, environmen- labour movements. tal ethics and biomedical and agricultural practices in various Coordinator: Dr Ratna Saptari Asian religious and secular cultures and across national bound- www.iias.nl/iias/research/clara aries. Coordinator: Dr Margaret Sleeboom www.iias.nl/iias/research/genomics Transnational Society, Media, and Citizenship This multidisciplinary network studies the complex nature of The Syntax of the Languages of Southern contemporary cultural identities and the impact of the global- China ization of information and communication technologies (ICTs) This project aims to achieve a detailed description and in depth on the (re)construction of these identities. Although the pro- analysis of a limited number of syntactic phenomena in six lan- gramme is based in the Netherlands, the projects are carried guages, both Sinitic and non-Sinitic, spoken in the area south out at numerous fieldwork sites. of the Yangtze River. The project will systematically compare Coordinator: Prof. Peter van der Veer these descriptions and analyses to contribute to the develop- www.iias.nl/iias/research/transnational ment of the theory of language and human language capacity, through the study of non-Western languages. Coordinator: Dr Rint Sybesma Care of the Aged: Gender, Institutional www.iias.nl/iias/research/syntax Provisions and Social Security in India, Heart of Netherlands and Sri Lanka This IDPAD/IIAS research project addresses the implications Islam in Indonesia: The Dissemination of of population aging for the social security and health care of Religious Authority in the Twentieth and elderly people. As the experience of ageing is highly gendered Early Twenty-First Centuries and can vary according to class, caste, and religion, the project Borneo Forms and transformations of religious authority among the seeks to capture the dimensions, characteristics and trends Indonesian Muslim community are the focus of this research related to aging among different social and economic groups, programme. The term authority relates both to persons and with an emphasis on women. This comparative study of the Sustainable Development books as well as various other forms of written and non-written Netherlands, Sri Lanka, and India draws on diverse experiences references. Special attention is paid to the production, repro- of development to contextualize the aging process. and Nature Conservation duction, and dissemination of religious authority in the fields www.iias.nl/iias/research/aged of four sub-programmes: ulama (religious scholars) and fatwas; tarekat (mystical orders); dakwah (propagation of the faith); and WWF-CML-IIAS- Conference education. > New initiatives 25-28 April 2005 Coordinator: Dr Nico Kaptein www.iias.nl/iias/research/dissemination The Development of Space Technology in Institute of Environmental Sciences (CML) Asia Einsteinweg 2, Leiden The space age has dramatically impacted on all nations. In Asia, Indonesianisasi and Nationalization the ‘space-faring nations’ - India, China and Japan - have From the 1930s to the early 1960s, the Indonesian economy achieved considerable success in building up indigenous space Convenor: transformed from a ‘colonial’ economy, dominated by the technologies and applications. Other Asian nations have read- Dr Gerard Persoon (CML) Dutch, to a ‘national’ one in which indigenous business ily adopted these applications, including satellites for telecom- assumed control. Shifts in command and management of the munications, for gathering data on the weather, and environ- In 2005 WWF will launch its Heart of Borneo Program to co-ordinate and stimu- economy are closely related to economic structure and politi- mental and earth resources. IIAS has launched this new late conservation efforts related to Borneo. A wide variety of activities will take cal alignment. This NIOD project explores this transformation, research initiative and has initiated a series of workshops on place throughout the year, not only in Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei, but also studying the late-colonial era as well as the Japanese occupa- the topic. in several countries with WWF branch offices. tion, the Revolution and the Sukarno period. Two issues are www.iias.nl/iias/research/space given special attention: Indonesianisasi (increased opportuni- Within the framework of this Heart of Borneo Program, the International Insti- ties for indigenous Indonesians in the economy) and national- tute of Asian Studies (IIAS) and the Institute of Environmental Sciences (CML) ization, in particular the expropriation of Dutch corporate assets Piracy and Robbery on the Asian Seas at Leiden University, in collaboration with partners in Borneo, are organizing in Indonesia in 1957-58. Acts of piracy loom particularly large in Asian waters, with the an academic conference to discuss the present state of knowledge and expert- Coordinator: Prof. J. Thomas Lindblad bulk of all officially reported incidents of maritime piracy occur- ise related to the exploitation of the island’s natural wealth and resources and www.iias.nl/iias/research/indonesianisasi ring in Southeast Asia during the 1990s. This is of serious con- the efforts to conserve its biodiversity. The aim is to bring together scholars cern to international shipping, as the sea-lanes between East from various disciplines and to focus on (1) present trends in resource use; (2) Asia, the Middle East, and Europe pass through Southeast Asia. policy contexts; (3) people and the environment; (4) land use planning; (5) inter- > Networks IIAS and the Centre for Maritime Research (MARE) are currently national trade and transnational issues in resouce use; and (6) needs for action. identifying issues and concerns, and are delineating core ele- ABIA South and Southeast Asian Art and ments of an interdisciplinary research programme on piracy Organizers: Archaeology Index and robbery at sea in Asia. World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF) the Netherlands, Zeist The ABIA Index online database covers publications on prehis- www.iias.nl/iias/research/piracy Institute of Environmental Sciences (CML), Leiden University, Leiden tory, archaeology, and art history, material culture, epigraphy, International Institute for Asian Studies (IIAS), Leiden/Amsterdam paleography, numismatics, and sigillography of South and Southeast Asia. IIAS is the centre for regions outside Asia, with Energy Programme Asia (EPA) Deadline for registration: support from the Gonda Foundation. Between 2002 and 2006 This programme focuses on the impact of East and South East 15 April 2005 the project is coordinated by PGIAR, Colombo, with support Asian Energy Supply strategies on the Caspian region (Azer- from the Central Cultural Fund. Offices have also been opened baijan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Iran, and Russia) and the Registration and Information: at the IGNCA, New Delhi, and the Research Centre for Human- Persian Gulf. The objective is to study the effects of the global International Institute for Asian Studies ities and Social Sciences, Universitas Indonesia, Jakarta. ABIA geopolitics of energy security supply on the main energy con- Manon Osseweijer Index volume 1 is available at IIAS. Volume 2 is available at suming countries of East and Southeast Asia, China, India, PO Box 9515 www.brill.nl Japan, and South Korea, and their national strategies of secur- 2300 RA Leiden Coordinator: Dr Ellen Raven ing supply from the Caspian region and the Persian Gulf. The T +31 71 527 2227 www.abia.net programme is institutionally supported by IIAS and the Clin- F +31 71 527 4162 gendael International Energy Programme (CIEP), Den Haag. [email protected] Coordinator: Dr Mehdi Parvizi Amineh www.iias.nl www.iias.nl/research/energy

32 IIAS Newsletter | #36 | March 2005 > Announcements

ICAS 4 update: Regional network for Muslim authorities in and open up its borders. Consequently the parison. Economic growth in both soci- the future of Asia indigenous peoples in twentieth century Indonesia government has been forced to set a new eties has enabled large segments of the Southeast Asia course in its political ambitions. This IIAS population to move from frugal to con- The fourth International Convention of The IIAS project Islam in Indonesia: the Update will shed light on the latest polit- sumption-oriented lifestyles. While atten- Asia Scholars will be organized by the The Dutch government recently granted dissemination of religious authority in the ical developments in Burma/Myanmar. tion has focused on the production side Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences €1.26 million for a project to build a 20th century is now in its final year. This of the economy - where India provides (SASS) in Shanghai, 20-24 August 2005. regional network among Southeast Asian four-year co-operative research project, Lena Scheen / Amis Boersma services and China manufactured goods At the time of writing, the ICAS 4 Orga- indigenous peoples’ NGOs. The project involving specialists from Indonesia, the [email protected] to the global market - the consumption nizing Committee is sending out letters of will be implemented through the Institute Netherlands, Egypt, Australia, Canada and www.iias.nl side of national markets has not suffi- acceptance to nearly one-thousand par- of Environmental Sciences at Leiden Uni- elsewhere, aims to study and document ciently been addressed. With economic ticipants. About 250 panels on topics vary- versity, and its research station at Isabela important changes in religious, especial- growth comes greater penetration of cap- ing from economics to politics and from State University in the Philippines. The ly Muslim, authority in Indonesia over the 19th European Conference ital and improved technologies of com- anthropology to genomics have been project will be executed in collaboration past century which have contributed to the on Modern South Asian munication; it is only recently that a glob- assembled, the titles and short descrip- with IIAS, in particular through its shaping of contemporary nationhood. As Studies ally-oriented capitalist consumer culture tions of which are published on the ICAS research activities in the field of cultural the twentieth century has been a period of has truly manifesting itself in India and 4 website. minorities. rapid social change – the result of, among 27-30 June 2006 China - at least among the middle class- other factors, spectacular rises in literacy, Leiden es. This cultural dimension of human ICAS 4 will have as its theme ‘The Future The aim of the project is to support, safe- urbanization, economic growth and the action has rarely been directly addressed of Asia’. While previous meetings of ICAS guard, restore and protect natural liveli- visibility and influence of the state – the IIAS will be hosting the 19th European as the core resource for production and lacked such a theme, it is clear why the hood resources to alleviate poverty among dissemination of religious authority has Conference on Modern South Asian consumption. organizers of ICAS 4 desired it: their back- indigenous peoples in Southeast Asia. acquired highly dynamic and complex Studies, in Leiden, the Netherlands, 27-30 yard, Shanghai, is the future of Asia. The This will be pursued through the devel- characteristics. June 2006. Panel proposals should be The conference will focus on the cultural rise of this city over the past decade has opment and strengthening of a regional submitted to the Conference Secretariat analysis of consumption in India and been a story of superlatives. The skyline network of organizations working with The project includes four advanced by 1 June 2005 by email in Rich Text For- China. Economic change affects the entire of the city has been transformed, now indigenous peoples. Action research will research programmes which address the mat (RTF) or PDF. The proposal should dream world of mass consumption, boasting some of the world’s tallest build- be an important component of the proj- most important areas of religious dis- include a title, an abstract of 300 words, including cinema, advertising, luxury ings and longest bridges. Shanghai’s ect, which will work with local, national semination in Indonesia over the twenti- and contact information of the panel goods and their cheap copies. Consump- unique appeal rests in its double role as a and regional organization in the Philip- eth century and into our day, namely: organizer (name, address, email, affilia- tion patterns are deeply embedded in harbinger of China’s future and a testing pines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam and ‘Ulama and Fatwa: the Structures of Tra- tion, and title). The Academic Advisory class habits and the politics of distinction. ground for the world at large. It draws Thailand. In January an experienced Fil- ditional Religious Authority’, ‘Tarekat: Committee will then review the panel pro- As such, the art world and the conserva- inspiration from the co-habitation of ipino network director was appointed, Mystical Associations’, ‘Dakwah Organi- posals. Due to limited time and space tion of architecture are parts of these new Asian and Western ideas and peoples and Rolando Modina. He will be assisted by zations and Activities in Urban Commu- available during the conference, the Advi- emergent lifestyles. Leisure and the enjoy- the creative forces these engender. The Dante Aquino, who finished his disserta- nities’ and ‘Education and the Dissemi- sory Committee reserves the right to ment of life become available to new landmark Shanghai Exhibition Center on tion on resource use among the Bugkalot nation and Reproduction of Religious combine or decline panels. The commit- groups in society and give rise to impor- Yanan Road will be the venue of ICAS 4. (formerly known as Ilongot) in Luzon. Authority’. tee encourages panels open to a broad tant industries, such as tourism. Ques- This communist icon, which opened its audience, and that apply a wide approach. tions of authenticity and cultural repro- doors in 1955, is a culturally significant A first meeting is scheduled for April 2005 As a spin-off activity to the joint research Notices of acceptance will be sent out by duction are central to what Arjun structure in Shanghai’s historical mosaic. in the Philippines, where representatives efforts, a comprehensive list of religious August 2005 while accepted panel pro- Appadurai (1986) has called ‘the social life Initially called the China-Soviet Friendship of indigenous peoples’ NGOs from across personalities in twentieth century Indone- posals will be listed in the IIAS Newslet- of things’. Since consumption is so much Mansion (Zhong-Su youhao dasha), its the region will exchange ideas and experi- sian Islam, including well-known but also ter and on the conference website. fuelled by desire, it is also necessary to name was changed to Exhibition Center in ences, and identity research and training less important or not so well-known per- analyze new conceptions of gender and 1968. Its famous vaulted hall has been priorities. In many countries the ‘devel- sons, is being compiled. The initial plan Convenor: D.H.A. Kolff sexuality as integral to the conference reserved for the exhibitors, supporters and opment’ of indigenous peoples is a com- was to make a collection of short biogra- [email protected] theme. Individual sessions will address: visitors of ICAS 4. plicated social problem, fraught with polit- phies, but in view of the abundance of ical sensitivities. Numerous donor biographical materials already available, Cinema / Television. Asian television is in ICAS Book Prizes agencies and national governments have it was decided to create a database with How the Balance Swung: the throes of change; state-sponsored The ICAS Book Prizes aim to create an struggled with this issue for a long time, bibliographical references to already exist- a hundred years after the channels now compete with numerous international focus for publications on and continue to do so. One of the prob- ing data. Russo-Japanese War satellite channels and new vistas of imag- Asia while increasing worldwide visibility. lems they face is to find the right balance ination. To some extent, the notion of a All scientific books published in 2003 and between government priorities and The aim is to collect source materials 16 September 2005 distinctly American (Hollywood) or Chi- 2004 on Asian topics were eligible. Three increasingly vocal indigenous peoples, from all over the world: monographs, arti- Amsterdam nese or Indian cinema (Bollywood) is prizes will be awarded: (1) best study in who may choose alternative routes to the cles or chapters in monographs, journal breaking down, as film industries around the humanities; (2) best study in the future. articles, pamphlets, editorials, papers for IIAS is organising a seminar on the after- the world become integrated in ways that social sciences; and (3) best PhD disser- congresses, forums and seminars, trans- math of the 1904-05 Russo-Japanese War, make them simultaneously more global tation. The prize will consist of ¤ 2500 for It is the explicit aim of this project to lis- lations of non-Indonesian source materi- which had a colossal impact on the self- and more local. Yet both India and China each of the books while the best PhD dis- ten to the voices of indigenous peoples als and so on. In due course, our intention confidence of colonised peoples all over have survived the Hollywood onslaught sertation will be published. In all, the ICAS themselves, and to support their efforts is to collect other source items, including Asia. Issues to be discussed include the with the popularity of their own films. secretariat received forty books on a broad towards poverty alleviation and sustain- visual and audio material. In this phase of effects of Russia’s defeat on the nation’s India produces the largest number of range of topics from 17 publishers (for able resource management though action the project the work for the database is domestic and foreign politics; the influ- films of any country in the world; Bolly- more information see www.icassecretari- research and the sharing of experiences carried out in Leiden, home to the Royal ence of the war on social movements in wood, in particular, is a national passion. at.org; the back page of this newsletter across ethnic and other boundaries. A Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian other countries in the region; and Japan’s Equally important, both countries are cen- lists the titles). A reading committee of six trust fund to finance small field projects and Caribbean Studies (KITLV) with its use of its victory in its relationships with tres of two of the world’s largest diaspo- members is now judging the books. On 16 is part of the overall program. famous Indonesia collections. the Western powers and the people in its ras, often avid consumers of films and tel- June short lists will be announced on the colonies. International experts in the field evision from their ‘home’ countries. This ICAS Secretariat website. The awarding of By facilitating this project at the campus At present the database is still in its form- will be participating in the event. session will examine the role of television the ICAS Book Prizes will be during the of a university committed to the plight of ative stage. Hence, we very much wel- and cinema in the formation of Indian and opening ceremony of ICAS 4 in Shanghai indigenous peoples and the sustainable come suggestions and submissions from For more information please contact the Chinese modernities, both within the on the 20th of August, at which we hope management of natural resources, we your side. Disclosure on the web of the IIAS Amsterdam branch: countries, and for their diasporas. It will you will all be present. hope to bridge the gap between practi- database is planned in the summer of [email protected] also redefine the televisual and cinemat- tioners in development and the research 2005, shortly before the end of the project ic experiences of Asia in an ever-changing ICAS 4 community, whose results have not in September 2005. A print publication of global context. Head, Supervising Committee: always reached all concerned parties. We the bibliography is also being considered. Consumerism and the Wang Ronhua, President, SASS also hope to stimulate and facilitate emerging middle class: Advertising. Contemporary advertising in Head, Organizing Committee: research activities by representatives of Michael Willé comparative perspectives India and China has reached internation- Renhwei Huang, Vice President, SASS the indigenous communities themselves. Documentalist, IIAS from India and China al standards in scope and technical Organizer: Li Yihai [email protected] accomplishment. How have advertising For more information on this project, [email protected] IIAS/CASS/ICSSR/CERI/CSH strategies in the two countries changed ICAS Secretariat please contact Rolando Modina, net- Workshop Series, Number 2 over recent years? Is there increased cus- P.O. Box 9515 work director, at [email protected] India International Centre, New Delhi tomization to local cultures? An intensifi- 2300 RA Leiden or Gerard Persoon, project leader, at Burma/Myanmar Update 7-9 November 2005 cation of strategies aimed at targeting The Netherlands [email protected]. The web- rural markets? How are consumers affect- Tel: +31-71-5272227 site of the joint program of Leiden Uni- 24 March 2005 China and India - the world’s two fastest ed? In China, have the material standards Fax: +31-71-5274162 versity and Isabela State University is: Amsterdam growing economies accounting for a third promoted through advertising had rami- [email protected] www.CVPED.org of the world’s population - have been fications the Party failed to foresee? How www.icassecretariat.org With its new status as Asia-Europe Meet- going through comparable processes of does women’s entry into the workforce Gerard Persoon ing (ASEM) member state, Burma/Myan- liberalization and globalization in the past further change lifestyle patterns and pur- mar is subject to heavy international pres- decades. In terms of scale and historical chasing behaviour? What does the use of sure to improve its human rights situation depth, they are obvious cases for com- ‘Hinglish’ in Indian advertising reflect? Is

IIAS Newsletter | #36 | March 2005 33 > Announcements it part of the latest attempt of empower- decades. Using Shanghai and New Delhi South Asian Diasporas: While differences are acknowledged in circumstances. South Asian identity is ing the youth market, aiming to make and the adjoining new, urban area of Gur- the creation of unfinished terms of class, religion, gender and lan- constantly negotiated in changing con- them independent consumers, defining gaon as case studies, participants can identities in the modern guage, these differences are experienced in texts. This assumption holds as much in their identities through the consumption examine how the city has been trans- world India as well. What, then, is the use of the South Asia as it does in the South Asian of ‘cool products’? How far do strategies formed, and explore some areas of con- diaspora concept if it cannot explain the diasporas. A historical and comparative such as this undermine the traditional testation associated with this transfor- IIAS/ Erasmus University Rotterdam socio-economic and cultural differences approach may help us to understand hierarchy of family and reinforce individ- mation. How does the super new modern workshop between Caribbean Asians, East African some of these dynamics. What is the use ualism? architecture fit with the old? How has city 23-24 June 2005 Asians and other South Asian migrants in of the diaspora concept if it tends to unify life changed? How are Chinese and Indi- Rotterdam London? How can the diaspora concept the ‘diapora’? Is the diaspora ‘checklist’ Tourism. India has a huge potential for ans coping with this change? How does help us to understand changing attitudes helpful in understanding migration expe- tourism and now offers a variety of tours the government manage both growth and It is well known that ‘twice migrant’ Indi- towards India and the South Asian diaspo- riences or does it close our eyes to varia- for both foreign and domestic tourists, environmental issues, collective and indi- ans in the UK from the Caribbean and East ra through generations? tion and difference? In other words, is the including cultural, heritage, religious, vidual interests? Africa share little with each other, seem- diaspora concept useful in our empirical adventure, train, rejuvenation, tribal, ingly fragmented by their migration expe- Peoples in diaspora are part of global and research or not? beach resort, even textile tours. China is Anti-consumerism. Both India and China riences. Outsiders (scholars, or the Indi- local histories. Historians need to empha- already an important tourism destination have witnessed strong currents of anti- an Government) may define them as one, size the dynamic processes of changing Organizers: in Asia, and ranks sixth in the number of consumerism in their modern histories. but they do not speak the same lan- attitudes towards the homeland, host land G. Oonk, Erasmus University Rotterdam arrivals in the world. It is estimated that, Gandhi’s emphasis on frugality, tradi- guages, visit the same temples or and diasporic community. A historical and H. Schulte Nordholt, Erasmus by 2020, China will be the world’s number tional crafts, and the spinning wheel was mosques, and hardly intermarry. In fact, comparative approach may help us to University Rotterdam / University of one tourist destination and the fourth an answer to imperialist capitalism. the labels ‘East African Asian’ and understand some of these dynamics. Amsterdam / IIAS largest nation of tourists (Asian Info China’s communist movement con- ‘Caribbean Asian’ suggest these are new Contact: [email protected] online). Domestic tourism in China is demned bourgeois values of consumption constructions of identity. Two recent and related developments are growing vigorously and can be linked to and the aesthetic values of feudalism. In of importance. The vast growth of mass the emergence of a new, urban middle both cases these resistances have their The main aim of the workshop is to bring media and the internet has in one way or Chinese Cultures Abroad class. This session will address issues ironies, such as the development of khadi together senior scholars in the field of another re-connected Indian diasporas Directory such as Chinese perceptions of moderni- into modern chic in India and the cottage Indian diaspora studies to discuss the with India. Bollywood videos and music ty and responses of ethnic minorities as industry of Maoist memorabilia in China. potential and limits of the ‘diaspora’ con- are sold throughout the world; the inter- The Chinese Cultures Abroad Directory they encounter state-sponsored modern- These and other forms of anti-con- cept. The conference will stress how dif- net now counts numerous sites where wishes to receive URLs and, if you wish, ization. How has television and print sumerism and the irony of their com- ferent migration experiences, migrants’ people share views, discuss politics and your evaluation of websites in any language media transformed religious pilgrimages modification needs further exploration. reception in host countries, and length of virtually reunite with the ‘homeland’. In by or about Overseas Chinese (however into a consumer experience in India? time abroad explain differences in identi- addition, since September 2000 the Indi- defined). Visit www2.hawaii.edu/~pollard What changes occur for middle class Indi- Further sessions will address the politici- ty formation among Indian diasporas. an government, in contrast to its earlier /participation.html for details. The Direc- ans when, from believers and worship- sation / depoliticisation of the urban mid- This approach goes against the general policy of indifference, has adopted a pol- tory is part of the China WWW Virtual pers, they become audiences / con- dle class and the new middle class of ‘Asians in diaspora’ literature, which tends icy seeking stronger ties with the Indian Library and the Asian Studies WWW sumers? How do such audiences relate to entrepreneurs. to unify and homogenize migrants in diaspora (not diasporas). Virtual Library. Vincent K. Pollard the sacralizing potential of mass media terms of culture, religion, language and [email protected] is the editor. which offer alternative, and often individ- Convenors: Peter van der Veer and Shoma homeland, speaking of the Indian dias- Despite the technological and political ualized access to religious experience? Munshi (IIAS); Christophe Jaffrelot (Cen- pora. The general literature uses broad developments, re-connection, however Does it have a particular structure? tre d’Etudes et de Recherches Interna- ‘checklists’ of factors to define diasporic defined, is not an obvious and natural Invitation to join the tionales, Paris) Patricia Uberoi and Ravni groups: dispersal to two or more loca- process. It has ‘local’ and ‘global’ mean- Nagani Project Art and Architecture. China’s urban land- Thakur (Institute for Chinese Studies, tions; collective mythology of homeland; ings. People in diaspora choose to re-con- scape has transformed over the last two Delhi University). alienation from the host land and others. nect; choose what (and what not) to re- The Nagani (Red Dragon) Book Club was connect to. In some cases they may founded in 1937 in Rangoon, by a van- [advertisement] choose not to re-connect at all and still be guard of Burmese independence fighters ‘Indian’. This occurred among Indian who tried to transmit international knowl- groups in East Africa, who initially edge and literature into Burma. Modelled strengthened their economic and cultur- on Victor Gollancz’ Left Book Club, its al ties with India through trade relations members included Thakin Nu, who later and taking brides from the homeland. became the first Prime Minister of inde- However, many Indian businessmen in pendent Burma. The purpose of the Club East Africa today show little economic was to print books in Burmese language interest in India, despite the initiatives of containing the essence of the contempo- the Indian government. On the contrary, rary international literature, history, eco- the overall image of Indians in India nomics, politics and science at a low among Gujarati businessmen in East price. Up to 1941, the club published more Africa transformed from ‘reliable family or than 70 books, issued a newsletter and community members’ to one of ‘unreli- was popularised by a still popular song able, corrupt and, untrustworthy ‘others’. that was sung by a film star.

These issues raise questions related to the The current Nagani Project intends to concept of diaspora as well as to migra- study various aspects of Burma/Myan- tion and relocation issues. How was the mar’s intellectual and literary history. It ‘Indianess’ of South Asian migrants aims to encourage and establish joint embedded in their host countries? research by Burmese (and non-Burmese) Though many overseas Indians haven’t individuals living both inside and outside visited India for three generations or Myanmar, and to establish a network of more, they created myths, stories and people concerned about Burma/Myan- opinions about it. Others visited India fre- mar’s past as well as future intellectual life quently (or just once) and shared their and literature. stories with friends and family members. What is the importance of their image of The current project, as a first step, aims India in their local identity creation? How to provide an overview of the Nagani Book do local Indian communities respond to Club’s publications. Towards this end, we the growing importance of mass media are looking to publish ‘book-reports’ on and the internet and the new policy of the Nagani publications in English, of 8,000- Indian Government to strengthen their 12,000 words. After about 40 reports are ties with India? These questions are all submitted, a seminar will be held to dis- related to the main question of this con- cuss the results and decide on the foci for ference: how does the migration experi- further investigation and research. The ence create new identities and/or alter old Singapore conference on Burma in July ones in the local and global process of 2006 will provide a first opportunity for assimilation and integration in the dias- this discussion. poras of South Asians? For more information, please contact: Most scholars are aware that ‘South Hans-Bernd Zoellner Asian’ identity is neither unchanging and University of Hamburg / primordial, nor infinitely flexible, which Asian-Africa-Institute one may paint, fill in, or use depending on [email protected]

34 IIAS Newsletter | #36 | March 2005 > Announcements

Annual Bank Conference on The conference aims to bring together his- This workshop is intended to open a Paper proposals including a 400-word dhist, it is not a matter of claiming to deal Development Economics torians, anthropologists, sociologists and space for such comparative studies. By abstract and a short biography of the pro- with Buddhism or Islam in their own right, linguists. The regional scope of the con- examining the aims, modes, mecha- poser should be sent to Valerie Yeo at but of studying these worlds comparative- 23-24 May 2005 ference is centred on Asia including nisms and processes of polity expansion [email protected] by 6 April 2005. ly as parts of a vast whole extending from Amsterdam Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thai- in Asia, some generic conclusions about Those selected to participate will be the Arctic Sea to the Himalaya. The journal land, Laos, Burma, Vietnam, China, Korea the nature of such expansion may well be advised within two weeks of this date and seeks to contribute to knowledge on the The next Annual Bank Conference on and Japan. Languages belonging to all forthcoming. Was polity expansion will be required to submit completed region’s peoples and to clarify questions of Development Economics (ABCDE) will be major linguistic families present in the always accompanied by military ven- papers by April 2006. interest to the scientific community. This held in Amsterdam 23-24 May 2005. This zone will be considered. Paper proposals tures? How important was bureaucratic step is conveyed in the modification of the year’s conference will focus on ‘Securing including 250-word abstracts and 5-line support for expansion? What role did For enquiries, please contact: name of the journal, which becomes Études Development in an Unstable World?’ and biography should be sent to Valerie Yeo at environment play as an inducer of or Convenors: mongoles et sibériennes, centrasiatiques et will be jointly organized by the World [email protected] by 31 March 2005. obstacle to expansion? Was incorpora- Geoff Wade ([email protected]) tibétaines (EMSCAT). The editorial policy Bank, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Some funding will be available for those tion of surrounding areas into an eco- Zheng Yangwen ([email protected]) remains open, as before, to individual Minister of Development Cooperation and in the Asian region, post-graduate stu- nomic network centred in the expanding Bruce Lockhart ([email protected]) essays, monographs, and to a single theme the Ministry of Finance of the Nether- dents, and others unable to fund them- polity a frequent precursor to, or perhaps Anthony Reid entrusted to a guest editor. All suggestions lands. selves. It is hoped that the conference will a common effect, of political expansion? or proposals of themes are welcome and lead to an important book. Was cultural affiliation a useful or desir- Secretariat: should be sent to the editor: Each year, the ABCDE brings prominent able condition for the absorption of sur- Valerie Yeo ([email protected]) researchers and policymakers from For enquiries, please contact: rounding polities or peoples? How much Katia Buffetrille around the world together with the senior Charles Macdonald, CNRS, France, active acculturation of occupied peoples Centre d’études mongoles et sibériennes leadership of the World Bank and other [email protected] did expanding polities engage in? Was Études mongoles et [email protected] multilateral and bilateral agencies, to dis- Zheng Yangwen, ARI, Singapore, control over people or territory the key sibériennes, centrasiatiques cuss major development challenges. It is [email protected] concern of the rulers of historical Asian et tibétaines usually attended by a broad audience of Anthony Reid, Director, ARI, polities? How have such concerns Siksacakr: peer-reviewed 500 academics and development experts. [email protected] changed? It is hoped that papers will The journal Études mongoles, founded in journal of the Center for www.ari.nus.edu.sg/conf2006/ address both specific examples of polity 1970 by Roberte Hamayon, initially Khmer Studies Contact: Nina Maqami naming.htm expansion as well as address possible focused exclusively on the Mongol world. [email protected] patterns which might be shared with (or Its following coverage of Siberia was Siksacakr welcomes articles related to www.worldbank.org/abcde-europe differ from) other examples of Asian reflected in the new title Études mongoles Khmer and Southeast Asian Studies. Arti- Asian Expansions: expansions. et sibériennes, delineating the contours of cles must be either in Khmer, English or the historical processes of a cultural area in Northern Asia. This ori- French. Accepted articles are published in Naming in Asia: polity expansion in Asia The issues involved in such an exploration entation, however, led to the neglect of their original language and translated into Local Identities and are, admittedly, enormous and a work- important aspects of Mongol reality, con- Khmer. The deadline for No.8 (Spring Global Change 12-13 May 2006 shop of this scale will only be a prelimi- nected with the Turks of Central Asia 2006) is 21 December 2005. Asia Research Institute nary step in beginning to address some of through language, geography, history. 23-24 Feb 2006 Singapore the connections and commonalities Other aspects of the history and culture A new on-line version for shorter articles Asia Research Institute between diverse historical processes. It is of the Mongols link them to the Tibetans. comes out every six months. The deadline Singapore Many of the nation states of Asia are hoped, however, that by bringing attention for the first, June 2005 issue is 30 April 2005. products of territorial expansion over to the need to study the history of polity With the aim of better accounting for this The cross-cultural and cross-disciplinary time. Others, although smaller today expansion in Asia, new ways of under- complexity, the journal is now moving to Contact: Michel Rethy Antelme, study of personal names is one of the than their largest historical scales, are standing historical and contemporary Asia include coverage of Central Asia and Tibet. Editor-in-Chief most promising endeavours in the fields also products or vestiges of territorial will emerge. Although one is Muslim and the other Bud- Manuscript to: [email protected] of history, social anthropology, sociolo- expansion. The expansions by which gy and linguistics. It holds the key to a Asian polities grew, however, were [advertisement] number of important issues, including diverse in nature, varied in mode and of the definition of personal identities, the differing lengths in process. position of the individual in society, reli- NUMBER 7 NOW AVAILABLE gious and cosmological representations, While historical expansion by European social change, gender and history. In states and European empires has been a Asia, a great variety of personal naming subject of intense research in recent systems are present. Each bears on the decades, Asian expansions is a field which way society defines personal and social remains largely unstudied. The processes identity. The colonial period and subse- of decolonization and nation-building in Social Science Research on Southeast Asia quent pressures of globalization are Asia over the last half century have pro- Recherche en sciences humaines sur l’Asie du Sud-Est reflected in various systems of naming, duced much nationalist history posited on typically intended to combine some link a long-term ‘natural’ historical genealogy ARTICLES with indigenous practice (tenuous in of contemporary polities. The mecha- Adrian B. Lapian some colonial cases), ethnic identifica- nisms by which Asian polities have devel- Laut Sulawesi: From Centre to Peripheries tion, legibility to government, and utility oped and expanded over time have thus Gwenaël Feillard within a globalising system. generally been understudied and, in some Adapting to Reformasi: Democracy and Civil Society in the Indonesian Islamist Discourse areas, entirely ignored. Yet it is crucial to Papers are encouraged either to explore an understanding of the modern world Eric Bourdonneau the dynamics of a particular naming sys- that the evolution of Asian polities be Culturalisme et historiographie du Cambodge ancien: tem, or to pursue various thematic issues explored not only in terms of political sys- à propos de la hiérarchisation des sources de l’histoire khmère more broadly across several societies. The tems (the Northeast Asian bureaucratic Olli Ruohomäki following topics are among those encour- forms versus the Southeast Asian ‘charis- Encounters in Borderlands: Social and Economic Transformations in Ratanakiri, Northeastern Cambodia aged: ma’ mandalas, for example), but also in terms of expanding territories. In looking NOTES • Comparative study of personal names at the emergence of modern states, the Didier Bertrand – typology of naming systems autonomous Asian processes of bureau- Le combat contre la drogue en RDP Lao : une analyse à travers la presse, 1998-2003 • The politics of naming: surnaming and cratization and accretion need also to be the state compared to those of Europe. These are Jean Baffie, Andrée Feillard, & Gilles de Gantès Armées d'Asie du Sud-Est : un livre, deux pays, trois commentaires • What is in a name: worldviews, very major issues in terms of how the cosmologies, representations world we know has come to be, and how REVIEWS • Names and religious identities. the problems which face many nations Conferences - Books - Music • Name-changing and religious have come to be created. conversion SALES & SUBSCRIPTIONS • Names and inheritance. Do patrilin- Victor Lieberman has recently drawn EDISUD, La Calade, RN 7, 13090 Aix-en-Provence, France eages concentrate capital? attention to processes of expansion and Ph.: 33-(0)4-42216144 - Fax: 33-(0)4-42215620 - www.edisud.com - E-mail: [email protected] • Structural role of naming in different integration which show ‘strange paral- Subscription (nos. 7 & 8): 30.50 Euros societies lels’ across Eurasia, yet the Asian end of Price per issue: 18.30 Euros • Regional naming systems: global and the equation remains understudied. local While scholars such as Lattimore, Di MOUSSONS, c/o IRSEA, MAISON ASIE PACIFIQUE • Islamic naming in Asian societies Cosmo, Elvin and Purdue have investi- Université de Provence, 3, place Victor-Hugo, 13003 Marseilles, France • Names in daily use, the politics of gated frontiers and expansions of the Ph. : 33-(0)491106114 - Fax : 33-(0)491106115 - E-mail : [email protected] conversation polities of China and Central Asia, com- • The linguistic structure of naming parative studies of Asian expansions are Moussons is a joint publication of IRSEA and LASEMA systems still lacking.

IIAS Newsletter | #36 | March 2005 35 > International conference agenda June 2005 June 2005 June 1-3 Singapore Asian the of conference Biennial 2005: ASIALEX Lexicography for Association [email protected] http://asialex.nus.edu.sg/about01.htm 2005 June 2-5 USA Boulder, an Toward Justice: Democracy, Difference, Society Taiwanese Inclusive Taiwan American North Annual 11th The Conference Studies www.natsc.org 2005 June 3-5 Denmark Aarhus, eco- Asia: South of Dramas Contemporary The cultural and political social, nomic, changes/upheavals NIAS by organized [email protected] 2005 June 7-8 Singapore in Religion of Construction The Faiths: Casting Asia Southeast and East Aung-Thwin Maitrii contact: [email protected] [email protected]; www.ari.nus.edu.sg/conf2005/faiths.htm 2005 June 7-8 Netherlands the Leiden, spo- Languages the of Syntax the on Workshop China Southern in ken University) (Leiden Sybesma Rint convenor: IIAS by organized [email protected] 2005 June 9-11 Netherlands the Leiden, the of Meeting Annual Thirteenth The - IACL13 Linguistics Chinese for Association International University) (Leiden Sybesma Rint convenor: [email protected] www.iias.nl/IACL13 2005 June 16-18 Netherlands the Leiden, tone and stress Between Remijsen Bert convenor: Rozing Marloes or Remijsen Bert contact: [email protected] [email protected] www.iias.nl/iias/agenda/best/index.html Human Rights in China in Rights Human Music and the Art of Seductions of Art the and Music You can increase public awareness of your conference in this newsletter and in the online Agenda Asia by Asia Agenda online the in and newsletter this in conference your of awareness public increase can You www.iias.nl/gateway/news/agasia to details conference your submitting 19-21 May 2005 May 19-21 Italia Ventimiglia, Persons of Movements Transnational New The in and Area Euro-Mediterranean the in their in Changes the and Asia, South-East Management Workshop ASEF-Alliance of (University Palidda Salvatore convenors: (National Grundy-Warr Carl and Italy) Genoa, Singapore) of University [email protected] 2005 May 19-22 Netherlands the Amsterdam, Present and Past India: North in Courtesans Confer- International the At Panel: SOAS/IIAS ence University (SOAS, Perron du Lalita convenor: UK) London, of [email protected] 2005 May 20-22 USA DeKalb, Studies Lao on Conference International First University Illinois Northern the by organized Lamb Julia contact: [email protected] www.seasite.niu.edu/lao/events/ Conference2005/FICLS2.htm 2005 May 20-22 Netherlands the Hague, The Energy the of Conference International Second (EPA) Asia Programme and Linde de van Coby convenors: Amineh Mehdi Clingendael and IIAS by organized (CIEP) Programme Energy International [email protected] 2005 May 25-27 Singapore Domination, of Strategies Transgressio; of States Asia across Resistance and Accommodation Institute, Research Asia by organized Singapore of University National [email protected] www.ari.nus.edu.sg/conf2005/transgress.htm 2005 May 27 Netherlands the Leiden, of role the Interference, or Criticism NGOs international Series: Lecture Made der van J. speaker: of Department the and IIAS by organized University Leiden Studies, Chinese Boersma Amis : contact [email protected] 29 April - 1 May 2005 May 1 - April 29 Kingdom United Devon, Asia East South in Continuity and Turbulence East South of Association the by organized UK Studies, Asian [email protected] www.ex.ac.uk/geography/research/ aseasuk05/intro.html 2005 May 2005 May Sweden Göteborg, Workshop Asia Gender Nordic on Research for Network the by organized Asia in Gender http://nias.ku.dk/activities/conferences/ default.htm 2005 May 10-14 China Hangzhou, Sustainable on Workshop EU-ASEM First for Options Policy and Management Resource Asia in Ecosystems Rice Workshop ASEF-Alliance (Wageningen Roetter Reimund convenors: (Zhejiang Guanghuo Wang and University) University) [email protected] 2005 May 12-13 Netherlands the Leiden, in Trends Current Linkages: East-West Europe and Asia in Studies Environmental for Hub Education on Meeting ASEM Studies Environmental IIAS and ASEF by organized Boersma Amis contact: [email protected] 2005 May 18-20 Vietnam Hanoi, Knowledge on Conference Pacific-Asia Ninth The Mining Data and Discovery www.jaist.ac.jp/PAKDD-05/ 2005 May 19-20 Singapore Islamic Asian Southeast of Education The Leadership and (ISEAS) Koh David convenors: (IIAS) Kaptein J.G. Nico ISEAS by organized Stremmelaar Josine contact: [email protected] Human Rights in China in Rights Human 8 April 2005 April 8 Netherlands the Leiden, in transition post-Soviet the of challenges The Kazakhstan discussion roundtable Energy the of conference international First (EPA) Asia Programme the with cooperation in EPA-IIAS by organized Brussels in Embassy Kazakhstan Programme (EPA Amineh Mehdi contact: Coordinator) [email protected] [email protected]. 2005 April 11-13 Malaysia Lumpur, Kuala Southeast - Building Sustainable on Conference Asia www.cibklutm.com/spouse_programme.htm 2005 April 20-21 Philippines City, Makati Asian Southeast Indigenous the Enriching (e-iseacol) Libraries in Collections Villa Jessica contact: [email protected] 2005 April 22-24 USA Princeton, Graduate Studies Buddhist Annual Seventh Conference Student [email protected] www.princeton.edu/~bsgsc/ 2005 April 25-28 Netherlands the Leiden, Resources, - Borneo of Heart the Into Activism and Trade, Policies, Conservation, Persoon Gerard convenor: University Leiden the and IIAS by organized (CML) Sciences Environmental for Institute (WWF) Fund Wildlife World the by sponsored [email protected] 2005 May 1 - April 27 Canada Montreal, Debate: Globalization the Furthering Comparisons Regional Cross by hosted Conference Anniversary 25th CASA Association Studies Asian Canadian http://canadianasianstudies.concordia.ca/ htm/as2005.htm#haut 2005 April 29 Netherlands the Leiden, diplomatic Sino-foreign within Rights Human relations Series: Lecture Made der van J. speaker: of Department the and IIAS by organized University Leiden Studies, Chinese Boersma Amis : contact [email protected] Human Rights in China in Rights Human 24 March 2005 March 24 Netherlands the Amsterdam, Update Myanmar IIAS by organized [email protected] www.iias.nl 2005 March 31 Netherlands the Amsterdam, Gujarat in Violence of Politics seminar Joshi Joshi Satyakam speaker: Verkaaik Oskar chair: Maliangkay Roald convenor: IIAS by organized www.iias.nl 2005 April 3 - March 31 USA Chicago, Meeting Annual Studies Asian for Association www.aasianst.org/annmtg.htm 2005 April 2005 April 1 Netherlands the Leiden, Reality China in Rights Human Series: Lecture Made der van J. speaker: of Department the and IIAS by Organized University Leiden Studies, Chinese Boersma Amis contact: [email protected] www.iias.nl 2005 April 1-2 Germany Bochum, conference annual Second and Oriental of School the by organized on Unit Research the and Studies African Ruhr of Literature and Culture Taiwanese Bochum. University Klöter Henning or Fell Dafydd contact: or [email protected] [email protected] 2005 April 3-6 USA DeKalb, Thai on Conference International Ninth The Studies University Illinois Northern [email protected]. www.niu.edu/thaiconf/ 2005 April 4-6 Singapore Singapore, Globalisation: ‘Managing Conference Inaugural India’ and China from Lessons Pub- of School Yew Kuan Lee the by organized Singapore of University National Policy, lic [email protected] www.spp.nus.edu.sg/lkysppconference eeuw) e en 20 en e March 2005 March 2005 March 17 Kingdom United London, of Concerns the Exploring Faith: the Protecting Rules Monastic Jain Jainism on Lecture Annual Fifth The www.jainology.org 2005 March 17-19 Sweden Stockholm, North of Formation the and Asia East Japan, Policy Korea workshop Funato Kazune contact: [email protected] 2005 March 18 Netherlands the Amsterdam, Azië in zeeroofbestrijding en Zeeroof (19 Maritieme voor Instituut the by organised IIAS and Historie www.historie.marine.nl 2005 March 18-25 USA Honolulu, in Conflict Ethnic Violent and Resources Natural Region Asia/Pacific the workshop and Swamy Arun coordinators: Fox Jefferson Eguchi Carolyn contact: [email protected] 2005 March 19-20 Thailand Bangkok, Asia Southeast and Gender Tantiwiramanond Darunee contact: [email protected] March 24 Netherlands the Amsterdam, tsunami’ de na Leven puin: het in ‘Kinderen seminar Maliangkay, R.H. Lieten, K. convenors: Beurden van J. Cross, Red Plan, IREWOC, IIAS, organisers: UNICEF Maliangkay Roald contact: [email protected] 2005 March 24-30 Japan Tokyo, Peace and Conflict Religion; International the of Congress World 19th The Religions of History the for Association (IAHR) [email protected] www.l.u-tokyo.ac.jp/iahr2005/ > International conference agenda conference International > Agenda

36 IIAS Newsletter | #36 | March 2005 > International conference agenda European Conference on Modern South Modern on Conference European th November 2005 November 2005 November 7-9 India Delhi, New Class: Middle Emerging the and Consumerism China and India from Perspectives Comparative China and India of conference second Comparisons, Series Workshop IIAS/CASS/ICSSR/CERI and Veer der van Peter convenors: and Uberoi Patricia and (IIAS) Munshi Shoma for (Institute Thakur Ravni University) Delhi Studies, Chinese [email protected] 2005 November 9-12 China Shanghai, and East in Hinterlands and Pirates Ports, Contemporary and Historical Asia: Southeast Perspectives Workshop ASEF-Alliance of Academy (Shanghai Yihai Li convenors: Kleinen John and China) Sciences, Social Research, Maritime for (Centre Netherlands) the [email protected] 2005 December 2 - November 30 Cambodja Riep, Siem Asia Southeast Mainland in Water workshop Studies Khmer for Centre the by organized IIAS and Dijk Wil contact: or [email protected] [email protected] 2006 Februari 2006 February 23-24 Singapore Global and Identities Local Asia: in Naming Change Institute Research Asia by organized Yangwen, Zheng Macdonald, Charles contact: Reid Anthony [email protected]; [email protected] [email protected]; www.ari.nus.edu.sg/conf2006/naming.htm 2006 May 2006 May 12-13 Singapore of processes historical the Expansions: Asian Asia in expansion polity Institute Research Asia by organised ([email protected]) Wade Geoff conveners: ([email protected]) Yangwen Zheng ([email protected]) Lockhart Bruce Reid Anthony [email protected] contact: 2006 June 2006 June 27-30 Netherlands the Leiden, 19 Committee organizing Kolff D.H.A. convenor: [email protected] Asian Studies Asian Century. st

General Conference of EADI of Conference General th www.eadi.org/gc2005 20-23 September 2005 September 20-23 Kingdom United Edinburgh, Perspectives Asian and African Subject: and Self of Study the on Conference International 21 the in Cultures Asian and African 2005 September 21-22 Malta Capital Social on Conference Foundation Capital Social the by organized www.socialcapital-foundation.org/confer- ences/registration.htm 2005 September 24 - 21 Germany Bonn, Issues Regional Development: and Insecurity World Interdependent an for Policies and 11 2005 September 23-24 Malta Community and Economy on Conference Foundation Capital Social the by organized www.socialcapital-foundation.org/confer- ences/registration.htm 2005 October 2 - September 29 USA Boston, Conference Annual CESS Sixth The http://cess.fas.harvard.edu/CESS_ Conference.html [email protected] 2005 October 2005 October 5-8 India Delhi, World Old the in Linguistics Generative Fifth Asia in (GLOW) www.homepages.ucl.ac.uk/~uclyara/glow05_ index.htm 2005 October 6-9 Netherlands the Amsterdam, past musical China’s Exploring conference CHIME International Tenth Music Chinese for Foundation European CHIME - Research [email protected] http://home.wxs.nl/~chime October 26-29 Sweden Varberg, Order Moral and Power Religion, Reconfiguring Cambodia in University Göteborg and NIAS by organized Kent Alexandra contact: [email protected] 2005 October 28-30 China Kong, Hong the on SGdS-Colloquium Asian East First Linguistics of History http://home.t-online.de/home/dutz.nodus/ 03c-rb.htm [email protected] www.open.ac.uk/Arts/ferguson centre/Events/EdinburghCall4Ps.pdf

International Conference on the History the on Conference International Euro- the of Conference International th th 7-12 August 2005 August 7-12 USA Honolulu, Memory, History, Harbor: Pearl Remembering Memorial and Workshop NEH AsiaPacificEd Tan Boo Soo : Contact [email protected] 2005 August 15-20 Germany Munich, 11 The Mildenberger Florian contact: [email protected] https://secure.lsit.ucsb.edu/archives/histsci/ 2004-July/000012.html 2005 August 18-20 Singapore Overseas Chinese the and Asia Maritime 2005) - (1405 of Conference International Third The Overseas Chinese for Libraries & Institutes Studies Ho Wei Liu contact: [email protected] www.huayinet.org 2005 August 20-24 China Shanghai, - 4 Scholars Asia of Convention International 4 ICAS Social of Academy Shanghai convenor: ICAS the with cooperation in (SASS) Sciences Secretariat [email protected] www.sass.org.cn/Icas4 2005 September 3 - August 31 Austria Vienna, 11 The Japan- for Association European by organized of Department the and (EAJS) Studies ese University Vienna Studies, Asian East www.icassecretariat.org 2005 September 2005 September 16 Netherlands the Amsterdam, after Years Hundred A Swung: Balance the How War Russo-Japanese the IIAS by organized [email protected] 2005 September 19-23 Germany Göttingen, Margins: Rainforest Tropical of Stability The Con- Social and Economic Ecological, Linking Conservation and Use Land of straints Stietenroth Daniel contact: [email protected] www.storma.de/symp2005. of Science in East Asia East in Science of (EAJS) Studies Japanese for Association pean Century st International Society for Chinese Philosophy Chinese for Society International th (ISCP) Conference (ISCP) 8-10 July 2005 July 8-10 Thailand Bangkok, First Asia: in Rights and Genders, Sexualities, Studies Queer Asian of Conference International [email protected] http://bangkok2005.anu.edu.au/ 2005 July 9-10 USA D.C., Washington Conference Thirukkural International Prabhakaran R. contact: [email protected] 2005 July 11-13 Malaysia Lumpur, Kuala 2005 Conference Finance Asian and Economics of Faculty by organized UPM Management, [email protected] 2005 July 12-15 Indonesia Barat, Jawa Depok, Context: Global Changing the in Indonesia Partnership? and Cooperation Building Jour- the of Symposium International Fourth Indonesia Antropologi nal [email protected] www.jai.or.id 2005 July 13-19 Australia Sydney, in Development Human and Philosophy Chinese 21 the [email protected] www.incompass.com.au/iscp 2005 July 14-15 Singapore Political of Spring False The Taken: Not Paths Singapore Postwar in Pluralism Institute, Research Asia Singapore of University National Trocki A. Carl contact: Singapore outside [email protected] Beng Chua contact: participants Singapore Huat [email protected] www.ari.nus.edu.sg/conf2005/postwar.htm 2005 August 2005 August, Sweden Malmö, Gender and Women Nordic-China Second Conference Studies Nordic University’s Fudan NIAS, by organized University Malmö and Centre http://nias.ku.dk/activities/conferences/ default.htm 2005 August 5-8 Indonesia Buton, Bau-Bau, ‘Masyarakat Symposium International Nusantara’ Pernaskahan Pudjiastuti Titik contact: [email protected] M.Hum. Niampe, La [email protected] 14 Century Indonesia Century th 30 June - 3 July 2005 July 3 - June 30 Australia Bendigo, Chinese the of Conference Biennial Ninth Australia of Association Studies [email protected] Lee; Tracy contact: www.anu.edu.au/asianstudies/ chinakoreacen/csaa/CONFERENCE 2005 July 2005 July 3-5 Australia Perth, of Society Australian the of Conference 8th Educators Language Indonesian www.ASILE.curtin.edu.au 2005 July 3-9 Italy Praiano/Positano, Conference Legal & Medical Asia Europe Hewett Jane contact: [email protected] 2005 July 4-8 Kingdom United Sheffield, for Association the of Conference Biennial 2005 (AKSE) Europe in Studies Korean Sheffield of University Grayson H. James contact: [email protected] www.akse.uni-kiel.de/#nextconf 2005 July 4-8 Kingdom United London, Asian South of Association European Conference International Archaeologists www.thebritishmuseum.ac.uk/asia/asnoev.html 2005 July 6-8 France Marseilles, concepts, Questioning Challenges: Pacific conflicts rethinking Docu- and Research of Centre the by hosted the with associated Oceania on mentation the Research, Scientific for Centre National Hautes des Ecole the Provence, of University French the and Sociales Sciences en Etudes Oceanists of Society www.pacific-credo.net/esfo/ 2005 July 7-9 Netherlands the Amsterdam, in Directions New III: Sea the and People Studies Maritime and Coastal the by organized conference biannual Third the at (MARE) Research Maritime for Centre Amsterdam of University Monnereau Iris contact: [email protected] www.marecentre.nl 2005 July 7-9 Indonesia Bogor, of Dissemination The the of Conference Final 20 in Authority Religious programme (UIN), Azra Azyumardi convenors: and (KITLV) Dijk van Kees University) (Leiden Kaptein Nico Stremmelaar Josine contact: [email protected] 20 June - 22 July 2005 July 22 - June 20 USA Honolulu, Indigenous of Interplay The Asia: Southeast Influences Outside and Cultures Hershock Peter contact: [email protected] 2005 June 23-24 Netherlands the Rotterdam, of creation The Diasporas: Asian South The world modern the in identities unfinished and Oonk G. convenors: Nordholt. Schulte H. [email protected] 2005 June 23-25 Netherlands the Leiden, Image Popular in Media and Communication West the and Islam about building Workshop ASEF-Alliance State (Islamic Azra Azyumardi convenors: and Indonesia) Jakarta, University University, (Leiden Meij der van Dick Netherlands) the [email protected] 2005 June 23-25 Germany Hamburg, Conspiracy and Orientalism al-Azm Sadik of Honour in Workshop Fathi, Schirin Graf, Arndt convenors: Paul Ludwig the of Asia-Africa-Institute the by organized Hamburg of University Graf Arndt contact: [email protected] July June-3 29 Kingdom United London, 2005 Conference AEGIS on Conference European AEGIS by organized Studies African www.nomadit.co.uk/~aegis/ 2005 July June-1 30 Netherlands the Leiden, Linguistics Nusantara East International Fourth Conference (Leiden Klamer Marian convenors: Ewing Michael and University) Melbourne) of (University [email protected] 2005 July 2 - June 30 Thailand Rathchathani, Ubon in Issues ‘Transborder Conference International Sub-region’ Mekong Greater the Social Sub-region Mekong the by Organized Ubon Arts, Liberal of Faculty Center, Research University Ratchathani or [email protected] [email protected] www.ubu.ac.th/~mssrc/html/

IIAS Newsletter | #36 | March 2005 37 > Arts agenda ‘existence,’ and reveal both how human lan- guages are constructed and how spaces are defined. and developed Moon night, Chinese papercut Chinese night, Moon Yue Rebecca Artist: Until 1 May 2005 May 1 Until Exhibition Invisible and Visible The Ecstasy: This exhibition was chiefly designed for the general the of needs the but impaired, visually The consideration. into taken also were public contempo- of environment an creates exhibit their of all use must viewers which in art rary taste. and hearing, touch, smell, sight, senses: Through this unique design, a in art of beauty the experience can impaired the visually senses, their all use to them requires that place to opportunity the given are viewers other while vision. than other senses using arts experience Deyu Wang, Junjie artists by work includes It Mali Wang, Jengcai Wu, Chen and Kaihuang Chen. 2005 June 5 Until Works Chu’s Weibor of Retrospective A contemporary the of pioneer a as viewed is Chu Tai- of era post-war the in movement painting wan and continues his innovations uti- he him, around environment the today. by Inspired Asian with works create to styles Western lizes flavor. This solo exhibit traces the tracks of phi- his into deeply delves and creations Chu’s art. of losophy Kingdom United Art Asian East of Museum The Street Bennett 12 2QJ BA1 Bath 640 464 +44-1225 T www.bath.co.uk/museumeastasianart 2005 April 17 Until Ceramics and Spices Silk, Trade: present the to Dynasty Zhou the from Dating day, this exhibition introduces a variety of objects which reflect the complex history of foot- the Retracing Asia. East within commerce Thai- Vietnam, Japan, China, in trade of steps explores it countries, Asian East other and land, the history of the Silk Road, spice trade and significant played all which routes, maritime trade. international of growth the in roles 2005 April 17 Until Yue Rebecca by works New Whispers: Chinese Yue Rebecca artist Chinese local by work New paintings brush papercuts, intricate includes popular on based calligraphy, of examples and Chinese motifs as well subjects. as contemporary , a decorative art that devel- that art decorative a , May 2005 May th

oped during the mid Qing dynasty (1644 - 1911) - (1644 dynasty Qing mid the during oped Chi- commissioned merchants European when nese copies of European silverware for their home markets. The collection ranges from boxes covered fashioned intricately and small presen- large sophisticated to caddies tea and trophies. tation Singapore 179555 Singapore 7798 +65-6332 T www.nhb.gov.sg/ACM Until 20th April 2005 April 20th Until Silver Export Chinese The Asian Civilisations Museum Silver Export presents Chinese Street Armenian - Museum Civilisations Asian Street Armenian 39 179941 Singapore 3015 +65-6332 T www.nhb.gov.sg/ACM 9 Until Photo- Conceptual Served: Billion One Over China from graphy docu- photographs 55 over of collection This ments China‘s shifting social landscape fol- lowing the impact of ideas from the West. interpreta- personal intriguing include These explore who photographers, key several by tions cul- and social rapid of realities underlying the tural change that are taking growth. economic dramatic place China’s amidst Cafe Fishing Gone Road Lin Chu 15 +6762-9901 T [email protected] www.gonefishing.com.sg 2005 June 30 Until Artfields no can art that asserts sorts of festival art This galleries; and museums in contained be longer the breakdown to is goal Its lived. be must it in art placing by life and art between separation art of interplay true a Through space. living a the of part becomes activity cafe’s the life; and versa. vice and art 2005 June - April grain, a Cube: Fourth The four: Artfields drop a & blade a into viewer the bring will work Khoo’s Peng-Ean demonstrate to chapbook three-dimensional a writing like is space dotting activity human that paper. on text Taiwan Museum Arts Fine Taipei 104 Taipei 3, Sec. Road, N. ZhongShan 181, 7656 +02-2595 T [email protected] www.tfam.gov.tw 2005 April 17 Until Exhibit Solo Zheyu’s Hsu there: Being Zheyu Award, Arts Taipei 2004 the of Winner small to meaning new give to lens his uses Hsu, have works His lives. daily our in found objects symbols, space, on reflect to viewers on called one’s examine works His reality. and images, Photo: Marten de Leeuw de Marten Photo: Part of cabinet service, porcelain with the emblem of emblem the with porcelain service, cabinet of Part combined 1750, approx. Qianlong, China, Sichterman, Dolce Ambra Title: Mendini, Alessandro by vases with 1993. Alchemilla, and selves the dignity of the activities of everyday of activities the of dignity the selves relevance the deeply more understand to life; her- cultural their adapting and preserving of cen- 21st the in face they challenges the to itage transforming for capacity the build to and tury; their lives for the better by harnessing the spirit. creative the of power undertapped Netherlands Museum Groninger 1 Museumeiland Groningen ME 9700 3666555 +31-50 T www.groninger-museum.nl/ 2005 June 5 Until Memphis: to Ming from Ceramics West meets East tea porcelain, cabinet antique exhibition, this In from tableware other and services coffee and East Asia is compared and contrasted with post-modern ceramics from the end of the as such designers by created century, twentieth Ettore and Mendini, Alessandro Branzi, Andrea Mem- studio design Italian the from Jr Sottsass entire- two cover to appears exhibition The phis. how just demonstrates it but worlds, different ly closely related these worlds actually are. An and post-modern of presentation unorthodox traditional oriental ceramics ensures unex- pected combinations that will not only chal- surprise also but visitors stimulate and lenge them. Kunsthal 341, Westzeedijk Museumpark, Rotterdam AA 3015 4400301 T+31-10 www.kunsthal.nl April 17 Until Japan Edo in fantasies Erotic Spring: of Desire A chronological overview of erotic art from Kat- Utamaro, Kitagawa by work including Japan let- Love Haronubu. Suzuki and Hokusai sishika ters, erotic novels, witty poetry competition- sand kabuki theatre bring to life a world of of glimpse a presenting courtesans, and geisha 1600-1868. between Japan Singapore Place Empress - Museum Civilisations Asian Place Empress 1 series will take will series Quiet in the Land the in Quiet standing paintings and woodblock illustrations woodblock and paintings standing collection. own museum’s the from Rautenstrauch-Joest-Museum für Völkerkunde für Rautenstrauch-Joest-Museum 45 Ubierring Cologne 50678 35 +221-33694 T www.museenkoeln.de 2005 October 2 Until the of Search in Hindus and Jains Buddhist, Image Divine The Marianne and Viktor Langen Collection consists of 60 bronze and stone sculptures Thailand, Myanmar, Tibet, Nepal, India, from the from dating Korea and China, Cambodia, the show sculptures The century. 18th to 2nd form. human in image divine the of diversity his- in representation pictorial of diversity This image”. divine the for “search continual a is tory This exhibition starts with the sculpture of a Kanishka the of 31 year dated Buddha Kapardin era. Japan Museum Art Mori 6-10-1, Tower, Mori Hills Roppongi Minato-ku Roppongi, Tokyo 8600 +03-5777 T www.moriartscenter.org/ 2005 June 19 - March 29 Silence of Elegance The of influence the considers which exhibition An current the on aesthetics Asian East traditional by works features It artists. Asian of generation China, Japan, from artists thirty approximately Korea and Taiwan including Mariko Mori, Yoshitomo Nara, Do-Ho Suh, Xu Bing and paintings, (including works The Lin. Michael sculpture, and installation art, photography, video) illustrate the differences between the tradi- and histories, identities, national artists’ tions. Laos Prabang Luang Republic Democratic People’s Lao Morin France Enquiry: 10A Suite Avenue, Fifth One 10003 NY York, New 1353 +212-505 T [email protected] 2006 January 10 Until and Spirituality, Art, Land: the in Quiet The Life Everyday the in third The place in Luang Prabang, Lao People’s Democ- People’s Lao Prabang, Luang in place con- will It 2006. to 2004 from Republic ratic sist of a series of collaborations between 35 Mekong the Laos, from educators and artists with work will who countries, other and Region, a wide range of local community members. Khat- Maniyong Guoqiang, Cai include Artists tiynalath, Dinh Q. Le, Shahzia Shirin Phaophanit, Vong Nguyen-Hatsushiba, Neshat, Jun is project The Tiravanija. Rirkrit and Sikander, art of practice the that conviction the by guided communi- diverse and individuals both offers ties the potential to acknowledge for them- ative possibilities of these three colours in rela- in colours three these of possibilities ative Works issues. social and cultural local to tion different from talents creative local twenty by generations and a diversity of professions - architecture, design, graphic/visual including fea- are - others and installation photography, show. the in tured Until 10 June 2005 June 10 Until of Journey A : Tang High to Han Eastern From Transculturation that changes cultural and artistic the explore To National the period, this in China in place took Administration for Cultural near- from relics cultural 200 Heritage some assembled has ly 50 cultural institutions in 14 many regions, autonomous and provinces, municipalities relics The treasures. national important them of burial ware, glass ware, silver and gold include sculp- Buddhist wood, and pottery in figures textiles. and painting wall rarely-seen and ture, 2005 June 27 Until International Kong Hong - Dynamic Visual 2004 Triennial Poster The role and the visual posters have representation changed continuously over the of past century to meet the changing needs of Over 400 outstanding international society. exhibition the in showcased are works poster illustrating how poster art has successfully and computer of onslaught the despite evolved way effective an and revolutionized a as internet century. 21st the in communication of France Guimet - Art Asian of Museum National d’Iéna Place 6 Paris 75016 0 53 52 +01-56 T www.museeguimet.fr 2005 September 14 - June 22 confirmed) be (to Tagore Rabindranath “the called season the of part as exhibition, This of retrospective a is modernity,” of summers paintings. (1861-1941) Tagore’s Rabindranath was an Indian poet who wrote over a Tagore that songs and plays novels, poems, thousand were a great influence on literature. modern Indian Germany Kunst Ostasiatische für Museum 100 Universitätsstraße Cologne D-50674 0 940518 +49-221 T [email protected] www.smpk.de 2005 March 28 Until Furniture Chinese Classical - form Pure belonging pieces 70 roughly of collection This from dates Vok Ignazio architect Italy-based to of made is and centuries 18th the to 16th the complex the of logic The hardwoods. exquisite structural the of proportions the joints, wood an create materials elegant the and elements, harmony. effortless and perfect of experience exam- selected include also will exhibition The design furniture European century 20th of ples out- and models Chinese traditional by inspired to the to th century to the present. the to century th centuries demonstrate the stylistic varia- stylistic the demonstrate centuries th tions between paintings from different Rajput different from paintings between tions courts. Created in the of vitality the capture paintings the Rajasthan, princely states of court. Maharaja’s the at life 19 > Arts agenda Arts > Australia -International Victoria of Gallery National The Melbourne Road, Kilda St 180 2222 8620 +61-3 T [email protected] www.ngv.vic.gov.au 2005 April 5 Until Kings of Sons Rajput: Approximately 80 paintings and 17 the from life drawings courtly Rajput depicting Canada Gallery Art MacKenzie Street Albert 3475 Building, Douglas T.C. Saskatchewan Regina, 4273 +306-584 T www.mackenzieartgallery.sk.ca/index.shtml 2005 May 15 Until Asia of Ceramics select- works 200 over contains exhibition This ed from the Asian Art at the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria’s Asian ceramic collection. Focusing on Chinese, Korean and Japanese ceramics, the exhibition also includes works world. Islamic the and Asia Southeast from Museum Ontario Royal The Park Queen’s 100 2C6 M5S Ontario Toronto, 5549 +416-586 T www.rom.on.ca 2005 April 10 Until White and Blue Chinese Indigo: by Touched Embroidery and Textiles Featuring over 100 objects, this exhibition blue- of aesthetics and function the explores and-white textiles and embroidery of China. collections permanent ROM’s the from Drawn Canada of Museum Textile the from loans and cloth- includes it collectors, private local and ing, home furnishings, tools, and paintings 19 the from China Museum Heritage Kong Hong 4 & 3 galleries exhibition Temporary Road Lam Man 1 Kong Hong Tin, Sha 8188 +852-2180 T www.heritagemuseum.gov.hk 2005 April 18 Until redwhiteblue - kong hong building cre- the all explore to attempts exhibition This Arts agenda Arts

38 IIAS Newsletter | #36 | March 2005 > Arts agenda and xiangqi , weiqi , liubo excavated from a harbour in Southeast China Southeast in harbour a from excavated the of photographs of presentation video a and cul- rich whose Iraq, southern of Arabs Marsh Hussein Saddam by destroyed virtually was ture exhibition. the complement Until 25 April 2005 April 25 Until “Traveler” - Guo-Qiang Cai Perspectives: past how explores Guo-Qiang Cai artist Chinese con- by driven is expression artistic present and tact between cultures and communication installation site-specific His peoples. between sunken a of skeleton long 50-foot a of consists imagi- an upon resting boat fishing Japanese frag- porcelain white gleaming of ocean nary instal- Sackler The China. Dehua, from ments lation is paired with a second work in Hirshhorn the Museum focusing upon the rela- cosmos. the with humans of tionship 2005 May 15 Until Contest of Art The Games: Asian Asia in games of history the of exploration This as from themselves, games the through begins paintings as well as Age, Bronze the as early games. playing people depict which prints and Featured will be children’s games including skill of games toys; and dolls as such materials of games board as such Museum Textile The NW Street, S 2320 20008-4088 DC Washington, 0441 +202-667 T www.textilemuseum.org 2005 June 5 Until Containers as Textiles Bags: the Beyond plain- of diversity the exploring exhibition An With Americas. the to Asia from textiles woven col- Museum’s Textile The from drawn objects lections, it highlights the array of patterning possible by using the plain weave technique contexts. artistic and cultural different within Gallery Maltz Ben Boulevard Lincoln 9045 90045 CA Westchester, 6905 665 +1-310 T [email protected] www.otis.edu 2005 April 23 Until from Art Chinese Contemporary Regeneration: US the and China excit- most the of some includes exhibition This ing contemporary Chinese art being made the in prominent been have who artists today: who 1980s, late the since scene international their for attention international received have artists emerging and decade, last the in work who are currently being recognized interna- Shang- Bejing, in reside artists 26 The tionally. Pennsylvania. and York, New Guangzhou, hai, wide- and diverse is exhibition this in work The ranging, and includes drawing, installation, and sculpture, prints, photography, painting, media. mixed chess; games of chance in which divination and divination which in chance of games chess; con- and games physical and feature; gambling polo. and archery as such tents kingdom of Ayutthaya. Highlights include gold include Highlights Ayutthaya. of kingdom sealed crypt temple a from objects ceremonial 12-foot- a pediment, temple full-sized a 1424, in royally of sections and throne, preaching tall moth- inlaid with doors temple commissioned pearl. of er Seattle Asian Art Museum Art Asian Seattle Street Prospect East 1400 Park, Volunteer 98112-3303 Washington Seattle, 3100 654 +1-206 T www.seattleartmuseum.org 2005 May 15 Until Photography New Future: and Past Between China from Video and innovative the at look comprehensive first The 1990s mid the since produced video and photo by works 130 features exhibition The China. in enthusiastic the reflects and artists Chinese 60 Chi- younger by art media-based of adoption artists. nese 2005 June 19 Until by Ceramics Contemporary Dreams: Mountain Kwang-Cho Yoon United the in solo-exhibition first the is This of one 1946), (born Kwang-Cho Yoon by States Korea. in generation his of potters master the The twenty-seven selected works range from large sculptural vases to daily tea and wine settings. University Stanford at Center Arts Cantor Way Museum and Drive Lomita 328 Drive) Palm (off 94305-5060 CA Stanford, 4177 +650-723 T http://ccva.stanford.edu// 2005 May 1 Until Artists Chinese Contemporary Edge: the On West the Encounter contempo- noted twelve by works Presenting rary Chinese artists, this exhibition aims to China’s concerning assumptions old replace of appreciation fresh a with art contemporary interconnect- its of and substance and form its Artists world. art international the with edness represented in the exhibition include Hong Jianguo, Sui Zhijie, Qiu Ping, Yong Huang Hao, Yin Lei, Yan Bing, Xu Danwen, Xing Du, Wang Xiuzhen, Zhang Hongtu, Zhang Huan, and mate- of range full a in works with Tiehai, Zhou resin, photography, airbrush, oil, including rials, video. and installation Art of Galleries Sackler and Freer Smithsonian Mall National DC Washington, 4880 357 +1-202 T www.asia.si.edu Gallery Sackler M. Arthur 2005 April 24 Until Innovation and Trade Ceramics, China: and Iraq and revolutionary on focuses exhibition This enduring changes that took humble place the as century 9th in the during ceramics Iraqi character of Islamic pottery responded to a Arab by imported goods, Chinese luxury of wave and Persian merchants. A 50 foot-long boat This exhibition highlights the work of four gen- four of work the highlights exhibition This erations family of of the Japanese Yoshihara swordsmiths. The exhibition will follow the of one within working lineage family Yoshihara in making sword of traditions original five the tradition- the that demonstrate will and Japan, ruth- a merely not is Japan of sword samurai al and spiritual great of object an but weapon less value. artistic Museum Art University Princeton University Princeton 08544-1018 NJ Princeton, 3788 +609-258 T www.princetonartmuseum.org 2005 June 25 Until and Archaeology Art, Past: China’s Recarving Shrines’ Family ‘Wu the of Architecture artis- architecture, the explores exhibition This Han the of culture material and illustration, tic pictorial of set a on focusing China, of dynasty rec- commonly are stones These carvings. wall struc- funerary mid-second-century as ognized of cemetery family Wu the to belonging tures various from scholars Fifteen dynasty. Han the about questions significant raise will disciplines identified been has shrine family Wu the how how and past the in scholars by understood and his- architecture, art, Han of understanding our re-evaluation. require may culture and tory, Art of Museum Diego San Park Balboa Prado, El 1450 California Diego, San 7931 +619-232 T www.sdmart.org 2005 May 1 Until Art Asian in Tastes of tastes diverse the highlights exhibition This class, ruling imperial groups-the social different scholars, warriors, and common people-and religious to devoted section separate a features art. Museum Art Asian St. Larkin 200 94102 California Francisco, San 3500 +415-581 T www.asianart.org 2005 April 24 Until Nightmare Mao’s Jianguo: Sui to opportunity rare a provides exhibition This of one by works large-scale dozen a about view his In today. China in sculptors best-known the sculptures the asexual Mao suit, universally worn in China during the Maoist era, is ani- bod- passionate writhing, by within from mated a launch to poised athletes ancient by or ies, in constrained being despite discus, a or spear not suit Mao the makes Sui attire. formal their symbol a but attire revolutionary of element an restriction. of 2005 May 8 Until Central of Art The Siam: of Kingdom The 1350-1800 Thailand, Featuring 87 rare works from collections in exhibition this US, the and Europe, Thailand, showcases the little known arts of the Thai Street th , a survey of the work of work the of survey a , Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, 8100 +215-763 T www.philamuseum.org Rubin Museum of Art of Museum Rubin Street 17th West 150 10011 NY York, New 5000 +212-620 T [email protected] www.rmanyc.org/about/index.cfm 2005 May 8 Until World the of Roof the from Treasures Tibet: sculpture, Tibetan of examples 100 than More paintings, and textiles, as well as beautifully themat- four into organized are objects crafted Ritu- Tibet; of Culture and History sections: ic Textiles; and Sculpture Paintings, Objects; al exhi- The Nobility. Tibetan the of Life Daily and and jewelry, costumes, include also will bition dur- used were which vessels crafted exquisitely activities. ceremonial as well as daily ing MoCA MASS Way MoCA MASS 1040 01247 Massachusetts Adams, North 2111 +413-662 T [email protected] www.massmoca.org 2005 November 30 Until Inopportune Guo-Qiang: Cai and explode to seem that cars of Installations with viewers confront arrows with pierced tigers impregnable. longer no is US the that idea the impossible almost unnerving, is bomb car The the are Who beauty. of thing a as conceive to us they Are arrows? with pierced tigers leaping in both himself positions Cai them? they are or this in dialectic this of outside and middle the exhibition. Art of Museum Philadelphia 26 and Parkway Franklin Benjamin 2005 April 15 Until Charms and Texts Himalayan examples diverse showcases installation This of books, book covers, illuminated paint- manu- as well as charms, printed and scripts, to deities book-holding of sculptures and ings explore the art and the power of the written Tibet and Nepal in word Museum Asia Pacific Avenue Robles North 46 91101 California Pasadena, 2742 +626-449 T www.pacificasiamuseum.org 2005 June 19 Until Yoshihara The Sword: Japanese the of Art The Tradition the most important, engaged and emotionally and engaged important, most the Unit- the in working artists Asian South charged contempo- includes exhibition The States. ed and web-based, video, print, photographic, rary installation works by ten to twelve emerging Asian South of artists American established and Sikan- Shahzia include artists Featured descent. Murthy. Prima and Banerjee, Rina der, Asian American Art Now Art American Asian , the Queens the , Fatal Love: South Love: Fatal Edge of Desire of Edge

ideas of texture and process with notions of art. conceptual Western Museum of Art also presents also Art of Museum Honolulu Academy of Arts of Academy Honolulu Street Beretania South 900 96814-1495 Hawaii Honolulu, 8700 532 +1-808 T www.honoluluacademy.org 2005 April 24 Until Asia in Sustenance and Spirit Rice: of Art The and art of variety rich a upon draws show This countries Asian dozen a from culture material to explore the significance of from ranging objects Offering rice people. region’s for the screens gilded bronzes, and ceramics ancient and paintings contemporary to textiles, rare and exhi- impressive this posters, religious popular of underpinnings cultural the highlights bition sta- crop-the food important most world’s the ple that sustains nearly mankind. one-third of all Museum and Society Asia Street) 70th (at Avenue Park 725 York New York, New 2742 517 +1-212 T www.asiasociety.org/events/ 2005 June 5 Until India in Art Recent Desire: of Edge that works of selection a offers exhibition This travers- cultures, visual of variety a encompass rural, and urban of divides conventional the ing cul- popular and culture high craft, and art fine ture. It presents 80 works of over 30 artists site-spe- “high-tech” from range works whose prac- “folk” handcrafted to installations cific col- several includes also exhibition The tices. address that works site-specific and laborative contemporary political, social, and environ- at view on Also today. India in realities mental Art. of Museum Queens the Gallery Institute China Street 65th East 125 York New York, New 8181 +212-744 T www.chinainstitute.org 2005 June 4 Until Artifacts” “Brilliant Afterlife: the for Providing Shandong from the concerning customs about clues Offering (206 dynasty Han Western the during afterlife terracotta features exhibition this CE), 8 - BCE chari- gilded excavation, recent a from figures ritual bronze masks, face jade ornaments, ot vessels, and ceramic sculptures. All of the China in province Shandong from are objects Art of Museum Queens Building, City York New Park Corona Meadows Flushing York New Queens, 9700 +718-592 T www.queensmuseum.org 2005 June 5 Until Now Art American Asian South Love: Fatal to complement a As Photograph (c) Museum of Fine Arts, Boston Arts, Fine of Museum (c) Photograph , Hiroshi Sugimoto, Hiroshi , (Folkcraft) movement in Japan was Japan in movement (Folkcraft) Mingei > Arts agenda Arts > Arts agenda Arts Japanese, born in 1948, Photograph, gelatin silver gelatin Photograph, 1948, in born Japanese, in.) 1/2 21 x 5/8 (16 cm 54.6 x 42.2 Image: print. of Museum in.) 7/8 23 x 1/4 (19 cm 60.6 x 48.9 Sheet: William and Barnet Sylvan of Gift Boston, Arts, Fine 1992.472 Iguchi, Yasuhiro of memory in Burto Radio City Music Hall, New York New Hall, Music City Radio 26 April - 7 August 2005 August 7 - April 26 Body Political The People’s the from posters of collection a is This on 1970s and 1960s the in China of Republic Westminster. of University from loan Museum Albert and Victoria Road Cromwell Kensington South 2RL SW7 London 2000 7942 +44-(0)20 T www.vam.ac.uk 2005 July 10 - March 17 Crafts and Arts International ever exhibition crafts and arts largest the is This and the first to explore the movement as an international style, as Europe, America, and 300 nearly features It represented. are Japan objects from Great Britain, America, Central and Northern Europe, and Japan. A recon- struction of a complete interior designed by exhibition. the of highlights the among is Yanagi The States United Arts Fine of Museum Avenue Huntington 465 Arts, the of Avenue Massachusetts Boston, 9300 267 +1-617 T [email protected] www.mfa.org 2005 June 29 Until Sylvan The Sugimoto: Hiroshi by Photographs Collection Burto William and Barnet Sug- Hiroshi of images the of exhibition loan A series black-and-white his for celebrated imoto, Sanjusangen- the and theatres, seascapes, of Japanese traditional combines Sugimoto do, the last significant manifestation of the Arts and Arts the of manifestation significant last the has it time first the is this and Movement, Crafts been included in any exhibition of Arts and Crafts.

IIAS Newsletter | #36 | March 2005 39 Staff Board IIAS Extraordinary Chairs Wim Stokhof (Director) Prof. P. van der Veer - Chairman (University of Amsterdam) > Colophon Ilko Batakliev (WWW) Prof. P. Spyer (Leiden University) Prof. H.G.C. Schulte Nordholt (the Netherlands) Amis Boersma (Project Coordinator) Prof. B.J. ter Haar (Leiden University) Special Chair at the Erasmus University Rotterdam Ines van Dijk (Secretary) Dr J. de Jong (Groningen University) ‘Asian History’ IIAS Newsletter 36 Wouter Feldberg (Fellow Programme Coordinator) Prof. R. Kersten (Leiden University) 1 October 1999 - 1 October 2007 March 2005 Manuel Haneveld (IT-Manager) Prof. M. van der Linden (IISG/University of Amsterdam) 40 pages Winda Handajani (Database) Prof. M. Sparreboom (Erasmus University Rotterdam) Prof. H. Steinhauer (the Netherlands) Editorial Office Takeo David Hymans (Managing Editor) Special Chair at Nijmegen University Visiting address: Nonnensteeg 1-3, Leiden Natasja Kershof (Editor) Academic Committee ‘Ethnolinguistics with a focus on Southeast Asia’ Mailing address: IIAS, P.O. Box 9515, 2300 RA Roald Maliangkay (Coordinator, Branch Office Amsterdam) Dr G. Persoon - Chairman (Leiden University) 1 September 1998 - 1 September 2006 Leiden, the Netherlands Heleen van der Minne (Secretary, Branch Office Amsterdam) Prof. T. Atabaki (IISG/University of Amsterdam) T +31-71-527 2227 Manon Osseweijer (Coordinator of Academic Affairs) Dr E.W. Bal (Free University, Amsterdam) F +31-71-527 4162 Anne-Marie Petit (Secretary) Prof. H. Beukers (Leiden University) [email protected] Marloes Rozing (Financial Manager, Seminar Coordinator) Prof. P.P.S. Ho (Wageningen University) www.iias.nl Lena Scheen (Project Coordinator) Prof. C.I. Risseeuw (Leiden University) Inge van Steijn (Secretary) Prof. B.C.A.Walraven (Leiden University) Editorial Staff Josine Stremmelaar (Executive Manager) Vincent Traag (Database) Editors David Hymans & Natasja Kershof

> IIAS Staff IIAS > Paul van der Velde (Senior Consultant)

Guest editors:

Staff Maritime Piracy John Kleinen & Manon Osseweijer

Regional editors ICAS Bookprizes Southeast Asia - Thomas Lindblad Mainland Southeast Asia - Volker Grabowsky ICAS 4, Shanghai, 20-24 August 2005 South Asia - Netty Bonouvrié Central Asia - Irina Morozova China - Kenneth Hammond Longlist: Japan - Marjan Boogert Korea - Koen De Ceuster Timothy P. Barnard, Contesting Malayness. Malay Farhat Hasan, State and Locality in Mughal India. Frank J. Schwartz and Susan J. Pharr, The State of Identity Across Boundaries (Singapore: Singapore Power Relations in Western India, c. 1572-1730 Civil Society in Japan (Cambridge: Cambridge Readers - Newsletter 36 University Press 2004) (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 2004). University Press 2003) Henk Blezer, Volker Grabowsky, Kenneth Hammond, Hasan Karrar, Thomas Lindblad, Daniel A. Bell and Hahm Chaibong, Confucianism Allan Hockley, The Prints of Isoda Kory_sai. Patricia Sieber, Theaters of Desire: Authors, Read- Irina Morozova for the Modern World (Cambridge: Cambridge Floating World Culture and its Consumers in ers, and the Reproduction of Early Chinese Song- University Press 2003) Eighteenth-Century Japan (Seattle / London: Drama, 1300-2000 (New York: Palgrave Macmillan Our freelancers University of Washington Press 2003) 2003) Graphics - Iben Trino-Molenkamp & Yue Tao Tommy Bengston, Cameron Campbell, James Z. Copy editing - Susana Dudic & John O’Sullivan Lee, et al., Life under Pressure. Mortality and Living Xiaoming Huang, The Rise and Fall of the East Jerome Silbergeld, Hitchcock with a Chinese Face. Proofreading - Elizabeth Saville Standards in Europe and Asia, 1700-1900 Asian Growth System, 1951-2000. Institutional Cinematic Doubles, Oedipal Triangles, and China’s (Cambridge / London: The MIT Press 2004) competitiveness and rapid economic growth. Moral Voice (Seattle / London: University of Art in Maritime Piracy (London / New York: RoutledgeCurzon 2004) Washington Press 2004) Sébastien Brunel Kingsley Bolton, Chinese Englishes. A sociolinguis-

tic History (Cambridge: Cambridge University Valerie M. Hudson and Andrea M. den Boer, Bare Marie-Aimée Tourres, The Tragedy that didn’t Our agents in the field Press 2003) Branches. The Secuirity Implications of Asia’s Happen (Kuala Lumpur: ISIS Malaysia 2003) Ilko Batakliev, Henk Blezer, Carol Brash, Ines van Surplus Male Population (Cambridge / London: Dijk, Wouter Feldberg, Neil Garcia, Dory Heili- John R. Bowen, Islam, Law and Equality in Indone- The MIT Press 2004) Andrew N. Weintraub, Power Plays: Wayang Golek jgers, Manon Osseweijer, Marloes Rozing, Tijo sia. An anthropology of public reasoning Puppet Theatre of West Java (Athens: Ohio Univer- Salverda, Lena Scheen, Maya-Matthea van (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 2003) Sanjeev Khagram, Dams and Development. sity Press and Singapore: ISEAS Publishing 2004) Staden, Wim Stokhof, Josine Stremmelaar, Paul Transnational Struggles for Water and Power van de Velde, Wang Yiyan, Yoshimura Mako C.C. Chin and Karl Hack, Dialogues with Chin Peng: (Ithaca / London: Cornell University Press 2004) Kenneth E. Wilkening, Acid Rain Science and Poli- New Light on the Malayan Communist Party tics in Japan. A History of Knowledge and Action Design (Singapore: Singapore University Press 2004) Vera Mackie, Feminism in Modern Japan. Citizen- toward Sustainability (Cambridge / London: The JB&A raster grafisch ontwerp, Delft ship, Embodiment and Sexuality (Cambridge: MIT Press 2004) Pierry-Arnaud Chouvy and Joel Meissonnier, Yaa Cambridge University Press 2003) Printing Baa: Production, Traffic and Consumption of Andrew R. Wilson, Ambition and Identity. Chinese Wegener grafische groep, Apeldoorn Methamphetamine in Mainland Southeast Asia John Miksic, Earthenware in Southeast Asia Merchant Elites in Colonial Manila, 1880-1916 (Singapore: Singapore University Press 2004) (Singapore: Singapore University Press 2003) (Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press 2004) ISSN 0929-8738 Gregory C. Chow, Knowing China (Singapore: Kenneth Girdwood Robinson, Science and Yongnian Zheng, Globalization and State Transfor- World Scientifc Publishing 2004) Civilisation in China. Volume 7. Part II: General mation in China (Cambridge: Cambridge Circulation Conclusions and Reflections. (Cambridge: University Press 2004) 24,000 Helen Creese, Women of the Kakawin World: Cambridge University Press 2003) Marriage and Sexuality in the Indic Courts of Java Upcoming deadlines: and Bali (Armonk / London: M.E. Sharpe 2004) Nathalie Huynh Chau Nguyen, Vietnamese Voices, PhD thesises: Please see www.iias.nl Gender and Cultural Identity in the Vietnamese Elisabeth De Michelis, A History of Modern Yoga. Francophone (DeKalb: Southeast Asia Publications Xiangqun Chang, Lishang-Wanglai: Social Support Subscriptions Patanjali and Western Esotericism (London / 2003) Networks, Reciprocity and Creativity in a Chinese The IIAS Newsletter is published four times a New York: Continuum 2004) Village (City University, London, 2004) year and is available free of charge. To subscribe, Franklin Perkins, Leibniz and China. A commerce please return a completed subscription form to Stephen Dobbs, The Singapore River. A Social of light (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Wai-Yip Ho, Understanding the Civilizing Process the IIAS secretariat. Subscription forms are avail- History 1819-2002 (Singapore: Singapore University 2003) of Islamic Modernity: Conceptualizing Ethno- able from the secretariat or online. Press 2003) graphic Voices of the Muslim Diaspora (The Hong [email protected] Christopher A. Reed, Gutenberg in Shanghai: Kong University of Science and Technology, 2004) www.iias.nl/iiasn/subscribe.html Lisa Drummond and Helle Rydstrom, Gender Chinese Print Capitalism, 1876-1937 (Vancouver / Practices in Contemporary Vietnam (Singapore: Toronto: UBC Press 2003) Key-young Son, South Korean Identities in Strate- Responsibility for copyrights and for facts and opin- Singapore University Press 2004) gies of Engagement with North Korea: A Case ions expressed in this publication rests exclusively Anthony Reid, An Indonesian Frontier. Acehnese Study of President Kim Dae-jung’s Sunshine Policy with authors. Their interpretations do not necessari- Elizabeth C. Economy, The River Runs Black. and Other Histories of Sumatra (Singapore: (2 Volumes) (The University of Sheffield, 2004) ly reflect the views of the institute or its supporters. The Environmental Challenge to China’s Future Singapore University Press 2004) (Ithaca / London: Cornell University Press 2004) Francesca Tarocco, Attuning the Dharma: the Michael Roberts, Sinhala Consciousness in the cultural practices of modern Chinese Buddhists Anne Feldhaus, Connected Places: Region, Kandyan Period 1590s to 1815 (Colombo: Vijitha (SOAS, London 2004) Pilgrimage, and Geographical Imagination in India Yapa Publications 2003) (New York: Palgrave Macmillan 2003) Sammuel Kwok-Fu Wong, Community participa- Jordan Sand, House and Home in Modern Japan: tion of Mainland Chinese migrants in Hong Kong - Barbara Harris-White, India Working. Essays on Architecture, Domestic Space, and Bourgeois Rethinking agency, institutions and authority in Website: Society and Economy (Cambridge: Cambridge Culture, 1880-1930 (Cambridge / London: Harvard social capital theory (University of Bradford, 2004) University Press 2003) University Press 2004) www.IIAS.nl

40 IIAS Newsletter | #36 | March 2005