Por-Tugu-Ese? the Protestant Tugu Community of Jakarta, Indonesia
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School of Social Sciences Department of Anthropology Por-Tugu-Ese? The Protestant Tugu Community of Jakarta, Indonesia. Raan-Hann Tan Thesis specially presented for the fulfilment of the degree of Doctor in Anthropology Supervisor: Brian Juan O’Neill, Full Professor ISCTE-IUL March, 2016 School of Social Sciences Department of Anthropology Por-Tugu-Ese? The Protestant Tugu Community of Jakarta, Indonesia. Raan-Hann Tan Thesis specially presented for the fulfilment of the degree of Doctor in Anthropology Jury: Dr. Shamsul Amri Baharuddin, Distinguished Professor, Institute of Ethnic Studies, National University of Malaysia Dr. Maria Johanna Christina Schouten, Associate Professor, Department of Sociology, University of Beira Interior Dr. Ema Cláudia Ribeiro Pires, Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology, University of Évora Dr. António Fernando Gomes Medeiros, Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology, School of Social Sciences, ISCTE- University Institute of Lisbon (ISCTE-IUL) Dr. Marisa Cristina dos Santos Gaspar, Research Fellow, Orient Institute, School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Lisbon (ISCSP-UL). Dr. Brian Juan O’Neill, Full Professor, Department of Anthropology, School of Social Sciences, ISCTE-University Institute of Lisbon (ISCTE-IUL) March, 2016 ABSTRACT Por-Tugu-Ese? The Protestant Tugu Community of Jakarta, Indonesia Keywords: Mardijkers, Betawi, Portuguese identity, Christian village, Keroncong Tugu Although many centuries have passed since Portugal’s Age of Discoveries, enduring hybrid communities are still surviving in places where the Portuguese had been present. Portuguese identity in Malacca, Larantuka, and East Timor, for example, has always been associated with Catholicism. But in Batavia, the Portuguese-speaking population (the Mardijkers, slaves, and Burghers) was converted to Calvinism under Dutch colonization, forming the Protestant Portuguese community in Indonesia. The original contribution of this study is to examine how and why the Protestant Tugu community in postcolonial Indonesia has maintained its integrity as “Portuguese” and has endured collectively for five centuries. To answer these questions, ethnographic fieldwork was undertaken in Kampung Tugu (and Pejambon) in Jakarta, Indonesia. In particular, we focus on the role of local religious practices, as well as on dimensions of the genealogies, apparel, and music of this quintessentially Creole group. v RESUMO Por-Tugu-Ese? A Comunidade Protestante de Tugu em Jakarta, Indonésia Palavras-chave: Mardijkers, Betawi, identidade portuguesa, aldeia cristã, Keroncong Tugu Embora já tenham decorrido vários séculos desde os Descobrimentos portugueses, ainda sobrevivem comunidades híbridas em lugares onde os portugueses tinham estado presentes. Por exemplo, em Malaca, Larantuka e Timor-Leste uma identidade portuguesa tem sido sempre associada ao catolicismo. Em Batávia, pelo contrário, a população que falava português (os mardijkers, os escravos e os burghers) foi convertida ao calvinismo aquando da colonização holandesa, formando a comunidade portuguesa protestante da Indonésia. O contributo original deste estudo reside nas seguintes interrogações: como e porquê a comunidade protestante de Tugu, na Indonésia pós-colonial, se tem mantido integralmente como ‘portuguesa’, e tem persistido como um coletivo durante cinco séculos? Para responder a estas perguntas, foi efectuado um trabalho de terreno em Kampung Tugu (e em Pejambon) em Jakarta, Indonésia. Aprofunda-se, em particular, o papel das práticas religiosas locais, assim como as genealogias, o vestuário e a música deste grupo sumamente crioulo. vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This thesis was made possible by a scholarship and study leave from the Malaysian Ministry of Higher Education and the National University of Malaysia. My greatest debt is to my thesis supervisor, Prof. Brian Juan O’Neill, without whose enthusiasm, knowledge, orientation, and encouragements I could not have completed this project. I am grateful for his advice to focus on Tugu – a community whom I have come to love. I am deeply thankful and moved by his availability and understanding throughout the journey of fieldwork and writing, and his patience and effort in correcting my language, even in times of recuperation. I could not have imagined having a better or friendlier supervisor. I would like to express my appreciation to Prof. Jorge Freitas Branco for his understanding and support, especially during the first semesters. Thanks are also extended to Prof. Miguel Vale de Almeida, Profª Nélia Dias, Prof. Filipe Reis, Prof. Francisco Vaz da Silva, and Prof. António Medeiros for their feedback on my work during the first year of the PhD Program. I would like to also thank Drª Ema Pires and Dr. José Mapril for their insightful comments on the research project. I am indebted to Prof. Shamsul Amri Baharuddin for welcoming me into his team, for suggesting a brilliant topic for my research, and for having supported me all the way. I owe deep gratitude to Prof. Rashila Ramli for the career opportunity and her strong support for my study. Prof. Shanta-Nair Venugopal has my sincere appreciation. It was encouraging to hear the compliment coming from her at the end of my proposal presentation, a compliment that has been an enormous motivation to me in times of self-doubt. I am grateful to Prof. K. S. Nathan, Prof. Paul Lim, Drª Carmen Villar Ramos, and Drᵃ Maria Cristiana Casimiro for their letters of recommendation. Thanks also go to Dr. Richard Mason, Prof. Carolina Lopez and colleagues in UKM for their guidance and to Dr. Rizal Yusof and Clarence Ngui for the reading materials and references that I needed. Credit should be given to the administrative staff at the Registrar’s Office of UKM and IKMAS (formerly IKON), particularly Pn. Normah Adam, Pn. Zoraini Ibrahim and Cik Najatumuna Hamdan for their assistance and support with regard to issues concerning my scholarship and study leave. I have benefitted from the efficiency of the staff at the inter-library loan department of PTSL-UKM for acquiring references from overseas in the preparation of my research project. I would like to acknowledge the staff at CRIA, the School of Social Sciences in ISCTE, and the librarians for their assistance in facilitating my studies and research. vii Tugu now holds a very special place in my heart. There are far too many people I want to thank: I would like to single out Saartje Michiels and Lisa Michiels who accepted me as a member of their family. I owe a very important debt to Arthur Michiels. He made an enormous contribution to this project, and I was overwhelmed by his availability and attention in answering every single question and doubt that I had concerning Tugu. Andre Michiels has been very generous in sharing his archive and network. Ribuan terima kasih to ci Nining (Martini), tante Joise Yunus, and tante Erni Michiels who have helped me in so many ways and included me in their family events. Assistance provided by Augusta Michiels is greatly appreciated. I am touched by the sharing and prayers of oma Ana Quiko, oma Yohana Abrahams, and Paulus Mega Tadoe; to them I wish to say: terima kasih, kiranya Tuhan Yesus memberkati. I also would like to apologise to the people in Tugu and Pejambon and ask for their forgiveness for any of my intentional and unintentional wrong-doings during my stay. It is my pleasure to thank H. E. Joaquim Moreira de Lemos, Portuguese Ambassador to Indonesia, for giving his time to be interviewed and recommending me references that are relevant to my studies. I am deeply grateful to Pak Sahat Sitorus, head of the North Jakarta Cultural Office, and his team, for their interest in this project, their warm welcome and their permission to conduct my work at their office. Special thanks are extended to Prof. Amri Marzali, Prof. Yasmine Zaki Shahab, Dr. Lilie Suratminto and Arif Budiman at the Universitas Indonesia and J. J. Rizal for their time in our discussions on Tugu. Dr. Suratminto was a good host during my first visit to the University and has supplied useful information and research ideas, particularly on the case of Depok. I am obliged for the enthusiasm and assistance given by Dr. Ari Poespodihardjo and Hersinta at the London School of Public Relations with regard to my visa and research facilities. I am extremely grateful to Dr. Hugo Cardoso and Dr. Hendrik Niemeijer, who were extraordinarily generous in sharing their expertise and research materials with me. I am very grateful to Dr. Susana Sardo, who read one of the chapters with care, and whose remarks and suggestions from the perspective of an ethnomusicologist were much appreciated. I am grateful to Prof. Gijs Koster for sending me an important reference for my research; I would like to acknowledge Dr. Gijs Kruijer, Kirsty Walker, Lorraine Lauw, and Pinta for sharing their works; I thank Prof. Karel Steenbrink and Dr. Tom van den End for their time in sharing their knowledge and clarifying my doubts; The sharing of research experiences and thesis-writing with Drª Marisa Gaspar, Drª Ema Pires, Drª Alice Viola, as well as their insightful comments, suggestions, and warm encouragement, were invaluable. Appreciation is also due to Inês Filipa Santos for her kind and timely help in thesis formatting. viii I thank Dr. Cyril Isnart for the opportunity to participate in the summer school program on religious heritage. I appreciate the possibility afforded by Dr. Christopher Larkosh and the Luso-American Foundation, in the form of a grant, to study Portuguese and experience the diversity of the Portuguese diaspora in the U.S. before starting this PhD course. My thanks also go to friends and colleagues for their hospitality: Dr. Hew Wang Weng and Athi Sivan in the Netherlands; Cindy Chan at Cambridge; Marta Galamba, Luisa Timóteo, Filipa Soares, Drª Ema Pires and family, Drᵃ Luisa Dutra, and Ana Lúcia Melo in Portugal. In the UK, Ruth Cockram is one the most amazing persons that I have ever met. I remain grateful for her logistic arrangement during my first trip to Jakarta and for providing me and my aunt with free hotel accommodation throughout the trip.