The Javanese as Emigrant: Observations on the Development of Javanese Settlements Overseas

Abstract

Scholars interested in Indonesia are well aware of the phenomenon of Chinese emigration and settlement overseas, for the Overseas Chinese are an important component of the population in Indonesia as well as the rest of Southeast Asia. Yet few are aware that Indonesia itself has produced a sizeable emigrant population; until recently little has been written about the largest segment of this group, the Javanese. The pioneer research on Surinam by the Indo nesian sociologist Yusuf Ismael1 has more recently been supplemented by the field studies of American anthropologists Annemarie de Waal Malefijt on Surinam and Alice G. Dewey on New Caledonia.2 As yet, however, no attempt has been made to analyze the various Javanese communities abroad, and the whole phenomenon of Javanese emigration, in comparative perspective. 1960's for the important centers of Javanese settlement for which figures are available is as follows:3 4

The remittance forest: Turning mobile labor into agrarian capital

“…In terms of changes in women's labor, the fact that landless Javanese rural women, here forest‐based, are engaging in off‐farm labor is not unusual; Javanese rural women have worked off‐farm, as domestic labor, and migrated for work for centuries (Geertz ; Dewey, ; Lockard, ; Hull, ; Brenner, . However, another gendered household labor issue comes into play for families living in the magersaren: adult male household members have been more tied to place than the women in the magersaren, as they are obligated to work for the State Forestry Corporation (SFC) in order to continue living on forest lands, as described in greater detail below.…”

A rejoinder

“…What I find intriguing is that Bosma does not include in his discussion of international migration the movement of indentured workers from Java to British Malaya starting in the 1870s and to Suriname and New Caledonia starting in the 1890s. For instance, in the wake of the abolition of slavery in Suriname in 1863 and the uncertainties surrounding indentured labor from British India, the Netherlands Indies allowed the recruitment of Javanese workers who were brought to the South American territory to work on sugar plantations, the practice peaking from 1917 to 1928 (Lockard 1971, pp. 46–50).…”

Hibriditas, Nation, dan Aspek Nostalgis Representasi Pascakolonial dalam Lirik Lagu-Lagu Jawa Suriname

“…Sebelum masyarakat Jawa tiba di Suriname, orang Afrika terlebih dahulu tiba. (Lockard, 1971) Lagu hip-hop yang populer di kalangan orang kulit hitam sebagai representasi identitas orang kulit hitam, memunculkan sebuah proses kreolisasi dengan lagu Jawa di Suriname dan menghasilkan lagu yang unik. Dalam konteks tersebut, lagu Pak'e Matjul menunjukkan sebuah interaksi yang unik antar dua kelompok masyarakat yang merupakan pekerja imigran dari koloni Belanda.…”