OPINIONS AND BELIEFS

A friend of mine recently moved house. With his wife carrying their first child, the studio apartment had become too small. He had moved to a fairly recently built area, at some distance from the old haunts, not yet a satellite town, but getting close. When I asked him how it felt, and especially about his daily commute, he stated that the extra travelling time was not that serious, Jakarta traffic, after all, is a pain wherever one lives. He did not have a full picture of his close neighbours yet, he added, but they seemed quite all right. A bit further down the street, however, the people seemed a bit coarse and rowdy. On two consecutive nights the police had been called to sooth tempers during a neighbourhood quarrel. They were Madurese, he had heard. And he said it in a way that indicated his displeasure with having descendants from that island living in his neighbourhood…

Hold on a moment... where have I heard that before. Batavia, one hundred-plus years ago. Dutch literature from and about the Netherlands Indies—Louis Couperus, The Silent Force… If I remember correctly, the town is put on alert when the rumour spreads that the Soemeneppers are coming? They are the inhabitants of Sumenep, a regency in East Java Province and the most eastern part of Madura island. Apparently, in the old days, roving bands of them would descend on Java and survive by stealing valuables from houses, and crops and livestock from the fields. Lock your doors at night, was the warning, better still, double lock your doors!

And my fountain of knowledge, Encyclopaedie van Nederlandsch-Indië, Martinus Nijhoff 1917, also has some (harsh) words to say about the Madurese. The term ‘politically correct’, in its modern connotation, had then not yet been coined. A spade was called a spade, and everybody was convinced that the top of the monkey-rock was reserved for white Protestants. The Encyclopaedie thus describes the Madurese as: (Vol II, page 639)

energetic and independent which, however, often results in a coarse and ill-mannered attitude. The average Madurese also has an urge to contradict, is curious and cocksure. He is, however, faithful, and his promise can be relied upon. Probably due to the poor soils of the island, the resulting low yields and harsh life, the Madurese is almost miserly thrifty. Revenge for real or alleged insults or underestimation often results in heavy wounds, manslaughter and murder…

I'm sure that most of us harbour a set of "opinions", either as a result of how we were brought up, or inspired by more recent experiences. It could take the mild form of jokes—Irish jokes for the English, Belgian jokes for the Dutch, and Dutch jokes for the Belgians, to give a few examples.

It could, however, also take the shape of deeply ingrained "thou shalt not…", or even hatred. Romeo did not get his Juliet, and a friend of mine was rejected by the family of her boyfriend on religious grounds… and when she agreed to convert, she suddenly was of the wrong tribe. In a similar but rather playful banter, albeit with an undercurrent of unease, the GIs (US Army) during WW-II were described by the British as: oversexed, overpaid and over here.

Here in Indonesia more vicious forms of hate have recently resulted in evictions, arson and manslaughter… for no other reason than a difference in belief! Read that once more: for no other reason than a difference in belief!

A blot on the nation… it was said.
In need of purification… and they did!

And another sports centre had to be converted into a refugee shelter.