"We use to tie him to the flagpole because he couldn't stand still...."


 Bandung Winardijanto


Bambang is a former fellow student of Barack Obama, a US Senator that is planning to run for US president. Obama was a student at a Menteng Elementary school in the sixties. "He used to take food from the vendors without paying. But, at the end of the week, his parents would come and pay for it."

Source: Impish Obama couldn't sit still, says school pal (Asia Media)
Also: Obama debunks claim about Islamic school

FROM  THE EDITOR:

Summary from the previous editorial: Bar manager Bartele is trying to discover the roots of his ex-employee Endjie. Endjie was often described as the 'African waitress of BuGils'.  In the hope to find more staff like Endjie, he decided to travel to her 'kampung' Purworedjo in Central Java to find out of the Kampung Africa really exists or if it is a myth....

On the piciture: BuGils staff, including Endjie on an outing

PART 2:    After a long drive we finally reached the outskirts of Purworedjo. Lens and I considered potential sources. A look in the phone book didn't give any clues; there were only a few pages and almost all of them were Budi's or Yoko's. We went to a small dentist and asked the doktor gigi if he had encountered many dark skinned customers with large healthy teeth, as Africans normally have. 'If they have healthy teeth, why would they come here?', was his logic statement and by the way he looked at us, we decided not to ask any further questions. (I swore I heard him mumbling 'gila bule yang dua itu...' when we jumped back in our car) We tried a local hair salon. Two giggling girls were equally confused. Yes, they had many customers with small, curly hair but there were no dreadlocks in this part of Java. Oh yes, some of them were very dark, but negro..? Dari Afrika!? Hihihihi..!. Nda ada mister!'.

Arriving in the Kota Purworedjo, the first person we speak to is a petrol salesman on the site of the road. At the moment we stop he approaches the car with the intention to fill up the tires. But we didn't want air, we wanted Black Belandas. The bengkel worker looked up in surprise. Orang Afrika!? In Purweredjo? The man his own face was black but this was because of oil and rubber. He pushed his dirty face deeper through the car window, looking at the mess inside our car. He smelled terrible. I tried a different approach. 'Is there a kampung Africa in this city?' He pulled his head back and looked bewildered into different directions. Suddenly, obvious reluctant, he dove his head back in the car. 'ADA! ADA!'. He pointed enthusiastically in the distance. 'There is a Gang African!' He continued. 'My father in law knows more about it. Follow me!'  Finally our adrenaline started pumping again. He jumped in a becak and signed us to follow him. Coincidentally Lens noticed that the becak was black. Freaky. A few minutes later, carefully maneuvering our car through some small alleys, we arrived at the little house of his father in law, a journalist in his late fifties.

There were pictures of Sukarno everywhere. The man's mother was Dutch and his father had been head of the personal security unit for Sukarno. One frame carried a painting of a young Dr. Rini, one of Sukarno's wives. 'Somebody wanted to give 100 juta for it , but I wanted 300 juta. It was a gift from Sukarno to my father', he told us.  The wife of the man was very lively and she was clearly exited having two bule's visiting. I explained them what we were looking for. The wife of the man jumped up. 'There is a descendent of a Belanda Hitam here, a few houses next door! Wait!' She quickly left the house. Another woman presented us with a cup of tea. We became nervous. Could we expect a big negro guy coming through the door? Or an 'Endjie-' like potential waitress? 'Get your camera ready, Lens!' Five minutes later a little old and very dark woman was carefully whiskered inside the small living room. She had a very friendly face, but was clearly confused about all the commotion. Lens punched me in the side and whispered: 'Look at the hair! Its absolutely frizzy, Afro hair...!'. The man of the house explained to the woman our interest for African descendants that maybe were still living in Purworedjo. She quietly shook her head. 'But I am not an African...', she said. 'My mother is from Java, my father from Flores. I have no African family at all...'. Aiii... This was not good. The man apologized over and over with all kind of excuses. We pretended we didn't speak Indonesian to prevent her for even more loss of face. The little dark Timor woman was slowly escorted back to her house, and is probably until now still confused about all the commotion that involved two white man. That poor old lady...

The indo journalist knew a lot about the history of Purworedjo, but little about the history of the Belanda Hitam or Londo Ireng as they used to call them. He suggested we would visit the only Dutchman living in the city, Dr Romo Lukman (Henk Loogman). Lukman had been living in Purworedjo for many years and was a well know paranormal catholic priest, he said. Then we could also try the old 'Kerkhof' (graveyard) and a visit to the Kampung Africa. It sounded good to us. It could not be that 3000 Africans that had been living here for 100 years had left nothing behind....    TO BE CONTINUED.... 

(ps. On the way to central java we stayed overnight in Batu Karas, near Pangandaran on the invitation of Scott, who lives there and is a regular reader of my newsletter. Batu Karas is defenitely worth a visit if you are planning a trip to Java. A great surfers spot. For more info send me an email.--Bartele)

In the meanwhile I received a lot of emails from readers, clearly enjoying this little research. Below only a few of the emails that I received:

Bartele,

Your fwd on Belanda Hitam reminds me about Jan. When I was still very young kid, early 1960 in Solo there was a Londo Ireng named Jan. He worked as a porter in a cinema. My father told me that he was born in Purworejo and had served as KNIL, then retired and married a Javanese women. He used to pass in front of our house wearing  black and white shoes (looked like golf shoes nowadays) every Sunday morning to go to church. We, kids, enjoyed his humor when he would say: "Zwarte Piet (black Piet) pakai sepatu putih. Londo Ireng lagi kaya mau ke gereja" (Black Piet is wearing white shoes. The Black Belanda is doing well and going to church). We laughed and he smiled with his big and nice mouth. I think he was one among the last to be repatriated to Holland. Thirty eight years after, when I happened to be in the Netherlands I took the opportunity to ask Andy Tielmann (from Surabaya) if he know whether Jan was still alive.  I never got the answer. Unfortunately my father had already passed away so I cannot ask Jan's family name...

Hadrianto - Toronto

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Hi Bart,

Good article about Elmina in Ghana. I visited the fort 10 years ago . It is an amazing sight and  Structure -both a spectacular building and location and at the times very sad given its slave trade origins. I notice there even was a Sumatra Lodge on the Java Hill (previous called Java Berg). Rowan l.

Thanks Rowan. I found more about the origins of the Sumatra lodge in Ghana:

Sumatra Lodge is named in memory of Hermanus Ulzen, great - grandfather of Edward Ulzen, who bought this house in 1960. Hermanus Ulzen served in the Royal Dutch East Indies Army from 1832 -1837. He fought in the Padri War and was wounded in Lampong, Aceh Province, Sumatra and awarded a bronze cross. A book about Ulzen has been written by Inneke van Kessel named: The tricontinental voyage of Negro Corporal Manus Ulzen (1812-1887) from Elmina

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From another reader the info that a few books have been published recently about the Belanda Hitam:

THe Two Hearts Of Kwasi-Boachi . Extraordinary real-life material: in 1837 two young Ashanti princes were taken to Holland, ostensibly to receive a European education, but in fact as peons in a cynical exchange between the Ashanti king and the Dutch government. They desperately needed soldiers to fill up the KNIL shortage in the Dutch Indies. Kwasi tells the strange story as a gentle, peevish old man living on a failed coffee plantation in Java at the turn of the century. Embraced by the royal court, the two went on to college and became offbeat figures in Dutch society. One cherished a passion for a Dutch princess until she married elsewhere for convenience. The other deeply uneasy at his equivocal role, joined the army and was posted back to Africa where, eventually realizing that he was a mere plaything of the Dutch, he killed himself.

In the tracks of The Panther (Dutch title: In het voetspoor van De Panter) For years, author Griselda Molemans wondered about the dark skin color of her grandfather from the Dutch Indies, but failed to explain the origin. One day, an elderly Indo-African couple from the garrison town of Purworejo in Java, gives her a clue about her family name. What follows next is a suprising quest, leading from the National Archives in Holland to Burkina Faso, Ghana and Java and resulting in the discovery of the African founding father of the Molemans family.

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Bartele… 

Well done on your ‘investigations’ into the ‘Belanda Hitam’ of Ghana/East Java. I first heard about the story about 3 years ago. For a background on The Gold Coast and Ghana, there is a brief extract in a book called “Scents of Eden”, by Charles Corn. It gives a context to how The Gold Coast became a British colony, and links it to the Spice Trade in the Banda Islands. Fascinating stuff…

Chris Dickson

Endjie: black or brown?

THE PREVIOUS EDITIONS:

http://www.bartele.com/2007/20070129.htm
http://www.bartele.com/2007/20070126.htm
http://www.bartele.com/2007/jan19nl03/LATEST20070119.htm
http://www.bartele.com/2007/jan12nl02/latest.html 

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Psychologist makes patient wear dog collar
An Australian psychologist charged with indecently assaulting a patient told a court on Tuesday that forcing his female patient to wear a dog collar and call him master was within a psychologist's ethical guidelines.

Islamic Pakistan gets own 20-year-old single malt  - Predominantly Muslim Pakistan, where most people are banned from drinking alcohol, is set to get a domestically produced, 20-year-old single malt whisky, an official at the company making the drink said. Its makers are not expecting huge sales.

 

Indonesian gas potential burns dimly
Indonesia's reputation as a reliable business partner in the energy sector has recently been tarnished and its earning potential undermined by a series of contractual spats pitting Jakarta against multinational energy companies and big Japanese natural gas importers. (Asia Times)

Energi wants partners to share mud flow costs

Justice on trial in Indonesia
Indonesia's Supreme Court recently overturned the conviction of airline pilot Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto in the murder of activist Munir Said Thalib. The court said there was insufficient evidence to detain Pollycarpus, but others wonder if this is another example of the Indonesian judiciary's extraordinary pliability. (Asia Times)

FROM A READER:

Friday: The Rolling Stones LIVE in the Music Garden
Saturday: BRITPOP with Keigo (Oasis, Coldplay, Blur, U2...etc)

CAFE BUGILS

EVERY SATURDAY AND SUNDAY:

OPEN FOR LUNCH

EVERY MONDAY FROM 5 TILL 7:

FREE FLOW OF BEER

WANTED: POOL PLAYERS FOR THE BUGILS OR ONE TREE POOL TEAMS, TO PLAY IN THE EXPAT POOL LEAGUE THAT STARTS AGAIN ON THE 14 OF FEB. SEND AN EMAIL TO BARTELE.SANTEMA@GMAIL.COM IF YOU ARE INTERESTED!

FOR RENT: 

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