Kita Neng Kene (We Are Here)
Healing the Afterlives of Colonialism among Javanese communities in the Netherlands and Suriname
This research is part of Re/Presenting Europe: Healing the Afterlives of Colonialism and funded by NWO and Silvia de Groot fonds.
2023 marked the year to commemorate the abolition of Slavery in Suriname and the ABCSSS islands; on the 9th of August 2023 we commemorated 133 years of Javanese Emigration in Suriname, but the attention received was minor. In addition, there has been an increase in re-search on the lasting impacts of colonization, cultural and historical oppression, through the lens of ‘historical trauma’, with the focus on the ongoing oppression Indigenous people still face in the present. Some re-search efforts have concentrated on the intergenerational impact of slavery, resulting in theories like post-traumatic slave syndrome. Re-search on Indentured Labor, however, has been comparatively limited, and on Javanese-Surinamese people even more so.
Historically, some of the oppression faced by Javanese-Surinamese are: the Cultuurstelsel, Koelieordonnantie, the negative self-image perpetuated by colonial systems, the sense of uprootedness during the journey to Suriname and homesickness to return to Java. Colonial powers dismantle and degrade native cultures, instilling feelings of inferiority in the colonized and persuading them that they bring enlightenment to their lives. As Frantz Fanon (1952, 209) mentions, “colonialism doesn’t just control people; it also distorts and destroys their past.” Healing from colonial abuses could, therefore, start with restoring what has been lost, weaving a new future by reconnecting with Indigenous cultural practices, spirituality, and traditions. In the case of the Javanese-Surinamese people, they held onto memories and cultural expressions like music, dance, and theatre to root in a new land and restore painful wounds.
With this re-search, I aim to uncover the impact of colonialism and historical trauma from the perspective of the Javanese community in Suriname and the Netherlands, and shed light on their healing process, combining ethnography, imagination, archival research and storytelling. As artistic and cultural practices gave Javanese people a sense of rootedness and resilience in the colonial era, I aim to explore how the Javanese-Surinamese community today applies these elements as a means of healing. This research also seeks to approach trauma and healing from a decolonial perspective, challenging dominant paradigms that split healing in the binaries of ‘Western’ and ‘traditional’, portraying ‘Western’ medicine as superior.
As a descendant of Javanese-Surinamese indentured laborers, I will incorporate personal reflections through auto-ethnography in this re-search. I plan to draw on various ethnographic and participatory methods, deeply inspired by Linda Tuhiwai Smith’s work on Decolonizing Methodologies, which advocates for validating Indigenous perspectives and ways of knowing.
To further enrich this process, I will utilize Saidiya Hartman’s concept of critical fabulation—weaving together imagination, storytelling, and critical analysis to bridge the gaps in historical records and dominant narratives. During focus groups, I will integrate Javanese cultural practices, employing storytelling, batik as photo voice, and Javanese poetry and music as tools for elicitation.
To ensure that the knowledge generated through this research reaches a broader audience, I will produce a podcast, write blogs, and participate in public speaking engagements.