Between the East and the West: the wanderings of a Javanese 'tribe' (a contribution to the study of diaspora communities

Abstract: The village of Tongar nestled in the Minangkabau highlands of western Sumatra in Indonesia is the epitome of a unique Javanese transplant, which has its beginnings in the former Dutch colony of Suriname, South America, where, starting from 1890 onwards until 1939 immigrants from the island of Java followed a five year contract as indentured labourers, and choose to settle after expiration of the contract. But decades of disillusionment, discrimination and not in the least fragmentation within the group laid a solid basis for the decision in favour of repatriation to Indonesia. At the crucial moment of universal suffrage in 1951, 75% of the Javanese rejected Dutch nationality and were therefore regarded by the colonial government as aliens. In 1954 a number of one thousand people left Suriname for Sumatra to start a new life as Indonesian citizens. Keywords: wanderings of a Javanese 'tribe