Colonial-Era Officials in Java Commonly Cohabited and Kept Concubines

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – The term “kumpul kebo” is commonly used for couples living together without marrying. Yet the practice dates back hundreds of years and was also followed by senior officials during the Dutch colonial period in Indonesia.

In the Dutch East Indies, relationships outside formal marriage were not confined to ordinary people. Several governors-general and members of colonial councils reportedly shared homes with Indigenous women. The practice was partly linked to the high cost of bringing wives from Europe and the various risks of travel at the time.

One example was Gustaaf Willem Baron van Imhoff, Governor-General of the VOC from 1743 to 1750. The 2016 book Tempat-Tempat Bersejarah di Jakarta recounts that van Imhoff, who was married, received an enslaved woman described as beautiful from the Queen of Bone as a gift.

She was baptised Helena Pieters and lived in his home as a “life companion”. They had children together.

Another example was Reinier de Klerk, Governor-General of the VOC from 1777 to 1780. After arriving in Java, de Klerk lived with an enslaved woman. They had several children, who were later sent to the Netherlands.

The practice was not limited to governors-general. Thomas Stamford Raffles’s adviser and member of the Council of the Indies Herman Warner Muntinghe reportedly lived with three enslaved women, despite being married to a woman of mixed Dutch and Indonesian descent.

Raffles himself was known not to object to his subordinates’ relationships with enslaved women. As a result, cohabitation outside marriage became commonplace during his rule.

Another associate of Raffles, Alexander Hare, had “life companions” from various regions. In his book Raffles and the British Invasion of Java (2012), Tim Hannigan wrote that Hare used his position and power to exploit local women as “life companions”.

The conduct of the elites was only the tip of the iceberg. Lower-ranking employees, soldiers and European traders also frequently lived with local women without marrying them.

People referred to the practice as “kumpul Gerbouw”. In Dutch, gebouw means “building” or “house”; the expression was therefore intended as a jibe at those who shared a roof.