Indonesian history as an autonomous history

Indonesian history as an autonomous history

Yosef Djakababa, Contributor, Jakarta

Indonesia: Peoples and Histories

Jean Gelman Taylor

448 pp

Yale University Press

Jean Gelman Taylor's book titled Indonesia: Peoples and
Histories is an important addition to the study of Indonesian
history.

In this book, Taylor uses an original and unique approach in
not having any citations in the book. Instead, she uses what she
called capsules. These small capsules appear frequently to give
the reader specific examples of a particular topic that is
currently being discussed in a particular chapter.

For example in chapter five, titled "New Comers in the Muslim
Circle", she discusses the arrival of foreigners in the
archipelago, among others, the Chinese.

In that particular chapter, one of the capsules explained the
dynamic relationship between the local elites and the Chinese.
She described the relationship that forced the Chinese to be
depended on local elites who in turn empowered them as the
principal tax collectors from the common people. As a result, the
commoners saw the Chinese as their oppressors. (Page 128-129).

From her narratives we can see the influence of an idea of
history. "Autonomous history" approaches history from local
perspectives in contrast to the more common approach (especially
in Indonesian history) that comes from foreign perspectives.

Much of her influence on autonomous history came from her
mentor, John R.W. Smail, her Ph.D advisor at the University of
Wisconsin-Madison's department of history. Smail is well known as
a scholar who wrote an important essay about the possibility of
autonomous history in Southeast Asia.

Taylor tries to place local people not merely as victims of
foreigners, and especially not as victims of the Dutch. She also
criticizes many narratives on Indonesian history that only
emphasize nationalism.

In the nationalist version of history, Indonesians are always
portrayed and perceived as heroic and dramatic, but in the end,
losers and victims. This view of Indonesian history is not only
narrow but totally ignores the intellectual and cultural
exchanges between the indigenous peoples and the foreigners.

By focusing on social, cultural and intellectual exchanges,
Taylor is trying to eradicate the view of Indonesians as merely
heroic losers, instead showing them as major players.

The book has a clear and yet concise style of writing which
makes the texts easy to grasp and understand. Moreover, the book
also provides criticism and overviews on the development of
approaches to Indonesian historical writing.

Nevertheless, the book also has some drawbacks. First, without
any citations, the book lacks credibility on some of the data the
writer presents. Hence, it is also difficult to cross check some
of her statements and narratives in the book. One example would
be what she wrote concerning the 30th September 1965 event.

Taylor wrote that the bodies of the slain generals were hidden
inside the Indonesian Air Force base Halim, while in fact, the
bodies were actually found in an old well located in a former
rubber plantation called Lubang Buaya.

Moreover, she also discusses how the New Order regime banned
the teaching of Weber and Chinese language in Indonesian
universities (page 359). In fact the New Order never banned the
teaching of Weber, and actually allowed very restricted Chinese
language instruction in the Chinese literature department of the
University of Indonesia. Again without any citations, it is
difficult for the reader to check or to find out where she
obtained such information.

Second, Taylor's account of Indonesian autonomous histories
needs to be questioned. In the book's introduction Taylor states:
"My aim in this book is to place Indonesians at the center of
their own story". In fact, most of the sources she used for this
book are in English and written by foreigners.

Her book actually gives the impression that only foreigners
can write general histories of Indonesia as she has not placed
Indonesians at the center of their own story as she sought to do.

However, despite the weaknesses and drawbacks, the publication
of the Indonesia: Peoples and Histories should be received as
part of recent developments in Indonesian history writing.

Jean Gelman Taylor wants to promote new perspective on
Indonesian history, a perspective that hopefully is not only
filled with indoctrination of narrow political and nationalist
ideas. We also need to realize, however, that it is not easy to
write Indonesian history that covers every aspect of this diverse
nation while at the same time being general one, because the
writer will always be faced with the problem of deciding which
aspects to leave in or out in the narrative. Hopefully, this new
book will stimulate more fresh writing on Indonesian history.

Yosef Djakababa is a PhD candidate in Southeast Asian history at
the University of Wisconsin-Madison, U.S.A. He is currently
conducting research for his dissertation on modern Indonesian
history.