The envelope please: Of 'angpao' and other identity markers

Some 20 years ago, we began to take our children to see the Lunar New Year celebration in Melbourne's Chinatown. They watched, awed and fascinated by the proximity of the Chinese dragon dancing to the almost mythical rhythm of the drum.

Then, as the drumbeat quickened and the dragon's agile and graceful body straightened up to reach the second-story balcony of a restaurant, our son asked what was the red thing that the restaurateur handed to the dragon, which the dragon appeared to swallow.

I had to pause, and suppress a tinge of guilt, before saying that it was an angpao, a special red envelope containing a gift of money. I felt somewhat remiss that I had not kept our children informed about the Chinese side of my family background.

Memories of my Jakarta childhood raced past: My father giving angpao to all his Chinese nieces and nephews who came visiting on the days of the Chinese New Year. Even non-Chinese relatives would occasionally come, knowing that angpao were being handed out.

Needless to say, from then on we started giving angpao to our children even if it were just for fun. I realise now that it is a lot more than mere fun, for we have given them another cultural segment to round out their sense of identity.

The sense of identity, I have learned, may draw on cultures of countries with which you do not necessarily have tangible links. Even those of our relatives, whose immediate family-trees seem to consist of ethnic-Chinese branches only, do not feel any "pull" to "return" to China, but identify themselves as Chinese- Indonesians.

I know some family friends who, having experienced extremely unpleasant discrimination in Indonesia, decided to sell everything and leave for China. Many of these then finished up in a third country, when they found that there was an irreconcilable gap between the China of their mythical homeland and the real China.

Interestingly, despite having left Indonesia, and then China, in their new abode, they identify themselves as "Indonesian Chinese", distinct from the Chinese-Indonesians who remain in Indonesia.

Yes those who have experienced leaving twice, while identifying themselves as Chinese, know for certain they are not "Chinese Chinese", but Indonesian Chinese. They are acutely aware of this, because Indonesia is in their psyche, their dreaming.

As a child I would, from time to time, ask my parents for confirmation after being informed of some traditional Chinese custom by our Chinese relatives, only to be told that it was a Western or Central Javan tradition.

A lot of what they initially believed to be their traditional customs turned out to be a hodge-podge of ancient Chinese and local Indonesian superstitions.

During the New Order era, when discrimination against those of Chinese descent was de rigueur, many had to push their Chineseness to the back of their minds or even further, and at the same time accept that they were different, the continuing policy of discrimination being a constant reminder.

It has now become apparent that forcing a whole ethnic group to deny its own ethnicity is bad policy. It has caused certain aspects of their personality growth to be stunted, at the same time revealing the insecurity and insensitivity of those in power.

The symbolic gesture of former president Abdurrahman Wahid in allowing those of Chinese descent to resume their cultural identity, followed by President Megawati Soekarnoputri declaring Chinese New Year to be a national holiday, have been a few steps toward rectifying the past mistakes. They have not encouraged Chinese-Indonesians to abandon their loyalty to Indonesia. In fact, on the surface, they have not changed many things.

In the collective subconscious of Chinese-Indonesians, however, the gestures of the governments have liberated them to the extent that they know what they want to be; they want to be Indonesians, Indonesians of Chinese ancestry.

My children know that, in addition to their Indonesian and Chinese ancestors, they also have Scottish and Irish forefathers. They celebrate Hogmanay, St Patrick's Day as well as Indonesian holidays and Chinese New Year, because they feel part of those cultures. Not being forced to shed any parts of their identity in Australia, they are happy to choose to be Australian.

Today Chinese-Indonesians, free to enjoy the cultural attributes once denied to them, when indicating their emotional and national allegiance to Indonesia, will do that freely, instead of under duress. And this has made Indonesia richer and more mature.

Now I must not forget to buy some red envelopes for this year. Gong Xi Fat Choi!

-- Dewi Anggraeni