Reading Indonesia`s History through the Frenchmen`s Journals and vice Versa

Claude G. Bowers (1878-1958), an American historian and Ambassador to Spain and Chile, once said, “History is the torch that is meant to illuminate the past to guard us against the repetition of our mistakes of other days. We cannot join in the rewriting the history to make it to conform to our comfort and convenience.” Indeed, his remarks are quite true because the history teaches us to learn the glory and the ruin of the past civilization so that we can take advantages and avoid the repetition of the mistakes in the past.

Taking into account for this is the history of the Nusantara, Indonesia. The coming of westerners might bring positives impacts to the present historians as many of them left the notes about the early history of Indonesia. Just to mention one of them is The Suma Oriental written by a Portuguese traveller Tome Pires. In that book he left the notes on the Nusantara after he joined a journey to Malacca during 1512 to 1515 A.D. Unfortunately, Van Leur stands in the opposite to Pires`s stance. Van Leur views Pires`s works too much Dutch-centric. Pires viewed the indigenous Nusantara people as the backward people and be marginalized from the western world. Such a historical point of view, according to Van Leur, is the study of history that “observed from the deck of the ship, the rampart of the fortress, and the highly gallery of the trading hours.”

While Tome Pires told Indonesia`s history based on the Dutch-centric perspective, Bernard Dorleáns employed different perspective in studying the histories of Indonesia and France through his book Les Français et I`Indonésie du XVIe au Xxe siécle. In that book, Dorleáns attempted to reveal the historical facts about Indonesia and France during the 16^th century to 20^th century. He compiled the journals of either French or Indonesian travellers who had ever settled in both countries. Therefore, it is an effort to show Indonesia`s history in the French-centric perspective as well as to show France`s history from the Indo-centric perspective. Dorleáns alone is a French historian of Sorbonne University who have lived in Indonesia since 1986, and married to a Javanese girl.

This 644-page book is divided into 50 chapters telling the journeys of French travellers to Indonesia and the experiences of the Indonesians in France during the 16^th century to 20^th century. Reading that book, we get offered with a big mirror reflecting the way the Indonesians and Frenchmen behaved in the past. The book also displays 298 pictures and some illustrations about the related stories within.

Interestingly, the Frenchmen`s views towards the Indonesians as marginalized and backward people are still present, even though the book`s contributors have no relations with any colonial state. It can be seen in the journal written by Verrazane and Peierre Caunay who made a journey from Honfleur to Sumatra from 1526 to 1529 A.D. They depicted the Malays as inconsistent, sycophant, and deprecative people. More than that, the Malays were also considered terrible traders, more terrible than the Scottish traders (page 9). That`s why; the French traders were never successful in establishing trade-and-sell activities with the Malays, even though in some cases they also regarded the Malays as wise, polite, and smiling people. Failing to break the deadlock, those Frenchmen then departed Sumatra for Indrapura. At the way back home, their ship sank into the sea; thus Antonie-Augustin Parmentier, Jean, Raoul, and half of the ship passengers were lost unknown. With the remaining entourage members, their ship could finally anchor off the coast of Sainte-Helene, France.

Another chapter of the book discloses the western`s partial views towards the uniqueness in Indonesia. Hand-cutting as a punishment for theft applied by Aceh Kingdom was viewed as weird and strange; in fact it really happened in the past. Another same partial judgment towards the Indonesia`s uniqueness is in the journal of Claude de Forbin (1686). He wrote about his experience of having social interaction with the Makassarese, who were considered cruel and temperamental. Such a judgment on the Makassarese people was based on his involvement in an effort to eradicate the Makassarese rebellion against the Kingdom of Siam. Still about the Makassarese in the book, there is also a story of two Makassarese, Daeng Ruru and Daeng Tulolo, who travelled to France at the ruling period of Louis XIV and Louis XV.

There are also other Frenchmen journals about the eastern Indonesia, especially Timor Island and Papua. Francois Peron and Charles Lesuseur wrote a journal entitled “Berburu Buaya di Timor” (Hunting for Crocodile on Timor Island) that was based on their journey to Timor during 1803 to 1804 A.D. There is also a story told by Louis-Isidore Duperrey who travelled to Timor Island then continued to Papua. The Duperrey`s journey, according to Dorléans, was the first French traveller who had successfully come back home to France in safe; differ from the previous French journey of Verrazane and Peierre Caunay (page 81).

The book also includes the stories of Frenchmen`s journeys to the Land of Java and Bali. Herman Willem Daendels wrote a journal about his experience during the visit to Batavia, now Jakarta. A French litterateur Honoré de Balzac also contributed to the book with his journal telling his visit to Java in 1832 A.D. Another outstanding French litterateur, Arthur Rimbaud, told his experience on Java in charge of Dutch Military Forces in 1876 A.D.

There is an interesting journal in the book, wherein a famous French musician, Claude Debussy, expressed his complete amazement at the Javanese Gamelan. In a chapter entitled “Gamelan Jawa dan Pengaruhnya pada Musik Claude Debussy” (the Javanese Gamelan and its Influence on Claude Debussy`s Musical Sense), Debussy personally admitted that the western music is nothing if compared to the Javanese Gamelan music. In the chapter he wrote, “If you hear the Javanese Gamelan music using your normal “European ears,” you should admit that our music is just the basic musical composition as mostly played in the circus” (page 521).

While the story are mostly dominated with the Frenchmen`s journals, the book also includes several Indonesians` journals, such as the journals of Raden Saleh and Basuki Abdullah. Raden Saleh, an outstanding Indonesian painter, told his experience during his living in France for several years. He told that he was once welcomed by King France, Louis-Phlippine d`Orleans. He also presented the Majesty with a painting “Berburu Kijang di Pulau Jawa” (Hunting for Deer in the Land of Java). Finally, a story entitled “Kesaksian Akhir Prancis pada Akhir Penjajahan selama Empat Abad” (the Last Witness of French at the End of Four-century Occupation) ends the book. It tells about the end of the 350-years Dutch occupation in Indonesia.

Adrian B. Lappian (2007), on the book`s endorsement, states that Dorléans has successfully compiled all the needed materials to arrange such a book on the histories of Indonesia and France. Dorléans, according to him, has the savvy thoughts to collect some best travellers` journals, scientific expedition reports, tourists` self-experiences, and fully risk voyages in the Nusantara waters. Those materials then were sorted and arranged chronologically from 1526 to 1961 A.D; Hence created a book telling the history of Indonesia and France. There is no doubt that the book, sometimes, is capable of offering fresh ideas as well as good jokes about the shock cultures experienced by the Indonesians and Frenchmen who had ever been in Indonesia and France.

Adrian B. Lappian (2007), however, reminds us of not to discern all the materials if one wants to know Indonesia in the whole. The book, he said, is not a big mirror that displays the whole picture of Indonesia and France. “Indeed, there are so many things that may not be observed by the book`s contributors, especially about the socio-cultural aspects and the daily habits of the observed people. Likewise, sure there are self-interpretations and wrong prejudice that are written down in the stories within the book by the contributors,” Lappian`s remarks on the book`s endorsement (page xviii).

Out of the book`s weaknesses, the journals of Indonesians and Frenchmen compiled in this book are expected to give brief description and information about the histories of Indonesia and France based in the French-centric and Indo-centric perspectives. It is no doubt that the book can be said as a means of educating cross-cultural understanding to our society. More than that, a message of the book is that history is the mirror to view our image in real in the past. For that reason, learning from the history is the best way of shaping a better future.

Tasyriq Hifzhillah (res/05/02-09)

Translated by Irfan Nugroho (ter/108/03-09)

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