Distinct Variants of Narrations about Indigenous
Inhabitants of the Indonesian Archipelago
Despite the two and a half centuries of time between Ibn
Battuta and the first Dutch ship visiting the Indonesian archipelago, their
first-hand reports do not show major changes in the social and economic situation,
while the underlying purpose of their visits and the nature of their encounters
with the indigenous people were quite dissimilar.
This essay discusses two historical documents from the
book The
Indonesia Reader: History, Culture, Politics edited by Hellwig and Tagliacozzo (2009). By interpreting and analysing the
mid-fourteenth century document ‘Ibn Battuta at Pasai’ and Lodewijksz’s late
sixteenth century report ‘The First Dutch Voyage to the Indies, 1596’ this essay
compares and contrasts these two source documents in relation to the situation
of Indonesian society at two critical periods in history. Given that Ibn
Battuta was taking benefits the hospitality of a previous acquaintance and the
epochal religious relationship with the majority of the Muslim converts, his
report encompasses further ideological intentions. In contrast, the Dutchmen,
even in their very first contact with the indigenous people, were trying to be
pragmatic were looking for a prolonged presence, and to accommodate a variety
of foreign traders of the Dutch in the Indonesian archipelago. Through
discussing these points and highlighting the similarities and differences in
these two accounts, this essay argues that the underlying purpose of the first
Dutch voyage was to establish trade links, whereas Ibn Battuta mainly aimed to
explore the Islamic world.
The descriptions of the moments when the visitors come
into contact with the indigenous inhabitants for the first time are very
different in these two texts. Ibn Battuta narrates some customary practices and
notes that “the admiral’s representative also came on board, and after
interviewing the merchants who were with us give us permission to land”[1].
Their initial encounters with the indigenous inhabitants consist of an official
reception and held in honour of the visitors, which occurs without any
misunderstanding. Unlike Ibn Battuta’s report, in the case of the Dutch
visitors, the local people first confrontation revealed the fear, suspicion, and mutual
misunderstandings. Lodewijksz reports that the Javanese men ran away when they
first noticed them “[a]nd when we asked him to come aboard, he went back
to the iunco, which immediately hoisted sail and disappeared around
a corner”[2].
These different narrations from initial encounters between local
inhabitants and foreign visitors indicate that language, religion, and prior
acquaintance are distinctive factors effective in shaping the nature of each
visit. Compared to the Dutch, Ibn Battuta had a variety of advantages in
relation to these factors, including his renown as a leading Muslim scholar and
travel writer, which facilitated his visit. For instance, he met amir Dawlasa
in Delhi earlier[3],
accompanied sultan al-Malik az-Zahir to the mosque for praying together on a
Friday[4],
and talked with them directly without a translator. However, Lodewijcksz's report is from a vantage point of the Europeans about
the indigenous people. The text reveals fear and anxiety of the local inhabitants upon the arrival of the Dutch, “the Governor […] together with all
the inhabitants, was greatly afraid of us”[5].
Due to the language barrier, the Dutch had to rely on an interpreter. They lacked
direct contact with the indigenous people and only became aware of their fear
through the Portuguese, who had already established trading bases in the archipelago.
Considering the distrust of the indigenous people towards Portuguese “so double(-faced)
that one could never know their hearts and their manners”[6]
as the first European visitors in the archipelago, the distrust, and pessimism
towards any European visitor had been established well before the Dutch arrived.
The documents reveal that the economic and social status
of native people living in the archipelago did not change significantly during
this long period of time. At the end of the sixteenth century, the indigenous
people of the Indonesian archipelago were still selling the same commodities to
Dutchmen that they had been offered to Ibn Battuta more than two hundred and
fifty years earlier in Pasai. These include the local commodities mentioned by Lodewijcksz such as, “radishes, onions, leeks, etc”[7]
and Ibn Battuta also names some other fruits such as “coconuts, bananas,
mangoes”[8].
However, one should consider the distinction that Ibn Battuta was an honoured
guest, renowned for his travels, scholarship, and great learning. In contrast,
the Dutch were seeking trade goods and it was customary to exchange precious
goods with local rulers in the hope that they could establish more formal trade
relations. Nevertheless, the common feature of all these items indicates that
the local all commodities were limited to agricultural products, while Dutchmen
gifted the King some manufactured products such as “beautiful crystal glasses,
a gilded mirror, and some scarlet cloth”[9].
On the one hand, it represents the lack of progress in introducing new
products in Indonesia within such a long period of time, on the other hand, it
signifies the supremacy of Europeans in pioneering to manufacture new and
luxury goods.
Although Lodewijcksz insists that the only
purpose of the Dutch expedition was to establish, his report does not contain
as much information relevant to commerce as Ibn Battuta does. Ibn Battuta
provides some detailed information on the currency of Sumatra, “[t]he commerce
of its inhabitants is carried on with pieces of tin and native Chinese gold”[10].
Additionally, Ibn Battuta explains another socio-economic aspect of
Sumatra which the ownership of spice trees, but even these details about the
economic situation are highly influenced by his religious sentiments, “[t]he
majority of the aromatic plants which grow there are found on in the districts
occupied by the infidels, in the Muslim districts they are less plentiful”[11]. It shows that from Ibn Battuta’s point of
view a significant proportion of indigenous people were not just local
inhabitants but ‘infidels. This implies that the historical character of
Indonesia which is religious diversity is not acknowledged properly in Ibn
Battuta’s observation. While religious relations underpin some parts of Ibn
Battuta’s account, Lodewijcksz shows that the Dutch were
trying to pave the way for future trading operations in the archipelago and their
future stay. The purpose of meeting the Governor was to offer him gifts and
establish formal relations with the indigenous people. Lodewijcksz notes that the Governor was asked: “to come and visit
their masters in order to negotiate a firm alliance and covenant”[12].
That concludes the main purpose of the Dutch trip was to expand trade, while
Ibn Battuta devoted his life to exploring the world beyond Muslim territories and
explore the world.
Bibliographies
Battuta, Ibn. “Ibn Battuta
at Pasai.” In The Indonesia Reader: History, Culture, Politics, edited
by Tineke Hellwig and Eric Tagliacozzo, 67-69. Durham: Duke University Press, 2009.
Lodewijcksz, Willem. “The
First Dutch Voyagr to the Indies, 1596.” In The Indonesia Reader:
History, Culture, Politics, edited by Tineke Hellwig and Eric Tagliacozzo, 80-84.
Durham: Duke University Press, 2009.
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