(Re)searching my own identity: The Peranakan Chinese people

The history of Peranakan* Chinese (in the Netherlands)

My father came to the Netherlands when he was six years old. Around 1954 I believe. The first Peranakan Chinese came to the Netherlands to study in the early 20th century. I think my family history is the same as many others and at the same time a little different. My father came from a family of family doctors. He spoke Dutch, since they had to choose between the Dutch schools or Indonesian schools. Since there were riots against the Chinese, they focussed on the Dutch language, culture and habits etc etc. After the riots, or during the riots, my family fled to Germany and ended up in the Netherlands. They left everything behind. It wasn't easy, to start all over again. My father said he owed everything to the church, they gave him a bicycle and a schoolbag, so he could go to school. No servants anymore and it was cold and gloomy.

I am in blood (I think) a Totok Chinese (“thoroughbred”) but my family didn't retain the Chinese language and culture. That is why the integration went well in a way (When I may say so). What is left over, in me, as a Dutch Chinese woman (a little Filipino by heart since I lived in the Philippines for 15 years)?

The importance that you have to study and gain knowledge was a very important value. I understand that now. All your knowledge should be in your head, so when you have to flee, the only thing you can bring are your brains. My grandmother never asked me how I was or how I felt. She only asked about my results at school. I never understood that, and I thought it was kind of strange. Other grandmothers would ask about their grandchildrens well being? In retrospect I understand that too.

My grandmother loved and ate fries and was well adjusted. She also made Indonesian food. My grandfather went back in his memories to Indonesia, while smelling the herbs of the Indonesian dishes and sharing food together. That was the power of the food.

Why were the Chinese people in Indonesia anyways?

Since the 15th century, Chinese traders from the provinces of Fuijan and Guangdong came to the Indonesian archipelago. More and more Chinese came to the Dutch East Indies. Then sugar cane business grew and more Chinese arrived. Then the industry fell and many Chinese became unemployed. That led to deportation and violent riots and even massacres. In 1860-1930, however, the migration of Chinese to the Dutch East Indies increased substantially again. They came as contract workers and free migrants.

By 1930, over 60% of the Chinese were engaged in trade, forming an important link between the population of the then Dutch East Indies and European trade. The Chinese were divided into two camps: the Peranakans, who no longer spoke Chinese, and the Totok Chinese (“thoroughbred”) who retained the Chinese language and culture. By the 1930 census, the Chinese population in Indonesia had grown to more than one and a half million, about half of whom were Peranakan Chinese.

The designation of Peranakan* Chinese is derived from the Indonesian word “anak,” which means “child,” and stands for “descendant. The new Peranakan culture combined Chinese traditions with Indonesian elements. The Chinese shared their techniques and motifs within arts and crafts with the Indonesians and also used the Indonesian language and clothing. They also influenced dishes in Indonesia, including their preference for pork (babi).