lT is thc S orth whi '11 ba introduced tight-fitting c10thes and bigh houses, mused Taine, a , in the stl'eets of Pom-p ii, he gazed at nobly planned peristyle and graceful arch, at the godlike figures hining from the fre coed walls, and, with the vision of that fair, free, large life of antiquity, contrasted tbe Paris apartment from which he was but newly escaped, and the dre -coat which he had worn at the last social ftmction. And a similar reBection crosses the N orthel'l1 mind when it looks upon a house in Batavia.
I arn aware that Pompeii and Bata-68
A Oolonial HIYt)~.
"ia, pronoltnced in OJle breat.h, make a
. 'hrieking discord, and that, bctween ~ ..
homely whitewashed bungalow, and thos radiant mansion. which thc :tnci nt built of white marbIe and blue sky th compal'ison must seem pre-posterolls. And, yet, no one can see the two,and fail to makrit. Thel'csemblance i . too triking. Thc flat roof, thc pil-Lared entrancc, the gleam of the marble-paved hall, whose central arch pens on tbe reposeful shadow of the inner chambers, all these features of a classic dwelling are recognized in a Batavia house. Evidently, too, this resemblance is not tbc result of mere mechanical imitation. There is a con -sistency alld thol'oughness in the archi-tecture of the e llOU es, a harmony with the ul'l'oullding landscap , which tamp it a all indigenous growth, the necessary re uIt of the climate, and the mode of life in Java, ju. t a cIa sic archit cture was th neoessar re uIt of the limate
57
/i'UC/1S II,IÎ J!'W/tcies aboul Jav(~.
L~n- Jthtl ~~od ; ~f
lifei~ G;(;; C~
alld ltaly.l.f lhe two style al' similar, it is
[JO 'aliS' the idea which inspired them arc nol so vastly di/fOl·ent. Aftel' all, in a fmnlly country, whethel' it be Europe or A -ia, th gr at afTair of physical lift: is to keep cool, and the main id ;t of the architect, in on. equence, will be to provid that coolne s. It is this which onstitnte' a resemblancc bet ween countries in aU other respects so utterly unlike as Greece and Java, (tnd the difference between these and Northern Europe. In the North, the human habitat ion i a fortress against the cold' in the outh and the East, it i a shelter from th(' heat.
There is 00 need here of thick walls, olid doors, ca ements of impermeable material, all the barricades which the Northerner thrO\vs up against the besieging element. In ltaly a in Greece, Nature i not inimical. The powers of sun, wind, and rain are lP'acioueto living things, and, undertheir
ó8
Á 'oto/tJal 11 on t.
benign mIe. man lives L~fi ~impJy and confidingly as his les ser brethl'en : the beaats of the fields and fore ts alld the birds of the air. He ha. no more need than they to hedge in lIis individual existence from the vast life that encom-passes it. His clothes, wh n h' wears tbem, are an ornament I'ath I' than a protection, and his house apia 'C', not of refuge, but of enjoyment, à '001 allo shadowy spot, as open to til hl' ez :1>1
the forest, whose flat spreadin brrU\ch, supported on the talwart stem::, P(')l1.'
to have been tile model fol' ij" ol U 111
Il-borne roof.
The Batavia house, then is bllilt on the classic plan. lts entranc ' i formed by a spaciou loggia, rai cd :1 fel\" t pi-above the I vel ground, anel SUppol'tcd onhighc lumn . l'hellce,adoo/',\\'hi·h
stand~ open all day long, 11mb; illfO
a smaller inner hall, on eith~r "id(' of whicu are bedrooms, and behind thiH ifl allothel' loggia-even more "pa 'iOUH than th one forming tbe eutrnllPI' 0)' tla'
59
h'actl and l'a,ncÎ.el; a,bout Jaua.
house, \vhere meals are taken and the hot hours of the day are spent.
Generally, a verandah runs around tbe whole building, to bent ofl' both the fierce unshine of til!' hot, a.nd tbe cataract of rain of tIl(' Ivet seaBon. Alld bebind the house i.
a garden, encloaed on thrce ides by the buildingB containing the SCl'vant . quarters, the kitchen and store room", the bath-rooms, and stables.
At some di tunce from til maill building and connected with it by a porti co, tands apaviiion, for the accom-modation of guests, for the average Netherlands Indian i tltc mo t ho pi-table of mortals, and is eldom with-out visitor , wh ther relative' friend , or even utter str:mgcr', wlto have come with an introduction fl'om a commoll acquaintance in Hollancl. ft tak . om time, I find, to get quite accustomerl to thiB arrangement of a hou c.
ril
th·beginning of my I:!tay hero, I had an impression of a.lway being ont of cloorli
60
.<t Ooton.lat Home.
and of dining in the public street, eape-cially at night, when in the midst of a blaze of light one feIt oneself an object of attention and criticism to every chance passer-by in the darknes' with-out. It wa as badin thc cCl'emonious meal of the Kings of l!rance, wbo had their table laid out in public, th at their faithful ubjects nught behold them at the banquet, and,one supposes, satisfy their own hungel' by th vicarioll dining f of the overeign.
In time, however, as th trangeness of the ituatioll wears off, one r ali es thc advantage of these paciolls gallel'ies to wall d-in room, and very gladly sa rifi . 1 th entimont of priva y to tbc JI atioll or coolne .
l!'01' 1.0 I cool, UI' nut to I coul, that i tbc gr at que -tiUIl, ami all thing' are armug ti with a viel Lu 'ol ving it ijl tIJ mo~L satisfacL I'y mannel' po . ible.
For the ak of cO Incs ,one bas marbl HooI'.' Ol' Junme e rnattinO' instead uI' L'arpet·, canc-bottom
u
hail' and61
l'Mta and l',tnoi.~ about J'ava. settees in lieu of \'el vet-covered fUl'niture, gauze hangings for draperies of silks and brocade. The inner hall of almost every house, true, is furnished in Euro-pean style- exilesloveto surroulld them-selves with remembrances of their far-away home. Bllt, though, very pl'etty, this room is generally empty of inhabi-tants, except, pel'hap , for an hour now and theu, during the l'ainy season.
In this climate, to sit in a velvet chail' i to r alize the sensations of Saint Lawl'ence, with ut th ustaining consciol1 ness of martyl'dom. For the sake of co01nc sagain, one gets up at half-past five, Ol' six at tbc \'ery latest, keeps indoor till nu et, I eps away the hot hour of tn aftemo 11 11 a bed which it l'equil' experienec and a delicate ~ n of (o;t·h to di tinguish from a deall>oard, aml 'pclld!:l the bettel' part of nr' waking cxi teuee in the bath room. ::-iOIV, a bath in Java, i a very different thiug 1'1'0111 tlte dabbling among dislles in a I edroom, wllt'h EUl'opeans
62
A Colonial Hmne.
eaU by that uame, even if their dishea attain tlle dimension of a tub.
Ablutions slleh as these are performed as a matter of dut y; a man gets into his tub as he ges into hi clothes, beeause to Oluit uoing 0 wDuld be indecent.
But, here. bathing in the tropie is ft
pnre cl ]jaM, a 11lxl1ry for body ond nul- a dip into th Fonlaine de .Jo1l1'ence almost th eheerful !JoJem-nity anel semi-pagall act of
WOl'-hip, which th donkey-driving traveI-ler through the Cevenne performs in the clear Tarn. A special place is set apart for it, a spaeious cool airy room in the ontbuildings, achamber deaf to noise, and all but blind to light; thl'ough the grating over the door, a glimple of IIky and waving branche is caught.
The marbie floor alld wbitewashed waUs breathe fre hness, tbe water in thc stone reservoir is Iimpid and cold as that of a pool that gleams in rocky hollows. And, as the bather dips in his bucket, and sends the frigid stream pouring over bim he
8S '
Jf'acls and Fancies ttbouL Javet.
,,,ashes away, not heat alld du talon , but wearin s and vexatiou thought in a. purifieatiol1 of both body and sotd, aod he under tannR why all East 1'11 ere d hav exalted th bath into a rcligious observan ·e.
Like tI! of ton-I" p atecl bath, the I'i etabie i. a .Javan 0 in titutioll, and it a.pologi t elaim qual honou!' 1'01'
it a an antidote t elimatie inflncnee . J confe s I do not hold 0 high all opinion of it virtu s, but I have fall n a vietim to it ehal'llls. I love it but too weU. And th ere lies the danger, verybody likes it far too mu h, and, e peeiaIly, like far too mueh of it. It i ,humanly peak-ing, impossible to partake of the riee tabie, and not to gro sIy ov reat on elf.
There is omething in idiou about it eompo ition, a eunning anangement of its count! ss details into a whole 0 per-feetly harmonious that it . eems impos-sible to leave out a single one. If you have partaken of one dish, you must partake of the te t unie s
84
.t1 Oolonial Ho-'lm.
you would poil all. Fowl eaU to fowl, an 1 fish an. w r fi h, :lnd all tlte green things that a.r' on the tabic, aye, and tlw md ann the yellow likewisc, hav t heil' ap])ointed plac UpOIl your plato.
YOlt may try f 0 ,c'ape on 'equ Ilce by tuking infinit iJllal pinche of ~aeh, buL many a miekie mnkes a l1111ckle, alld yom addrd tea pounJ'ul 'oon swell () a hcapcd-np plat, uell a. weil might :::tnggcl' tIl!' stou e_t appetite. Yet, evcn bef l'~ you hav reeOv r d from y UI'
lll'pri , you find y ti have finished it all. I do Bot pret end to explain, I lHerely tate tbe facto
ul'l'ied fowl, fried H. h nutmeg
»l'iukled frieassée, hatchod cllieken cl }ieately f!a.voured anel cooked in a wrap of faintly fragrant leaves, fritters of, hrimp a te, tl'anspar ntly pink, and
'0 ligh that a breath of air might easily carry thcm away, then eri p cakes of Indian com, driec1 and ltredded deer flesh, fl'ied slices of banoua and pino-apple, :,\ncl the multitude of sweot, salt,
65
1!'a,c/1l tt,ul p'u·,tcies abuul J(~va.
bitte!', our and pungent ambals, and, th basi of tbe whole labonüe system, th satisfyinO" tiee, all <Yone. On' more,
j ahaH not try to cxplain. 'fhere pass more thing' 'twixt i1apo,·e .. and back gallerie than are dreamt of in tbe dining room of Europ. And, once more, I a s v rate it is a facto a not IIIlCOll1mOn fact ven it would appear fOl" nobody is surpri ed at its recurrence.
Your fellow guest do not so much al notice it, and yOlU hoste s only smiles abospitable smile, and ask whether you havehadenoughofCay nnepepper. For, without Cayenne pepper, it is not whole-some for any man to ('at of tbe riee tabie, tbough the thou and and odd other condiments ar almost equally necessary.
Records have survived ofthose Panta-gruelic feast with which the great ooes of the medialVal worlcl delighted to cele-brate the auspiciotl cvents of their lives, and the ehronicler never fails to lum up the almost interminable li8t of
86
A (ju/IJ/tinl Home.
the spice anu e sences with whieb the cook on the a lvice of learned physi-cians seasoned the viand , in order that, whils~ th gros. r meats atisfy the animal cravings of the tomaeh, thos ethereal aromatic might ·timulate the
flner fluid , who e bb and flow controle the soul, and the w ll-flavoured dishes not might only be hot on men's tongues but eke prick them in their courages.
They prieked to ome purpose, it seem8.
And if th pice- ated N therland Indi'an i :ot comparativ ly law-abiding man, it mu t be becall e battcning rice t'ountera t maddening curry. But for thi providential ar rang ment, I fully believ h would think no mor of battle, murder, and udden dt>atb than of an indig stion anci consider a good dinner a nn amplc xpl:mation of both.
Now, a' tu ",hat thoy cloth the
m-:i Iv s withal. Tirrht fitting lothes are pronoun' d by Taill to b all inventi~n (11' th' :\urth. A fortni~'ht in B:\tavlll will explin (md PI' VP tbe th ory
67
J!'act8 and l!'a'ltcies about Java.
better than many books by many philosophers: and, moreover, cause the most sartorially-minded individual to consign the "invention ' to a placc hotter than even Java. Like th habi-tations, t.hc habits of Emopean iviliza-tion are irksome in tbe tropi ; and, fOl"
indoor-wear at least, they hav " ufrer d a sun-cha.nge into omething cool and strange"-into native co turn modifi d in facto r ow, the ontward apparel of thA Javanes consist of a long, traight narrow , kirt" tb arong ' with a 100 'e-fitting kind of ja ket ov r ij, -!"hOl't.
for the m Tl, who all it . badjoo, anel long r for tho women wh w ar it as
" kabaya;" whi h rrarlOents have bl'l'll adoptecl by tlw Holland r .. , with thr one modi!h:ation of the sarong illtu a
"divided kirt" for til) men, alld the ubstitution of wbite bat i te aod '111
-broidery for the coloUl' d, tuITs of wbich native women make their kabayas. On the Javanes , a small spa!' , lightly-made race, the garb sit not ungra
'e-68
A Colonial lIame.
---_. -
--
-fully;
goe weil with eontours
But on the sturdier Hollander the ef1'e t isomething appal1ing. An adoquate de cription of tbe men's app arance in it would read like a caricatur ; and though, with tho helI of hanllonious colours and j wtlll ry, tile women look better, it lS not becoming to them ith r, at lea t in non-colonial ye, Th arth tic on e hies aJ1(l kicks out at the sight of tho e straight, hard,
Itn-natUl'al lines. Modern mal costume has be II hekl up 1,0 ridicule asa yst m of 'eylinders." Tile arol1" <.tnd 1 almya
<!ombiuo io form on Ringle 'ylind r, wlücl! ohlitern.te:s all tlll' natural liDl''' anti 'mvcs of tlH~ fClllininc fOl'lIl divino. aud cl!alHW a woman into a p:l.l'ti-coloUl'cd pilhr, fol' an 'analogy tll wbi<:ll n 's thon~ hl. l"l'vt'rt io Lot's wifc. Hllt, though uttorl "ullllernnetl from tlfl
artistic I oinL of \'iew, fr01l1 a pmeti al un' it mn th tirquittoll, and ven
r-Olll-m nd d, In a country wher tlte t>ll1-69
perature ranges hetween 5° and 95°
F'ahrenheit in tbe shade, cool clothes which can be cbanged several times a day, are a condition not mer~ly of comfort, but of absolute cleanliness and decency, not to mention hygiene. For it is a noteworthy fact tbat the women, who wear colonial dre il up to six in tb evening, tand tbe climate better than the men, who, in the cours of thing , weilr it during an bour or an hour and a. half at most, in the day. And it must be admitted that both m n and' women enjoy better bealth in Java, and under thi" colonial regime of dress-ing than in tbe Briti b possessions, where they cling to th fashions of Europe.
As for the children, they are clad even more lightly than tbeir elders in what th MaIay calls "monk y-trou ers"
chelulla-monjet, a ingle garment, wbich, ouly jnst cov ring the body, 1 ave the ne k, arm " and legs bare. lt is bideous, and they love it. ln -~ rman
picture-;0
hook one may see bab similarly accontred rilling on the hack of the parent-gladdcning stork, and one omes to believe tbat " monkey-tronsers" are, af ter all, tbe pnrarli iacal garment of babes, and that by a Word worthian recolleetion of these things, they cling to the 0 tume so tenaciously. ne cal1not speak of an "Indian' child, and forget th "babu,' tIJ nativ nurse
,
who is it mini tering pirit, lts du ky guardian angel, almost its Providen' . All day Ion
a,
she carri sb r littl chal''''e. '"
10 ber lona" slendan"'," the wide 8carf which deftly SlWlg about her sboulders makes a sort of a bammock fol' the baby'.
he wOlud not like ven tb mother to tak it away from her: reed it bathe it dresses it prettily, take it out walking, ready, at the 1 ast sign, to lift it up again into its afe nest clo e to her heart. She plays witb it, not as a matter of duty, but as a matter of pleasure, throwing herself into tbe game witb enjoyment and zest like the child ehe is at heart: so
tha~
n
Fact (~lId Fa(~cies abo'ttl Java.
th two may be n' quurr Hing, ome-times, tb' baby tam ping it reet am1
I,he habu protesting with the nalÎye
ChlCk of in ignant r monstrance, and an au~ry .( Turlalo \ !" « it 1<;
ioc> bad." nel, at nigld, when IIC ha 'rolwIl t he litt! 0111' i !;l ep, with ne of tho:-;o plainti\'(' monotonQ1lS
III lodi.s ill a minor key whieh seem 10 go on 1'01' ever. lil-u a l'll ,tlin~ of re ds
<tud fOl'est leave: whilst tho ricket· ar lrillinrr t,heir cvenson", ,.'ho preaus h r pi'c' of matting 011 th noor, aud lie down in front f thc littJ 1 ed, lik' a faithful dog gual'ding its master's .1ul1lbel' . for th other servant, their name is Legion. A eolonial bou ehold requires a very JlUmerOU dome5tic taff. Even familie with m d st incom m-pI y 'i' or 'e\' n IJl' ant, and ten is by no mean an excc11tional num-b r, Th rea 011 for thi appar nt cxtravagancc i , that, though thc Java-no 0 i not lazy,- as he afton alld
un-r
-,I Uolo/(in/ '-lOl/U'.
ju ·tly i, a 'Cll 'e 1 or h ing- y tIl is:-,o . I w, thaL th re uIt pract i ·;d I," i" t lil) ,ame, aod onl' lIe d' two or 1'\'('11 t Iir('!!
lIat i Vt~ rl'VH IIt~, fnr work whil' il on : all a ian would dcspatch in til(' :-0 ot 11 11' tinl .
,\11 th·' e ha\" Lheil' OWll quarte!": ill Lh "t;ompolIJ1 1" allel Lh->il' wn raHl i-lil" in tho I' qllart r, : Uwy go (, ilil ..
thc hous .. a:-; ;! 1113n ,,"ould go tollili uJli 'l': (' 111 ing hom f r nll'otl~, a 11 rl t'ntertai niJl"" th 'i r ["ri nd.. i n Lh .
('VI'-nilll!, 011 &11 'ir OWll squar' of 11 laLt ing, illld with thair own t<afli' tl-tint d ri '1', aud yl'lIp-,W ten '<1 con' '. , l l 'h then.
i' th ~etting of "rl' -tla ' uxi t fl<' in .J anL.
.\ rol' tlll' . nt.ml fao't, it i" I(,~"
int r 'tiug than it" 'ir 'lIm tant 'el, iJl , fal' as it i~ mor familial'. Tlle thrf'l' or foU!' "'t' at 'on' ption whi b cl ter-min the hom -life of a propl - it,
int r 'tiug than it" 'ir 'lIm tant 'el, iJl , fal' as it i~ mor familial'. Tlle thrf'l' or foU!' "'t' at 'on' ption whi b cl ter-min the hom -life of a propl - it,