SOCIAL LIFE.
Dutch society in the East--Batavian etiquette--
English residents--Clubs--Harmonie--Concordia--
Lawn-tennis--Planters--Horse-racing.
Boston is not the only place in the world which has decided upon
insufficient evidence that it is the centre of the universe. We all of
us have a weakness for the special form of civilization with which we
are most familiar, and to discover excellences of character and manners
essentially identical with those we have been taught to associate with a
cherished society in our own country, in places where we least expect
them, is part of the discipline of travel. In the Dutch over-sea
settlements society is more exclusive and regulated by a more rigid code
of etiquette than it is in Holland. Nor will it seem strange, when the
special conditions of Javan life are remembered, that the persons
composing this society should be indolent, luxurious, and imperious. On
the other hand, an abundance of leisure, and a consciousness of racial
superiority acquired by habits of command exercised for several
generations, endow it with some of the finer qualities associated with
ancient society based upon the institution of slavery.
Nor must we forget that the Dutch are not mere "birds of passage" in
Java, as is the case with the English in India. On the contrary, the
majority of the Dutch residents are persons whose families have been
settled in the island for many generations, and who look upon Java as
their home. One has only to look round in the streets of Weltevreden to
realize the fact that Batavia is a colony, not merely a possession. From
seven to eight in the morning, troops of boys and girls are to be seen
going to school. The little girls are dressed in light materials; they
do not wear either hats or bonnets, and rarely carry sunshades. The boys
wear brown holland trousers and jackets, and the military cap of a
continental school. Although children are sent to Holland for social
reasons, the climate of Java does not require that painful separation of
parents and children which is one of the disagreeable accidents of
Indian life. On the contrary, the Dutch race appears to have developed
favourably in Java, and the colonial-born women are famous for the
beauty of their complexions and for the fineness of their physique.
Another test of the social condition of a community is its shops. In
Batavia there are excellent shops. Not merely can the newest books, and
the cleverest etchings, and all the numberless refinements of Bond
Street be obtained, but the manners of the tradespeople indicate that
they are accustomed to deal with persons who require to be served
promptly, and with the best.
In addition to the native and Chinese population, there are seven
thousand Europeans resident in Batavia. As most of these latter are
persons whose various employments allow them a good deal of "leisure,"
there is a corresponding amount of social activity. This is regulated by
the rules of old-fashioned continental society, with such innovations as
have been rendered necessary or merely suggested by the special
conditions of the place and climate. As the official class is the basis
upon which Batavian society rests, it is not surprising that ceremony
should play an important part in its system. Among European communities
in warm countries, a considerable licence is generally allowed in the
matter of dress; but in Batavia, etiquette requires a man to wear a
frock coat and white gloves for paying a call. Moreover, before a call
which is intended to initiate an acquaintance can be made, notice of the
caller's intention, and of the day proposed, must first be sent. These
formal calls are made from seven to eight in the evening, and it is not
considered polite to leave before the hour has expired. During this
period iced water is handed round in elegant glasses, furnished with
silver trays and tortoiseshell covers. Again, after introduction to an
unmarried lady at a dance, a man is required to properly legitimize the
acquaintance. In order to do this, he must be presented to the parents
of the lady, if this has not already been done, and he is expected also
to make the acquaintance of such of her relatives as are resident in the
neighbourhood.
At the date of my visit (1890), the English community in Batavia
consisted of fifty or sixty men and five ladies. Up to the last ten
years there has been an English chaplain at Batavia; but there is some
difficulty in raising the necessary stipend, and so the interesting
little church is at present deserted. It is only quite recently that the
English residents have received any sort of recognition in Batavian
society. Now, however, they have succeeded in establishing two
institutions--a paper-chase (on horseback) and a lawn-tennis club, which
are likely to modify the rigour of its etiquette.
The Dutch are famous for their clubs. These institutions flourish in
Java, and in Batavia they contribute materially to the social life of
the place. Among many others, the Societeit Harmonie and the Concordia
are the most considerable. At both of them frequent concerts and dances
are held. In connection with this latter amusement, it was interesting
to find that all the dancing at Batavia was done on marble. I was told
that it was not considered unpleasant, and that the only wooden floor in
the island was in the Governor-General's palace at Buitenzorg. The
Harmonie is a large square building, surrounded on two sides with
porticos and verandahs, standing at the corner of Ryswyk. The main
entrance leads into an extensive hall with white walls and a lofty roof
supported by ranges of pillars. On the marble floor are arranged a
number of small tables for light refreshments. To the right and left of
this hall is the billiard-room and the reading-room. The former contains
some twenty or thirty French and English tables; and the latter is well
supplied with European papers and magazines. The two rooms are separated
from the hall by light wooden screens, which allow the air to circulate
freely from one to another, and in this way the whole building is kept
pleasantly cool. The Harmonie was founded in 1815 during the British
occupation. In 1889, shortly before my visit, a dinner was held
commemorating the foundation of the club, and on each menu card an
account of the event was printed, taken from the British Government
_Gazette_ published at the time. Compared with the Concordia, it is a
civilian club; for, although this latter does not by any means restrict
its membership to officers in the forces, the management is entirely in
the hands of the military, who make the neighbourhood of the Waterloo
Plain, where the club stands, a sort of military quarter. The Concordia
gives an open-air concert every Saturday evening and every alternate
Wednesday afternoon.
I went to one of the Saturday evening concerts, and enjoyed it very
much. The air was warm and calm, and it was very pleasant to sit under
the wide-spreading waringin trees and gaze up at the twinkling
brightness of the stars through the screen of leaves. There was quite a
crowd of members and their friends promenading or sitting in easy groups
round the little iron tables. The kiosks were brilliantly lighted, but
through the branches of the waringin trees the soft radiance of the moon
could be seen shining upon the dull blue vault of the sky. The
performance was given by the staff band, which never leaves Batavia, and
is said to be the best in the East Indies. I give the programme:--
I.
1. FUR'S VATERLAND MARSCH _C. Millöcker._
2. WIENER FRAUEN WALZER _J. Strauss._
3. OUVERTURE JELVA _F. Reisiger._
4. GRUSS AUS DER FERNE INTERMEZZO _J. Verhulst._
5. MARSCH UND CHOR A. D. OPER. DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE _W. A. Mozart._
6. FANTAISIE LA REINE DE SABA _Ch. Gounod._
II.
7. OUVERTURE DIE FRAU MEISTERIN _Fr. v. Suppé._
8. DIE MUHLE IM SCHWARZWALD _R. Eilenberg._
9. FINALE A. D. OPER. ARIELE DIE TOCHTER DER LUFT _E. Bach._
On Sunday afternoon a military band plays in the centre of the Waterloo
Plain, and all Batavia turns out in carriages or on horseback to
listen--all Batavia, that is, with the exception of the very select few
who keep to themselves almost entirely, or, if they attend a Concordia
concert, never leave their carriages. This select few includes the
highest officials and their families, personages such as the general and
admiral, and the members of the East India Council. There is an
interesting fact in connection with the admiral that recalls the time
when the supremacy of the sea was the pride of the Dutch nation. The
Governor-General, the general of the forces, and the admiral of the
fleet all enjoy the title of "Excellency," while they reside in Java;
but, whereas the two former cease to be entitled to it when their term
of command is over, the admiral is "his Excellency" to the end of his
days.
As I mentioned before, the strictness of Batavian etiquette is likely to
be modified by the introduction of a pastime so essentially English as
lawn-tennis. The courts of the Bataviasche Lawn-tennis Club are in the
Zoological Gardens, south of the King's Plain. The club holds numerous
tournaments in the course of the year, and competitions are established
for both a ladies' and gentlemen's championship. The great majority of
the men who play are English, but the ladies are, from the small number
of English women in Batavia, almost exclusively Dutch. The holder of the
championship of Batavia, and the secretary of the club, in 1890, was an
Englishman, Mr. R. L. Burt. In addition to this club, the old Batavia
cricket club, which has an excellent ground on the King's Plain, has
been practically converted into a men's lawn-tennis club. I was told
that as many as six double courts were to be seen in full play on
ladies' days at this club. So that it would appear that the Dutch
ladies, at all events, have taken very kindly to lawn-tennis.
The style of living in Batavia is very similar to that of European
society in India. The cheapness of labour and consequent number of
servants give a certain air of luxury to even moderate establishments.
The Malay cooks are particularly skilful in the matter of curreys, and
in a good house a "rice-table" is a thing to be remembered. The neatness
and quickness of the natives generally make them very suitable for the
duties of domestic and body servants. A Batavian dinner is served at a
late hour in a lofty and spacious apartment, which is one of a series of
chambers through which the air freely circulates from the front to the
back of the house. From this room the outside world is excluded only by
partially drawn blinds, and through the open windows the perfumes of
flowers or the sounds of music are borne in upon the guests. After
dinner the party return to the portico in the front, which is almost as
completely furnished as an inside room, and the rest of the evening is
spent practically in the open air.
Beside the officials who are scattered over Java and the Dutch
possessions in the East, the planters form an important element in the
social life of the island. They are by no means exclusively Dutch, but
the class includes a considerable number of Englishmen. Such men are
usually drawn from the higher classes in Holland or in England, and are
fairly wealthy and refined. Like the sheep farmers of Australia, they
are exceedingly hospitable, and their bungalows are often convenient and
even luxurious. Often, too, these latter are set in the midst of
mountain scenery, and surrounded by charming gardens.
The planters are the representatives of the principle of free commerce,
and the natural opponents of the official class. Everywhere among them
complaints are heard of the prejudice displayed against private
enterprise, and of unnecessary obstacles placed in their way by the
contrôleurs and assistant-residents. As I have already mentioned, a
planters' union has lately been established for the purpose of
protecting the planting interests. It meets at Soekaboemi, and it is
hoped that, by means of concerted action, such grievances will be
brought more effectively before the Government. After all, the planters
are the real producers of the island, and their importance increases
every year in proportion as the area of Government plantations is
reduced. In many respects the planters are allied with the native
princes. To a large extent the two classes lead the same life and share
the same pursuits. They are both brought into close connection with the
natives, and they both find their chief recreation in various forms of
sport.
Horse-racing in particular has of late years developed very
considerably. The principal meetings are held at Buitenzorg and at
Bandong, the former in June and September, the latter in July. At
Bandong the native princes turn out in force, and the native population
hold a carnival in the town. One of the greatest patrons of the turf is
the Regent of Tjandjoer. At the time of my visit he was the owner of the
premier horse in the island--Thistle, whose sire was Teviot of West
Australia. The planters round Soekaboemi are also among the principal
supporters of horse-racing in Java.
In Java, as elsewhere, they had a grievance. It was said that the owners
of big studs of country-breds dominated the arrangements for events, and
that the programmes were made up in favour of such native-bred horses to
the exclusion of imported stock. Such a policy was regarded as
unfavourable to the best interests of horse-racing in Java, since,
instead of encouraging the importation of thoroughbreds from Australia
and Europe, it tends to perpetuate the native race. The country-bred
horse is undoubtedly a handsome-looking animal, but he exhibits a
tendency to become weedy and razor-chested, and fails to carry a heavy
weight from deficiency of bone. It is also found that the progeny of
imported stock decline in quality both in size and stamina. This is the
joint effect of climate and inferior food. Horses are trained merely on
fresh grass and paddy (_i.e._ the ear and part of the stalk of the rice
plant). Bandaging, I was told, was almost unknown; at the same time the
animals were generally sound in feet and legs.
The average height of the country-bred horse is 14.3 to 15 hands; and
good time over a mile is between 1 min. 52 sec. and 1 min. 55 sec.,
carrying at the rate of 75 lbs. (Dutch) for 4 feet, and one pound for
every quarter of an inch in advance. In other words, a fifteen-hand
horse carries about nine stone. There is no system of handicapping, but
horses carry weight for inches; so that a horse may defeat a rival any
number of times without effecting a change in the weights, and a known
winner carries less weight than his defeated rival if the latter is an
inch or two above him.
There are no recognized steeplechases, but generally one or two events
at each meeting are reserved for gentlemen riders, and private matches
are sometimes arranged. In 1888 the commandant at Buitenzorg offered a
prize for a cross-country race for the purpose of encouraging riding
among the officers. The event, however, was won by an English planter.
The Buitenzorg meetings are attended by all the best people in the
island, and on the first day the Governor-General appears in state. The
racing is fixed for the morning, and lasts from nine to twelve. It is a
rather curious fact that in Java the starter has discarded the universal
red flag, and waves a Dutch tricolour instead.