^Hhc American
Musings during citizenship class
MANTJING Dl REDONDO
Rudie Cohen
2
V.
Dutch-Indonesian lady in the beginning
of the XVIIth Century in Batavia. Though
sarong and kebaja(sort of blouses) were
adopted from the Indonesians, specific de
signs and patterns existed for Dutch (Dutch-
Indonesian) and Chinese women up to the
beginning of this century. The style indi
cated the group. There was never the wish
to take over or to copy other patterns and
designs. Even from a great distance one
could easily recognize a European, Chinese
or Indonesian woman by the style of sarong
and "kebaja". There were also differences
in the way of folding the saron, the sort
of slippers and hairdo. The sarong/kebaja
is considered one of the comeliest, modest
and healthiest dresses in the world.
continued
we find that curious melancholy of all peo
ple living on faraway oceans and forgotten
islands. One typical style of krontjong still
bears the name "MoeHskoe" (derived from:
Moresco) as a reminder of the basic prin
ciple ol the conquests of the Portuguese: to
fight the Moors (Mohamedans) as the great
enemies of Christianity.
Later on many Indonesian influences crept
into the original Portuguese music. So the
panto en" became a dominating character
istic in krontjong: a poem of four lines,
the first two lines being symbolic for the
thoughts in the second two lines. In later
centuries the strong Portuguese elements
got lost gradually, as new Indo-Europeans-
fröm Dutch parentage- joined the "Malac-
can" group. The name "Malaccans" dis
appeared at last and a new name came
into being: "Sinjo" (the Portuguese word
for boy). In the krontjong two languages
were sung: Dutch and Malayan, often alter
nately. But the melancholy in krontjong
never got lost. In fact we find the same
characteristic in mestizo-music all over the
world. Brasilian and central-American music
resembles the krontjong in many ways.
Krontjong was taken over by the Indo
nesians and is nowadays a very popular
musical style all o\er Indonesia with dom
inant Indonesian characteristics. The kron
tjong however in its true original style is
Spending the "quarter-before-course-
starts" in Palomar Junior College's Library
with a couple of my fellow citizenship stu
dents, a Canadian lady enthusiastically whis
pered to me: "Look what I've got" and
handed me Princess Wilhelmina's book
"Lonesome, but not alone." I did not know
the book had already been translated in
English. There was no return date stamped
on the card inside, so I evidently was the
first person on campus to read it, which is
really a pity. To those who are unacquainted
with the book I would like to say: "read
it" and you will appreciate our former
Queen and the House of Orange more than
ever before.
I blindly opened the book on page 70,
which deals with the opening of the Peace
Palace in the Hague. I quote: "Thus the
Argentine government had sent a reduced
cast of "Le Christ des Andes", a symbol of
peace which had been put up in the moun
tains between Argentina and Chile after the
bloodless settlement of a confflict between
the two countries."
This happened the day after President
Kennedy delivered his first speech on tele
vision according to the Cuban crisis.
That evening nobody had said a word
about the seriouness of the situation we were
all in, as if we had mutually decided not to
mention or discuss it in the rather enjoyable
way we usually maintain during class con
versation. So we sat there, trying to absorbe
what we were taught about the Declaration
of Independence, the Constitution, the Bill
of Rights, the Amendments and the Pledge
to the Flag, but surely enough each single
one had their own thoughts and worries.
Here we were, prepairing to change our
nationality, everyone because of their very
own reasons, and on the other hand there
was the possibility our fatherland could be
come involved in the Berlin crisis and a third
World War. As we sat there, Canadians,
Englishmen, Swedes, Portugese, Mexicans,
Japanese, Germans, Peruvians, Argentines,
Dutch and Indonesian Dutch, each of us
could look on one war or an other in the
history of our countries and still there is
no peace in the world. Worse of all, a third
World War had to be considered at the very
moment.
During coffee break I found the oppor
tunity to talk to the Argentine (of French
parentage) wife of an American missionary
and showed her that particular part of Prin
cess Whilhelmina's book.
"Your Queen was so right." she said.
"Christ avant tout, indeed. F11 always mem
orize the story you've let me in on tonight."
Back in class I studied the different
faces and backgrouunds of the other stu
dents. trying to find out what theirparticular
reasons could have been for an immigration
to the United States, the Republic which
stands for one nation under God, indivisible,
with liberty and justice for all. Feeling deep
gratitude for the opportunity America has
given so many of our people to start a new
life in the States, I wondered how wonderful
it would be if Big Brother America and
Little Brother Cuba, in fact all nations of
the world, friendly, helping hand and say:
"let's forget about it and start all over again
only known to the Dutch-Indonesians, one
of the last great bands living now in Hol
land. the "Nachtsirenen" under leadership
of Goh Dumas, Guus Becker and Leo Spel.
It is a pity the krontjong is dying now, as
the younger generations do not like it any
more. A truly great form of music seems
to be lost forever after having been the
one and only true Dutch-Indonesian voice
for 3centuries.
(To be continued)
Houdt U van vis? Pépésan, atjar koen-
ing, boemboe bali of gewoon panggang en
met ketjap en rawit mm! Zalig!
Misschien koopt Li morgen toch wel vis op
de Supermarket en zult U alweer merken
dat deze vis lang niet zo lekker smaakt als
vers gevangen vis,
Dat kunt U zelf doen door een dag te
gaan vissen ergens aan de kust van Cali-
fornië. Echt ouwerwets "mantjing" zoals
destijds in Indië van 's morgens vroeg tot
ver in de middag. Zo'n dagje uit aan zee
is een heerlijke "break" en ook al vangt
U weinig, zo'n dagje stilte en rust is altijd
een gezonde verademing. En men kan de
dagen daarna van eentonig hard werk en
"moordende" freeways beter aan.
Ikzelf vis graag aan Redondo Beach,
met een schuitje voor 3 naar de "barge"
een paar mijl buiten de kust. Het is altijd
vol, ook veel vrouwen en kinderen zijn er,
maar allemaal verwoede hengelaars en de
sfeer is bijzonder prettig en rustig. Aan
boord zijn allerlei soorten snacks en drinks
verkijgbaar, alsmede alle soorten visgerei.
Het is gewoon een picnic.
Maar intussen wordt er de hele dag
flink gevangen, hoofdzakelijk bonito en ma
kreel.
Zelf vis ik al drie jaar nog steeds met
evenveel plezier - en ik breng altijdminstens
vijf. zes vissen thuis. Vaak meer. Natuur
lijk komt men goedkoper uit bij de visboer,
maar zo moet men het vissen ook niet zien.
Het gaat om de zwijgende, rustige concen
tratie in de vrije natuur: een uitstekend
geneesmiddel in deze zenuwachtige tijden.
Ik zie maar heel zelden andere Indo's
op de barge, maar ik weet zeker dat er onder
de Tong-Tong-lczers meer vissers zijn. Kun
nen we niet eens contact maken? Als U nog
niet begonnen bent, ik help U graag op weg!
on a base of freedom, justice and brother
hood for all."
Now can anybody give me one good
reason why this seems to be impossible?
Needless to say that chapter 13 of our
textbook was still abracadabra to me after
an otherwise worthwhile evening.
MAUD YZERMAN
le Jaargang No. 11
Verschijnt:
de 15e en 30ste elke maand
Samen met Tong-Tong (zeepost)
Prijs: per nummer.50
per half jr5.00
per jaar $10.00
Administratie: Roy J. Steevensz
P. O. Box 137. Whit-
tier, Cal. telf. 692-9632
Redactie: Lilian Ducelle
Tjalie Robinson
P.O. Box 137. Whittier, Cal.
huisadres: 333 so. Newlin Ave..
Whittier, telf. 693-4443
^^Cable Address: Tong-Tong Whittier
