The Black Dutch Village

Two villages in Purworejo, Pangenjurutengah and Sindurejan, were equally busy that March 15, 2024 afternoon. Purworejo is a regency located in the southern part of Central Java, Indonesia. The closest point of distance between the two, which is marked by SMAN 7 Purworejo, is only less than 500 meters, which is not a long distance to be reached by walking. Children of the early 20th century must have been strong enough to explore the two villages on foot.

One day, an elementary school boy led his friends from Sindurejan, near the town square, to their destination Pangenjurutengah, a village where many children of African descent lived.

"They were children from an African village that occupied a quite large area in Purworejo. Almost all of the children spoke Dutch precisely without accent," wrote Rohmah Soebroto in Oerip Soemohardjo: Lieutenant General TNI 22 February 1893-17 November 1948.  

When they arrived in that village, the Javanese children shouted. "Londo Ireng tunteng, irunge mentol, suarane bindeng," they yelled, making fun of the children of African descent who were antagonized by the Javanese children. The meaning of the shout was: ‘Jet-black Dutch people with big noses and nasal voices’. Londo ireng itself means 'black Dutch'.

The encirclement, that happened several times, bothered some of the villagers so much that the authorities had to intervene to deal with the children.

A head teacher had to be summoned to the Kepatihan Purworejo (Purworejo’s local administration office). He was told that his son's actions in besieging the village were troubling the villagers there. The head teacher's son was Mohamad Sidik, but when he went to primary school his name became Oerip Soemohardjo.

Oerip was studying at the Dutch-language elementary school, Europeesche Lagere School (ELS) in Purworejo. Oerip attended the school together with those children of African descent. Oerip, who wasn't good at speaking Dutch, was made fun of by some mischievous African children.

"They were so happy scoffing at the little inlander (native) bad speech," Rohmah said.

It was this ridicule that prompted Oerip to mobilize his friends to carry out the siege. The story of the siege of the village later disappeared and was only found in Oerip's biography written by his wife, Rohmah Soebroto.

A Village of Soldiers

Young Oerip's guts were certainly big. The village he invaded wasn't just any village. If it was just a fight, his opponents could also fight back, especially because most of them were descendants of soldiers. In Purworejo, of course, not only people of African descent were soldiers. Bagelen had always been a region that produced many soldiers.

The lives of those African children were very close to the world of soldiers. In Serdadu Afrika di Hindia Belanda 1831–1945 (African Soldiers in the Dutch East Indies 1831-1945), Inneke van Kessel wrote that after the age of 15 or 16, boys from the village entered the military service of the Koninklijk Nederlandsch Indische Leger (KNIL) colonial army. They were accorded equal status with the Dutch and felt superior to the natives because of racist colonial politics. At school, the African children were closer with Dutch or Chinese children than with native children.

After Prince Diponegoro was captured and the Java War (1825-1830) ended, more Africans came to the Dutch East Indies as soldiers. Some of them came from Ghana. Apart from Purworejo, there were also many African soldiers in Jakarta and Semarang. After successfully settling, many of these African soldiers married native women. So, most of the residents of the village that was invaded by Oerip and his friends still had Indonesian blood.

In the past, many African children were educated, so that after entering the military, their careers were better than most illiterate natives. Many reached the rank of sergeant, but some managed to reach the rank of lieutenant, such as Doris Land.

The people who lived there during the colonial era were Africans, but some called them Londo Ireng.

In his old age, Doris Land was a village chief in that area that he called Kamp Afrika (African Camp). He didn't call it a kampung or village so as not to seem hick like most indigenous Indonesians. Doris was the son of Govert Land, a Danko from Grunshi. After retiring from the KNIL, Govert lived in the village that sometimes was called Kampung Afrika. Doris was born when Govert retired in Kampung Afrika Purworejo.

According to his studbook archive, Doris was born in Purworejo on February 9, 1890. Around 1909, he entered military service. After serving in the KNIL for a long time, he only reached the rank of second lieutenant of KNIL infantry on November 30, 1932, before being promoted again to KNIL first lieutenant on November 29, 1935.

When Doris retired, Oerip, who had invaded Doris's village, had also retired early from the KNIL. Oerip, who was three years younger than Doris, reached the rank of major in the KNIL.

Like Oerip, Doris also attended elementary school and spoke Dutch. Doris was active again in the KNIL when the Japanese army almost occupied Indonesia. After the Dutch East Indies surrendered, both of them became Japanese prisoners of war.

However, after 1945, Oerip became a lieutenant general in the Indonesian National Army (TNI), while Doris was in the KNIL. Around 1947, Doris was promoted to KNIL captain.

The people of Kampung Afrika in the past were political tools of the Dutch East Indies colonial government. The closeness of the Africans from Kampung Afrika to the Dutch certainly made the Javanese natives refer to them as Londo Ireng or Black Dutch.

"It used to be called Kampung Londo Ireng (the Black Dutch Village)," said Harto, the caretaker of the grave of Lieutenant General (Ret.) Sarwo Edhie Wibowo, which is located not far from Kampung Afrika. "The people who lived there during the colonial era were Africans, but some called them Londo Ireng."

Nothing Remains

The village is located on the east side of the Dr. Tjitrowardojo Regional General Hospital, which was named after President B.J. Habibie's ancestor. On the east side of the hospital, there are two alleys with unique names: Gang Afrikan I and Gang Afrikan II, with gang means alley. The two alleys are connected by a road, while the end of the alleys lead to Jalan Jenderal Sudirman which connects the square with bustling Kutoarjo.

Today, there are still spacious old houses in Gang Afrikan I and Gang Afrikan II. The houses in Kampung Afrika look more modern than those of the Indonesians. In the past, there used to be barracks in the center of the village which were surrounded by big houses.

"Strangely, every house has a waterway," said Widyarsana Garjita or Toto who lives not far outside Kampung Afrika. The drains function as household water drains.

Those large houses can still be found today in Gang Afrikan. To this day, there are still rice fields in the north of the village. In the northeast of the village, more and more houses started to be built. In the past, this village may have given the impression as an exclusive area.

"It used to be fenced off," says Gunardi, an elderly resident of Panjurutengah.  

Fences are generally erected for the safety of the residents inside. According to Inneke van Kessel, despite feeling higher than the Indonesians, the Africans were also isolated in the village. The fence separated the lives of the Africans from the Javanese in the village around them.

Although Afrikan is the name of the two alleys there, it is now very difficult to find African descendants in the village. The residents of the village today are no longer of African descent, but people from various regions of Purworejo. Some of them even come from outside Purworejo. Most people who live there have no memory of Kampung Afrika anymore.

Some of the remaining African descendants in the past had mingled with other Javanese, but now all of them have moved to other areas. One of Gunardi's relatives married one of the African descendants. Not surprisingly, according to Gunardi, "his descendants don't live there".

Toto told me that there was once a couple named Jarno and Evelyn. Jarno was Javanese and Evelyn was of African descent. The couple had four children. The first one died young as a victim of Petrus, a mysterious killing launched by the New Order government. The second one wore a headscarf and disappeared. She was the one who sold her parents' land. The third child moved around several villages in Purworejo. As Toto recalled, the child's name was Sumarah. The last one, Slamet, became a sweeper and was rather stressed. He lived around the army hospital. Slamet often met Toto.

"Sometimes he walks here. He comes here almost once a month," said Toto. "Sometimes when he comes here I give him food."

That's the story that remains of Kampung Afrika in Purworejo.