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Extract of article from :
The Star
(www.thestar.com.my)
Monday, October 15, 2001
Millennium Markers
Ties that bind
In 1641, the Dutch took over Malacca from the port city's Portuguese controllers. The Dutch began a period of rule that left behind a physical legacy, reflected in structures like the Stadhuys, as well as a cultural one that is, unfortunately, fading fast today. In this week's Millennium Markers, D. De WITT looks at how the small community of Dutch Eurasians began in Malacca and how it has been losing its identity over the centuries.
Well-known Dutch-descended communities that still exist today are the Boers (also known as Afrikaners) of South Africa, the Burghers of Sri Lanka and the Dutch Eurasians (also known as Dutch East-Indies people or Indos) from Indonesia. Other small and lesser-known communities exist elsewhere, including one in Malaysia.
Malaysians descended from the Dutch are in fact a minority within a minority. Categorised in a broad sense as Eurasians, Malaysian Dutch Descendants are actually made up of the descendants of Malacca Dutch Eurasians and the Ceylonese Dutch Burghers.
Ceylonese Dutch Burghers are people of Dutch ancestry who came to Malaysia from Ceylon during the British colonial period. The word "burgher" in Middle Dutch means "a member of a mercantile class", but it became an ethnic label after the British arrived in Ceylon. The Ceylonese Burghers came to Malaysia in the late 19th century to help the British introduce their system of administration to the country. The British government could not induce enough Britons to come out to this part of the world to take up the clerical and administrative posts vital in running a bureaucracy - there was not enough money to pay Europeans a living wage. Therefore, the colonial government of the Straits Settlements (of Penang and Malacca) appealed to its counterpart in Ceylon to send some of its trained men to Malaya to open up the country for "civilisation". In this way, a demand was created - and supply inevitably followed.
The term "Eurasian" when used in Malacca usually refers to people of Portuguese descent who are also known as "Cristao" (or "Kristang"). This widespread assumption is actually only partly true. There are other Eurasians in Malacca who tend to be "swallowed" by the presence of the large Cristao population; they include the Dutch Eurasians who are descended from Dutch immigrants who came to Malacca after it was wrested from Portuguese control in 1641.
The Malacca Dutch Eurasians are now very few in number as many have moved to other states or have emigrated. Furthermore, assimilation into the larger Portuguese Eurasian community over the past decades through intermarriage has diluted the Dutch links with some adopting completely the Portuguese Eurasian culture as their own. There are, however, some Dutch Eurasian families remaining that can still trace their roots to the Malacca Dutch period and even beyond. While looks might not identify the Malaysian Dutch Eurasian today, they still have very Dutch-sounding surnames like De Witt, Minjoot, Oorloff, Westerhout, Valberg, Van Den Driesen and Van Dort.
Since circumstances have severed ties with other former Dutch colonies and with The Netherlands, the Malacca Dutch Eurasians have lost much of the culture and heritage of their forefathers. They no longer speak Dutch and most no longer adhere to Dutch traditions.
But there are plans afoot within the community now to stop this loss of heritage and identity. While this movement is still in its infancy, it has already generated some attention and gained support from local scholars and organisations in The Netherlands.
The Star
(www.thestar.com.my)
Monday, October 15, 2001
Millennium Markers
Ties that bind
In 1641, the Dutch took over Malacca from the port city's Portuguese controllers. The Dutch began a period of rule that left behind a physical legacy, reflected in structures like the Stadhuys, as well as a cultural one that is, unfortunately, fading fast today. In this week's Millennium Markers, D. De WITT looks at how the small community of Dutch Eurasians began in Malacca and how it has been losing its identity over the centuries.
Well-known Dutch-descended communities that still exist today are the Boers (also known as Afrikaners) of South Africa, the Burghers of Sri Lanka and the Dutch Eurasians (also known as Dutch East-Indies people or Indos) from Indonesia. Other small and lesser-known communities exist elsewhere, including one in Malaysia.
Malaysians descended from the Dutch are in fact a minority within a minority. Categorised in a broad sense as Eurasians, Malaysian Dutch Descendants are actually made up of the descendants of Malacca Dutch Eurasians and the Ceylonese Dutch Burghers.
Ceylonese Dutch Burghers are people of Dutch ancestry who came to Malaysia from Ceylon during the British colonial period. The word "burgher" in Middle Dutch means "a member of a mercantile class", but it became an ethnic label after the British arrived in Ceylon. The Ceylonese Burghers came to Malaysia in the late 19th century to help the British introduce their system of administration to the country. The British government could not induce enough Britons to come out to this part of the world to take up the clerical and administrative posts vital in running a bureaucracy - there was not enough money to pay Europeans a living wage. Therefore, the colonial government of the Straits Settlements (of Penang and Malacca) appealed to its counterpart in Ceylon to send some of its trained men to Malaya to open up the country for "civilisation". In this way, a demand was created - and supply inevitably followed.
The term "Eurasian" when used in Malacca usually refers to people of Portuguese descent who are also known as "Cristao" (or "Kristang"). This widespread assumption is actually only partly true. There are other Eurasians in Malacca who tend to be "swallowed" by the presence of the large Cristao population; they include the Dutch Eurasians who are descended from Dutch immigrants who came to Malacca after it was wrested from Portuguese control in 1641.
The Malacca Dutch Eurasians are now very few in number as many have moved to other states or have emigrated. Furthermore, assimilation into the larger Portuguese Eurasian community over the past decades through intermarriage has diluted the Dutch links with some adopting completely the Portuguese Eurasian culture as their own. There are, however, some Dutch Eurasian families remaining that can still trace their roots to the Malacca Dutch period and even beyond. While looks might not identify the Malaysian Dutch Eurasian today, they still have very Dutch-sounding surnames like De Witt, Minjoot, Oorloff, Westerhout, Valberg, Van Den Driesen and Van Dort.
Since circumstances have severed ties with other former Dutch colonies and with The Netherlands, the Malacca Dutch Eurasians have lost much of the culture and heritage of their forefathers. They no longer speak Dutch and most no longer adhere to Dutch traditions.
But there are plans afoot within the community now to stop this loss of heritage and identity. While this movement is still in its infancy, it has already generated some attention and gained support from local scholars and organisations in The Netherlands.