Hadrami Arabs in Present-day Indonesia This book focuses on social and cultural trends in present-day Hadrami Arab societies in Eastern and Central Indonesia, and the history of the Hadrami Arab people, which demonstrates an early form of globaliza- tion. For centuries, migration has played a vital part in Hadrami adap- tation. External forces, such as the expanding powers of the Portuguese in the Indian Ocean and the Turkish conquering Yemen, and internal forces, such as poverty, droughts and political unrest as well as trading opportunities and missionary work, have instigated migration move- ments. While some Hadrami Arabs sought work in North America and Europe, other waves of Hadrami migration have followed the monsoon winds of the Indian Ocean to the Zanzibar coast, India, Malaysia and Indonesia. The story of Hadramis in Indonesia has largely been a story of success, in terms of trade, politics, education and religious activities. Despite continual debate regarding what con- stitutes Indonesian Hadrami identity, the author argues that they are still ‘an Indonesia-oriented group with an Arab signature’. This book will be of interest to Southeast Asian and Middle East specialists and scholars in anthropology and migration studies. Frode F. Jacobsen is currently an Associate Professor at the Department of Public Health and Primary Health Care at the University of Bergen, Norway. He has a special interest in health issues, local forms of knowledge, and culture and migration. Routledge Contemporary Southeast Asia Series 1 Land Tenure, Conservation and 13 Financial Fragility and Instability Development in Southeast Asia in Indonesia Peter Eaton Yasuyuki Matsumoto 2 The Politics of Indonesia– 14 The Revival of Tradition in Indonesian Politics Malaysia Relations The deployment of adat from One kin, two nations colonialism to indigenism Joseph Chinyong Liow Edited by Jamie S. Davidson and 3 Governance and Civil Society in David Henley Myanmar 15 Communal Violence and Education, health and environment Democratization in Indonesia Helen James Small town wars 4 Regionalism in Post-Suharto Gerry van Klinken Indonesia 16 Singapore in the Global System Edited by Maribeth Erb, Relationship, structure and change Priyambudi Sulistiyanto and Peter Preston Carole Faucher 17 Chinese Big Business in Indonesia 5 Living with Transition in Laos The state of the capital Market integration in Southeast Christian Chua Asia 18 Ethno-religious Violence in Jonathan Rigg Indonesia 6 Christianity, Islam and Nationalism From soil to God in Indonesia Chris Wilson Charles E. Farhadian 19 Ethnic Politics in Burma 7 Violent Conflicts in Indonesia States of conflict Analysis, representation, resolution Ashley South Edited by Charles A. Coppel 20 Democratization in Post-Suharto 8 Revolution, Reform and Regionalism Indonesia in Southeast Asia Edited by Marco Bünte and Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam Andreas Ufen Ronald Bruce St John 21 Party Politics and Democratization 9 The Politics of Tyranny in Singapore in Indonesia and Burma Golkar in the post-Suharto era Aristotle and the rhetoric of Dirk Tomsa benevolent despotism 22 Community, Environment and Local Stephen McCarthy Governance in Indonesia 10 Ageing in Singapore Locating the commonweal Service needs and the state Edited by Carol Warren and Peggy Teo, Kalyani Mehta, John F. McCarthy Leng Leng Thang and 23 Rebellion and Reform in Angelique Chan Indonesia 11 Security and Sustainable Jakarta’s security and autonomy Development in Myanmar polices in Aceh Helen James Michelle Ann Miller 12 Expressions of Cambodia 24 Hadrami Arabs in Present-day The politics of tradition, identity Indonesia and change An Indonesia-oriented group with an Edited by Leakthina Chau-Pech Arab signature Ollier and Tim Winter Frode F. Jacobsen Hadrami Arabs in Present-day Indonesia An Indonesia-oriented group with an Arab signature Frode F. Jacobsen First published 2009 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 270 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2008. “To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.” © 2009 Frode F. Jacobsen All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Jacobsen, Frode F. (Frode Fadnes), 1961– Hadrami Arabs in present-day Indonesia: an Indonesia-oriented group with an Arab signature/Frode Jacobsen. p. cm.—(Routledge contemporary Southeast Asia series; 24) Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Arabs—Indonesia. I. Title. DS632.3.A7J33 2009 305.92'75330598—dc22 2008027771 ISBN 0-203-88461-2 Master e-book ISBN ISBN13: 978–0–415–48092–5 (hbk) ISBN13: 978–0–203–88461–4 (ebk) Contents List of illustrations ix Acknowledgements xi 1 Introduction 1 2 Historical and wider ethnographic background: the homeland of Hadramawt 7 Social stratification in Hadramawt 8 Indian Ocean trade and migration 10 Who travelled? 14 Travels to the Indies 15 The story of a first generation Hadrami in Indonesia 16 Hadrami mobility and migration in perspective 17 3 Hadramis in Indonesia: introduction to Hadrami communities on the islands of Java, Bali, Lombok and Sumbawa 19 Introduction 19 An ‘Indonesia-oriented group with an Arab signature’ 19 Muwallads and wula¯yatı¯s 22 Some general trends 24 Regional variation and international context 25 vi Contents 4 ‘We are modern Indonesians’: continuity and change among present-day Hadrami communities in Indonesia 33 Introduction 33 The story of Hussain 33 Indo-Hadramis, Hadramawt and Yemen 37 Trade, wealth and ethnic identity 38 Visions of the homeland 43 Ethnic relativity 49 Hadrami ethnic identity in the East Indies in a historical perspective 54 Present complexities 56 Hadrami ethnic identity in Indonesia: some concluding remarks 58 5 Between ideologies of equality and social stratification 61 Social stratification in Hadramawt 61 Hadrami stratification in the Netherlands East Indies 62 Intra-ethnic stratification disputed 63 Marriage patterns and issues of social stratification 66 Kafa’a debates in twentieth-century Southeast Asia 70 Kafa’a and cultural continuity 72 6 Hadramis in diversity: a focus on some unique adaptations on Bali and beyond 75 A Hadrami healers on Bali 75 Introduction: Hadramis on Bali 75 The Hadrami healing group 76 Muslim healing in a Hindu context 82 Concluding thoughts 93 B Religious healing among Hadramis on Bali: a comparative approach 95 Introduction 95 Contents vii God’s power in Northern Sudan 96 Charisma and ‘positive contamination’ 98 The blessing of being in the right spot at the right time 102 Charisma and ‘pseudo-naturalness’ 103 Mustafa: a charismatic religious leader 106 Political changes and new ways of channelling charisma 110 The blessings of technology and charisma for sale 113 Conclusion 113 7 Conclusions 115 Notes 120 References 124 Index 129 Ilustrations Tables 3.1 Family origin in Hadramawt, collected in Indonesia 1999–2001 27 3.2 Overview over families and origins, in Sumbawa Besar, Sumbawa, collected in 2000 29 3.3 Occupations of Hadramis in Central and Eastern Indonesia 32 5.1 Patterns of marriage for Hadrami Arabs, recorded in 1999–2000 from the towns of Surabaya, Singaraja, Denpasar, Klungkung, Ampenan and Sumbawa Besar 69 Figures 2.1 Map of Hadramawt 9 2.2 Trade routes across the Indian Ocean 12 3.1 The Malay Archipelago 26