Featured ANTIQUE SIAMESE SILVER PERANAKAN BELT

Yes, I bought another one!!

Siamese-style like last time, with Chinese hallmarks on the buckle.



The hallmarks on the buckle:



Here it is with the other belt I showed last time...



And the rest of my collection...

 

Beautiful, Shangas. And quite a collection.

 

I started with the two pieces at the bottom, and slowly built up from there. Here's me wearing the silver one at the bottom:



Traditionally you'd tuck your shirt or tunic into the sarong to show off the belt, but I was being lazy when I took the photos.

 

That nonchalant way of lifting the shirt to reveal the belt works fine, Shangas.
And the perfect sarong for a Peranakan (or Indo), and a nice one too. Traditionally this buketan batik is permitted for you and I. Of course nowadays there are no restrictions, but a century ago buketan is what we would wear.

 

Beautiful collection! Would it be considered bad form to wear one of the belts on a woman's black dress?

 

I love that shirt !

 

Personally I've never seen anybody try it that way, but I don't see why you can't.

They're traditionally worn by Peranakan nyonya (women) for holding up their sarong...and by men, if they're also wearing sarong, although these days most men don't wear them. I do, just out of habit (I grew up wearing sarong as a kid).

 

No reason not to! Unless you're a Westerner like me and look like an idiot. I do nab any chunk of Indonesian batik that I can get my hands on though!

 

Don't worry, sarongs are very forgiving

 

Westerners used to wear sarongs and kains too. In fact the floral buketan batik motif Shangas is wearing was one of the 'batik Belanda' motifs designed by an Indo-European lady, so (Indo-)Europeans wouldn't infringe on the rules regarding who could wear which batiks. The designer was probably Carolina von Franquemont, who opened her batik workshop in 1840. The workshop made batiks for all ethnic communities.
Peranakans, who were in the same position as (Indo-)Europeans regarding batik rules, adopted the new free motifs.

I wear a sarong and kebaya on special occasions, but I also wear a kebaya with jeans sometimes. Most of my kebayas are lace, some are embroidered.

Below two European ladies in Indonesia ca 1900. The one on the left is probably a newcomer, who hasn't 'gone native' yet. The other one is wearing the nyonya (Mrs.) style sarong and white kebaya, which was customary for colonial ladies. The clove motif batik of her sarong is also a free motif.

 

"Going Native" certainly happened among the Dutch expat population of Indonesia. I've seen loads of photos of Dutch families living in the region who dressed in sarong, especially the kids.

The photos are really sweet, actually. Here's just a few...



These all date to the early 20th century, about 1920, 1930-ish.

For comparison, here's a photo of a nyonya from the same time-period, with her lace kebaya, sarong, and beaded slippers...

 

The last lady oddly looks like she ought to be one of my relatives. The coloring's from her other family, but she's got Grandma's nose and face shape. The little kid looks like he's one of my cousins on the other side. They're all half Dutch and he could pass for my cousin Tom at the same age.

 

I love the first one, with that very Dutch blonde boy in a sarong.

It was mostly a custom among those who had lived there for generations, often Indos (Eurasians). Their Indonesian mothers had worn the sarong and kebaya, so they wore it too.
During the VOC period it was customary for European men to marry local women or have local concubines/slaves. In fact it was encouraged by the VOC for a better understanding of local languages and customs, which facilitated trade.
Their children were Peranakan, a mix of both cultures, much like the Chinese Peranakan. This cultural mix was also regarded as favourable for good relations between the VOC and local rulers, and mixed people constituted an important part of the colonial population. Some of them look(ed) very European, just like some Chinese Peranakans look very Chinese, but they were born locally and had never seen Europe.

Larger scale migration of European women to the Dutch East Indies only happened from 1870 onward, but they were still a minority compared to Eurasian women.
When the VOC went bankrupt, the Dutch East Indies suddenly became the responsibility of the Dutch government. The administration began to regard Indonesia as a real colony, which should be exploited as a colony, so not for trade with locals. With a real colony came a larger scale European occupation, and more Europeans. European women who came over with their husbands or married colonial civil servants were ex-pats.

Since it was customary for colonial women to wear local dress, and it was sensible to do so in a hot climate, some newcomers gradually adopted the custom. Sarong and kebaya would be worn during the day, and at night they often dressed in European style dresses, albeit thinner fabrics and a looser fit than in Europe.

Probably closer to 1900. In the early 20th century the colonial government promoted Indonesian culture for the Indonesians, and decided it should be reserved for Indonesians only. Europeans were discouraged from wearing local dress, and by the 1920s very few 'full-blooded' Europeans wore a sarong.

In the Dutch East Indies Chinese Peranakan people were part of colonial society, many worked for the colonial government as overseers, tax collectors etc. So the clothing is pretty much the same, even with the white kebaya. Besides, they too had local foremothers, and many intermarried with Eurasians.

Her kebaya isn't lace, btw, it is a fabric we call batist. It has some openwork, but it is different from lace kebayas (which are my favourite).

 

Lace kebayas come in countless colours, but here is a black lace kebaya to show how much contrast you see with lace, and how different it is from the classic white 'batist' kebayas (this one is not mine):

 

Was that one a formal shirt? Or just black?

 

Yes, the Peranakan did much the same thing in Singapore & Malaya, as my uncle once told me. Government officials, working for government / colonial offices, civic service, etc, so they managed to rise high in society (or as high as they could, in those days).

 

It is just black. Traditionally dark colours are for the evenings, bright colours for daytime. Bright colours awaken the senses, so you don't want to see them just before you're going to sleep. But that is another custom that is changing now.

 

In the Dutch East Indies the civil servants were usually the Indo Peranakans (Eurasians), because they spoke and wrote perfect Dutch. They worked in the government offices, mostly in the towns and cities.
The Chinese Peranakans were middlemen when dealing with financial matters in rural areas. They collected taxes etc and were given the freedom to add their own percentage. In some regions they also oversaw tax collecting etc for the aristocracy.

 

I'd cheerfully wear any of it. Wearing dark colors after dark makes sense. White repels light energy. Black absorbs light/heat. In a hot climate, who in their right minds would wear dark colors and just get hotter?

 

And I do.