Doing Java: An Anthropological Detective Story

by Niels Mulder

For the past forty years, Neils Mulder has been actively engaged with the cultures of Java, Thailand and the Philippines. In 2002, he retired to Mt Banahaw in southern Luzon, Philippines, where he works on his intellectual bigraphy, of which doing Java is the second volume. In this book, he retraces how he learned to think about life on Java at the beginning of and in the late 1970's. In doing so, we also obtain a picture of Jogyakarta and a sketch of the academic climate of those days. Altogether, the book should offer an idea of anthropological research, or at least how the author expereinced it.

245 pages, Paperback

First published December 31, 2006

Reviews

[Rika · Rating 3 out of 5]

nice and entertaining reading... Oddly, the writer, a foreigner, had experiences and thoughts similar to mine while living in Java and meeting javanese people. The writing resonates well with me in some parts :-D

[Tomy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book serves as a valuable anthropological record as part of my learning process. It serves as a guide for writing anthropological notes, provided by my friend as a reference for study.

The way the author writes diary entries about their daily lives is very descriptive and detailed, portraying Java from the 1960s to the 1990s from an outsider's perspective. They can also well explain the comparison between the colonial and post-colonial eras and how Indonesians view and glorify colonial culture.

The author also describes the social and cultural dynamics from the transition of the Old Order to the New Order, the fear of communism, conflicts between NU and Muhammadiyah, between Javanese mysticism and extreme right-wing factions, as well as the reality of mystical movements in Java, which is fascinating.
Traveling by land from Sumatra, the author also narrates the dynamics of their journey and the socio-economic disparities between non-Javanese islands and Java in the early days of Indonesian independence.

The social dynamics of the community at that time, the interaction between spiritual knowledge and religious understanding, and the political situation are told in an intriguing way, in my opinion.

The author has a sharp and critical view in dissecting each social and cultural dynamic of that time. I really enjoy this writing, the stories, and how the author's reflection directly experiences this story.

This book deserves a perfect score of 5, as a detailed historical source that also helps me understand the nature of Javanese people at that time, which is relevant even now.

I now understand Java better because of this book. Understanding the dynamics of Java and why people behave as they do. As a person from Sumatra and of Chinese descent, understanding the reality and mindset of Javanese people becomes a valuable lesson for me in interacting with multi-ethnic people in Indonesia.