Early life and education
Hausman Baboe was born in Hampatong village in the Kuala Kapuas, a town that is now the capital of Kapuas Regency. There are conflicting sources for his birth year; possible dates include 1880, 1881, and 1885. [3] [4] [2] He was born to an Utus Gantung family, an aristocratic class of the Ngaju people. [3] [4] Hampatong village was founded as a result of the outbreak of the Banjarmasin War in 1859, causing a mass exodus from villages near the Mangkatip River, a tributary of the Barito River. Hampatong was inhabited mostly by aristocrat families of the Dayak Ngaju people and Christian missionaries nicknamed it kampong adligendrof (village of nobles). As a result of being born an aristocrat, Baboe and his family enjoyed a relatively privileged life compared to the general population of the region. [2] [3]
Baboe's father Yoesoea Baboe was married to Soemboel, the daughter of a village chief. The couple had nine children, including Hausman. Most of Hausman's siblings left the village after their marriages. Hausman Baboe worked as a colonial administrator and frequently travelled around Kalimantan. He married a woman named Reginae and had eight children. [2] Some sources, however, say he later married a second woman of Banjar ethnicity, [2] whom he later divorced. According to these sources, this second marriage brought him a child named Roeslan Baboe, for whom Hausman and Reginae cared. [3] [5]
Baboe was educated by Christian missionaries. It is unclear if he ever pursued higher education due to a lack of records. He was appointed as head of the Kuala Kapuas district despite it being unclear if he fulfilled the requirements to do so, such as receiving a higher education. Heads of districts usually needed to be graduates of OSVIA (Opleiding School Voor Inlandsche Ambtenaren), the indigenous civil-servant school. [3] Indonesian historians speculated Baboe was appointed due to his aristocratic status and because his grandfather Nikodemus Ambo was also a district chief. [3] [6] [2] In 1905, Baboe started to work as a journalist for the newspaper Sinar Borneo; he also worked as a district chief between 1919 and 1922. [4]
Political career
Hausman Baboe was inspired by early contemporaneous political movements and organizations in Surabaya, and argued for the establishment of Pakat Dayak, a Dayak-based political organization similar to those of Sarekat Islam and Indische Party. [7] In February 1922, Baboe was dismissed from his job as district chief due to his increasingly anti-colonial remarks, and Pakat Dayak's support for a Sarekat Islam insurrection in Sampit and Pangkalan Bun. [8]
In 1920, Baboe established a cooperative under Pakat Dayak. He was described by missionary records as "susceptible to communist ideas" [8] and, due to his political activities, was placed under tight government surveillance. [9] In 1924, Baboe founded a school for Dayak called Hollandsche Dajak School, which was used to spread nationalist ideas among Dayak youths. [7] He continued to help Sarekat Islam, spreading its political activities across Kalimantan; he also founded another private school in Mentangai. [8] In Java, Baboe became friends with Oemar Said Tjokroaminoto, the chairman of Sarekat Islam. [7] Briefly after Tjokroaminoto's release and his rumoured plan to visit Kalimantan, Baboe mobilized Dayak political organizations such as Serikat Dajak to distribute pamphlets about the visit to the interior Dayak populations. The goal was to rally political support behind Tjokroaminoto and spread anti-government ideas. [8] As a result of unrest following Tjokroaminoto's actions, the government banned Tjokroaminoto from visiting Kalimantan and placed a travel ban across Kalimantan to limit the spread of Baboe's pamphlets. The travel ban proved to be ineffective. [8]
In 1923, Baboe together with many Dayak activists established the National Borneo Council and in April that year held the National Borneo Congress in Banjarmasin. Baboe was referred to in the congress as "advisor for government affairs" for Sarekat Islam; he wrote a grievance motion to the Governor General of Dutch East Indies but this did not have the effect he had hoped for. From 1924 to 1930, Dutch colonial administrators, who were known as colonial residents, in Kalimantan routinely included mentions of Baboe in their reports, minimizing his influence and trying to assure the colonial government in Batavia he was not a significant threat. [2] In October 1925, Baboe gave speech to around 200 Christian Dayaks in Kuala Kapuas regarding land rights, women's status, and urging native Kalimantan people to join labour unions. He also argued villagers should grow vegetables and fruits rather than rubber, arguing for the abolition of the slaughter tax, and arguing in favour of cooperation between the Communist Party of Indonesia (PKI) and Sarekat Islam in Java. Newspapers in Banjarmasin later reported his meeting as a communist activity. [2]
In 1925, both Sarekat Islam and Sarekat Dajak made another attempt to invite Tjokroaminoto to Kalimantan; they also invited Agus Salim. As the chairman of Sarekat Daja, Baboe co-wrote the invitation with Mohamad Arip and Mohamad Horman of Sarekat Islam. As a result, the colonial government again banned the invited figures from Java from entering Kalimantan but the congress under Sarekat Dajak was still held, mainly focusing on the land tax and forced labour. In December 1926, Baboe and Sarekat Dajak led another National Borneo Congress. He also started to argue for Dayak representation in the Volksraad, and that the absence of secondary schools in Dayak districts showed the Dutch administration was discriminating against Dayaks.
Two months before the 1926 National Borneo Congress, Baboe established Suara Borneo, a newspaper with strong Indonesian nationalist sentiments. His newspaper was short-lived, mainly due to lack of funding and because the colonial government in Banjarmasin expelled its editor Achmad for communist tendencies. [2] Achmad, a teacher and activist from East Java, was affiliated with Sarekat Rakjat and PKI. He was exiled to Kalimantan in 1925 and was befriended by Baboe the next year. Fearing a nationwide communist revolt and to separate him from Baboe, police sent Achmad back to Java in November 1926 under pretext of facing trial. Suara Borneo later wrote Achmad's detention proved he was doing the right thing. [2]
Suara Borneo mostly attracted readers from the urban Dayaks and Malays in Banjarmasin, and reached some readers as far away as Makassar. The newspaper was marked by ideas of the Indonesian National Awakening, that all ethnic identities should see all of themselves as part of a whole and that all Indonesian people "were united in the same fate". Baboe named the first edition of his newspaper "Progress", and urged readers to subscribe and submit news to the newspaper as long as it was slanderous or about religion. His writing moved away from land rights and taxes, mostly relevant only to Dayaks, towards identity issues, challenging the "savage stereotypes" often used against Indonesian ethnicities such as the Dayaks and Madurese. [2] Baboe was criticized by Bingkisan, another progressive newspaper based in Banjarmasin, which said his criticism of colonial governments was often too polite and soft. Gerry van Klinken, researcher of Dayak political history, said Baboe's moderation was due to his age—by that time he was older than most Indonesian nationalist leaders—and because he was relatively wealthy. [2]
The Dayak or Dyak or Dayuh are one of the native groups of Borneo. It is a loose term for over 200 riverine and hill-dwelling ethnic groups, located principally in the central and southern interior of Borneo, each with its own dialect, customs, laws, territory, and culture, although common distinguishing traits are readily identifiable. The Dayak were animist in belief; however, since the 19th century there has been mass conversion to Christianity as well as Islam due to the spreading of Abrahamic religions.
West Kalimantan is a province of Indonesia. It is one of five Indonesian provinces comprising Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of the island of Borneo. Its capital and largest city is Pontianak. It is bordered by East Kalimantan and Central Kalimantan to the east, the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Java Sea to the south. The province has an area of 147,307 km2, and had a population of 4,395,983 at the 2010 Census and 5,414,390 at the 2020 Census; the official estimate as at mid 2022 was 5,541,376. Ethnic groups include the Dayak, Malay, Chinese, Javanese, Bugis, and Madurese. The borders of West Kalimantan roughly trace the mountain ranges surrounding the vast watershed of the Kapuas River, which drains most of the province. The province shares land borders with Central Kalimantan to the southeast, East Kalimantan to the east, and the Malaysian territory of Sarawak to the north.
South Kalimantan is a province of Indonesia. It is the smallest province in Kalimantan, the Indonesian territory of Borneo. The provincial capital was Banjarmasin until 15 February 2022 when it was legally moved to Banjarbaru. The population of South Kalimantan was recorded at just over 3.625 million people at the 2010 Census, and at 4.07 million at the 2020 Census. The official estimate as at mid 2022 was 4,182,080. One of the five Indonesian provinces in Kalimantan, it is bordered by the Makassar Strait in the east, Central Kalimantan in the west and north, the Java Sea in the south, and East Kalimantan in the north. The province also includes the island of Pulau Laut, located off the eastern coast of Kalimantan. The province is divided into 11 regencies and 2 cities. South Kalimantan is the traditional homeland of the Banjar people, although some parts of East Kalimantan and Central Kalimantan are also included in this criterion. Nevertheless, South Kalimantan, especially the former capital city Banjarmasin has always been the cultural capital of Banjarese culture. Many Banjarese have migrated to other parts of Indonesia, as well as neighbouring countries such as Singapore and Malaysia. In addition, other ethnic groups also inhabit the province, such as several groups of the Dayaks, who mostly live in the interior part of the province, as well as the Javanese, who mostly migrated from Java due to the Transmigration program which dated from the Dutch colonial era.It is one of the provinces in Indonesia that has a larger population than Mongolia.
Kaharingan is an indigenous monotheistic folk religion of the Dayak people such as Katingan, Lawangan, Ma'anyan, Ngaju, Ot Danum people native to the Central Kalimantan and South Kalimantan region in Indonesia.
Pontianak or Khuntien is the capital of the Indonesian province of West Kalimantan, founded first as a trading port on the island of Borneo, occupying an area of 118.32 km2 in the delta of the Kapuas River, at a point where it is joined by its major tributary, the Landak River. The city is on the equator, hence it is widely known as Kota Khatulistiwa. The city center is less than 3 kilometres (2 mi) south of the equator. Pontianak is the 26th most populous city in Indonesia, and the fifth most populous city on the island of Borneo (Kalimantan) after Samarinda, Balikpapan, Kuching, and Banjarmasin. It had a population of 658,685 at the 2020 Census within the city limits, with significant suburbs outside those limits. The official estimate as at mid 2022 was 669,795.
Tan Malaka was an Indonesian teacher, Marxist, philosopher, founder of Struggle Union and Murba Party, independent guerrilla and spy, Indonesian fighter, and national hero. Tempo credited him as "Father of the Republic of Indonesia".
Sarekat Islam or Syarikat Islam was an Indonesian socio-political organization founded at the beginning of the 20th century during the Dutch colonial era. Initially, SI served as a cooperative of Muslim Javanese batik traders to compete with the Chinese-Indonesian big traders. From there, SI rapidly evolved into a nationalist political organization that demanded self-governance against the Dutch colonial regime and gained wide popular support. SI was especially active during the 1910s and the early 1920s. By 1916, it claimed 80 branches with a total membership of around 350,000.
The Banjar or Banjarese are an Austronesian ethnic group native to the Banjar regions in the southeastern Kalimantan regions of Indonesia. Nowadays, Banjarese diaspora can be found in neighbouring Banjar regions as well; including Kotabaru Regency, the southeastern regions of Central Kalimantan, southernmost regions of East Kalimantan, and some provinces of Indonesia in general. The Banjarese diaspora community also can be found in neighbouring countries of Indonesia, such as Brunei, Malaysia, and Singapore.
HajiAgus Salim was an Indonesian journalist, diplomat, and statesman. He served as Indonesia's Minister of Foreign Affairs between 1947 and 1949.
Oemar Said Tjokroaminoto, better known in Indonesia as H.O.S. Tjokroaminoto, was an Indonesian nationalist. He became one of the leaders of the Islamic Trade Union, founded by Samanhudi, which became Sarekat Islam, which they both cofounded.
Indonesian Islamic Union Party was an Islamic political party in Indonesia before and after independence. In 1973 it was merged into the United Development Party.
The Ngaju people are an indigenous ethnic group of Borneo from the Dayak group. In a census from 2000, when they were first listed as a separate ethnic group, they made up 18.02% of the population of Central Kalimantan province. In an earlier census from 1930, the Ngaju people were included in the Dayak people count. They speak the Ngaju language.
Bakumpai or Baraki are indigenous people of Borneo and are considered as a sub-ethnic group of the Dayak Ngaju people group with Islamic background. The Bakumpai people first occupy along the Barito riverbanks in South Kalimantan and Central Kalimantan, from Marabahan to Puruk Cahu, Murung Raya Regency. The Bakumpai people first appeared as a newly recognized people group in census 2000 and were made up of 7.51% of Central Kalimantan population, which before this the Bakumpai people were considered as part of the Dayak people in a 1930 census.
Johanes Chrisostomus Oevaang Oeray was an Indonesian politician. He was the Governor of West Kalimantan from 1960 to 1966 and was the first Christian, ethnic Dayak and only Roman Catholic to hold the position.
Hasan Basry was a military general, Indonesian nationalist leader, and was a key figure in the liberation of Kalimantan from Dutch rule. During the Indonesian National Revolution, he acted as the military representative of the Indonesian army in Kalimantan and led a guerilla war against the Linggadjati Agreement. He was a key figure behind the 17 May Proclamation which rallied Kalimantan natives against Dutch rule in 1949. He was declared a National Hero of Indonesia in 2001.
Anakletus Tjilik Riwut was an Indonesian military officer and journalist who served as the governor of Central Kalimantan from 1959 to 1967. He participated in the Indonesian National Revolution, becoming one of the leaders of the Kalimantan Physical Revolution in Dutch Borneo. In 1988, the government of Indonesia declared him a national hero.
Mohammad Misbach, commonly known as Haji Misbach, was a communist and Islamic activist from Surakarta, Dutch East Indies. He was a leading member of the left wing of the Sarekat Islam organization in the 1910s and famously advocated for the compatibility of Islam and communism.
The Kalimantan Physical Revolution was an armed conflict between Indonesian nationalists in and pro-Dutch forces in Dutch Borneo following the end of the Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies and the 1945 Proclamation of Indonesian Independence by Sukarno and which lasted until the Dutch withdrew from most of Indonesia in 1949. It can be considered a regional conflict in the larger Indonesian National Revolution. After the surrender of the Japanese at the end of World War II, allied forces took control of the Dutch East Indies, including Dutch Borneo. The return of Dutch authorities however, was rejected by majority of native population, including in Borneo, resulting in various regional armed conflicts between Royal Netherlands East Indies Army and Indonesian nationalist forces. Allied military forces in Borneo were in a strong position after an early conflict in August 1945, and were able to pacify local nationalist uprisings and impose a blockade to prevent military aid and exchange in personnel from nationalist strongholds in Java and Sumatra. Later, nationalists with connections to Borneo were able to breach tofhe military blockade to provide information revolutionary events in Java and Sumatra, declaring Kalimantan as inseparable part of the new Indonesian republic.
Mandau Talawang Pancasila is a paramilitary organization, based mostly within the Indonesian provinces of Central Kalimantan and West Kalimantan.
Dayak in politics refers to the participation of Dayaks to represent their political ideas and interests outside of their community. The movement has continued to have a profound impact on the development of Indonesia and Malaysia, especially in Kalimantan and Sarawak.
