Figure 1.--This fascinating photograph was probably taken in the 1930s, although a reader believes it was a little earlier perhaps the 1920s. This was during the Dutch colonial era and shows boys in a boat at Martapura on a Barito River island. Martapura was located on southeastern Borneo, an island split between the Dutch and Britih, Martapura was originally named Kayutang, ihe last capital of the Sultanate of Banjar. It was a santri city. The Santri are a cultural stream who practice a more orthodox version of Islam than the more common moderate Islamic pratices. Martapura is sometimes referred to as kota Veranda of Mecca because there are many santris who wear white pilgrmage atire who walk up and down memorizing Koranic verses, similar to hajj season for pigrimages to Mecca. The dealer selling the photograph describes the children as school boys. We see no evidence that they were school boys, although it is possible the boys are arriving at a school by boat. We suspect that the dealer just assumed boys this age attended school. There were schools in the cities, but most Indonesin boys did not attend school during the Dutch colonial period. These boys wear what look like shirts with traditional clothing. We see no sign of Dutch colonial influence. It is likely that the clothes they are wearing, exceopt for the shirts, are little changed from the styles worn when the Dutch first arrived.

This fascinating photograph was probably taken in the 1930s, although a reader believes it was a little earlier perhaps the 1920s. This was during the Dutch colonial era and shows boys in a boat at Martapura on a Barito River island. Martapura was located on southeastern Borneo, an island split between the Dutch and Britih, Martapura was originally named Kayutang, ihe last capital of the Sultanate of Banjar. It was a santri city. The Santri are a cultural stream who practice a more orthodox version of Islam than the more common moderate Islamic pratices. Martapura is sometimes referred to as kota Veranda of Mecca because there are many santris who wear white pilgrmage atire who walk up and down memorizing Koranic verses, similar to hajj season for pigrimages to Mecca. The dealer selling the photograph describes the children as school boys. We see no evidence that they were school boys, although it is possible the boys are arriving at a school by boat. We suspect that the dealer just assumed boys this age attended school. There were schools in the cities, but most Indonesin boys did not attend school during the Dutch colonial period. These boys wear what look like shirts with traditional clothing. We see no sign of Dutch colonial influence. It is likely that the clothes they are wearing, exceopt for the shirts, are little changed from the styles worn when the Dutch first arrived.

Chronology

This fascinating photograph was probably taken in the 1930s, although a reader believes it was a little earlier perhaps the 1920s. This was during the Dutch colonial era. We guessed the 1930s partly because of the qulity of the image. But the scene based on the setting and clothing could easily have been taken earlier, perhaps the 1920s or even the World War I era. A Dutch reader living in Indonesia during the 1849s writes, "I believe that this picture was taken much earlier than the 1930s. It could have been even around World War I (1914-18)."

Location

The photograph shows boys in a boat at Martapura on a Barito River island. Martapura was located on southeastern Borneo (Kalimantan), an island split between the Dutch and British, Martapura was originally named Kayutang, ihe last capital of the Sultanate of Banjar. It was a santri city. The Santri are a cultural stream who practice a more orthodox version of Islam than the more common moderate Islamic pratices. Martapura is sometimes referred to as kota Veranda of Mecca because there are many santris who wear white pilgrmage atire who walk up and down memorizing Koranic verses, similar to hajj season for pigrimages to Mecca.

Activity

The dealer selling the photograph describes the children as school boys. We see no evidence that they were school boys, although it is possible the boys are arriving at a school by boat. We suspect that the dealer just assumed boys this age attended school. There were schools in the cities, but most Indonesin boys did not attend school, at least not Dutch secular schools, during the Dutch colonial period. They are, however, clearly involved in some purposeful activity. They have a nice boat which presumably they would have had to get father's permission to use. Traveling on the river was the easiest way of getting from place to place. They seemed to have just pulled up to the river bank. The question is just what were they doing. We think that they are local because these boys probably could not have propelled the boat very far up river. One possibility is bring produce to market from somewhere else in Martapura. There is, however, nothing in the boat so that is not the reason. (Note the other boat in the background lade with ites to see or that had been purchased.) The only thing in the bouys' boat is the boys themselves, so it has to be something to do with them. One possibility is school, but as we mention above, this is inlikely. Our reader writes, "These boys were not on their way to school (native Indonesian boys did not go to school). They possibly were going to the mosque." We are not sire wheretheir fathers are. It is also possible that they attended a madrasha which may have been attached to their local mosque.

Clothing

These boys wear what look like shirts with traditional clothing. They are barefoot and wearing sarongs. We see no sign of Dutch colonial influence. It is likely that the clothes they are wearing, exceopt for the shirts, are little changed from the styles worn when the Dutch first arrived. They also wear tjepiau (moslem head gear). We do not have chronological information on ghe garments. We believe that the sarong was an ancient garment, widely worn throughout southeast Asia. We are less sure about the tjepiau. As Islam arrived only a little before the Dutch, Muslim head gear would have been of more recent origins. We are unsure just when it appeard in Muslim lands further west. Nor are we sure if boys wore it when going to mosque or all day long. Our reader writes, "Yes, what I saw in Indonesia (1948-1958} were boys wearing shirts and shorts. Here they are wearing sarongs, but as far as I remember that was not a daily attire. That's why I believe that these boys were on their way to a mosque or perhaps a festivity or a funeral." Of course the other possibility is that traditional clothing was more prevalent regionally and in rural areas. Our Indonesian archive is still too limited to draw any form conclusions.

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Created: 5:10 PM 4/28/2013
Last updated: 5:10 PM 4/28/2013