Figure 1.--Children in the Dutch East Indies, now Indodesia, wore "tjelana monjet" or rompers. "Tjelana" is Indonesian Malay for trousers. "Monjet" means monkey. Image courtesty of Frank Neijndorff.

Children in the Dutch East Indies, now Indodesia, wore "tjelana monjet" or rompers. "Tjelana" is Indonesian Malay for trousers. "Monjet" means monkey. The Portuguese term for rompers (fato macaco) also means monkey suit. I don’t know if this is a coincidence, but the Portuguese were in the East Indies before the Dutch seized control and there is, as a result, a Portuguese linguistic heritage. Much the same garment was called hansop in Holland where was predominantly a childrens’ sleeping suit. In the Indies, Dutch children, both white and Eurasian, as well as Chinese used to wear it at daytime as it was a very convenient garment in the hot climate. This was consistent with the use by their fathers of a ‘slaapbroek’/sleeping trousers as part of their informal home dress.

Source

These photographs are from a book by Frank Neijndorff called Achterom Gekeken (A Backward Glance). Copies can be ordered from the author.