This thesis unearths the reasons and process behind the late eighteenth century codification projects of the Dutch East Indies Company (VOC) and examines their translation into legal practice in...Show moreThis thesis unearths the reasons and process behind the late eighteenth century codification projects of the Dutch East Indies Company (VOC) and examines their translation into legal practice in colonial court. Drawing from records of official correspondence and original civil and criminal case files archived at the Arsip Nasional Republik Indonesia (Jakarta) and the Nationaal Archief (The Hague), it presents an analysis of (Dutch) colonial legal practice in a legally plural environment in which both colonial structures of power and local agency are considered.Show less
Bachelor thesis | South and Southeast Asian Studies (BA)
open access
2018-08-31T00:00:00Z
The year 2018 marks the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Suharto regime. likewise, it marks the reawakening of customary rights (adat) in Indonesian politics. In this thesis, I aim to place two...Show moreThe year 2018 marks the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Suharto regime. likewise, it marks the reawakening of customary rights (adat) in Indonesian politics. In this thesis, I aim to place two of Indonesia's main seafaring communities, namely: the Orang Suku Laut and the Sama Bajau, in the debate surrounding this revival of tradition in Indonesian politics. In the first chapter, I analyse how the history of the Sama and the Orang Laut have positioned these communities in the Indonesian society, and whether or not stereotypes surrounding their communities have made it more difficult for them to profit from the recognition of customary rights. In chapter 2, I draw parallels between the Sama and the Orang Laut in the ways that their nomadic lifestyle has resulted in intangible forms of culture, making it harder for them to assert claims over territory. In this chapter I also show how their distinct cultural and religious identity contribute to their marginal status Indonesia. In the last chapter, I argue that Indonesia's sea nomads partial inability to participate in the reassertion of customary rights is rooted in a multitude of factors, including: the hegemony of environmental motives surrounding customary rights' advocacy groups, the difficulty of claiming ownership over land, and civil rights under the pressure of statelessness, and the difficulty of affirming sea-based and coastal territory in land disputes under the hegemony of regional developmentalism. I stress the difference between their respective territories, which presents each community with a distinct adversary in their struggle for the recognition of customary land rights.Show less
