Soul of a nation: Indonesia

The title of this warm, gener­ous and always unsentimental book illustrates both theme and conceit. It references the original declaration of independence of Indonesia, that archipelagic behemoth of a nation: “… Mat­ters relating to the transfer of power etc. will be executed carefully and as soon as pos­sible.” Those words were com­mitted to paper in 1945; those “matters” remain contentious and contested today. A glance at the map should illustrate one of the “big” reasons why. Aceh, on Sumatra’s western tip, is equidistant from Chen­nai and Jakarta. Once you’re in Indonesia’s capital, you’ll find that West Papua is 3,000 kilometres further east.

Then, there is the rich con­fusion of ethnicity, language and religion that such a geo­graphical scattering inevitably comes with. Add its oceanic setting — even today, the only way between many islands is by boat — and the freight of in­equitable trade and colonial­ism, and you have a recipe for modern nation-state disaster. And yet, somehow, it endures. Elizabeth Pisani set out on an epic year-long journey to see why. She travelled by boat and road and plane, frequently relying on the generosity of strangers for room and board. She attended sacrifices, marriages and the occasional funeral; endured cross-ques­tioning about her age, marital status, children and sexual availability; was proposi­tioned, ignored, cheered and chastised: all so she could see where the ‘etc.’ led.

She isn’t shy of tackling the big questions. The issue the other islanders have with what they perceive to be Java­nese dominance runs through the book, because she reaches Java, the most populous of Indonesia’s islands, last.

She takes on the burning de­bate between “development” and the rights of people on the ground. Forthrightly — and interestingly, since she earned her spurs in public health policy — she makes it clear that it isn’t quite as easy as small tribals/indigenous/disadvan­taged versus big business. The nuances she isolates in that particular instance point to her great strength, which is that she is that rare ‘foreign’ traveller who collects insights and not just impressions. Her insights illumine this book, not least in the section where she takes on the role of the religious parties in what is currently the very tangled web of Indonesian democracy.

She is also an astute ob­server of how patronage in the Indonesian context mirrors the clan or familial structure that country’s citizens are already familiar with. That mirroring enables the distinc­tion the recipients of patron­age can make between what they’re receiving, and outright corruption. Indians will recognise the ‘distinction’, of course. It made me wince.

For the most part, she answers her own questions, though I find her analysis of the new Islamic revivalism in Indonesia a little waffle-y. Perhaps she feels she isn’t in a position to judge; at any rate, it doesn’t detract at all from what is a marvellously observed, warmly reported, and frequently genuinely funny book. Her interest in and love of her subject is clear. As with the best books about distant places, she makes you want to go.