A Lesson of Dominance

“This Earth of Mankind” by Praemodya Ananta Toer is a novel that attempts to elucidate the relationship between the Orient and the Occident; the conquered and the conqueror. The story takes place in Java in 1898 with the main focus being a town by the name of Surabaya. Surabaya was home to a trading port and is what you would call a contact zone, a place where distinct cultures clashed. This time period designated the end of an era of colonialism and the beginning of an era of post-colonialism. Colonialism demanded direct domination over a culture and often met with heavy resistance which resulted in a high-risk. In response to the end of colonialism, ideas such as the Association Theory were implemented in order to establish control over Native people having a lower-risk. The Association Theory as explained by Sarah De La Croix meant “…direct cooperation, based on European ways, between European officials and educated Natives. Those of you who have advanced would be invited to join together with us in governing the Indies. So the responsibility would no longer be the burden of the white race alone.” (Toer 145). Bluntly speaking, this was a doctrine that sought to create Javanese puppets for the Europeans. Arguably, colonial governments were only concerned with education so that they could create an army of Natives for themselves. Soldiers by the name of bupati’s who would wear the armor of their people but provide patriotic duty for the Europeans. This novel focuses around characters such as Minke and Nyai who are prey to the Association Theory because they have received European educations. With education being provided to Natives it is important to consider that “New knowledges do not simply stuff the heads of existing people with new ideas; they serve to create new people…” (Seth 4). Praemodya gives us the accounts of Minke and Nyai in