Stories from Deli

Szekely, 1920s

The Chinese plant the tobacco and  get  their  wages  according  to  the  results obtained. The Javans receive only a daily wage, they are  not  fitted  to  do  the  finer  work.  They have  no ambition,  and  do  not  know  the value  of  money.  At home in their Java villages they did not have to fight for their existence. They had everything. The  Chinese have  lived  in  misery  and  poverty  for  thousands  of years.  In their  over-populated  country  it  is  difficult to make  ends  meet,  and  every  bowl  of  rice  means  a struggle.  Thus covetousness,   lust  for  money   have been  bred  in  them.  They  work  like  cattle,  cheat wherever   they  can,  and  are  ready,  in  return  for money,   to  sell  their  own  father.   The   Javanese  are Mohammedans,  the  Chinese  are Buddhists.  The   Javanese stay  poor,  the  Chinese  grow  rich,  at  least  many  of them  do.  The   Chinese  work  terribly  hard,  super-humanly,  the Javanese only as much  as they  must.  As much as they are compelled to work. The  Javanese hate, abominate  and  despise  the  Chinese,  and  the  Chinese are  afraid  of  the  irascible  Javanese  and  hold  them  in little  esteem  because  of  their   indolence.  The  European planters, however, exploit this strained  relationship:  the  Chinese  betray  the  Javanese,  and  the Javanese will not allow the Chinese to cheat.

The  Chinese  have  no  wives-Chinese  women  do not  hire  themselves  out  as  coolies  and  do  not  leave their  country-but   they  have  money.  The  Javans have wives, but no money. The Javans are sanguine, thoughtless and, when in a temper, incalculable. The Chinese  are  crafty,  scheming, taciturn  and  reckless in revenge.

Mandur Djono  could  not  abide  the Chinese.  Last year, when he was still a coolie and the Javans killed a Chinaman,  because  he  wanted  to entice  a  woman from  the Javan  coolie  pondok,  he  had  almost  had  a bad time of it. But he got out of the business cleverly enough.  Since  then  he  hated  the  pigtail  men  even more.

Each mandur has his tea-maker coolie; the Chinese, in addition, are entitled to a tukang rambut, a hair master, a barber. The smoothly shaven heads of the Chinese provide a great deal of work.  

The barber, who is generally naked, though wearing the inevitable basket-hat, opens a large Chinese sunshade, places a beer barrel under it, and there is his barber shop. The sweating coolies take turns sitting under the sunshade, and the barber shaves their heads without soaping them, and cleans their ears and nostrils.

From Tropical Fever by Ladislao Szekely on Chinese and Javanese workers