fd-Indonesia-msg - 4/19/20
Period food of Indonesia.
NOTE: See also the files: fd-Africa-msg, fd-Brazil-msg, Fd-Greenland-art, fd-Khazaria-art, fd-Korea-msg, fd-Sicily-msg, NW-Fds-Italy-art, fd-Russia-msg.
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From the fb "SCA Cooks" group:
Rob Braun
4/1/17
So I am currently studying Indonesian at University and read about Kublai Khan invading Java in 1293. Combining that with the fact that the Dutch East Indies were operating there around 1600 and some words of encouragement from fellow SCA members, I have been encouraged to try and do an Indonesian Feast.
What I am trying to figure out are any potential sources for Period Indonesian food? I haven't come across any in my studies, and all my searches have been unsuccessful. So I am hoping some people on here might be able to give me some ideas please?
Ginny Beatty
When I researched Chinese cookery, I used anthropology and agricultural sources to determine foodways, cooking methods, etc.
4/1/17
Leoba Mordenvale
The approach suggested by Ginny Beatty is also used by those of us that look at Dark Ages food. You will need to look at archaeology publications to see if there is anything available about the technology, also check out what plants and animals are indigenous. Have fun.
Helen Brinsmead
I take it you are looking at Javanese culture, not Balinese, etc as 'Indonesian' is a modern political construct.
Rob Braun
Indonesia itself is a modern construct. But the Dutch East Indies which started around 1600 incorporated alot of what would become Indonesia. So you could say I am using the term Anachronistically to incorporate alot of what would become Indonesia.
If I could use just Javanese dishes from 1293, I would be happy, but realistically I am open to whatever could be found throughout what would become Indonesia during what we would consider period.
Also, given the Hindu religion base shared between Java and Bali in period and the cultural flow and the continuous invasions and exiles that happened back and forth then it would be easy to establish a cultural exchange of foods and recipes.
Galefridus Peregrinus
You're probably already thinking about these things, but here are a some cultural questions to consider:
1. Under whose political influence was the Java/Bali area prior to the 1293 invasion? Were they separate kingdoms, or did Kublai Khan wrest them from another empire?
2. You mention the Dutch activity in the area starting in the late 16th/early 17th centuries. But weren't the Portuguese active there as well?
3. You mention hinduism as a major cultural and religious influence prior to the 1293 invasion. But weren't Buddhism and Islam influential at that time as well?
The key thing is you want to be aware of ALL the cultures in the mix and their degrees of influence on culinary practices at the times you're playing with.
Galefridus Peregrinus
As I often say, anything worth doing is hard. But lots of fun, too!
I'll add an opinion on the whole biomolecular archaeology approach: I consider it a valuable adjunct to culinary research, but not a good substitute for historical descriptions of the foods. For example, pots could be used for multiple different dishes, leaving behind a mix of food residues. Sorting out what residue is associated with which dish can be problematic.
While cookbooks are great if you got them, sometimes you have to rely on descriptions in literary sources, kind of like going through the 1001 Arabian Nights and documenting all the food items described therein. Or historical records, on the order of " in the 5th year of his reign, King XXXX proclaimed a feast to be held. These are the dishes that were served..."
Rob Braun
I haven't encountered much like that for Indonesia. Most seems to have been oral tradition and routine.
Urtatim Al-Qurtubiyya
A good deal was written down, but because of the tropical climate, most has been lost. So oral tradition is what has come to us.
Katie Mendelsohn
Another thing to look at is what ingredients were available. Since Indonesia is islands, there won't be room for big animals to graze in large numbers, so recipes with meat are likely to use fish, chickens, and pigs. I would keep a running list of ingredients as I did my research so I would know how to adapt the recipes Galefridus is suggesting.
Andi Houston
Pay very special attention to the new world/old world foods- for instance, much of that area of the world now grows and consumes cassava extensively, but cassava was introduced from South America.
Urtatim Al-Qurtubiyya
For example, nanas, pineapple, while quite common today, is originally native of southern Brazil and Paraguay, would have been unknown in the archipelago in SCA period.
Kacang, peanuts, an integral part of modern Javanese cuisine, probably originated in Peru or Brazil, so would have been unknown in the archipelago in SCA period.
Kacan buncis, wortel, etc. were brought by the Dutch, and I would expect not immediately available to indigenous people.
The archaeological record can be tricky in a tropical climate. When I lived in Jakarta for a few years I joked that there were two seasons, the rainy season and the rainier season...
Chilis, cabe, an integral part of the cuisine on Sumatra, Java, Bali, Lombok, etc. are New World, so would have arrived somewhere in Indonesia in the 16th c. at the earliest. The Portuguese spread it around some parts of Asia in the 16th & 17th centuries.
Urtatim Al-Qurtubiyya
There is no information that I have ever found about Indonesian food in SCA period. I also suspect things were even more "regional" then than they are now. The Island of Java has a multitude of different regional cuisines now, but i would imagine that with slow overland travel, even villages could have different cuisines. Heck, even the island of Bali has specifically different cuisines in different areas.
I originally considered having an Indonesian persona of some sort, but the weather is not warm enough around here - and i would not be allowed to go topless.
Urtatim Al-Qurtubiyya
(I lived in Indonesia for several years. I lived in Jakarta but visited friends in Jogja, and also spent some time in Bali and North Sumatra. And before moving to Jakarta, I was studying Bahasa Indonesia in Malang in East Java)
Rob Braun
Even today there is still a lot of blending of all the religions in Indonesia. Islamic Javanese Rice Farmers who pray to Dewi Sri, the rice God, for a good harvest.
Urtatim Al-Qurtubiyya
Absolutely. While because of certain things, some Indonesia Muslims are trying to be more "pure", typical Indonesian Islam blends indigenous beliefs and practices.
Urtatim Al-Qurtubiyya
When I lived there, some women covered their heads with sheer chiffon scarves. Now more women cover with opaque items that cover their heads and necks, often even their shoulders.
From the fb "SCA Cooks" group:
7/8/19
Sandra Blower
July 2 at 12:33 AM
Wondering if anyone could point me in the Direction of some Period sources for food from Mataram and Srivijaya, Malacca - (Indonesia)
Sivaroobini Kalaimani
I'm a little confused - so you want Srivijaya, Singhasari, Majapahit, and Melaka?
Sandra Blower
any where in that region.
Urtatim Al-Qurtubiyya
For those who don't know
1. Mataram Kingdom was a Javanese Hindu–Buddhist kingdom that flourished between the 8th and 11th centuries. It was based in Central Java, and later in East Java.
2. Srivijaya was "a dominant thalassocratic Indonesian city-state based on the island of Sumatra, Indonesia, which influenced much of Southeast Asia. Srivijaya was an important center for the expansion of Buddhism from the 8th to the 12th century" CE.
3. Singhasari was an Indianized Javanese Hindu–Buddhist kingdom located in East Java between 1222 and 1292.
4. The Majapahit Empire "was a thalassocracy in Southeast Asia, based on the island of Java (part of modern-day Indonesia), that existed from 1293 to circa 1500. Majapahit reached its peak of glory during the era of Hayam Wuruk, whose reign from 1350 to 1389 was marked by conquest which extended through Southeast Asia. His achievement is also credited to his prime minister, Gajah Mada. According to the Nagarakretagama (Desawarñana) written in 1365, Majapahit was an empire of 98 tributaries, stretching from Sumatra to New Guinea; consisting of present-day Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, southern Thailand, East Timor, Sulu Archipelago and other parts of the Philippines, although the true nature of Majapahit sphere of influence is still the subject of studies among historians."
Urtatim Al-Qurtubiyya
So not general SEA, but focused on western Indonesia and Java and Sumatra in particular (other than the Melakas).
I'm familiar with the food of the area — i lived in Java for a few years and i've cooked SEA and Indonesian food for a few decades (since the mid-1970s) (of course, Sivaroobinii has lived there all her life...). I'd LOVE for there to be resources on the food going back that far, but unlike India, i haven't yet heard of any sources.
Johnna Holloway
I am not finding a date for the earliest printed cookery book for Indonesia. You might want to look at Food Culture in Southeast Asia (Food Culture around the World). Oxford University Press is slated to publish an Oxford Companion to the Food of Southeast Asia but I do not have a date of publication yet.
David Friedman
Ibn Battuta seems to have made it to that part of the world in the 14th c., so you could check the _Rehla_, his account of his travels, to see if he says anything about the food, but I wouldn't expect to find much.
Urtatim Al-Qurtubiyya
I looked into it when i joined the SCA and didn't find anything for the Indonesian archipelago.
Heck, when i lived there cookbooks were rare and didn't stay in print long. I bought every one i could find. Rather like some medieval cookbooks in terms of directions - add enough of that ingredient, cook until done...
Johnna Holloway
I ran it through Worldcat and nothing jumped out. Not to say there isn't a dissertation lurking someplace but it's not being cited. Accounts from the voyages of discovery might turn up something but it will take lots of digging.
Johnna Holloway
Sri Owen did the entry in the Oxford Companion to Food. I think it explains our problems here:
"Many regions of Indonesia have a colourful and reasonably well-documented history. For food, however, this history is largely a blank. This is the more surprising when one considers the extraordinary heights of sophistication reached by literature, music, painting, and metalworking in the courts of many rulers, above all those of central Java and Bali in the 18th and 19th centuries. Surely they must have cared for gastronomy as well? Yet there are no records of great feasts (except drinking bouts), no manuscript cookery books such as the Arabs and Chinese compiled so lovingly, no surviving traditions of a court cuisine."
The Oxford Companion to Food (3 ed.)
Alan Davidson and Tom Jaine
Publisher: Oxford University Press. Electronic Print Publication Date: 2014
Urtatim Al-Qurtubiyya
Sri Owen is pretty reliable.
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