Never forget the past
Adolf Heuken’s publishing experiences offer a droll comment
on the interests of Indonesian and expat readers.
The prolific writer produced scores of books during his 55-year
career which ended eight days after his 90th birthday late last
month.
He spent most of his time in Jakarta where he built a reputation as the
foremost historian of the nation’s capital and its cityscape.
In his book-filled Menteng study late last year I asked
about his most popular title. Was it Historical Sites of Jakarta, or Deutsch-Indonesisches
Worterbuch - Kamus Jerman-Indonesia the German-Indonesia
dictionary, first published in the 1980s and still in print?
Or perhaps even Mesjid-mesjid
tua di Jakarta, a catalogue of old mosques in the capital
compiled by a Catholic primarily for Muslims?
“None of these,” he replied, slowly shuffling his walking
frame from a high desk; he worked in a semi-upright position after suffering
back problems, though his mind stayed sharp
‘It’s this - Ensiklopedi
Orang Kudus (Encyclopedia of Saints) and its spin-offs,”
gesturing to a row of small booklets, each one featuring a name.
For a serious scholar working in his adopted land these
books were a sideshow. Yet they are
still popular and sought by expectant Catholic and Protestant parents seeking
ideas for their offspring’s name, its origins and associations.
They’re also purchased as presents by well-wishers for
religious junctures in a child’s life, like Christening and first Communion.
But the German-born Jesuit who arrived in this country in
1963, and later became an Indonesian citizen, is most likely to be remembered
by Indonphiles for his well-illustrated coffee-table books on the old buildings
of the city once known as Batavia.
In many cases his records are the only ones easily
accessible; rock drills and backhoes have smashed to rubble so many old and
gracious buildings as developers with more money than taste compete to build
higher and more garish apartment blocks and shopping malls.
When lost for ideas they have a line of galloping horses at
the entrance to disguise the rows of stables at the rear masquerading as
houses.
However a new generation of architects and landscape artists
aware that the public hankers for buildings with character and sober standout
qualities have Heuken’s work for inspiration.
This is his legacy and the future Jakarta
will be richer as a result.
Heuken was born in Coesfeld in North Rhine-Westphalia, near the university city of Münster,
where he planned to become a monk. Instead he studied to enter the
Society of Jesus, the Catholic congregation mainly favored by
intellectuals. His interest was always
history and this began to flower as Jakarta
developed.
A skilled linguist he wrote in German, Indonesian and
English. He could also read and write in
Dutch, which he said was essential for anyone trying to understand the history
of the archipelago.
Following the 1965 coup Heuken, became concerned with the
activities of a fellow Jesuit, Joop Beek (1917-1983).
Heuken alleged the Amsterdam-born priest who came to Indonesia
before the war and was imprisoned first by the Japanese and then by Javanese militia
who thought him a colonialist, was straying far from his ministry.
Beek had moved from Yogyakarta where he was teaching to Jakarta; in the capital he
became a militant Red-hater and advisor to second President Soeharto.
Beek trained student activists backing the Indonesian Army
and doubled as a spy, telling Western intelligence operatives of events in
Jakarta during the months after the 30 September 1965 coup when an estimated
500,000 real of imagined Communists were killed.
Heuken was so worried by his colleague’s partisanship that
he wrote to the Vatican and
for a while Beek was withdrawn from Indonesia.
Dr Grace Pamungkas who co-wrote two books with Heuken before moving to New Zealand
for her doctorate, said she was blessed that she’d met Heuken at a seminar in
1998 when studying architecture. He
offered her work as a researcher and she later became an author.
“I have learned to be super critical about the originality
of references when they’ve been acknowledged and formally recognized in public,
or even in scientific forums,” she said.
“In so many ways we have to check to make sure we are using
the most original information about any historical event, or someone’s life, or
a building before we publish.
“A favorite phrase which he used in English was ‘a city
without old buildings is like a man without a memory’. He also quoted first President Soekarno: ‘Jangan sekali-kali meninggalkan sejarah’ –
never forget the past..
“I hope I’m not biased when I say he’s the only Indonesian
historian readers can trust in presenting historical works based on the best
available original sources.
“Sometimes he seemed like a senior doctor who’d know of something
wrong in another doctor's report or a medical journal. He got angry when he
found misinformed writing on Indonesian history – which was almost every
day. But through this frustration he
maintained his principle of always producing high quality work.”
Heuken was disciplined, a habit enforced by his parents when he was a child. He started each day with Mass in a Menteng
chapel at Jalan Prof Muh Yamin before
opening his books at 8 am and working through till 1.30 in the afternoon. He’d return to reading and writing later in
the day and often stayed studying into the night.
His research included visiting sites, questioning occupiers
and trying to find previous owners.
In 2008 Heuken received the Das
Bundesverdienstkreuz am Bande award (Star of the German Federal
Republic) for his work in
developing German-Indonesian relations.
It’s the highest German Government
recognition for a lay person’s service to the State.
First published in Indonesian Expat, 28 August 2019
##
