1st Edition

Hadrami Arabs in Present-day Indonesia An Indonesia-oriented group with an Arab signature

By Frode F. Jacobsen Copyright 2009
    144 Pages 3 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    144 Pages 3 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    This book focuses on social and cultural trends in present-day Hadrami Arab societies in Eastern and Central Indonesia, and the history of the Hadrami Arab people, which demonstrates an early form of globalization. For centuries migration has played a vital part in Hadrami adaptation. External forces, such as the expanding powers of the Portugese in the Indian Ocean and the Turkish conquering Yemen, and internal forces like poverty, droughts and political unrest as well as trading opportunities and missionary work instigated migration movements. While some Hadrami Arabs sought work in North America and Europe, other waves of Hadrami migration have followed the monsoon winds of the Indian Ocean to the Zanzibar coast, India, Malaysia and Indonesia. The story of Hadramis in Indonesia has largely been a story of success, in terms of trade, politics, education and religious activities. Despite continual debate regarding what constitutes Indonesian Hadrami identity, the author argues that they are still "an Indonesia-oriented group with an Arab signature".

    This book will be of interest to Southeast Asian and Middle East specialists and scholars in Anthropology and Migration Studies.

    1. Introduction

    2. Historical and wider ethnographic background

    3. Hadramis in Indonesia: introduction to Hadrami communities on the islands of Java, Bali, Lombok and Sumbawa

    4. ‘We are modern Indonesians’: Continuity and change among present-day Hadrami communities in Indonesia

    5. Between ideologies of equality and social stratification6. Hadramis in diversity: a focus on some unique adaptations on Bali and beyond

    7. Concluding thoughts

    Biography

    Frode F. Jacobsen is currently an Associate Professor at the Department of Public Health and Primary Health Care at the University of Bergen, Norway. He has a special interest in health issues, local forms of knowledge, and culture and migration.