13-14 January, 1995
Leiden, the Netherlands

ETHNIC SOLDIERING AND ITS IMPACT

This seminar was organized by the Research School CNWS (IGEER-cluster) in
cooperation with the Moluccan Historical Museum (Utrecht). The topic was
'ethnic soldiering': the conscious use of soldiers of a different ethnicity
to the people being colonized and governed during the course of
colonialism.
The focus of the seminar was on the dialectical relations that exist
between ethnicity and soldiering in a (post-) colonial context, and
concentrated on a fourfold impact: the impact of ethnic soldiering upon the
societies they were stationed or were used against; that upon the societies
from which they were drawn; the phenomenal impact upon the soldiers
themselves; and that upon today's national policies.
The goal of this seminar was to facilitate the exchange of ideas and
insights, specifically amongst AIOs/post-graduate students. Other scholars
with related interests were also welcome. A total of eighteen speakers
presented a paper during four sessions over two days. The sessions were
introduced by a guest speaker who also acted as a discussant at the end of
each session.

By Ron Habiboe

After the official opening of the seminar and an introduction to the topic
by Prof Dirk Kolff (director CNWS), the first session could get under way.
It was concerned with the impact of ethnic soldiering on the societies in
which the soldiers were stationed or against which they were used. Jaap de
Moor (Leiden University) was invited to be guest speaker for this session
and talked about 'Guardians of Empire: the Javanese and Timorese'. After
him Mark de Lannoy (CNWS) spoke on 'Europeans in the Service of the Radja
of Travancore in the 18th Century'; Dr Silvia de Groot (Amsterdam) gave a
paper entitled 'From Donkos to Guides. African Recruits in the Surinamese
Army, 1840-1886'; and Carol van Driel-Murray (University of Amsterdam) on
'Ethnic Soldiers, Native Wives. A Case Study in Roman Britain'.
The second session was on ethnic soldiering and its impact on the societies
from which the soldiers were drawn. As guest speaker, Dr Robert Gordon
(University of Vermont) talked about 'Beyond Omega: Demilitarization of the
Bushmen'. The other speakers were Randolph Vigne (London) with 'The Loss of
the Troopship Mendi with 615 African Volunteers, and its Impact on
Black-White Relations in South Africa'; Inge Brinkman (CNWS) with 'Maji
Maji, Ethnicity, Warriors and Soldiers (Tanzania 1905)'; Dr Ingo Schr�der
(Institute of Anthropology, Munster) with 'Ethnic Soldiers of Northern New
Spain. Pima, �pata and Apaches Mansos as Auxiliaries of Spanish Colonialism
(17th-19th century)'; and P. van Wiechen (Breda) with 'Calabar, a Memorable
Deserter in Brazilian History'.
The theme of the third session was the impact of ethnic soldiering upon
today's national policies. Dr Herman Obdeijn (Leiden University) was
invited to be guest speaker and illustrated the present situation of the
Harkis in France: 'The Harkis. Algerian Soldiers in the French Colonial
Army'. Other papers were presented by Prof Heike Behrend (University of
Cologne) on 'Militarization of Refugees: The History of the Ruanda
Patriotic Front'; Henk Smeets (Moluccan Historical Museum, Utrecht) on 'The
Consequences of a Failed Demilitarization'; and Dr Bert Tahitu (National
Centre of Education for Moluccans, Utrecht) on 'Moluccan Soldiers and Their
Families: from Tangsi to Barracks in the Netherlands. The Policy of Dutch
and Moluccan Authorities towards the Malay Language'.
The last session discussed ethnic soldiering and its impact upon the
soldiers themselves. Guest speaker was Prof. Cynthia Enloe (Clark
University) who talked about 'Masculinity and Colonial Soldiering'. The
other contributors were Klaas van Walraven (Leiden University) with 'Sawaba
and the Insurrection in Niger 1964-1965: A Case of Ethnic Soldiering?';
Dmitri van den Berselaar (CNWS) with 'Ethnicity, the State and the Army in
Nigeria'; Wim Manuhutu (Moluccan Historical Museum, Utrecht) with 'From
Belanda Hitam to Andjing Belanda, from Black Dutchmen to Dogs of the Dutch:
the Moluccan Soldiers as a Military Race in the Netherlands-Indies'; and
Jan Bart Gewald (CNWS) with 'The Life and Times of Mbadamassi: A Soldier
for King and Kaiser'.
The first day was attended by an audience of 34; the second day by 39.
Three participants came from the USA (Clark University and University of
Vermont), and Great Britain (London). Five participants came in from
Germany (University of Cologne, Institute of Anthropology M�nster, Hamburg,
Hannover). The rest of the participants were from the Netherlands
(University of Amsterdam, University of Leiden, Moluccan Historical Museum
Utrecht, National Centre of Education for Moluccans Utrecht, Breda,
Amsterdam, Nijmegen). The participants represented various fields of
science: History, Anthropology, Archaeology, and Linguistics.

DISCUSSION ISSUES
During the discussion on the impact upon the societies in which the
soldiers were stationed or against which they were used, the historical
(constructed) image of capable or non-capable, collaborating or
not-collaborating soldiers in Indonesia, India, and Suriname was discussed.
The relations between the soldiers and local women were also brought up. It
is interesting to note that part of archaeological research on the
reconstruction of community life of Roman soldiers, by analyzing conserved
leather shoes, could not be reconstructed by taking later European armies
as an example, but only by collecting data on the Dutch colonial army in
Indonesia during the twentieth century.
The discussion about ethnic soldiering and its impact upon the societies
from which the soldiers were drawn, touched the changing relations between
tribes in North America, and the development of already extant
ethnic-relations in South Africa during the First World War. The
transformation of a traditional society in modern times, and related
socio-economic problems, were discussed in the case of Bushmen society. It
was also stressed that ethnic soldiering can be used by any society,
colonial and otherwise, and that otherwise even the change of loyalty of
soldiers in the distant past, can linger on as an unanswered question in
today's national history.
With the discussion on the impact of ethnic soldiering upon today's
national policies saw the introduction of actual politics in France,
Ruanda, and the Netherlands into the debate. In both present-day France and
the Netherlands there are communities of demilitarized soldiers and their
descendants as a result of the decolonization of Algeria and Indonesia. A
comparison between these two communities looked at similarities and
differences in policies of integration, and in retention of an ethnic
cultural and political identity. Another issue concerned the problem of
maintaining an anti-ethnic, anti-racist discourse, and keeping an eye on
more radical elements influencing politics in Ruanda.
The role of gender came up during the discussion on the impact of ethnic
soldiering upon the soldiers themselves. A link between the masculine
self-image and the role of women has scarcely been recognized, although it
is clear that women of different ethnicities have various influences on the
masculine  self-image of soldiers. Another issue broached was changing
ethnic and cultural self-identification as a result of a favoured
recruitment policy by colonial armies, loyalty to these armies and colonial
government, and western education. During this discussion ethnic soldiering
was also sketched, not merely as a colonial concept of 'divide and rule',
but also as a tool to balance the ethnic make-up of the population
governed, which played its own role by creating a concept of unity in a
multi-ethnic state as was the case in Niger.

During scheduling the seminar programme it had already emerged, and during
the course of the seminar it was confirmed: the issue of ethnic soldiering
has many facets and can be approached from a wide range of angles. A very
wide range of papers was presented during the two-day seminar. Organizers
as well as other participants were satisfied about the papers and the
exchange of ideas and insights. A lot of answers were given, more questions
arose. Let us be honest, who could imagine that there is a link between
ethnic soldiering and Roman shoe sizes?