"JUST TO REMIND THAT WE'RE ALL JAVANESE AT HEART": PRACTICES AND NARRATIVES OF JAVANESENESS IN JAVANESE-SINGAPOREAN FAMILIES.

Abstract

Javanese people have been migrating to Singapore since the early eighteenth century. Most of them were driven out of their homeland by wars, famines, and poor living conditions. Singapore became their destination because it provided them not only safety but also opportunities to make better livelihoods. Nonetheless, some Javanese were brought to Singapore by force, particularly during the Second World War. After the War ended, many of them were unable to go back to Java and thus settled down in Singapore. The descendants of these Javanese migrants are still living in Singapore today and calling themselves Javanese-Singaporeans. Although their daily lives are not much different from their fellow Singaporeans, Javanese-Singaporeans still take pride in their Javanese ancestry and heritage. Javanese-Singaporean families still conduct Javanese practices which strengthen their sense of being Javanese. Yet, their practices of Javaneseness are not necessarily similar with the ones observed by their fellow Javanese in Java given their different historical, social and political backgrounds. This thesis is about Javanese-Singaporeans and their everyday life practices and narratives of Javaneseness in present day Singapore. In discussing their practices and narratives of Javaneseness, it examines the history of Javanese migration to Singapore, the gradual assimilation of the Javanese into Malay-Singaporean society, the continuation of practices of Javaneseness among the Javanese-Singaporean families, and the complex relationship between Javaneseness, Malayness, and Islam in Singapore. This thesis argues that Javanese-Singaporeans are still preserving practices of Javaneseness alive within their families although some of these practices have become incongruous and irrelevant with their Singaporean way of life. However, their practices of Javaneseness are unique and no longer the same with the ones practiced by their forefathers. Javanese-Singaporean families have been altering, modifying and sometimes even abandoning altogether some practices of Javaneseness due to the influences and pressures from discourses of Malayness and Islam in Singapore.