The Fashion style of Nyai (Concubines) in Batavia 1870-1930

Abstract

Changes and developments of the times were also marked by changes in fashion, including in the period 1870-1930, when Batavia had developed into a major port city, it was grown not only as a centre of government but also as a centre of fashion. Fashion in Batavia was an expression of the diversity of its residents. The existence of nyai (concubines) at this time also influenced the development of Batavian fashion. The perspective used to see the fashion worn by women in Batavia was symbolic interactionism. Dilthey Hermeneutic method was used to examine the structure of clothing including main clothing, millineries, and accessories. And the analysis of the interpretation used Homi Bhabha’s theory of cultural hybridity. The conclusion was that this concubine fashion style was a new form of fashion that placed European women's fashion and aristocratic women's fashion as the dominant culture. Concubine fashion seemed to imitate, admire, but at the same time demean the symbols of the dominant culture and replaced it with a concubine style that interfered with the existence of fashion worn by the dominant culture, by eliminating class boundaries created by the colonial government in segregation politics.

Keywords: Batavia, concubine, Dutch East Indies, fashion, nyai, social strata

DOI: 10.7176/ADS/100-05

Publication date: May 30^th 2022