Behind the cleanliness of the master's house: Housemaids in Surabaya in the early 20th century

Abstract

Housekeepers in Surabaya and in the Dutch East Indies are commonly referred to as “Ba-boe” and “Jongos”. These housekeepers are not only tasked with cleaning the host's house but taking care of various household needs and activities. The masters were usually conglomerates, high nobles, businessmen, and colonial officials. The socio-economic life of domestic helpers in the Dutch East Indies was not fixed only on the activities that became routine. The relationship between baboe and jongos with their masters was also inseparable in the life of housekeepers in the early 20th century. The relationship between the master and the baboe and its jongos resembles the patron-client relationship found in the traditional power authorities. This research aims to describe the socioeconomic life of domestic helpers in Surabaya in the early 20th century. To examine and reconstruct the topic of the study, the author used historical methods. The results of this study exhibit that the existence of housekeepers goes hand in hand with the development of urban communities, and is driven by the formation of heterogeneous and highly mobility urban communities that require housekeepers.