Abstract
Wouter Schouten (1638-1704) is the well-known writer of Oost-Indische voyagie, published in 1676, where he relates in vivid detail his experiences as a chirurgijn (medical assistant) in VOC service from 1658 till 1665, during which years his inquisitive nature brought him to the Moluccas and Celebes, and the Indian subcontinent, including Arakan (Burma) and Ceylon. A number of times he miraculously survived—shipwrecks and war with European competitors or indigenous rulers made life a hazardous enterprise. However, his rock-solid Calvinist faith never left him, and God’s blessing was, according to Schouten, responsible for his survival and the VOC successes. Schouten must have intended to add a poem to each chapter of the printed text of his itinerary. This plan came to nought, but two versions of the 36 poems are preserved in Schouten’s handwriting in the Koninklijke Bibliotheek in The Hague. In a fine edition these are now published for the first time. In his often extensive poems Schouten summarizes the events related in the prose version, adding comments and professing his devoutness. He certainly harboured literary pretensions, was well aware of the literary conventions of the time and the greater value ascribed to poetry in comparison to prose. After a brief general introduction the poems are included, with a summary
Highlights
Lutgard Mutsaers (1953) describes her approach to the subject, about which sources were scant, let alone monographs that in more than a cursory and partial way discuss the subject—fascinating and complicated, as ethnic issues and socio-political developments played an important role in the evolution and appreciation of krontjong music
Mutsaers has a long past in popular music studies, and has published on rock and roll, as embraced and adapted by Indo European musicians, and the Hawaiian music that was popular in the Indies as well as the Netherlands from the thirties to the sixties
A more ‘refined’ krontjong was promoted by the Indo European elite
Summary
Mutsaers has a long past in popular music studies, and has published on rock and roll, as embraced and adapted by Indo European musicians, and the Hawaiian music that was popular in the Indies as well as the Netherlands from the thirties to the sixties. The village of Toegoe was the recent dutch-language publications centre from which krontjong spread, and has maintained a reputation until today.
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