Tobacco People
Indonesia Sarah Hazlegrove
TOBACCO PEOPLE is a trademark of Sarah Hazlegrove Inc. Photographs copyright Sarah Hazlegrove Inc. 2013 Text Copyright Sarah Hazlegrove Inc. No portion of this book can be reproduced without the written permission of Sarah Hazlegrove.
Book design by Sarah Hazlegrove
Tob acco Pe ople
S a r a h Ha z l e g rov e
Map of Indonesia circa 1601
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Barry Lawrence Ruderman Antique Maps
www.raremaps.com
Indonesia
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An example of how tobacco was incorporated into pre-existing traditions, is how it became an integral part of the chewing of Betel Nut. This ancient tradition has been in existence for over 2000 years and has been enjoyed by emperors, slaves, men, women and children. When the term ‘Betel Nut’ is used it refers to the mixture of the Areca nut, Betel pepper leaf and lime paste. The mixture causes a reaction between the plants and stains a persons mouth a bright orange-red. Over time it turns one’s teeth black as nuggets of coal. It is easy to identify those who partake of this stimulating mixture of plants. Early European explorers arriving in South East Asia, found the habit disgusting. They were bewildered that such a habit could be indulged in by so many. However, the similarities between the sharing of a Betel quid and the sharing of tobacco practiced by the
Image from: Betel Chewing Traditions in South East Asia, by Dawn F. Rooney Oxford University Press
tribes of the Americas is quite similar. As Dawn Rooney explains in her paper; Betel Chewing Traditions in South East Asia; Betel
chewing “is believed to facilitate contact with the supernatural forces and is often used to exorcize spirits, particularly those associated with illness. In its symbolical role, it is present at nearly all religious ceremonies and festivals of the lunar calendar. Betel fosters relationships and thus serves as an avenue of communication between relatives, lovers, friends and strangers.” When the Dutch began to set up colonial rule in Indonesia in the 1600s, small scale cultivation of tobacco began. Seeing that the ritual of Betel chewing was so ingrained into the culture and daily habits of its people,
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Segenter Village, Lombok. May 2012
the Dutch convinced them that by rubbing a quid of tobacco across their teeth and gums the unsightly red stain would fade. Although this remedy did not work, tobacco became one of the many plants Indonesians enjoyed adding to their Betel quid. 7
Except for a short period of time in the early 1800s, when they lost control to the English, the Dutch remained the colonizing power in the islands from 1602 until the end of World War II. The government-backed company, called the United East India Company or VOC, created a monopoly of the Spice Trade. Its stronghold lasted for almost two hundred years. By 1799 after years of fighting between neighboring islands, wars fought back home, corrupt trade practices by its employees, and bankruptcy, the VOC was dismantled and the monopoly disintegrated.
Dutch Imperial imagery representing the Dutch East Indies (1916) the text read, “Our most precious jewel”
What followed was the bonafide colonization of the East Indies by the Dutch crown. It became the Dutch East Indies. New policies were enacted; aimed at making the colony profitable again which exploited not only other natural resources found on the islands but the indigenous people as well. The increase of tobacco consumption during the First and Second World Wars made tobacco more profitable than ever. Coffee, tea, cacao and rubber, also introduced to the islands by the Dutch, helped secure their top position in the global marketplace. Before World War II the colony produced most of the world’s supply of 10
Women work together tying hands of tobacco in a Dutch sorting facility.
A Dutch plantation owner oversees his seedbeds.
quinine and pepper, over one third of its rubber, one quarter of its coconut products, and one fifth of its tea, sugar, coffee and oil. Colonial rule came to an end after World War II and the United States of Indonesia was granted independence in 1949. 11
Tobacco was a profitable commodity during the First and Second World Wars. However, the Dutch were not interested in the manufacturing of tobacco products but rather growing and exporting it. They were merchants of the leaf and preferred to import their own cigarettes with white paper wrappers from the homeland rather than smoke the dirty looking peasant smokes of the locals. A few local manufacturers made peasant cigarettes or “koblot� for the masses. Koblot were made with shredded or (cut rag) tobacco.and instead of paper wrappers,they used corn husks or palm leaves. Perhaps because trying new spices to mix with the Betel quid was a common practice, native Indonesians also wanted to spice up their koblot. Clove was one such spice. The story of how the mixture of clove and tobacco became the standard blend for Indonesian smokers is a well known story in Indonesia. The first Kretek cigarette was made in the village of Kudus in Northeastern Java.The man credited for its creation was Haji Jamhari. Jamhari suffered Early Dutch advertising for Dutch cigarettes sold in Indonesia.
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from asthma. To relieve his symptoms
he would rub clove oil on his chest. Similarily, when he had a toothache he would chew on clove buds to alleviate his pain. If clove oil rubbed on his chest could alleviate some of his asthma symptoms, Jamhari believed he could bring relief directly into his lungs by inhaling clove. He began to mix clove and tobacco together which he smoked in corn husk cigarettes. The mixture did in fact alleviate his symptoms. Encouraged by this discovery, he began to produce ‘rokok cegkeh’ or clove cigarettes for his own use but also to sell to a growing clientele. Their popularity among asthma sufferers was so great, they were sold in pharmacies. Many others smoked the cigarettes just for pleasure. They became known as ‘Kreteks’.
Nitisemito The nickname kretek’ evolved from the crackling sound the burning cloves made when a cigarette was smoked. Today, the word ‘kretek’ is synonymous with clove cigarettes in Indonesia. Another resident of the village of Kudus took Pak Jamhari’s idea to another level. Nitisemito, saw the money making potential of Pak Jamhari’s kreteks and started to produce kreteks on a larger scale. His Bal Tiga brand kreteks were very popular in the early 1900s. Nitisemito was known for his unusual, and at times outrageous marketing techniques which included; making threats to customers as well as packaging gimmicks. His character may have been questionable at times but he was a shrewd businessman and one who 13
“When tillage begins,other arts follow. The farmers therefore are the founders of civilization.� Daniel Webster (1782-1852)
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UNITY IN DIVERSITY Indonesia is the largest archipelago in the world. It is comprised of over 17,500 islands that stretch over 735,355 square miles. Of the 17,500 only 6000 of the islands are inhabitable. The islands form unique habitats where an amazing variety of rare and indigenous plants, birds, marine life and animals live. The archipelago is also home to a culturally diverse population of more than 237 million people. Over 300 different ethnic groups have been documented as well as 737 different dialects and languages.‘Unity in Diversity’, the country’s motto, perfectly describes these remarkable South Sea islands and their people. From a hilltop in Flores. August 2011
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Pak Mashuri. Yogyakarta. August 2011
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Farmers sit at a table with experts who sample their tobacco. Receiving station, Madura. August 2011 29
Two teams of men play ‘Gasing’ or spinning tops on the island of Lombok. August 2011
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A team of women tie fresh leaves together onto a long bamboo pole. Above them are rafters filled with tobacco at various stages in the curing process. Jember. August 2011
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Tobacco barns in Jember, Java. July 2012
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RAJANGAN Of all the varieties of tobacco grown in Indonesia, Rajangan is the most widely cultivated and the most unique. Rajangan is a ‘cut rag’ tobacco and although there are other places in the world where ‘cut rag’ is found, it is only in Indonesia where the tobacco is cut green. Once it is cut, the tobacco is spread out onto woven bamboo pallets then laid in the sun to cure. There are two cuts of Rajangan in Indonesia, Rajangan Halus (soft cut) and Rajangan Kasar (rough cut). Rajangan Halus is cut into fine strands. Rajangan Kassar is cut into larger strands. The center stem is not removed so that the cut tobacco is of the whole leaf. Rajangan tobaccos are usually named after the area in Indonesia where they are grown. There are approximately one hundred different types of Rajangan but it is hard to calculate the exact number. Although a tobacco may come from the island of Madura or Java, the Rajangan tobacco is also given a sub name usually referring to a more specific area on the island where it is grown. For example, a tobacco coming from Madura would be a Maduran Rajangan but it might be called Jepun Kenek or Jepuyn Raja or Prancak. Rajangan is found throughout the islands. On Java, some of the better known Rajangan tobacco varieties are from Paiton, Bondowoso, Weleri, Jombang, Jember, Tamanan and Karang Jati. On Bali the tobacco is allowed to cure before it is sliced. The tobacco is a much stonger tobacco and is used mostly for chewing and in conjunction with betel nut, it is not used in the making of Kreteks.
Close to 70% of the tobacco produced in Indonesia is a type of Rajangan
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Pallets of curing Rajangan lay across tombstones in a Muslim graveyard. Madura. August 2011
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CLOVE Clove trees were once only found on the Molucca
Of all the players in the spice trade the Dutch
islands in Eastern Indonesia. The trees were
more than any other western country had the
indigenous to just a few tiny islands in the great
biggest impact on the islands. They ruled over the
expanse of the Malay archipelago which stretches
archipelago from the 1600s until the end of WWII.
from Southeastern Asia to Australia. At one time
They excercised tight control over the islands and
a rare commodity worth its weight in gold, cloves
monopolized the spice trade. As a result, other
were prized by wealthy ancient Romans prior to
countries, frustrated by the difficulties in procur-
1700 B.C.and the use of cloves by the Chinese pre-
ing clove took seedlings from the Molucca’s and
dates the Romans by several thousand years.
planted them as far away as Zanzibar, Tanzania, Madagascar, Brazil and India. Seedlings were also
The Venetians were the first Europeans to create
planted on the neighboring islands of Sulawesi,
a trade route to the Spice Islands. For centuries
Java and Sumatra. The transplanting of clove trees
they traveled over land and used middlemen in
to other parts of the world was a direct result of the
India and Arabia to secure the rare spices. The
often ruthless measures the Dutch took to reduce
trade of these rare spices made them wealthy
the availability of cloves. Perhaps the most
men but the land route took many months and was
cruel example of their tactics was the sabotage and
very dangerous to travel. Inspired by the enormous
burning down of clove trees that grew outside their
profits made by the Venetians, the Portuguese sent
control. Most of the trees were planted in villages
sailors to find a faster route to the islands. They
by the indigenous people living on the islands. The
hoped to share, if not take over the spice business.
burning and destruction of their clove trees was like
When they successfully rounded the tip of Africa in
murder. Upon the birth of a child, a clove tree was
the late 1400s they supplanted the Venetians. The
planted as a living symbol of that child’s very
new sea route to the islands opened up possibilities
existence. The health and well being of the tree
for other countries as well and the competition for
was spiritually connected to that of the child.
spices began. The Portuguese, Spanish and Dutch, followed by the English, and much later Americans,
The burning campaign created animosity and
sailed to the Molucca’s and took part in the ex-
distrust towards the Dutch. When the clove trees
ploitation of the islands as well as their inhabitants.
planted in other parts of the world began to produce more clove, the prices dropped and clove became a less profitable commodity. 85
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PAK TAHIR BADDU Pak Tahir Baddu works with a friend in his kitchen making rolled tobacco. The rolled tobacco of Sinjai is not found in other parts of Indonesia. It is unique to this small area on the island of Sulawesi. The wooden instruments used in forming the coin shaped rounds of tobacco are simple. Cut tobacco is laid in the groove of a wooden sled, and a wooden wheel that fits neatly into the groove, is rolled back and forth over the shredded cured tobacco, pressing it down against the bottom. Laying on the bottom of the groove is a cloth strap. As the strap is pulled slowly along the length of the sled, the tobacco is pulled forward and forms a coin shape that increases in size as it turns. Once the strap is pulled the entire length of the sled, a round, perfectly shaped coin of tobacco is produced. The rounds of tobacco are placed one by one into the end of a long bamboo tube. A wooden pummel is thrust sharply down the length of the tube pressing and making the tobacco rounds more compact. The tobacco will stay in the tubes and go through a second curing process over the kitchen fireplace until it is ready to be sold at a local market. The tobacco is sold either by the tube or by individual rounds. The more expensive tobacco comes from the top leaves of the plant which have a higher nicotine content; those from the bottom are the cheapest. The tubes of tobacco stacked over the fireplace are arranged in sections by their position on the plant. Leaves from the bottom are in the tubes on the left; middle leaves are in the center section, and the tubes containing the leaves from the top of tobacco plants are stacked on the far right. The tradition of making long tubes or ropes of tobacco is one of the oldest methods of processing tobacco that still exists today. Like the chewing of Betel, the tradition can be traced back over the centuries and over several continents. West Sinjai, Sulawesi. July 2012
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Java. August 2011 111