Feet on the Mother Earth: The Memory of Humility in Colonial Java

The Mennonite mission established its own association in Amsterdam on October 21, 1847, to evangelize the Dutch colonies: the Mennonite Association for the Spread of the Gospel in Dutch Colonies (Doopsgezinde Vereeniging tot Bevordering der Evangelieverbreiding in de Nederlandsche Overzeesche Bezittingen). Later, this Dutch Mennonite mission board was known as Doopsgezinde Zendings Vereeniging (DZV), and they evangelized mainly in the Muria mountain area of Northern-Central Java. Between 1908 and the 1940s, the DZV mission grew and expanded. The progress was due to factors such as preaching the Gospel of Christ through Christian schools and medical work, which became a medium of evangelism for the wider community. Remarkably, this blog focuses solely on medical works in Java, given the special attention to Javanese female nurses at the polikliniek in Kedoeng Pendjalin (now Kedung Penjalin), which was under the DZV’s authority as a colonial instrument.

In 1912, there was a photograph of two Javanese nurses in Kedung Penjalin, a village in Northern Jepara, Central Java. The explanation of this photo was found in a letter from M. Hübert, a sister (zuster) in the Doopsgezinde community. According to Hübert, Jasmi was on the right and Sani on the left side, and they were “no educated girls” or young women with no education (geen geleerde meisjes). Therefore, it was the missionaries' task to provide these uneducated young women with an education, a civilized one. There was no future explanation of Jasmi and Sani’s tasks in the polikliniek, but the recognition of their names, faces, and bodies shall be appreciated, as it was rare to name women in history. And although from the European perspective they were the “uneducated” young women, their devotion at such young ages to take care of the sick shall be very much appreciated.

Furthermore, from the photograph, I observe that both Jasmi and Sani were in white nurse clothing and Jarik (a traditional Javanese raw cloth that is worn as a long skirt) underneath it, and they were barefoot. In addition, Sani was wearing bracelets in both hands and a ring (perhaps they were gold jewelry). Gold was not the stuff that the commoners could afford, for it was expensive. In this sense, Sani might have been a daughter of the middle-upper class family. Meanwhile, Jasmi was looking plain, humble, or simple. She could be both a daughter of the middle-upper class and the middle-lower class. Regarding this speculation, there is no specific information provided in the archives. However, despite their social status in society, the fact that they were barefoot was a significant indication that they lived in the Javanese tradition of nyeker and being humble in their clothing.

One thing that I want to highlight from the Javanese nurses was the fact that they were barefoot. It indicates equality, humility, and unity with the Earth. In the past, Javanese people lived in a feudalistic society, which meant there were aristocrats and commoners. However, barefoot, or “nyeker,” was implied to anyone regardless of their social status in society. Therefore, both the aristocrats and the commoners were nyeker as an indication of equality to see each other as brothers and sisters. In addition, nyeker has always been a tradition to remind oneself as a human to be humble. Nyeker is about remembering whose ground we touch; it is our Mother Earth. 

However, the culture of wearing shoes was influenced by the Portuguese and the Dutch when they colonized Indonesia. In 1658, the Dutch controlled natives by the distinction of clothing – Javanese men normally go naked and only have cloth around their waists that reaches under the knees; they bind a sash around the waist and put a Keris (a Javanese weapon) in it; and they cover their head with a cap, but they go barefoot. This distinction produced a new hierarchy in the societal order: the Javanese commoners were categorized as the marginalized in the inferior class (lowest), whereas the colonizers were in the superior class (highest). 
For the European, being barefoot outside was perceived as an uncultured behaviour, because the feet would be dirty as they touched the ground. Additionally, from the European’s view, wearing shoes and being barefoot were perceived as a sense of inequality. The use of shoes indicated a civilized culture and its people, whereas people who went barefoot were the opposite. Later on, shoes became a symbol of social status in the early twentieth century, and the common natives also tried to fit into the modernity (civilized) concept that was created by the Dutch colonial government, with the thought that they would have the same rights as the colonizers and the local elites. It is significant to recognize that being barefoot also indicated the social distinction between the Dutch colonizer as the superior class and the Javanese as the inferior class. This distinction indeed sharpened the power hierarchy between the colonizer and the colonized.

This blog also contains a photograph of the European nurses, who were Helene Goossen (Leni Goossen) – the letter’s writer, and Susanna Rickert (Susie Richard). This photograph aims to enlighten us about the social difference between the European elites and the Javanese commoners.
In 1912, the Doopsgezinde Maandblad published a photograph of the European nurses from the South Russia Mennonite community who were assigned to Jepara, Central Java (specifically to the northern villages of Jepara: Kedung Penjalin and Margorejo). In Kedung Penjalin, Susie was the one who was assigned to teach the Javanese women about compassion, nursing, or medical care skills. Then, from the photograph, it shows that Leni and Susie wore shoes. They were wealthy Western European descendant women due to their tailored dresses, special motifs on the sleeves, and lace on the neck, the (triangle) accessory on both necks, and Susie's long necklace.

Moreover, in the photograph, Leni and Susie were elegantly seated on the beautiful chairs, holding books on the table. This was what Western civilization looked like: elegant, educated, and rich. As the European missionaries, they considered themselves as Christ’s agents, teaching Javanese women about Christlike compassion, and Western civilization, including medical care tasks. Another driving force was that both Leni and Susie worked under DZV, which made them the enablers of colonization. Later, this conviction was embodied in how they perceived the natives (Javanese women) as uneducated, lacking compassion, and backward, regardless of their ‘holy’ mission to spread the Gospel in Java. Therefore, although these missionaries claimed to teach the natives about Christ’s compassion to the neighbours, the superiority and colonial mentality were still embedded in how they perceived and acted towards the natives.

The story of the Mennonite mission in Kedung Penjalin and, particularly, the photograph of Jasmi and Sani reveal a layered narrative of faith, culture, and power. Through the medical works of the DZV, Christianity was not only preached but also embedded into systems of colonial hierarchy, where education and civility were defined by Western standards. Yet, Jasmi and Sani’s presence, being barefoot but dignified, invites us to see beyond this imposed framework. Their barefootedness or Nyeker embodied a deep Javanese wisdom of humility and connection to the Earth, subtly resisting the colonial valorization of shoes, status, and distinction. When the photograph of Jasmi and Sani is placed beside the photograph of Leni Goossen and Susie Richard, the stark contrast between the European missionaries and the Javanese nurses mirrors the broader colonial order. Still, it is the quiet resilience of Jasmi and Sani that we witness how indigenous values persisted amid colonial structures, rooting spirituality not in superiority, but in simplicity, care, and grounded humanity.

Hani Setiawan is a Research Master's student of the Theology and Religious Studies faculty at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. Also, as a Javanese Mennonite woman, she is doing her internship at the Doopsgezinde Bibliotheek. The work she has been doing has always been devoted to Javanese (Mennonite) women within her community. She aims to restore women’s dignity that had been reduced, even erased, due to hegemonic power, such as colonialism, patriarchy, and Christianity.