Jarrah Sastrawan
Tell us about yourself!
I’m a historian of Indonesia, specialising in Java and Bali before 1500. I’m a Balinese-Australian who grew up both in Sydney and in Bali. I currently live in Paris, as a post-doctoral researcher at the Ecole française d’Extrême-Orient. Through my study of early Indonesian history, I’m looking for better understandings of the past that can enrich our cultural life today.
Where does your interest in Indonesia stem from?
Since I’m half-Indonesian, I naturally want to understand that aspect of my upbringing. The most significant influence on me was learning about early Indonesian history in primary school. I was immediately drawn to the stories of great kingdoms like Majapahit and monuments like Prambanan. I am curious about many other aspects of Indonesia as well, like its textiles and pop culture. But my first love was history, and my current work is a direct continuation of that initial fascination.
What is the nature of your engagement with Indonesia – are you an academic, a professional, an alumni…
I completed my PhD at the University of Sydney in 2021 and am now working as a researcher at the EFEO. I’ve published a number of articles on Indonesian history, for academic and general audiences, on topics like the etymology of the word ‘orangutan’ and the history of volcanic eruptions in the region. My work focusses on connecting the Indonesian past to broader concerns of global history.
Have you ever been to an Indonesia Council Open Conference and if so, what is your fondest memory?
My very first conference experience was at the Indonesia Council Open Conference 2015 [at Deakin], at the beginning of my Masters degree. I felt immediately the warmth and openness the Indonesia research community in Australia. The ICOC made me feel that, even at a very early stage of my research training, I had valuable ideas to share and important work to do. Such active support for students and emerging scholars is essential for the ongoing health of our field.
How do you think organisations like Indonesia Council can improve Australia-Indonesia relations?
The Indonesia Council can improve bilateral relations by helping to nurture the intellectual community that links the two countries. The very acts of learning, understanding, and discovering truths about each other is a fundamentally good thing for any relationship. The Indonesia Council can create opportunities for this: for example, by supporting research collaborations, helping to overcome barriers to access to research and teaching resources, and mobilising networks to make the intellectual community more influential with decision-makers in both countries.
Tell us about your favourite Indonesian food experience
This is not a single event, but the regular experience of cooking Indonesian food together with friends in Sydney. For special occasions like birthdays and Lebaran, each of us prepares a dish, sometimes in the same kitchen, to make a homely feast. Learning Indonesian recipes and cooking for each other is an enduring joy.
What’s your favourite Indonesian music/song/writer?
My favourite Indonesian writer is Budi Darma, a novellist and short story writer who recently passed away. He wrote with exceptional clarity and precision, often using plain language in unexpectedly powerful ways. His writing delves into the menacing aspects of what appear to be normal everyday interactions. For example, his story collection Orang-Orang Bloomington, recently translated into English by Tiffany Tsao, explores the hidden dysfunction of suburban life in the Midwest of the United States—a nice inversion of Heart of Darkness-style depictions of Asia written by Westerners.
What’s your favourite Indonesian idiom?
Tak ada gading yang tak retak – in other words, nothing and no-one is perfect.
[Last month’s PAY IT FORWARD question]: You are a President of Indonesia Council, and the Indonesian Minister of Education Nadiem Makarim asked your creative advice on how to improve knowledge sharing and intercultural understanding between youth in Indonesia and Australia. What would be your best advice to him?
I’d encourage the Minister to keep developing opportunities for young Indonesians and Australians to form enduring communities together. This means actively creating opportunities for young Australians to live and work in Indonesia, in large numbers and in roles that offer concrete rewards for ongoing connections to the country. Intercultural understanding emerges through long-term relationships based on common goals and values—the Government’s best place is to provide the infrastructure for such communities to develop organically.
PAY IT FORWARD: Finally, it’s YOUR turn to ask a question… Please suggest a question we can ask our next member!
Despite its size, Indonesia can often seem marginal in the published literature of academic disciplines. In your own work, what major insights does the Indonesian context offer that scholars working on other countries should know about? Why does Indonesia matter to your discipline or field of practice?