Dogs in Indonesia

In December 2011 the archival collection of the KITLV was enlarged with surprising donation by Mrs. A.F. Paap-Douwes Dekker from The Hague. The donation consisted of private papers from three members of the Douwes Dekker- family, all descendents of a brother of the famous Dutch writer Multatuli (Eduard Douwes Dekker, 1820-1887).

Remarkable material was obtained from the collections of G.M.G. Douwes Dekker (1883-1959). He worked as a civil employee, among others at the railway company. But one of the most striking elements of his collection are the papers concerning his dogs. He was a dedicated breeder of bulldogs, as can be concluded from the documentation that he thoroughly kept up to date, and some photographs.

Meanwhile, dogs are not very popular animals in Indonesia. That is to say: recent publications on this subject we at the KITLV do not know of. While for instance in The Netherlands only during the last ten years more than 500 dogbooks were published. 

Favorable descriptions of dogs can be found in the literature that dates from the (post)-colonial period. Examples of this can be found in the works of Johan Fabricius, E. du Perron and Vincent Mahieu.  

Of course, many Muslims regard dogs as foul and impure creatures. Also from another point of view one can conclude that dogs were regarded as a plague, for the KITLV-collection contains quite some titles on the treatment of dog-diseases, like rabies. In some parts of the Indonesian archipelago, dogs are eaten, which is an unusual kind of appreciation. An illustrated article on this matter in the Parbode concerns the situation in Suriname.  

http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Cookbook:Grilled_Dog

http://www.recipesource.com/ethnic/asia/filipino/00/rec0001.html

April 2012: a mini exhibition on 'Dogs in Indonesia' can be seen in the KITLV showcase in our library.