How do food practices evolve after migration? To what extent do metaphors like “salad bowl” and “melting pot” accurately reflect the complex nature of diasporic culinary changes in multicultural environments?

Between 1890 and the early 1930s, thousands of Javanese contract labourers were transported by the Dutch colonial government to plantations in Suriname. From the moment the ships set sail and rations of salted meat were provided, a distinctive path of taste development was underway, a long process which continues to this day.

In this session, Julian Santosoaji combines his personal reflections as an Indonesian Javanese cook with insights from his pre-fieldwork research on Surinamese Javanese food practices. In seeking to understand the mechanisms by which food practices change (or remain the same), he makes a case for the importance of sensory ethnography.

Speaker

Julian Santosoaji is a PhD candidate at the University of Amsterdam and KITLV. Before moving to the Netherlands to join the TASTE research project, he studied International Relations at the University of Indonesia and Anthropology of Food at SOAS. He is also an avid home cook, having helped his parents run their family-run warung in Bandung, Indonesia.

Moderator

Tom Hoogervorst is a senior researcher at KITLV and interested in the languages and histories of Indonesia. He has done research on the language history of Malay, specifically the variety used in Chinese-Indonesian circles. In his recent research he studies Indonesian cuisines in relation to the wider world and how Indonesian cuisines have developed and adapted to local circumstances in the “diaspora”, specifically Suriname, Sri Lanka, and South Africa.

Format, date, time & venue

This seminar is a hybrid event and will be held in the conference room of KITLV, Herta Mohr building, room 1.30, Witte Singel 27 A, Leiden and online via Zoom, on Tuesday 2 June from 15.00–16.30 PM (CET).  

UUKS

The seminar series Unravelling Unconventional Knowledge Systems examines how diverse, often overlooked forms of knowledge can inform responses to contemporary ecological and climatic crises. Rather than privileging institutional science, the series emphasises the cultivation of knowledge through everyday practices, spiritual engagements, ecological relationships, and grassroots adaptations across generations.

The series demonstrates that material, symbolic, affective, and cosmological factors influence interactions among humans, nonhumans, and the environment. Examples such as agricultural calendars, water management systems, forest stewardship, and seafaring routes illustrate how communities have historically adapted to environmental and social change. These knowledge systems, embedded in landscapes and cultural traditions, remain vital resources with ongoing relevance for addressing global challenges.

By examining adaptation strategies across historical and contemporary contexts, the seminar series highlights the importance of recognising unconventional knowledge as central to addressing current challenges. Participants are encouraged to engage critically with pluralistic perspectives that integrate cultural, ecological, and spiritual domains, thereby providing insights into more equitable and sustainable futures informed by longstanding traditions of adaptation.

Image

An assortment of Surinamese chilli cultivars for sale at The Hague Market, January 2025. Photo: Julian Santosoaji. 

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