Scenes from Indian Ocean Slavery is a programma that explores various dimensions of Indian Ocean slavery.

In her 2022 acclaimed novel Mountains more ancient, Indonesian author Isna Marifa narrates the story of a Javanese father and daughter who are being sold into slavery to the Cape colony in the eighteenth century. Performer Francesca Pichel will read an excerpt from the novel. Ligia Giay is a Papuan historian who obtained her MA at Leiden and holds a PhD from Murdoch University. As a postdoctoral fellow she was involved in research on the colonial history of Leiden University. Giay will speak on the history and the afterlives of slavery in Papua.

Speakers

Isna Marifa is a bi-lingual author who delves into the questions of humanity, our relationship with nature and our search for spiritual understanding. Her debut novel, Sapaan sang giri (2020), tells a story of enslaved workers from the Indonesian islands taken to South Africa in the 18^th century. The English version, Mountains more ancient (2022) was shortlisted for the Chommanard International Women’s Literary Award 2025. She translated poetry by Indonesian poet/activist, Putu Oka Sukanta, for Loving You: Poetry for Indonesia (2025). Her most recent book is a creative non-fiction entitled: Soedjatmoko, revolusi dan renaisans bangsa: Memoar masa muda (2026).

Francesca Pichel is an independent performing artist, actress and singer, born in Amsterdam. She dedicates her work to bringing untold, diverse narratives to life through music and performance, ensuring marginalized voices are powerfully represented. After obtaining her BA in performing Arts, she lived and worked in West Africa, Australia, New Zealand, England, and Indonesia. She began her travels to conduct a musical research in the tradition of the griot - the traditional musical storytellers and historians of West-Africa. She has performed in various movie and theater productions and she has co-written award-nominated theater pieces, such as Hatta en de Kom. 

Ligia Giay is a historian with an interest in the Eastern Indonesian maritime world. She obtained her MA at Leiden University where her thesis dealt with the issue of slavery in Papua. In 2022 she received her Phd. degree in History from Murdoch University in Perth, Australia. As a postdoctoral researcher, dr. Giay wrote a report on the colonial history of Leiden University. Dr. Giay teaches at Walter Post Theological School in Jayapura, Papua.

Moderator

Nancy Jouwe is a freelance researcher and writer, working on the crossroads of cultural heritage, arts and culture, transnational women’s movements, colonial history, slavery and its afterlife. She is a doctoral candidate at the Anthropology Deptartment, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam. Her latest co-edited publication is The Gloria Wekker reader (Duke University Press, 2026). She is currently an affilitated fellow at KITLV.

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 17 November from 15.00–16.30 PM (CET).  

Image

Art work by visual artist Beatrice Glow.