Hoakiau, Kiauseng, and Sinkek: Why some Chinese-Indonesians you know are more Chinese than the others
One of the biggest misconception among native Indonesians is the assumption that all Chinese-Indonesians are the same; that they are a single ethnic group with a set of uniform characteristics: non-Muslims, pork-eating, rich, stingy, entrepreneurial, and whatnot.
The truth is, Chinese immigration is much more complex topic than just a phenomenon where some people moving away from China. The most apparent reasons being: first, it has been going on for centuries, resulting in multiple waves; and second, they somehow collectively maintain their identity overseas longer than a mere two or three generations below.
There is a line in a patriotic song of the Republic of China (Taiwan) — which also happens to be a popular song among Overseas Chinese all around the globe — that roughly translates to, “Look at those blooming plums (a symbolism of the Chinese people), wherever there is land, there they are.”
Today, we can see Overseas Chinese living literally almost everywhere; from Canada to New Zealand, urban and rural, even as far as becoming a visible minority group in Ghana and Madagascar. This has not taken into account Chinese descents who have successfully blended with locals in their own country, hence losing their Chinese identity in its entirety.
Chinese people have been immigrating to Indonesia and other parts of Southeast Asia as early as the beginning of the first millennium. Note that, these ‘Chinese people’ have had their Chinese identity before migrating. If we are to discuss migration of people from China, the Proto-Malayans had completed their migration two thousand years earlier. A notable example of Proto-Malayan is Batak people, just so that you get the context.
However, those who still retain their Chinese identity today, whom we can still categorize as Chinese-Indonesians, generally can trace back to their ancestors emigrating sometime between 15th century and 1940s. Based on the year of emigration and their ancestors’ choice, there now exists three different groups of Chinese Indonesians: Hoakiau, Kiauseng, and Sinkek.
Hoakiau
Hoakiau is the Hokkien language (a dialect of Mandarin Chinese from Fujian Province, Southern China) for “Chinese descendants”. In Bahasa Indonesia and Malay, this group is also known by Peranakan. Their ancestors typically arrived in Indonesia the earliest compared to the other two, mostly during the first half of the Dutch colonization period. As a result, their descendants today are sixth (or more) generation Chinese-Indonesians. As a result, they have been brought up in a familial environment under heavier influence of local Indonesian culture.
It is harder to draw a contrast for Hoakiau because they are acculturated to the general Indonesian culture to varying degrees. In general, however, these following characteristics are true.
They generally have embraced Christianity or Catholicism, losing their Confucian heritage almost entirely. Most do not know their Chinese surname, let alone having a Chinese name. They are also more tolerant of inter-racial marriages. However, they might still, along with the other two groups, hold unfavorable opinion of native Indonesians because of oppression happening in recent history, e.g. May 1998 massacre and prosecution of Basuki Tjahaja Purnama.
How to identify if your Chinese friend is a Hoakiau
- Ask for a formal picture of their grandmother. If she wears a sewek, your friend is very likely to be a Hoakiau
- Their grandparents were educated in public schools, hence being unable to converse in Mandarin Chinese, even at the very least
- They are possibly of mixed blood, due to inter-marriage with native Indonesian
- They feel like they are Indonesians, not Chinese-Indonesians
Notable Hoakiau
Yap Thiam Hien, Chrisye
Kiauseng
Like Hoakiau, the term Kiauseng itself is actually a misnomer: it is a Hokkien word for “(people who were) born overseas”. However, the word has been locally adopted as the name for this group of Chinese-Indonesians. They are also known as Hollandspreken — which translates to “Dutch speakers”.
Their ancestors commonly came during the second half of Dutch rule in Indonesia, up until few years before World War II. Upon arrival, they decided to adopt the Dutch culture, which was thought of being superior and of socio-economical advantage. As a result, they learned how to speak the language, then sent their children to Dutch-language schools; for instance, hogere burgerschool (HBS). Today, those schools usually are the top public schools in their respective city (e.g. SMAN 3 Bandung, SMAN 3 Semarang, and SMAN 5 Surabaya) or prominent Catholic schools (SMA Kolese Kanisius Jakarta, SMAK Kolese Loyola Semarang, and SMAK St. Louis 1 Surabaya).
Due to their compromise with the Dutch, Kiauseng traditionally could hold respected professions in society, such as doctors, lawyers, and professors. In fact, if you see a Chinese name in the 1950s-1970s student lists of top local universities (UI, UGM, ITB, etc.), they were very likely Kiauseng. Since they were able to be employed professionally, they were less likely to pursue entrepreneurship as a career.
Despite deliberately losing their Chinese roots, Chinese-Indonesians in this group usually still retains the acknowledgement of being Chinese. Some of them still can vaguely recall their Chinese surname. Most have converted Roman Catholics. They do not speak Mandarin Chinese and generally do not celebrate Chinese New Year either; however, due to recent social trend, some have started celebrating it for the past few years just for the sake of keeping up with the trend, without knowing the essence of the festival.
How to identify if your Chinese friend is a Kiauseng
- Ask when did their grandparents converted to Catholicism (or Christianity, to a lesser extent). If the answer is not in recent years, they are probably a Kiauseng.
- Their grandparents speak (or spoke) Dutch. Might not be fluent, but they more or less could slip a Dutch word or two in daily conversations.
- They know their Chinese surname, but do not have a Chinese name
Notable Kiauseng
Ignasius Jonan
Sinkek
The word itself explains when their ancestor came to Indonesia — it directly translates to “new guest” in Hokkien. A majority of them arrived in the first half of the 20th century, escaping from the ever-continuing chaos in China as a result of Boxer Rebellion, Xinhai Revolution, World War I, World War II, and lastly, the Chinese Civil War. In informal Bahasa Indonesia, they are also known as Cina Totok.
Sinkek in Orde Lama era studied in Chinese-language schools. Such schools did not comply with national curriculum of Indonesia at that time. As a result, almost nobody got into public university, due to the lack of recognition of their diploma. Those whose parents were rich could attend college in Taiwan or Mainland China. Chinese-language schools were forcibly closed by the Orde Baru government in late 1960s, as they were suspected to be the hotbeds of Communist cadres. In recent years, some schools were re-opened by their wealthy alumni, e.g. Pahoa in Jakarta and Xinzhong in Surabaya, following a more racially-tolerant government.
Due to refusal to compromise with native or Dutch culture, old-time Sinkek had to resort to entrepreneurship, as it was the only viable profession at that time. Consequently, the vast majority of rich Chinese Indonesian conglomerates of today are Sinkek.
Today, most Sinkek are third to fifth-generation Chinese-Indonesians. The newer generations are more inclusive compared to their parents, but still nowhere close to that of Hoakiau. They typically would not enroll at public schools (stronger at primary to middle-level, much less at university-level) at any cost, unless due to financial constraint.
In contrast to Kiauseng, all Sinkek, without doubt, celebrate Chinese New Year. Some of them still practice Confucianism or Buddhism, and even if they have converted to Christianity or Catholicism, they still retain one or two elements of their ancestors’ belief. Some examples are ancestor worship (burning hiosua/red think sticks in front of photos of their grandparents in home) and cengbeng (visiting the grave of their grandparents once a year, between March and May)
If they are from outside Java (think of Medan, Pontianak, Palembang, Bangka Belitung), they still can converse in their Chinese dialects (be it Hokkien, Teochew, or Hakka). If they are from Java, they still know — even use on regular basis — some basic Chinese vocabularies.
How to identify if your Chinese friend is a Sinkek
- Ask from which region their ancestors hailed. Typical answer would be: Hokkien (Cuanciu, Siamen, Sienyou, Pusien), Teochew, Hokciu/Hokjia, and Kwantung. If they can mention any of those, they are very likely to be a Sinkek.
- They are 100% sure of what their Chinese surname is
- They are forbidden by their parents to enroll at local public schools even if they wish to
- They call a random adult Chinese woman “a yi” instead of “tante” and adult Chinese man “suk suk” instead of “om”. If family relation exists, names get even more complicated.
- Their grandparents spoke Mandarin Chinese or Chinese dialect, and possibly did not graduate from high school
Notable Sinkek
Mochtar Riady, Sudono Salim, Basuki Tjahaja Purnama
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