You have probably already seen or heard about it "Moluccans 70 years in the Netherlands".
I am also one of those many inhabitants in the Netherlands, with Moluccan origin. Many will already know this and have been able to read this in my other pieces for Kata2. If this is not the case, I invite you to read it. .
Via Instagram we asked the question: 'I am (not) Moluccan and I feel (not) connected to the Moluccan culture because...'
My answer:
Yes, I am Moluccan and feel connected because... The 'because' will become clear as I write and I will come back to this later. My answer is as simple as it can be complex. Because what does it mean, being Moluccan? How do you define that and can it even be defined? When I define it, it is my personal view, my experience and my perception of my feelings, of being Moluccan.
I can give it words, try to describe it, but I'll say right after it that for me it's mainly a feeling. Being my Moluccan is something I feel inside. That feeling is not very strange, when you consider that I and many of my Moluccan family are described as what people call emotional people.
We feel! We feel with our heart, our body & all our senses are open.
My answer to the question? I feel my Moluccan self, in my heart and in my thinking, because I inherited a large part of my base from my Moluccan father and family. At home I was surrounded by my Moluccan family, we spoke our language, we ate together at the table and mainly enjoyed Moluccan meals. We went to the Moluccan church together, we celebrated Moluccan weddings, we mourned and honored our loved ones who preceded us according to Moluccan customs. We listened and sang Moluccan songs. In short, we were a Moluccan family living in a Moluccan neighborhood in the Netherlands. You can rest assured that my thinking and my basis has been nourished by my Moluccan father and my Moluccan family. My Moluccan feeling and being is the sum of this basis that was given to me.
Now you could ask the following question: "Does this make me (typically) Moluccan?"
In my opinion the answer is no, because as written before, this is my experience, my experience of being Moluccan. Ask the same question to someone else and the answer can be completely different from her or his experience and perception.
My feeling and thinking is basically Moluccan and has been enriched in the course of my life with a mix of cultures. I have been able to experience other cultures, associated traditions, customs and more. Personally, I find that a wealth, because it has broadened and deepened my world of vision, experience and feelings.
With this broadening and deepening, my own origins also come to the fore. I see my Moluccan background and upbringing in some cultures and customs (in part) and I recognize certain (unspoken) rules, customs, norms and values. Personally, I experience and think that my base makes contact with other cultures easier, because there is a recognition and connection, more interfaces to and with other cultures.
Molukse zijn is voor mij in woorden uitgedrukt, opvoeding, adat (onze gebruiken), religie, onze open kijk naar de spirituele wereld, warme en hechte familiebanden, een manier van denken, geven, delen, beleven, verbondenheid, een liefdevolle kracht en connectie met familie-ouders en voorouders. Het is een gevoel van herkenning, zoals je merkt kan ik er niet exact de juiste woorden voor vinden. Het is zoals ik eerder zei, iets wat ik in mijn hart en mijn zijn voel.
Let me start with the following. I know that upbringing, culture and background influence every human being, so that also applies to me. Does my being Moluccan and my thinking hinder me towards and in contact with others? No, is my answer to that. Over the years, something became clear to me and this runs like a red thread through my life. My focus is not on what divides us, but what connects us.
I think this stemmed, among other things, from my being “double blooded”. The two cultures, origin and environment. My parents, one of whom had a dark skin color and the other a light one. Their habits are two worlds meeting in one family. I am a child of two worlds, so my base and starting point was and is, from two worlds.
As a result, my focus, looking and thinking is broader and the connection is (at least) two-track from my base.
I also frankly admit that I don't always succeed or have succeeded. That too is part of growing up, accepting and respecting circumstances, situations, differences of opinion or vision. Accepting and respecting the latter is of great value to me personally. It is close to my heart and my aim is to act and live according to these two standards and values.
In the silence and while I write, I have a conversation with myself. I am well aware that this is my opinion, my choice and my starting point. I have been able to experience and learn that this is, or can be, different for every person. Sometimes there is a small nuance to this, but it can also make a world of difference. Is that bad? Is that insurmountable? Is that a hindrance? Is that an opening, an enrichment, am I open and listening? How do I find connection in and to the unknown?
What is that unknown? It's something I don't know, but does that exclude it?
I know that I am healthy-curious by nature, interested and curious about the story of “another”. That's why I like to listen to the story you tell me, whether or not in words, and share with me.
Sometimes questions arise because I want to hear more. Out of interest or because I don't understand something. Yes, asking questions is a great way for me to connect or connect. Provided the question is asked openly and respectfully, it is a wonderful opening for a conversation from person to person. People who meet in their shared story.
Well, the silence and my thinking while I'm writing this piece. As promised at the beginning, let me come back to the question.
Does it make me Moluccan when I share and write this? I can say that I inherited certain norms, values and upbringing from my Moluccan father and family. I am grateful for that to this day, because it has enriched me.
Then immediately follows my question “what is typically Moluccan”? I think I would sell everyone, including myself, short with one label “typically Moluccan”. We are more than one label and we grow, we learn and experience over the years.
Our consciousness changes and grows with it.
I am
Nusa Ina
I am