Invincible Kitsch or as Tourists in the Age of Des Alwi

Bibliographic Data

ID7297074
AuthorsTsuchiya Kenji, James T Siegel (0000-0003-0243-4390), James Siegel
Year1990
Volume50
Pages61-61
Publication date1990-10-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueIndonesia (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0019-7289 • E-ISSN: 2164-8654
PublisherJSTOR (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.2307/3351230
OpenAlexW2319525229
LanguageEN
Citations received14

The Banda Islands lie about 1,500 miles from Jakarta, more or less the same distance from the Indonesian capital as Bangkok. The main town on the islands, Bandaneira, is set on an island, Neira (sometimes Naira), only a few kilometers from end to end. Across its harbor is an almost perfect cone, the volcanic mountain Gunung Api, whose slopes enter the sea with only the slightest flange at their base. Less than 700 meters in height, its dwarf size and its perfect shape make it seem more an emblem of a volcano than a mountain whose eruptions have caused disaster. A third, longer island, Lontor or Banda Besar, wraps itself around the back of Neira. Entering the harbor, the harbor mouths disappear into the folds formed by Gunung Api and Lontor; one seems to find oneself on a lake. The clarity of the waters, the profusion of coral and multicolored fish, the ease with which the fish are obtained, the self sufficiency of these remote islands, which even during the difficulties of the Japanese occupation are said not to have experienced hunger; all this makes one feel that utopia is rightly set on a distant island

Aesthetics · Ancient history · Art · Kitsch · Global Maritime and Colonial Histories · History · Island Studies and Pacific Affairs · Socioeconomic Development in Asia

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