Title : Who is the real "Native Indonesian"? DId you know there are still a lot of remains from the colonization of Indonesia which can be found around us? Visible ones, for example the ones in ancient towns ; in the form of law tradition ; even in "warung tegal" (food stalls) next to our homes However, there's one more legacy, the invisible one, but it sticks to the mentality of Indonesians : the concept of "pribumi" (the "real" native Indonesian) What and who is actually a "pribumi"? According to the dictionary, a native is an original inhabitant which comes from that particular place Generally, the ones we call natives here are people from Java, Minangkabau, Bali, Dayak, Papua, and other tribes that have customary clothes which can usually be seen in Indonesian Independence Day Carnival Meanwhile the Indonesian people who are descendants of people from China, Arab, Or India are still treated like foreigners In short, they are often thought of as immigrants [AN : usually, they're not even direct descendants of those people, e.g. tenth generation] Even though, not only are they born and raised in Indonesia -- they also fully assimilate to the Indonesian culture and language Eventually, the term was born as a form of discrimination or social jealousy especially when politics is trending, like the governor election in Ahem, Jakarta [AN : Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, just in case you want to google] We, the ones who claim to be the "true native Indonesians" often do not realize that every tribe from Sabang to Merauke were also settlers According to pre-historical evidence, the first Nusantara (old Indonesian archipelago) inhabitants were Homo Erectus This species has existed since approximately 1 to 2 million years ago, and has many variations Up to 50% of Homo Erectus fossils came from Indonesia Modern human beings come into Nusantara slowly during the Pleistocene Epoch These settlers are divided into two major categories, which are Melanesians and Austronesians It is estimated that Melanesians have come since 50 thousand years ago Followed by Austronesians, which is 4 thousand years ago It was them who developed into tribes that we know today Then people in Nusantara started to have relations with India, through trading metal and spices The influence we got from India at that time was the Harappan culture, which eventually evolve into the Hinduism-Buddhism culture Naturally, Bollywood films that we've come to love has only started appearing since the 20th century Afterwards, we established a relationship with Southern Chinese dynasties For example, when Admiral Cheng Ho's troupe came to Nusantara, Eventually, Arabs also came during these times especially through trading These cultural relationships obviously resulted in many interracial marriages In fact, one of these people could be our ancestor from dozens of generations ago Initially, the people in Nusantara and these "immigrants" co-existed peacefully But then, the colonial European government at that time started to categorize people based on their ethnicity Long story short, the Europeans occupied the highest place in the hierarchy Followed by the Eastern people, including Chinese, Arabic, and Indian people While "pribumi" is placed at the very bottom And thus, Indonesian people who are multi-ethnic or multiracial don't particularly fit in anywhere Near Indonesia's Independence, national figures such as Cipton Mangunkusumo, Amir Syarifuddin, and Soekarno suggested that the Chinese descents and other Indonesian people will be regarded as "Indonesians" as a whole ss long as they settle in Indonesia, assimilate with the culture, and also speaks Indonesian Unfortunately, this concept only lasted until year 65 Because in the New Order (Suharto's term in Indonesia), there was once again segregation between "pribumi" vs "non-pribumi" This results in people of foreign descents must adjust themselves extremely for example, they need to change their name After 32 years, New Order finally ended This segregation was erased by Gus Dur (4th Indonesian President) So now, it is not the time to fuss about these kinds of things anymore [AN : In conclusion, this is just like "all white ppl r racist/slave owners" thing in the West, kinda] Do not claim that we are "progressive" but act "regressive" [AN : ooh burn!] and as always, thank you.