Healers on the colonial market; Native doctors and midwives in the Dutch East Indies

Abstract

Healers on the colonial market is one of the few studies on the

Dutch East Indies from a postcolonial perspective. It provides an

enthralling addition to research on both the history of the Dutch

East Indies and the history of colonial medicine. This book will be

of interest to historians, historians of science and medicine, and

anthropologists.

How successful were the two medical training programmes

established in Jakarta by the colonial government in 1851? One

was a medical school for Javanese boys, and the other a school

for midwives for Javanese girls, and the graduates were supposed

to replace native healers, the dukun. However, the indigenous

population was not prepared to use the services of these doctors and

midwives. Native doctors did in fact prove useful as vaccinators

and assistant doctors, but the school for midwives was closed in

1875. Even though there were many horror stories of mistakes made

during dukun-assisted deliveries, the school was not reopened, and

instead a handful of girls received practical training from European

physicians. Under the Ethical Policy there was more attention for

the welfare of the indigenous population and the need for doctors

increased. More native boys received medical training and went to

work as general practitioners. Nevertheless, not everybody accepted

these native doctors as the colleagues of European physicians.

Liesbeth Hesselink (1943) received a PhD in the history of medicine

from the University of Amsterdam in 2009. She has had a career in

education and in politics. In addition she has published articles on

prostitution and the medical history of the Dutch East Indies.