Traditional Traditions and Modern Traditions

Tradition? What do we even mean by that, and, why is it the opposite of modern? Obviously, it isn't. The Tradition/Modern dichotomy need to be, and has been, rejected. But somehow, it still seems to apply in everyday life. The thing is, in order to have traditions, we need to start doing something at some point before we can start repeating it and forge a tradition. On the other hand, we need traditions in order to be able to come up with new things, to break with the old, and to be different.Tradition and innovation, what we consider one of the cornerstones of modernity, are not at all seperate but depend on eachother in every way. 

Now, I can go on for paragraphs and paragraphs about the interconnectedness of modernity and tradition, but that's not really my point. Instead, if you want to better understand what I am rambling on about, read (the introduction, at least) James Ferguson's "Expectations of Modernity" and you might start to understand that Anthropology is not really about finding answers to anything, but about nuancing theories until one becomes equal to two, and a circle is really a square, only different. 

So, Tradition = Modernity. Or something like it. 

Sinterklaas. It's an old Dutch tradition based on the Patron Saint of Children, who is celebrated on the 6th of December. Originally a Greek Bishop from Turkey, he has been reduced mostly to a white man with a long grey beard that rides a white horse over the roof tops and brings presents who lives in Spain. He still wears his red bishop robes, but he is not associated so much with the church anymore, but rather with happiness, full moons and wind blowing through trees, presents in shoes and his merry helpers "Zwart Piet" (Black Peter). 

In recent years, with increased immigration and the multi-cultural Ducth population, these black Peters are more and more often discussed in the public sphere. Some say Sinterklaas is a racist holiday because the black Peters are slaves (granted, they do have red lips, afro-hairdos and gold earrings), others claim the Peter's are black from the soot in chimneys because they climb up and down so many to bring presents. In fact, the term "Zwarte Piet" used to mean evil doeër in general back in the Middle Ages (like Black Sheep in English?) and didn't become racially loaded until the 19th century, which is also when the Steamboat, the horse on the rooftops and the songs were invented. 

Although these racial connotations can still be heard in the songs, which are still widely sung today, they are no longer prevalent whatsoever, and not noticed by adults unless pointed out, let alone children. I don't think Sinterklaas or the Zwarte Pieten are something we as a multi-cultural society need to worry about in terms of racism and slavery. If anything, the holiday has become so commercialized that we should worry about out children's capitalist upbringings. Few children still worry about the consequences of behaving badly when the holiday comes nearer. They seem to leanr quickly enough that no matter what they do, they still get presents, and if not, they'll notice when the class bully doesn't get taken to Spain in a bag three years in a row, but can somehow brag about his xbox, PS3 AND his new iPad. 

Yes, really. Whereas I remember being extactic over a box of 64 coloured pencils, or a barbie doll, kids nowadays are demanding Kinects and 3D televisions, and when they finish unwrapping their gifts (piles of them, bigger each year), they are not only thoroughly dissapointed if the Segway on their list of desired presents wasn't among them, but they will speak up and say "it that all?".

White and black childen alike have higher expectations of the kinds of gifts they should recieve. Sure, when I was 5 I asked for a pony too, b ut when I got a pony for my barbie, that was good enough too. I understood that Sinterklaas couldn't work miracles. Besides, in the poem that Zwarte Piet wrote for me, they explained that we didn't have a barn to house the Pony, and that he couldn't live with us in the house. Now, it seems, kids don't only ask for rediculous things, they expect to get them, and parents actually buy them too. 

Whereas I, as a proud member of the Dutch community and nostaligic fan of Sinterklaas, have always named Christmas as the Coca-Cola defined, North American, capitalist, commercialized (and inferior) version of our so very honest St. Nicholas, I have to admit that even our local tradition has become a shell of what it used to be. Few of the original motivations to have such a holiday remain. I don't feel obligated to behave, and I don't see many children who do. Come New Years Eve, there will be another post about the 10 year-ols living in my appartment building that play with fireworks, lighting them with cigarettes, in the elevators, I'm sure. 

Now, don't get me wrong. Although I despise capitalism and what it does to people, I am full-heartedly participating in the Sinterklaas celebrations. I have even been a Zwarte Piet myself, back in the day. Tomorrow, I am hosting a very modest get-together at my house for 25 or so friends. We're all 25 - 35 (yes, except me, I know, I'm 24.), and we've all known for yars that Sinterklaas isn't real, but we still like presents, good company, and healthy reflection on just how good we've been this year, and if maybe next year, we should be better. 


I suppose modern Dutch society calls for a new tradition. One where we protest the racial connotations of a holiday that is no more than a good excuse to get together with family and friends, eat loads of chocolate and exchange gifts. And if all we really care about is the extra "koop-avonden" and "koop-zondagen" anyway, then we might as well shop till we drop. And we should most certainly never combine Christmas and Sinterklaas into one holiday. Not only because two commercial holidays will stimulate the economy more than one will, but for nostaligias sake. Most of all we need to hold on to the past like our lives depend in it, afterall, Tradition IS modernity, and the Dutch have a tradition of innovation. And because, lets face it, new things are only fun while they're still really, REALLY new. Then they become boring untill they become really, REALLY old. Then we call them vintage, and vintage is like, totally, the new modern. 

Understanding the Past: History, Memory and the Archive

In order to study all aspects of history and memory making in both personal and national contexts, I have selected a wide range of audio-visual materials that I plan to use in my research. Here are the three most important ones. 

Oral History Archive of the KITLV, Interviews about the Netherlands East Indies.

These interviews, recorded, collected and summarized in a publication by Fridus Steylen are an important source of data for me because they can provide me with the information that is not present in the photographic collections I will be working with. Doing research into the photographic representations of cross-national relationships during wartime inevitably means that there is a good chance many romantic or platonic encounters with “the enemy” were never recorded, photographically or otherwise, because it was a sensitive subject and there could be severe consequences if anyone found out. Also, photographic collections and archives are not a static product that represents the whole historic truth, but are subject to social and political changes throughout their lives. Many objects may be lost, discarded, ignored, or forgotten and no longer available or accessible for whatever reason; looking simply at photographic material is not enough to formulate a complete analysis. The interviews contain personal accounts that may go beyond the stories represented in the archives, and tell the stories that were too taboo to record, but remain silently preserved in the memories of the interviewees. Such an audio source is highly valuable when researching national and personal memory of a time of conflict.

Romanticized stories of war-time friendships

Oeroeg is one of the most well known films about the Dutch East Indies, and tells the story of a Dutch boy and his Indonesian friend Oeroeg. As they grow older, and conflict arises, the two friends grow apart and end up fighting for opposing sides. They eventually meet again, and despite the conflict and the complexity of the situation, their friendship remains pure. Both men are portrayed as honorable, likeable characters that the audience can relate to. 

Such romanticized stories of war time, in which the main characters are heroic men fighting for a good cause are by no means an accurate reflection of real war-time relations. Many men (and women) did un-heroic, cowardly things. Some joined the NSB, some refused to hide their Jewish neighbours from the Nazi’s, some stood by idly as they watched others suffer. In times of extreme violence and extreme living conditions, people are rarely heroic. People tend to act in a way that ensures their survival before helping any other. These romanticized stories of friendship reflect a national need to portray people as inherently good, to argue that terrible acts are only done by terrible people, and that we are, in the end, inherently good. On a national level, we suppress the complexities of war-time relationships because we need to feel like we are good people, like we did the right thing, and like we were all the same victims together. Such romanticized stories provide me with the other side of the remembrance of war-time cross-national relationships to those the interviews tell me.

Photographs from the Online Beeldbank of the NIOD.

These photographs represent the aspects of cross-national social encounters that were recorded and are allowed to be remembered. They include professionally produced photographs of women who had their heads shaved for engaging in romantic relationships with German men as well as personal snapshots of Canadian soldiers with Dutch girlfriends. These photographs show the official, shameful side, as well as the friendly relations with allies that were openly photographed. Photographs of Dutch women together with their German lovers, however, are not so widely available in the archives. Most photographs depicting couples are of French or Dutch Girls with American and Canadian soldiers; with allied men, rather than those fighting for the opposition. The photographs showing the bald women prove that these relationships did exist, but the prevalence of allied-relationships over those with soldiers from the opposition also reflect the way we would like to remember the war, rather than the way it actually was. The photographs of bald women prove that Dutch women did not only find comfort with Allied soldiers, but these relationships with Germans are not part of our visual history; a reflection of history as a construction of the present. These photographs form the connection between personal oral histories and national meta-narratives about cross-national relationship in times of war.

Personal Complexities and National Histories

So, for my Masters Thesis I am researching photographic material from the Second World War in the hope of coming to some sort of conclusion about the complexities of cross-national relationships that formed during the time and how these personal micro-histories differ from romanticised national narratives about love and friendship in wartime. 

Tomorrow, I am meeting with Peter Keppy from the NIOD (The Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies) as well as Liesbeth Ouwehand at the KITLV (Institute for South East Asian and Carribbean Studies) about the possibiliy of using their photographic archives and for general advice. My alarm goes off in less than 5 hours, and I am unable to sleep from nervousness and excitement. I'm finally feeling like this all might lead to something exciting and useful. Feeling like a real anthropologist. Almost. 

So, insead of sleeping, I am going through the online archive of the NIOD to orientate myself on the subject a little more, so I am able to better articulate what I am looking for at these Institutes. Here are some of my most interesting and representative findings so far. 

Sommige Nederlandse vrouwen hadden in de Tweede wereldoorlog 

een relatie met een Duitse militair. Zij werden moffenhoeren genoemd 

en na de bevrijding kaalgeschoren. Daar waren ook vrouwen bij die 

het niet eens waren met de nazi's en toch verliefd werden op een Duitser. 

(Some Dutch women had relationships with German soldiers during WWII.
They were called "moffenhoeren" and were shaved bald after the liberation.
Among them were women who did not agree with the nazi's,
but still fell in love with a German man.)

A US Pilot kisses the French, Therese Bourguinon goodbye.

Canadian soldiers in the Netherlands.
This one is of special interest to me personally
because my own grandfather was very close to a group of Canadian soldiers
and travelled with them for a long time. After the war, he wanted to go with them to Canada,
but his father forbode it. I still have photographs of his closest friend,
Jean Paul Berthiaume, Jean Paul's daughter,
and one of an unidentified Canadian soldier with his, presumably Dutch, girlfriend.

Friends. A Dutch girl and an American soldier
walk down a road near the town of Grave, Holland
which was liberated by U.S. paratroopers.