The creoleness of Betawi culture

Reviewed publication:
Jacqueline Knörr.2014. Creole Identity in Postcolonial Indonesia, New York/Oxford: Berghahn, ISBN 9781782382683

Megacities of the 21st century have become contact zones where various cultures meet. These become places where not only commercial exchanges take place, but also where linguistic and cultural traits are translated between one culture and another. It is remarkable how often these sites of cultural translation include the great port cities of the age of colonization – like Lagos, Mumbai and the former capital of the Dutch East Indies, Batavia, present day Jakarta.