Betawi as Minorities

CHAPTER I
Everything and anything has a descendant, the origin of where someone or something comes from. The Betawi people are the descendants of the people living in Jakarta ever since the 17th century, and it has been that way since now. However, it has been mentioned quite often that Betawi is considered a minority. In this essay, I will be exploring more on why they are considered a minority and whether they know it. As the indigenous people of Jakarta, we want to know what they feel about the multicultural society in Jakarta.
This interests our class and specifically me because as a Betawinese myself, I have never grown to learn why the indigenous people of Jakarta are considered a minority. We want to find out how the people feel about being the heart of Jakarta, but the amount of Betawinese people are getting smaller and smaller in Jakarta. The purpose of writing this paper is to reduce minoritization and alienation towards Betawi.

CHAPTER II
A.
Betawi has many unique traditions / philosophies / Cultural Distinctions for the world to see. There are yearly and monthly events that they never miss, starting from festivals and ceremonies such as circumcisions, traditional weddings, to even moving houses.
Like many other cultures in Jakarta, a large part of the traditions in Betawi are results of a combination of other cultures. They portray this in wearing their daily outfits / clothing, which is a result of a combination of Chinese, European, and Malay culture. Betawi is considerably well-known for their delicious traditional cuisine, which, many do not know, is also a result of a combination of other cultures. Its traditional cuisine such as Dodol, Kerak Telor, Soto, have become ‘the food of Jakarta.’ One could not simply visit Jakarta and not taste Betawi cuisine.
The three houses of Betawi have really grabbed people’s attention, and have made Betawi very well-known. These three houses are Gudang, Joglo, and Kebaya. Betawi also has a very unique wedding process. Every Betawinese wedding must include a display of a bread that is in the shape of an alligator, ‘Roti Buaya.’ This alligator bread has a meaning; alligators are known for being very faithful and honest, and it is a symbol that the groom will be faithful to his bride.
Betawi people believe that ethnic differences are not inherited, but learned. The reason being this is because Betawi is attached to other cultures. All of the Betawinese traditions and cultures are a combination of other cultures, as mentioned before. And this is learned in their everyday lives. In addition, what makes Betawi different from other ethnic groups is that they are the indigenous people of Jakarta. Betawinese people can be differentiated by looking at their behavior. Betawinese people have an open behavior, they never look at the races / belief / skin color of others in socializing.

B. It has been around ten years ago since Betawinese people, Jakarta’s Indigenous people, are ashamed to admit that they are Betawinese. Thankfully, none of that is happening in the today world. Nowadays, even Javanese and Sundanese people can be seen admitting that they are Betawinese. Betawinese people are no longer ashamed because they have now realize that it is their language that almost everybody in Jakarta is using everyday.
Betawinese people are relatively proud that they are outgoing, and it is easy for them to socialize. However, even though they are very outgoing, they lack of unity. Their lack of unity will be one of the reasons why most of the Betawi people have jobs that are considered in the lower-class, earning almost the same amount of income.
The Betawinese people are often known for only wanting to marry another that is also Betawinese. However, what many people do not know is that it is only the past. Until about ten years ago, Betawinese people still prefer to marry another Betawinese because they share the same ideologies, cultures, and traditions. Nowadays, Betawinese people are more open and this is why they choose more wisely on who to marry, sometimes he/she is Javanese, sometimes Sundanese, and other ethnic groups. Betawinese people have never had difficulties in building a relationship with other ethnic groups. It has always been easy for Betawinese people to bond and to socialize with other ethnic groups, there are no tension among the groups all.
Betawinese people are considered the heart of Jakarta. However, this has been fading away because as time passes, the amount of Betawinese people living in Jakarta gets smaller and smaller. Betawi often considered a minority because back then, Betawinese people had a very low level of education, and because of this, not many Betawinese people had a permanent job. This is why Betawinese people felt alienated. Another reason is that Betawinese people lack unity, unlike other ethnic groups that have very strong unity. This is because most Betawi people are busy with their own personal business.
Thus, Betawinese people have really evolved since ten years ago. They are more open-minded, easy going, and more able to communicate / get along with other ethnic groups. Nowadays, Betawinese people have grown to be very proud that they are Betawinese, and they certainly deserve to be proud.

C.
Betawinese people are often stereotyped in a bad way, which is lazy. However, nowadays, the people of Betawi are no longer being treated differently and minoritized. The reason this being is because the Betawi people are the people who truly know everything about Jakarta. This can be proven because Betawi people are still a majority in the South of Jakarta. Some of the good label that people put on Betawi people is true to who they are. They do not want a lot of things, and are not demanding. All of the Betawinese traditions and cultures are a combination of other cultures, as mentioned before. And this is learned in their everyday lives. In addition, what makes Betawi different from other ethnic groups is that they are the indigenous people of Jakarta. People sometimes do “pre-judge” Betawinese people because of their ethnic background, one of the examples that was told is that a boss in a certain company does not want to hire someone only because he / she is Betawinese, which is stereotyped as lazy people.
Betawinese people have never felt pressured in any kind of way, because they simply accept the cultural diversity that exists in Indonesia, especially Jakarta. Instead of feeling pressured, Betawinese people feel rather enthusiastic about learning how to interact with different people from very different cultures.

D.
Considering the factor that there are so many visitors that come to Jakarta, Betawinese people are still very true to their own traditions and cultures, not getting influenced by the visitors that come to Jakarta. Betawinese people believe that it is better to follow your own traditions and cultures, rather than following the current modern culture. They know that their Betawi culture is in their blood and is sticking like glue in their hearts. Nonetheless, they will always try to find a way to make their culture stand out comparing to the many other cultures in Jakarta. With the many visitors that come to Jakarta, Betawinese people do not feel alienated, but instead, they feel left behind.
Betawinese people are considered neutral; they do not like to argue. However, it is vey clear that Betawinese people do not agree on organizations such as FBR. The FBR has contaminated the image of Betawinese people, by solving problems physically. What is very odd is that the members of FBR are not Betawinese, but they are from Banten. This makes the Betawi people furious because they are making it seem like they are Betawinese, contaminating the image of Betawi people. Their behavior does not reflect the nature of Betawi people.

CHAPTER III
A.
There are three major theoretical perspectives in Sociology, which are Functionalist Theory, Conflict Theory, and Labeling Theory.
The Conflict theory specifies that everybody in all the society is in conflict with each other at all times. To greater the chances of success they have, people tend to form groups to help them earn their ambitions. Clearly, people tend to prefer to join groups that resemble them the most, and this is where groups of like racial and ethnic character come from. Over the years, the discrimination against members of minority groups have been increasing and increasing. ‘Minorities are groups of people who, due to their minority status are not "in charge" or "in control" of society and its resources. Racial profiling is used by those in power, such as government or police officers, to predict who is likely to commit a crime or who has committed a crime.’1 Social construction of race is a huge tool in the conflict theory. Those in control of society call it a protective tool, but it simply helps guarantee their control remains unchallenged.

A Functionalist perspective on the social construction of race is that Functionalists believe that in terms of understanding ethnic stratification it is possible to get a important agreement in wider society regardless of cultural variations between ethnic groups in society. Functionalists believe that Ethnic groups need to become assimilated into the majority or dominant culture. ‘Although societies go through a period of adaption with an influx of immigrant groups that it naturally manages to stabilize itself through absorption. Functionalists theorize that when immigrants become assimilated into the host society they can participate in the benefits of the host society, such as upward social mobility.’2
From a Symbolic Interactionist or Labeling viewpoint, race and ethnicity are the main source of your identity. When you cross paths with someone from a different race, you tend to create responses to that person based on the information you have about their race; the stereotypes. In doing this, you unconsciously create a label in which your language, gestures, and mannerisms communicate your own racial and ethnic identities as well as what you think about the language, gestures, and mannerisms of other groups.

The theory that best accounts this phenomenon is the Symbolic Interactionist or Labeling theory. This approach is considered more convincing than any other perspective because the main problem / issue in the social construction of race today could be just exactly what the Symbolic Interactionist’s viewpoint is. When you see someone with a different race as you, you immediately think of their stereotypes, and unconsciously believe them. As seen very clearly, the Symbolic Interactionist perspective can help us assess a wide variety of experiences which make us feel race and ethnicity in our everyday lives. However, there is a weakness to this perspective. This perspective only mentions the bad stereotypes of the race, but do not mention the lots of good stereotypes of the race.
B.
In every country, or in this case, city, there is always a minority ethnic group and a dominant ethnic group. In Indonesia, the most dominant ethnic group of all are the Javanese. With having 41% of Indonesian people being Javanese, they are also dominant in the capital city of Indonesia: Jakarta. The relationship between a dominant group and a minority group can be difficult. It often is up to the people in the groups, do they see each other as a threat? Do they see this as a competition? There have been many daily cases where a person in the dominant group does not bother to interact with a person from a minority group. The dominant group defines minorities. The dominant group members have a much bigger access to money, power, and status partly because if you are a member of a dominant group, it automatically presents privilege. A minority group is a group that is the opposite of the dominant. They have harder access to money, and most importantly, to achieve a status. “A minority group negatively privileged (Weber), stigmatized (Rosenblum and Travis), and generally less favored by the institutions of society (Marger). A dominant group is an ascribed, (unearned and socially defined), master status which is defined only in relationship to the minority groups in a society. “3

A pluralistic society is “a society comprised of people from numerous different cultural and ethnic backgrounds. Although some integration and acculturation is only natural, a pluralistic society is one that acknowledges and allows for the cultural diversity of its citizens.”4
The society that we grew up in will be the perfect example of pluralism. There are so many different cultures and traditions in Jakarta, with many interesting ethnic groups alongside. We have grown up to be very respectful of the different cultures that exist in Jakarta, and learn that the ethnic groups stereotypes will not define the people themselves.

Today’s challenge for a Betawinese is not to get influenced by the modernity that exists today. “Betawinese people believe that it is best to stay true to our cultures and traditions, rather than get influenced by the modernity, because our cultures and traditions have made us who we are right now, and it is in our bloods and veins.”5 However, with the many modernized culture that exist today, it is very challenging to stay true to your own traditions. It can be said that it is impossible to be 100% true to your own culture. The modern culture has, of course, influenced the Betawinese culture. An example would be; back in the old days, when Betawinese people want to visit their lovers, there has to be a wall that separates them, keep them away from doing unwanted things. However, because of modernization, none of that is happening in the today world.
The modern culture is not entirely bad, there are a lot of good that the modern culture bring to the Betawinese people. Back then, Betawinese people tend to only get married with the same race. However, as we can see, that is very rarely seen nowadays, because of the modern culture.

CHAPTER IV
There are a lot we can do as a society, to reduce racial discrimination itself. The first solution is living close to different races, and because of this we will gain a better understanding about each other. What they are really like, and whether the stereotypes that you have heard about them are true or not.

Another solution that can help reduce this problem is having exchange programmes. For example, celebrating holidays of their own culture such having nyepi for most Balinese people, ondel-ondel for the Betawinese. Learning to accept and make friends with people from different ethnic backgrounds, and learning to respect them.
“All state schools should have a clear policy to get rid of racism and to advance race equality. This means that a school should take positive steps to discourage race discrimination and stop racist attacks. If the local education authority has an adviser with special responsibility for race issues, you should also report racist incidents to them.”6

Some ethnic groups only think that they are superior than others, society should learn and understand that all men and women are equal and have the same rights to live in this world, and after learning this, things will definitely change. As human beings living in the same city, we must learn to live in harmony and to love one another. Another solution to this problem is our schools should make compulsory the teaching of moral values at every grade. Higher institutions should develop courses that promote harmonious racial relations and human values.

However, what really matters is looking at society, especially ourselves. Are we really willing to change? Racial discrimination towards minorities happens because someone or some people wish to feel superior than others.

They are scared in their core that they are unable to become masters of their lives and thus began bullying others to gain profit and slavery. However, after all, it comes down to having humanity, niceness, honesty and willing to learn and to compromise. This way, we will learn to treat the minority group no different than treating the dominant, learning to gain peace with each other.

CHAPTER V
It is always up to us whether we want to make a difference or not. If we are willing, we would learn that not all the things you hear is true. In my honest opinion, I don 't think any type of discrimination can be "solved". However, it can definitely be reduced. The laws help very much to reduce many people from being abused from racial discrimination, it very much helps the racial discrimination that can be seen clearly with our own eyes. However, the kind of racial discrimination that hurts the most is the one that can’t be seen, but felt. These laws and regulations will make a difference, but only a slight. These laws don’t take away the hidden, silent, feelings people have for one another. I have come to the conclusion that racial discrimination will always exist, no matter what, where, or when. It is a challenge for people to grow and change who they are, and to change the way they view other people.
But then again, “Change is inevitable, growth is optional.”

“Every miserable fool who has nothing at all of which he can be proud, adopts as a last resource pride in the nation to which he belongs; he is ready and happy to defend all its faults and follies tooth and nail, thus reimbursing himself for his own inferiority.”
― Arthur Schopenhauer, Essays and Aphorisms

RESOURCES AND REFERENCES http://www.elearnportal.com/courses/sociology/race-and-ethnicity/race-and-ethnicity-major-theories-applied-to-race-and-ethnicity-continued http://www.slideshare.net/dustinkidd1/racial-conflict-theory http://www.justanswer.com/law/0k36o-conflict-theory-explain-phenomenon-racial.html http://cnx.org/content/m33866/latest/ http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/england/discrimination_e/discrimination_discrimination_because_of_race_religion_or_belief_e/taking_action_about_race_discrimination.htm http://voices.yahoo.com/how-different-morals-influence-our-modern-society-225648.html http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/racism

References: http://www.elearnportal.com/courses/sociology/race-and-ethnicity/race-and-ethnicity-major-theories-applied-to-race-and-ethnicity-continued http://www.slideshare.net/dustinkidd1/racial-conflict-theory http://www.justanswer.com/law/0k36o-conflict-theory-explain-phenomenon-racial.html http://cnx.org/content/m33866/latest/ http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/england/discrimination_e/discrimination_discrimination_because_of_race_religion_or_belief_e/taking_action_about_race_discrimination.htm http://voices.yahoo.com/how-different-morals-influence-our-modern-society-225648.html http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/racism