Description
Queen of Batu, a story of transgenerational longing
My grandmother, Diana Fransz-Rompis, was born in 1926 in Weltevreden, a suburb of Batavia (modern-day Jakarta). She grew up in Batu, which means ‘stone’, a village in the province of Minahasa (North Sulawesi, Indonesia) and the birthplace of her parents. In 1950, one year after the Netherlands acknowledged the independence of Indonesia, my grandparents left for the Netherlands.
Homesickness for her homeland, and especially for the Minahasa, shaped my grandmother’s life. She assuaged her sense of displacement by describing the culture of Minahasa, organising cultural activities, collecting everything she could from there, and passing on pearls of wisdom to us. She also gathered an enormous collection of objects, instruments and curiosities that all have their own significance — some practical, others mystical.
In exploring my grandmother’s legacy, I walked in her footsteps. I undertook a journey to visit members of my family. My grandmother assuaged her sense of displacement by describing the culture of the Minahasa, organising cultural activities, collecting everything she could from there, and passing on pearls of wisdom to us.
Queen of Batu is an ode to my grandmother, and also my attempt to preserve the past for future generations. Researching her yearning has helped me understand my own sense of longing better. An awareness of deep ties with the past and the culture of our ancestors that is passed down through the generations.
