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“De Moelijike Middenweg”: Association Politics between the Dutch East Indie and the Netherlands   | 154 

 
Received:  
June 03, 2023 
 
Revised:  
July 03, 2023 
 
Accepted:  
January 15, 2024 

“De Moelijike Middenweg”: Association Politics between the Dutch 
East Indie and the Netherlands through Indische Toneel,  

1913-1933 
 

Khairana Zata Nugroho, Singgih Tri Sulistiyono, Dhanang Respati Puguh* 
Master Program of History, Faculty of Humanities, Universitas Diponegoro 

Jl. dr. Antonius Suroyo, Tembalang, Semarang - Indonesia 
 

*Corresponding Author: dhanang.respati@live.undip.ac.id 
DOI: https://doi.org/10.14710/ihis.v7i2.19148 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Introduction 
This article examines the attempts to implement association politics in order to build good 
relations between the Dutch East Indies and the Netherlands through two Indische toneel; 
Karina Adinda: Oost-Indisch Zedenspel in Drie Bedrijven by Victor Ido and Boeddhakind: Indische 
Spel in Vier Bedrijven by Marie van Zeggelen, which were shown throughout 1913-1933. 
Previously, association politics has been studied through various paradigms, but the studies 
that examine association politics in the dimensions of art, especially performing arts, are still 
rarely conducted. This became an interesting issue to investigate because in the midst of the 
natives’ movement against colonialism that emerged in the Dutch East Indies at the beginning 
of the 20th century, appeared another group who wanted good relations between the Dutch 
East Indies as the colony and the Dutch as the motherland through moderate efforts, one of 
which is through performing arts. They are known as associationist group. 

Association politics is a type of political movement that carries the concept of unity 
between Indonesians and other foreigners in the colonies. Through this politics, it is hoped 

Abstract 
 

This article discusses the endeavors to build a harmonious relationship 
between the colony of the Dutch East Indies and the motherland, the 
Netherlands, through the association politics in Indische toneel (Indies play) 
performances of Karina Adinda and Boeddhakind in 1913-1933. In the midst 
of the natives movement, where the natives put in motion their thoughts and 
ideas against the oppressive colonial government, a new cultural 
consciousness that desired a dialogue between East and West also appeared as 
the consequences of the implementation of the Dutch Ethical Policy. One of its 
aspects was performing art. Through historical method, this anomaly is 
examined through the performances of two Indische toneel namely Karina 
Adinda and Boeddhakind, Indische toneel that combined West dramaturgy 
with Javanese performances such as gamelan and traditional dances. The 
performances were produced in cooperation with organizations such as 
Vereeniging Oost en West, Het Nederlandsch-Indonesisch Verbond van 
Jongeren-Organisaties (NIVJO), and other Indonesian students in the Dutch 
East Indies and the Netherlands. The performances garnered disapproval from 
nationalists and praise from ethnicists 
 
Keywords:  Indische toneel; Colonialism; Association Politics; Pribumi; Drama 



 
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that Indonesia can be independent without needing to depend on other nations. Nevertheless, 
association politics received a negative response from nationalists. This reaction arose because 
even though Indonesia had become a country that could run independently, fundamentally 
Indonesia was still under the control and part of the Dutch government (Hatta, 1933). One of 
the proponents of this politics was Raden Mas Noto Soeroto, a Javanese prince from 
Pakualaman who was educated in the Netherlands (“Associatie – Politiek”, 1932). 

Through Het Nederlandsch-Indonesisch Verbond van Jongeren-Organisaties or the 
Association of Dutch-Indonesian Youth Organizations (NIVJO), Noto Soeroto and the people 
who advocates association politics tried to unite Indonesians and the Dutch through a 
moderate way (Poeze et al, 1986, p. 196). Founded on 30 March 1926, the association has the 
goal of achieving better understanding and cultivating mutual respect between the two 
nations ("Nederlandsch-Indonesisch Verbond van Jongeren-Organisaties", 1926). Apart from 
NIVJO, Boeatan, a shop and gallery founded by Vereeniging Oost en West (East and West 
Association), also provides performances that showcased traditional Javanese art. The 
association's goal was to preserve Dutch East Indies arts and crafts by creating a market in the 
West for a wide variety of products produced by the natives. Vereeniging Oost en West also 
often holds art exhibitions to show Javanese art and indigenous handicrafts (Groot, 2006, p. 
127; Meer, 2017, p. 508). 

Indische toneel or Indies play is a performing art that was popular from 1900 to 1925 in 
the Dutch East Indies and the Netherlands. By focused on the life in the colonial world and 
combined it with Western dramaturgy, Indische toneel has distinct characteristics that makes it 
an aberration from conventional Western drama because it incorporates Eastern elements in 
its performances (Cohen, 2014, p. 233; Baay, 1998, p. 52). Two Indische toneel entitled Karina 
Adinda and Boeddhakind are Indische toneel that focused on the life of Javanese priyayi; both 
plays showed Javanese art as integral part of the show and involved Indonesian students in 
its productions. In this regard, art was presented as a justification for a paragon of colonial 
relationship between the culture of the natives and the culture of the Dutch people as 
something related, rather than a unified or assimilated (Cohen, 2014, p. 232). Through the 
performing arts, association politics can be realized through mutual understanding of each 
other's motives and culture. However, in reality association politics is a form of indirect rule 
of the Dutch government over the Dutch East Indies (Bloembergen, 2004, p. 48). 

Within colonial context, there have been several studies that put emphasis on 
performing arts and its relation to the hegemony of the colonial government. Cohen (2014) 
examines the development of Indonesian performing arts in the Netherlands, such as various 
types of Javanese dance performances and music groups, Indische toneel, and kroncong 
ensemble. In several performances, the integrity of Javanese art is valued as a form of respect 
and tolerance between races, and related to this context, the progress of the political plane was 
placed on cultural exchanges that are on even stipulations. In other performances, the existing 
performances are intended to strengthen Dutch influence on traditional culture. Meanwhile, 
Van der Meer (2017) stated that various exhibition activities such as night markets held by the 
Dutch colonial government were an attempt to legitimize colonial power in the Dutch East 
Indies. These various exhibitions show Western modernity and present the colonial 
government as a good government. In its development, these exhibitions contributed to the 
birth of the middle class in Indonesian society which later became a significant part of the 
colonial government in maintaining its hegemony. Although both studies discussed 
performing arts and its relation to colonial government power, the discussion that centered on 
association politics in arts dimension, especially performing arts, have not yet been discussed 



 
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further. 
In that regard, this study examines the development of attempts to implement 

association politics through Indische toneel and the reactions of various groups regarding these 
endeavors. There are several things that become subject matters of discussion in this article. 
The first part of this article illustrates the socio-political conditions of the Dutch East Indies 
and the association politics to provide context. The second part discusses Karina Adinda’s early 
productions as hybrid performances that combined the aspects of the Western and Eastern 
elements. The third part describes the development of the performances of Karina Adinda and 
Boeddhakind in the Netherlands. The fifth section focuses on reactions to the association politics 
in Indische toneel Karina Adinda and Boeddhakind. 

 
Method 
This article uses the historical research method. The historical method is a research method 
which comprises heuristics, criticism, interpretation, and historiography to achieve historical 
truth (Wasino & Hartatik, 2018, p. 11). A variety of reviews regarding the play performances 
published in contemporary newspapers in the Dutch East Indies and the Netherlands were 
used in this study, including the Bataviaasch Nieuwsblad, Haagsche Courant, De Express, De 
Avondpost, and other contemporary newspapers obtained through online sources such as 
Delpher.nl. To support the existing primary sources, secondary sources such as books, 
magazine articles, and journal articles are used as corroboration materials to provide context 
and various other information that is not available in contemporary primary sources. 

The next step is to conduct source criticism to test the truth or accuracy of these sources. 
However, external criticism in regard to the material of sources are not carried out on most of 
the existing sources because the majority of the sources were obtained in digital form, while 
for internal criticism, existing sources are selected in advance to sort out which sources are 
relevant to this study and which sources are irrelevant. The sources that have passed the 
selection process are then compared with each other and arranged in such a way in the 
interpretation process to compose a comprehensive historical narration (Sjamsuddin, 2020, p. 
99). 
 
The State of Sociopolitics in the Dutch East Indies and Association Politics 
In September 1901, on the advice of Abraham Kuyper who came from the Christian Anti-
Revolutionary Party as prime minister of the Netherlands at the time, Queen Wilhelmina 
announced a new policy known as the Ethical Policy when conducted troonrede or speeches 
from the throne. The policy was created in order to advance the condition of the natives in the 
Dutch East Indies through irrigation, migration, and education (Sumarno et al., 2019, p. 369). 
The Ethici or supporters of Ethical Policy encouraged the existence of association politics for 
the colony, with J. H. Abendanon as Directeur voor Onderwijs as one of the main supporters of 
the association's political idea. Abendanon argued that the Netherlands could become a patron 
for the Dutch East Indies so that the colony could develop and be independent. The 
development of the Dutch East Indies were based on the Western model and even though the 
Dutch East Indies were already independent, in principle the Dutch East Indies were still part 
of the Netherlands (Touwen, 2000, p. 78). 

The attempt to implement ethical principles in the colonial politics revealed a paradigm 
shift of the colonialists, from on how to expand and consolidate their hegemony in the colony 
through military means to focus on how to develop the colony in its various aspects. Related 
to these changes, there was a fundamental perspective from colonialism that is also assumed 



 
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by Westerners in other nations, namely the "civilization mission" of a “higher” civilization 
towards a “lower” civilization. Colonial exploitation was the impact of racial supremacy 
believed by Westerners. This view later became the basis for determining the political policies 
that needed to be applied in the colony that were starting to become independent, even though 
the state of the politics in the colony had changed (Niwandhono, 2011, pp. 85-86). 

The education program on Ethical Policy ultimately became a counterproductive 
stratagem for the Dutch colonial government. This Western-style education started the 
emergence of native intellectuals who became proponents of the development of nationalism. 
These intellectuals had the objective to strive for welfare and provide education to the people 
to oppose colonialism; in other words, native intellectuals wanted progress in the form of 
modernity for colonial society (Sumarno et al., 2019, p. 371). Indirectly, the colonizers have 
paved the way for the birth of nationalism among the natives through various Western 
thoughts taught through the Western-style education (Touwen, 2000, p. 68). 

Even so, among native intellectuals there were also people who were open to association 
politics, one of whom was Raden Mas Noto Soeroto. Through his illustrated monthly 
magazine called Oedaya, Noto Soeroto anonymously wrote down his various thoughts. In its 
first year of publication, Oedaya published various articles concerning Indonesia, especially 
issues related to cultural matters. Oedaya stated that they are a magazine that is not under the 
influence of political parties. Though political problems are not presented explicitly in the 
magazine, Noto Soeroto's ideas regarding harmonious cooperation between the East and West 
can be found in it (Poeze et al, 1986, p. 180; Karels, 2008, p. 68). 

In his view, Noto Soeroto argues that the combination of the Eastern and Western 
elements can create harmony in life. In order to achieve this harmonization, the natives need 
to become "enlightened" through contact with Western culture. Westerners, particularly in this 
case the Dutch, also need to familiarize themselves with the "East", which in this case is 
Javanese culture in particular. Noto Soeroto hopes that through this osmosis process, the two 
cultures can produce a harmonious synthesis (Djadjadiningrat-Nieuwenhuis, 1993, p. 46). In 
connection with the spirit of the association, on 30 March 1926 Het Nederlandsch-Indonesisch 
Verbond van Jongeren-Organisaties (NIVJO) was established as a new way to unite Indonesians 
and the Dutch who wanted coalescence between the two through various activities such as 
seminars, watching films, exhibitions art, as well as creating opportunities for the Dutch and 
Indonesian to discussed in order to have better understanding in each other to create a better 
appreciation between each other (Karels, 2008, p. 80). 

The organizational structure of NIVJO consisted of D. J. W. J. Kluiver as chairman, Raden 
Mas Soeripto as deputy chairman, Hein von Essen as first secretary, Raden Mas Jodjana as 
second secretary, A. F. Pasanea as first treasurer, and A. Doeve as second treasurer. Noto 
Soeroto became the honorary chairman of the NIVJO. The membership was open to both 
individuals and organizations, making it an umbrella organization for various other 
organizations related to the Dutch East Indies. Organizations and associations that are 
members of the NIVJO include Leidse Indologen Vereeniging (Leiden Indolog Association), 
Boeatan, Bond van a.s. Zendelingen (Association of Candidates for Missionary), as well as the 
Indische Club student association (Poeze et al, 1986, p. 200; Cohen, 2014, p. 247). 
 
Karina Adinda: The Embryo of Indische Toneel Hybrid 
Karina Adinda: Oost-Indisch Zedenspel in Drie Bedrijven by playwright Hans van de Wall, or 
famously known through his pen name Victor Ido, became one of Indische toneel and the first 
Dutch performing arts to incorporate Javanese art into its performances. The play was set in 



 
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Java in 1913, and told the story of forbidden love between a Regent's daughter named Raden 
Adjeng Karina Adinda and a controleur named Willem Rennenberg. Both were involved in a 
romantic relationship without the knowledge of Karina's father, Raden Mas Adipati Prawiro 
Di Ningrat as the Regent of Wiriosari. Rennenberg was treated as a nuisance by the Regent, 
due to Rennenberg’s efforts to shine light on the gambling problem growing in Wiriosari, 
involving also the Regent and most of Wiriosari’s government officials. This caused the Regent 
and a magang or intern he sent to Rennenberg, Boesono, to concoct a plan to remove 
Rennenberg from the equation. This plan was successfully done when Rennenberg, in the end, 
died when trying to shut the sluice gate of the Brantas River to prevent flooding caused by 
Boesono’s meddling (Ido, 1913).  This play was inspired by several figures and true stories that 
occurred at the beginning of the 20th century, such as the life of Raden Adjeng Kartini as a 
young woman from among the priyayi who tries to realize her idealism by going against 
customs and conservatism in her society, the love story between a controleur and the daughter 
of a district head in East Java (Oosthoek), and a controleur named Cohen who was killed trying 
to shut a sluice gate to prevent flooding in Rembang (Wall, 1927). 

Karina Adinda premiered at the Stadsschouwburg Batavia on 20 April 1913. The play was 
directed by Victor Ido and performed by the dilettante theater group he had formed. The 
newspaper De Expres, in its review of the premiere of Karina Adinda's performance in Batavia, 
stated that Victor Ido had succeeded in presenting the lives of Javanese nobles on the stage, 
something that had not been successfully done by other Dutch playwrights. The use of 
language that feels archaic is one of the weaknesses of this play. Nevertheless, the gamelan 
music that accompanied the play received high praise from the audience ("De Opvoering van 
Karina Adinda", 1913). 

The usage of gamelan throughout the play shows Van de Wall's tendency to combine 
various elements from other cultures with Western dramaturgy. The gamelan is a loan from 
the Javanese arts association Langen Siswo, whose members are STOVIA students. The Java 
Bode newspaper, as quoted by the De Expres newspaper, said that there was a possibility that 
the staged of the play was the first performance to combine “civilized” Eastern cultural 
elements with the European ones in Dutch art (“De Opvoering van Karina Adinda toegestan, 
1913). 

The actors who appeared also received appreciation for their performances. Saoedin, a 
STOVIA student who played Koesoemo, was showered with praise for his acting skills, along 
with several other STOVIA students involved as extras. The play extended for three more 
performances at the Stadsschouwburg Batavia, namely on 27 April 1913, 29 April 1913, and 15 
May 1913. Each show proved successful, especially at Karina Adinda's last performance, 
although not many spectators attended the show due to a rainstorm, the last performance of 
Karina Adinda still got a standing ovation from the audience ("Karina Adinda", 1913). 

After its premiere in Batavia, a production of Karina Adinda was held for the first time in 
Bandung at the Schouwburg Concordia on 7 June 1913. The dilettante group that performed the 
play in Batavia reprised their respective roles in that production (K., 1913). Karina Adinda's next 
performance was held in Surabaya on 23 July 1913, with two additional performances held at 
the end of July 1913. Similar to the performance in Batavia, the Surabaya production was well 
received by the crowd, as evidenced by the schouwburg which was filled with spectators. Other 
cities such as Yogyakarta and Malang have requested permission to show Karina Adinda after 
the performance in Surabaya, but the difficulty to move the scenography or landscape 
paintings that serve as the backdrop for the play making it impossible for Karina Adinda to be 
shown in these two cities (“Karina Adinda te Soerabaja”, 1913). 



 
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Karina Adinda finally had its revival production at the Stadsschouwburg Batavia on 18 
September 1913. STOVIA students once again lent their gamelan collections for the play 
("Karina Adinda", 1913). The popularity of Karina Adinda made it one of the plays shown at 
the Koloniale Tentoonstelling te Semarang (Colonial Exhibition in Semarang) which was held 
from 20 August to 22 November 1914 (Hoofdbestuur der Vereeniging Koloniale 
Tentoonstelling Semarang, 1916, p. 71). The play was held on 24 September 1914 and became 
a popular performance in the exhibition even though the preparation time allotted for the 
performance of the play was limited ("Karina Adinda", 1914). 
 
The Development of Karina Adinda and Boeddhakind’s Performances in the Netherlands 
Since its appearance at the beginning of the 20th century, Indische toneel has been held in many 
schouwburg or theaters in various cities in the Dutch East Indies. Gradually, Indische toneel had 
consolidated its place among the varying entertainments for the Europeans living in the Dutch 
East Indies. The ease of transportation due to the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 has 
brought about the practice of touring around different continents for professional theater 
groups in Europe (Sugiyama, 2019, pp. 250-251). The popularity of Indische toneel in the Dutch 
East Indies made many professional theater groups start performing Indische toneel in the 
Netherlands. Through this practice, Indische toneel can be performed in the Dutch East Indies 
and the Netherlands. Entering 1926, another Indische toneel with priyayi as its center of 
attention emerged in the form of Boeddhakind: Indische Spel in Vier Bedrijven by Marie van 
Zeggelen. 

The play told the story of Siti Mira-Inten, a regent's daughter in Central Java. Mira-Inten 
is known as Boeddhakind or the Budhha’s Child through her feat in caring for flood-stricken 
people in the Salam Village. An epidemic that has infected several villages has resulted in the 
doctor who is responsible for the outbreak requiring assistance from Mira-Inten, who is trusted 
by the local community. Frank Hamel, the local controleur who is also the fiancé of Tilly van 
Heemsbergen, daughter of the local resident, decides to solve the plague problem. Mira-Inten 
then carried out her marriage to a regent named Raden Adipati Ario Hasmono. In the middle 
of the wedding, which was celebrated with a dance performance from the groom, Mira-Inten 
then left her wedding party when she heard the news that Hamel was suffering from an 
epidemic to care for Hamel. At the end of the play, it is known that Hamel and Mira-Inten love 
each other even though each has a partner and is hindered by existing social status (Zeggelen, 
1927). 

Boeddhakind demonstrated a Western-style progressive view of Javanese culture. This 
can be seen in the conversation between Mira-Inten and Tilly when Mira-Inten's wedding was 
to be held. Tilly said that doing mlaku ndhodhok or squat walking that Mira-Inten needed to do 
when getting married was a form of submission to men that Mira-Inten did not need to do as 
the daughter of a regent (Zeggelen, 1927, p. 28). The first reading of its script was carried out 
by Marie van Zeggelen at the Esher Surrey art gallery in Den Haag on 9 December 1926. The 
reading was held for Bond van Nederlandsche Tooneelschrijvers or the Association of Dutch 
Playwrights ("Bond van Nederlandsche Tooneelschrijvers", 1926). It was greeted with great 
enthusiasm from the audience. Their appreciation at that time was aimed at Van Zeggelen's 
beautiful presentation of the play's script and the selection of topics regarding the lives of 
Javanese nobles. Van Zeggelen managed to depict the inevitable conflict between culture and 
racial differences very well (L. M., 1926). 

Boeddhakind then premiered on 25 and 26 April 1927, held by Boeatan and collaborated 
with NIVJO. The performance of Raden Mas Soebanto, a member of NIVJO who played Raden 



 
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Adipati Ario Hasmono, when performing a dance at his wedding ceremony and accompanied 
by the melody of Boeatan's gamelan played by other NIVJO members under the direction of 
Raden Ajoe Jodjana, wife of Raden Mas Jodjana, became the main highlight in the show. 
Soebanto was a member of NIVJO besides Soeripto and Jodjana who regularly performed as 
a dancer with gamelan music for Vereeniging Oost en West and Boeatan (Poeze et al, 1986, p. 225). 
Even though most of the actors present were amateur actors, the performances were very well 
received by the audience. Extracted by Het Koloniaal Weekblad, the Algemeene Handelsblad 
newspaper said that Van Zeggelen had triumphantly gave a new color to Indies drama by 
depicting the conflict between Javanese customs which contradicted the development of the 
modern world through Siti Mira-Inten (“Nabetrachting over “Boeddhakind”, 1927). 

It is possible that the character of Siti Mira-Inten was based on Raden Adjeng Kartini, as 
reported in several reviews of Boeddhakind’s that appeared in 1927. Henri Borel, a Dutch 
playwright and critic, commented that the character of Siti Mira-Inten has something in 
common with the figure of Kartini; both were women who were fully influenced by Dutch 
culture and the West school of thought (Borel, 1927). In addition, Van Zeggelen's admiration 
for Kartini can be seen in one of her novels entitled Kartini: een baanbreekster voor haar volk. 
Throughout the novel, Van Zeggelen consistently mentioned Kartini as a Boeddhakind 
(Zeggelen, 1947, p. 88 & 236). 

On the other hand, Karina Adinda still became one of the Indische toneel which was still 
frequently performed by various theater groups in the Dutch East Indies since its first 
performance. Its high popularity among the natives and Chinese people meant that many 
illegal and informal performances took place, both in the form of adaptations into Javanese as 
well as in Malay language ("Karina Adinda. Stamboel-voorstelling verboden", 1928). Twenty 
years after its first performance at the Stadsschouwburg te Batavia, Karina Adinda finally 
premiered in the Netherlands with a new professional theater troupe Het Vaderlandsch Tooneel. 
The theater group was formed to create close ties between the Netherlands and the Dutch East 
Indies by presenting various Indische toneel, with the majority of which are works by Victor Ido 
(Cohen, 2016, p. 72). 

The newspaper Het Vaderland stated that Victor Ido eventually gave the opvoeringsrecht 
or the rights to perform of his 'beloved' play to actress Cecile Spoor-Carelsen, of whom he had 
known for many years ("Cecile Spor-Carelsen over Karina Adinda", 1933). On 26 October 1933, 
Karina Adinda was shown for the first time in the Netherlands at Het Gebouw voor Kunsten en 
Wetenschappen in Den Haag under the direction of Spoor-Carelsen and Cor Pare. Het 
Vaderlandsch Toonel also invited several guest stars to play a number of native characters, 
including Raden S. Hardjodirenggo who played Kosesoemo and Pah Sadin the village elder 
of Tupang, Margopati as Boesono, Raden Mas Waloejo as Patih Bintarang, P. Waworoentoe 
and Soemardi who respectively played the characters Darmo and Pak Kromo (“Karina 
Adinda”, 1933). Hardjodirenggo was a member of the NIVJO and leader of the Ardjoeno 
Javanese art group who was active as an actor and dalang (puppeteer) in the Netherlands 
(Cohen, 2014, p. 252). 

The preponderance of the reviews regarding Karina Adinda's performance stated that the 
play was more suited as a retrospective play and more appropriate to be watched by people 
who miss the Dutch East Indies in the past. The problems that became the main focus were 
considered to be irrelevant, with several elements typical of the Dutch East Indies such as 
supernatural powers and divine forgiveness which combined melodramatic elements that 
were not suited with the audience’s taste (Veth, 1933). Even though the reviews were not 
favorable towards the play, the acting skills of the Indonesians in the play received quite high 



 
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praise, especially Hardjodirenggo who managed to play the characters of Raden Koesoemo 
and Pah Sadin very well ("Hans van de Wall op het Haagsch tooneel", 1933 ). 
 
The Reaction Towards Association Politics in Indische Toneel 
Throughout its productions, Karina Adinda and Boeddhakind received a variety of reactions 
from various groups. At the beginning of its performance in the Dutch East Indies, Tjipto 
Mangoenkoesoemo questioned the playwright's aim in creating Karina Adinda. In his article 
entitled Kritiek op een Indische Tooneelstuk. Indische toestanden? (I), Tjipto wrote that behind 
Karina and Rennenberg's romance problems, the playwright’s intention concerning the 
harmonious relations between the West and East were shown through this play. The problem 
regarding the unity of the two is illustrated through the feud between Rennenberg and the 
Regent of Wiriosari. Rennenberg's love for Karina, which was depicted as the personification 
of the West's view of the East, is nothing more than an abhorrent "form of mercy" because 
essentialy, Rennenberg still looks down on Karina. Furthermore, Tjipto also criticized the 
portrayal of the East as the party that should be grateful to the West for bringing 
modernization in the form of Western knowledge and ideas (Mk., 1913). This condescending 
view, as long as the West still viewed the East in a degrading position, will be the main 
problem that will not allow the existence of association politics. 

Meanwhile, Karina Adinda's performance at Koloniale Tentoonstelling te Semarang which 
was greeted with great enthusiasm by the public, can be seen in the same light as the Koloniale 
Tentoonstelling te Parijs, which showcased various arts from the colonies. The exhibition was 
part of the colonial agenda to gain high profits without the need for resistance and violence, 
but through a peaceful and legal way through organizing exhibitions that displayed the 
supremacy of the colonialists (Bloembergen, 2004, p. 91). The same thing can also be seen in 
the Boeddhakind performance, which received various reactions regarding its showing. Ben van 
Eysselsteyn, a well-known journalist and writer in the Netherlands, commented that the 
conflict in the play was too weak and melodramatic in nature. The inaccurate depiction of 
some manners in the interaction between the Europeans and the natives called for some 
revision. Nevertheless, Van Eysselsteyn appreciated the play's aim of trying to unite the West 
and East (Eysselsteyn, 1927). 

Karina Adinda and Boeddhakind illustrated that even though it has a sympathetic tone 
towards the natives, its construction was still based on how the West perceives the East in the 
sense of orientalism as said by Edward Said. Orientalism is a Western way to dominate and 
reconstruct Eastern culture in order to have authority over the East (Said, 2003, p. 3). Based on 
the spirit of association and ethics, Indonesians do not need to completely give up their culture, 
but need to adapt it to suit European culture. This process could be achieved under the 
guidance of the Dutch in order to reach a common understanding for the sake of creating unity 
between the two (Poeze et al, 1986, p. 25). 

On the other hand, the attempt of the native students who sought association politics 
also got mixed rejoinders. Praise and appreciation came from the Ethici who supported the 
association's political efforts, but the attempts were opposed by the other natives students 
organization Perhimpunan Indonesia, which were radical and anti-colonial in nature. NIVJO's 
accentuation of Javanese art, especially in various Javanese dances and gamelan, was also not 
fully welcomed by other Indonesian members. In reality, the performance of the arts was seen 
as evidence of the development of the association. However, the prioritization of Javanese 
elements resulted in non-Javanese being reluctant to participate (Poeze et al, 2008, p. 199). 

Regarding the attempts to realize association politics, Noto Soeroto in his article 



 
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“De Moelijike Middenweg”: Association Politics between the Dutch East Indie and the Netherlands   | 162 

denominated De Moeilijke Middenweg said that this form of politics is a middle ground which 
is difficult to effectuate. The implementation of this politics led to him being denounced as "a 
Javanese turned to the West, which he allowed to control (him), so that he was against his own 
people and has become blind to the clear distinction between his people and the whites who 
colonized them." Association politics, as stated by Noto Soeroto, can be seen as a "golden path" 
when there are similar intentions between the two parties; as long as this has not happened, 
then the political association that they supported was still seen as a "thorny path" (Noto 
Soeroto, 1925, p. 33). 
 
Conclusion  
Amidst the movement of the natives who began to express their thoughts through varying 
media against the colonial government, the association politics which influenced several 
native intellectuals gave rise to the desire to establish congenial relations between nations 
through moderate means. To achieve this, various organizations and associations were 
formed, such as Vereeniging Oost en West and Het Nederlandsch-Indonesisch Verbond van Jongeren-
Organisaties which routinely hold art exhibitions and Javanese art performances in order to 
created further understanding of Javanese culture. Through two Indische toneel entitled Karina 
Adinda by Hans van de Wall or Victor Ido and Boeddhakind by Marie van Zeggelen, the pursuit 
of association politics is manifested through the performances of Javanese art in both plays. 
The attempt to realize association politics through the Indische toneel received mixed reactions, 
with the Ethici who supported and praised the plot of the two Indische toneel, and the 
nationalists who questioned the purpose behind their creation and its showing which was 
nothing more than an attempt to achieve a colonial agenda like Koloniale Tentoonstelling. 
 
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