Java+Village(South+Seas+Island)


 * Welcome to the South Seas Island Village! **

The Midway Plaisance with the Java Village

The Java Village filled with bamboo huts

Chief Javanese House South Seas Island is a group of islands located between Vietnam and Australia. There are several different islands, but the main island is the Java Village. At the world’s fair, the Java village was the rebuilding of a village from West Java. They were a Dutch settlement, so there was a large amount of Western influence, especially in the clothing that the natives wore, and the stories that were told.



 In one case, someone even said "//They were most interesting, these gentle Javanese, and, in certain ways and habits and view of life, quite unlike any other people in the world, so far as the Fair afforded an illustration. There was... a certain individuality which showed itself even in their music, which, with its sweet deep tones, was in pleasant contrast to the shrill clamor of the Plaisance all about."//

In the New York Times, the java village from the World’s fair was even called “//a veritable wonder in oriental work//.”

__**The Javanese Culture**__ At the world’s fair, the Java village was mainly a village of entertainment with dances, shows, and music. To enter the South Seas Island, one had to pay twenty five cents. Then to enter the main village, (the java village), one had to pay an additional fifty cents and more to watch shows at the theatre. There were many different types of dances. There was the “matu” dance of rejoicing where the natives would dance in a circle, clap their hands, and laugh. In the Fiji “war dance,” natives would bang against pieces of wood while singing and slicing invisible enemies within the audience with wooden swords. They also had a club drill called the “Alliuii” where the men would act one war drill, obeying their leader’s command.There was even a show of a native child singing “America” at the fair.

The Java Village had numerous goods on sale. Straw-workers weaved rice hats, and baskets. Women weaved their own colorful skirts.

Masks were also worn by the villagers. They were vibrant in color and very intricate.



During the world's fair, the women wore bright and vibrant colors that they made themselves. The main style was a long skirt and a blouse like shirt with a sash over the shoulder, or a scarf around the neck. They also tied their hair back in a bun. As for jewelry, they seem to have worn beaded jewelry. At the fair, men wore buttoned up jackets and bandannas.

In every account, the Javanese were known to happy civilized people. Throughout the fair, a quarrel had not been witnessed. Visitors to the fair respected them for their “native refinement, modesty, and strict virtue.”They had learned at a mission school, and showed off their knowledge by being kind-hearted and sociable.

At the world’s fair, the Java village was mainly a village of entertainment with dances, shows, and music. There were many different types of dances. There was the “matu” dance of rejoicing where the natives would dance in a circle, clap their hands, and laugh. In the Fiji “war dance,” natives would bang against pieces of wood while singing and slicing invisible enemies within the audience with wooden swords. They also had a club drill called the “Alliuii” where the men would act one war drill, obeying their leader’s command. There was even a show of a native child singing “America” at the fair. Other shows included shadow puppets or the gamelan music being played and a show of dancing to the gods by dancers from the court of the Sultan.

The Javanese were especially skilled at weaving and creating their own clothes. For the theatre, beautiful embroideries of gold and silver were made for the actors and actresses. In one home in the village, a lady was dying the native cloth which could take up to six months. The process used over different ingredients like beeswax and dye.

The music created by the natives was gamelan. They used instruments that were long and narrow with metal plates placed on top. Other instruments included the lyre which gave “voices of the breezes” and the bamboo water wheel which played a musical jingle.

 Bradford, Peter. “Javanese-style Mask.” // Peter Bradford Carvings //. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2009. .
 * Sources:**

// Dama Waja //. 1893. Mid-Manhattan Picture Collection/ Costume--regional--Indonesian. // NYPL Digital Gallery //. Web. 15 Dec. 2009. .

Flinn, John J. // Oficial Guide to the World's Columbian Exposition //. Chicago: John Anderson Publishing Company, 1893. // Google Books //. Web. 11 Dec. 2009. .

Indonesia. Map. // The Three Alpha Travel //. Wordpress, 13 May 2009. Web. 12 Dec. 2009. .

Javanese at Chicago Fiar, Midway. 1893. Mid-Manhattan Picture Collection / Costume -- regional -- Indonesian. // NYPL Digital // Gallery. Web. 15 Dec. 2009. .

“Javanese Doors Open.” // Chicago //// Daily // 27 June 1893: 8. // ProQuest Historical Newspapers //. Web. 7 Dec. 2009. .

“The Javanese Start for Chicago.” // New York Times // 26 Mar. 1893: 11. // ProQuest Newspapers //. Web. 23 Nov. 2009.

Javanes Mask. 15 Feb. 2008. Personal photograph by author. // Flickr //. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2009. .

“The Java Village at the World’s Columbian Exposition at Chicago in 1893.” // The Field Museum //. U of Illinois at Chicago, n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2009. .

“Popular Javanese Masks.” // Masks from Around the World //. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2009. .

R., J. J. “Javanese Poetry.” // New Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics //. Princeton University Press, 1993. 666-7. // EBSCOhost //// Library Reference Center //. Web. 7 Dec. 2009. .

Stevens, Mark. // Six Months at the World’s Fair //. N.p.: Detroit Free Printing Company, 1895. // Google Book Search //. Web. 11 Dec. 2009. .