Due to persistent power and resource imbalances in global academia, Western institutions continue to exercise considerable influence over the writing of Southeast Asian histories. Yet, in historiography as in literature, the postcolonial world has alternative ways of “writing back”, to borrow Salman Rushdie’s phrase. This paper examines Southeast Asian, and in particular Indonesian, twenty-first-century musical interventions to history-writing, primarily within the electronic and noise genres. The focus of the analysis is especially on sonic reimaginings and reinterpretations of topics in colonial history, which remain sensitive and continue to elicit a range of responses both in the region itself and in the former colonial powers in Europe. Among the case studies of “sounding back” considered are Indonesian DJ Aditya Surya Taruna’s 2023 album BUNYI BUNYI TUMBAL, an expression of “the emotions born out of a deep dive into the Indonesian [colonial] war archives”; as well as the band Raja Kirik’s 2023 album Phantasmagoria of Jathilan, which reinterprets a folk tradition replaying the events of the Java War (1825–1830) waged by Javanese rebels against the Dutch. Such counternarratives of colonial history function far beyond the disciplinary boundaries of academic historiography, but they also reach different audiences, not just in the region but around the world, as these musicians have gathered a global following within their specific subgenres, arguably outpacing the influence of any historian. This paper reflects on how these Southeast Asian sonic counternarratives challenge the work of professional historians and asks if the latter could indeed learn from them.

As Siam was the only country in the region not directly colonised, it was ruled by the Chakri Dynasty, headed by King Chulalongkorn (r.1868-1910), instead of the European colonial administration like its Southeast Asian neighbours. During his reign, King Chulalongkorn led the state-building process to consolidate his power vis-à-vis challenges internal and external to the kingdom. Through a number of reforms, Chulalongkorn reoriented Siamese policies towards Europe which in turn helped support his political agendas at home. By the end of the century, Chulalongkorn and his brothers undertook two major policies to build the Siamese modern state: the creation of the Provincial Administration and the employment of Siamese in its major embassies in Europe, aiming to make Siam appear in the international stage. An increasing number of Siamese princes and civil servants were sent to Europe to fulfil various diplomatic duties. As a result, there emerges a conventional history portraying this as Siam's successful attempt to reform itself to be respected by the more civilised European countries. This paper argues for a different picture of Europe in the eyes of the Siamese rulers during this time. It will show that, instead of seeing Europe only as the yardstick of progress, the Siamese rulers saw Europe as a spatial entity representing an extension of the ongoing Siamese Provincial Administration. The Siamese embassies in Europe were seen not unlike the provincial administrative unit distant from Bangkok, and its role in Europe corresponded directly to King Chulalongkorn’s political moves at home. This paper will focus on the early Siamese diplomats and the diplomatic officials, and King Chulalongkorn’s trip to Europe to tell a different global history of diplomatic practices.

This research aims to (re)connect the crucial yet often-neglected linkage between the Portuguese and diasporic Chinese in Jakarta, and how they learn from each other, conform to the local society and navigate the intense relationships between the hybrid communities. Compared to the more prominent and continuous influence of Dutch and British regimes, the Portuguese heritage is often overlooked in Jakarta, despite their long and vast roots of maritime endeavors within the Monsoon Asia. By investigating the inseparable relationships between the Portuguese, Dutch and Chinese, this research tackles how multicultural encounters inspire mobility and circulation of building technologies and decoration styles between the port cities in Monsoon Asia, and the intra-Asian knowledge exchange network established accordingly. For example, the Chinese-style Portuguese Church Gereja Santa Maria de Fatima in Glodok, Jakarta demonstrates the concomitant combinations of local stakeholders contributing to building Western religious facilities in Southeast Asia. Converting from a Dutch Kapitan Cina’s residence, this Portuguese church witnesses how Asian diasporas facilitated construction techniques, decorative styles and knowledge dissemination, and how Portuguese and other European colonial powers built upon the hybrid communities’ local wisdom as well as conforming to local customs. It created a unique mixing of styles that helped the integration and survival within the Chinese-dominated communities. It minimizes the religious and social barriers, as well as colonial conflicts among the multi-ethnic cosmopolitans. The Portuguese have a long history of applying this mixing-styles approach for preaching in Asia, especially in Macau, Japan and Melaka. For instance, the Chinese-style religious figurines at another Jesuit church of Igreja e Seminário de São José in Macau also demonstrate how to sustain resilience in a foreign society by conforming to the local taste and style.

In the study of adat (customary law) in Indonesia, the dominant perspective often asserts that these practices are intrinsically linked to specific groups and their territories. This viewpoint, rooted in theories from Dutch colonial academic institutions, characterises customary law as an exotic and pure construct, distinct from traditions influenced by Dharmic or Islamic legal systems, where diversity serves as a distinguishing feature. However, this perspective overlooks the extensive familial, religious, cultural, and commercial networks that existed among various groups in the Southeast Asian archipelago before European colonisation. This paper examines the customary practices of the Bugis and Makassar communities in South Sulawesi, which transcended ethnic and territorial boundaries. In the 17th century, Bugis customary law was introduced to Johor and Selangor (Malaysia) through treaties with Malay rulers. Elements of Bugis adat were codified as undang-undang (written laws) passed down through generations in the Malay Peninsula. Additionally, during this period, Makassarese trepangers (sea cucumber harvesters) travelled to the waters of Arnhem Land (Australia), sharing their adat with the Yolngu Aboriginal community. This interaction resulted in the adoption of aspects of Makassarese oral law, particularly in ceremonial exchange cycles, funeral rites, and totemic practices. This research elucidates how the remnants of South Sulawesi adat in both Malaysia and Australia signify the transnational resilience of these traditions. It further illustrates how customary practices were actively employed as instruments of influence and integration in regions where Bugis and Makassar communities had established diasporic connections, effectively operating beyond the confines of European hegemony.