Heinzenknecht — the brave Bavarian — was a soldier-roadbuilder-and-bridgebuilder under Van Heutsz in Aceh, the man who laid the Gajoweg and who “was basely murdered by a forced labourer during that work.” In Oost-Indisch Journael by Merac (1947), Heinzenknecht is commemorated by a bronze bust on the yard of the controller at Bireuën — the bust at the head of the Gajoweg.
The brave Bavarian
“The Gajoweg begins at the bronze bust of Heinzenknecht on the yard of the controller at Bireuën. This brave Bavarian, who — as my inquiry revealed — was the type of the soldier, roadbuilder, and bridgebuilder under Van Heutsz, and par excellence a man of practice, laid this road.” The Gajoweg begins at the bronze bust of Heinzenknecht on the yard of the controller (the Dutch civil administrator) at Bireuën. This brave Bavarian — who, as the lieutenant’s inquiry revealed, was the type of the soldier-roadbuilder-and-bridgebuilder under Van Heutsz, and par excellence a man of practice — laid this road.
The murder
“He was basely murdered by a forced labourer during that work.” He was basely murdered — treacherously — by a forced labourer during that work. The murder of Heinzenknecht — by one of the forced labourers who built the Gajoweg — is the book’s marker of the cost of the road’s construction: the soldier who laid the road was murdered by one of the forced labourers who built it. The bronze bust at the head of the Gajoweg is therefore both the beginning of the Gajoweg and the memorial of its murdered builder.
The Datoek connection
“I, too, was in the bivak when that good Toean Heinzenknecht was stabbed.” The old hunter Datoek — in the chapter Jagerslatijn — reports that he was also in the bivak when the good Toean Heinzenknecht was stabbed. The “good Toean Heinzenknecht” — the good (in the Acehnese idiom) Toean Heinzenknecht — is the book’s — and Datoek’s — memory of the soldier-roadbuilder: the good Toean who was stabbed in the bivak. The Datoek connection places Heinzenknecht in the prang (the Aceh War) — the good Toean who was a sobat kras of the great patrol commanders and who was stabbed in the bivak.
Significance
Heinzenknecht is significant in Oost-Indisch Journael as the brave Bavarian who laid the Gajoweg and who was basely murdered by a forced labourer during that work. The bronze bust on the yard of the controller at Bireuën is the book’s — and the Gajoweg’s — memorial of the murdered roadbuilder. The Datoek connection — “that good Toean Heinzenknecht was stabbed” — places Heinzenknecht in the prang and in the memory of the old hunter. Heinzenknecht is therefore the book’s marker of the cost of the colonial army’s roadbuilding in Aceh: the brave Bavarian whose bronze bust stands at the head of the Gajoweg.
See Also
Source
Oost-Indisch Journael: Palaver om de tafel met het gat, by Merac, Toekan-Serie no. 2, ed. G. L. Tichelman (Haarlem: De Gulden Pers, 1947), chapter Jagerslatijn
Heinzenknecht — the brave Bavarian — was a soldier-roadbuilder-and-bridgebuilder under Van Heutsz in Aceh, the man who laid the Gajoweg and who “was basely murdered by a forced labourer during that work.” In Oost-Indisch Journael by Merac (1947), Heinzenknecht is commemorated by a bronze bust on the yard of the controller at Bireuën — the bust at the head of the Gajoweg.
The brave Bavarian
“The Gajoweg begins at the bronze bust of Heinzenknecht on the yard of the controller at Bireuën. This brave Bavarian, who — as my inquiry revealed — was the type of the soldier, roadbuilder, and bridgebuilder under Van Heutsz, and par excellence a man of practice, laid this road.” The Gajoweg begins at the bronze bust of Heinzenknecht on the yard of the controller (the Dutch civil administrator) at Bireuën. This brave Bavarian — who, as the lieutenant’s inquiry revealed, was the type of the soldier-roadbuilder-and-bridgebuilder under Van Heutsz, and par excellence a man of practice — laid this road.
The murder
“He was basely murdered by a forced labourer during that work.” He was basely murdered — treacherously — by a forced labourer during that work. The murder of Heinzenknecht — by one of the forced labourers who built the Gajoweg — is the book’s marker of the cost of the road’s construction: the soldier who laid the road was murdered by one of the forced labourers who built it. The bronze bust at the head of the Gajoweg is therefore both the beginning of the Gajoweg and the memorial of its murdered builder.
The Datoek connection
“I, too, was in the bivak when that good Toean Heinzenknecht was stabbed.” The old hunter Datoek — in the chapter Jagerslatijn — reports that he was also in the bivak when the good Toean Heinzenknecht was stabbed. The “good Toean Heinzenknecht” — the good (in the Acehnese idiom) Toean Heinzenknecht — is the book’s — and Datoek’s — memory of the soldier-roadbuilder: the good Toean who was stabbed in the bivak. The Datoek connection places Heinzenknecht in the prang (the Aceh War) — the good Toean who was a sobat kras of the great patrol commanders and who was stabbed in the bivak.
Significance
Heinzenknecht is significant in Oost-Indisch Journael as the brave Bavarian who laid the Gajoweg and who was basely murdered by a forced labourer during that work. The bronze bust on the yard of the controller at Bireuën is the book’s — and the Gajoweg’s — memorial of the murdered roadbuilder. The Datoek connection — “that good Toean Heinzenknecht was stabbed” — places Heinzenknecht in the prang and in the memory of the old hunter. Heinzenknecht is therefore the book’s marker of the cost of the colonial army’s roadbuilding in Aceh: the brave Bavarian whose bronze bust stands at the head of the Gajoweg.
See Also
Source
Oost-Indisch Journael: Palaver om de tafel met het gat, by Merac, Toekan-Serie no. 2, ed. G. L. Tichelman (Haarlem: De Gulden Pers, 1947), chapter Jagerslatijn.