Rimba — rimba is Malay for “jungle” or “wilderness” — was one of the three female elephants of the colonial army’s elephant transport in Aceh — with Agam the male and her fellow female elephants Isah and Sarah. In Oost-Indisch Journael by Merac (1947), Rimba is one of the four elephants — “Agam, the male, and Isah, Sarah, and Rimba, the female elephants” — that were disposed of in the time when the narrator was detached there.
The Female Elephants and the European Zoo
“The future of the two other female elephants was also a European zoo.” The future of the two other female elephants (besides the one sent to Medan) was also a European zoo — that is, the female elephants were sent to European zoos when the elephant transport was abolished.
The Name
The name Rimba — Malay for “jungle” or “wilderness” — is the book’s — and the colonial army’s — marker of the elephant’s origin: the female elephant named Rimba was the elephant of the jungle, the indigenous elephant of the Acehnese wilderness that the colonial army had trained and put into service for military transport.
Significance
Rimba is significant in Oost-Indisch Journael as one of the three female elephants of the elephant transport. The book’s argument — that the female elephants were sent to European zoos when the elephant transport was abolished — is the book’s marker of the end of the old days’ elephant transport. The name Rimba — the elephant of the jungle — is the book’s marker of the elephant’s indigenous origin.
Sources
Oom Ambon van het K.N.I.L., by G. W. T. Dames, Maj. Inf. K.N.I.L. b.d. (‘s-Gravenhage: Koninklijke Bibliotheek, 1954), chapter “De patrouille.”
See Also
- Oost-Indisch Journael
- Transport-olifanten (Aceh)
- Agam
- Isah
- Sarah
- Rimboe
- Atjeh-oorlog
- Bivak
- Bekas
- Dardanellen
- Buitengewesten
- Beruchtste hongertocht van Atjeh (1913)
- Korps Marechaussee van Atjeh en Onderhorigen
- rimboe
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 Atjeh’s Transport-Olifanten
Rimba — rimba is Malay for “jungle” or “wilderness” — was one of the three female elephants of the colonial army’s elephant transport in Aceh — with Agam the male and her fellow female elephants Isah and Sarah. In Oost-Indisch Journael by Merac (1947), Rimba is one of the four elephants — “Agam, the male, and Isah, Sarah, and Rimba, the female elephants” — that were disposed of in the time when the narrator was detached there.
The Female Elephants and the European Zoo
“The future of the two other female elephants was also a European zoo.” The future of the two other female elephants (besides the one sent to Medan) was also a European zoo — that is, the female elephants were sent to European zoos when the elephant transport was abolished.
The Name
The name Rimba — Malay for “jungle” or “wilderness” — is the book’s — and the colonial army’s — marker of the elephant’s origin: the female elephant named Rimba was the elephant of the jungle, the indigenous elephant of the Acehnese wilderness that the colonial army had trained and put into service for military transport.
Significance
Rimba is significant in Oost-Indisch Journael as one of the three female elephants of the elephant transport. The book’s argument — that the female elephants were sent to European zoos when the elephant transport was abolished — is the book’s marker of the end of the old days’ elephant transport. The name Rimba — the elephant of the jungle — is the book’s marker of the elephant’s indigenous origin.
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 Atjeh’s Transport-Olifanten.