This Earth of Mankind

The relationship between mother and daughter can be so similar that at some times it is very hard to see the difference between their two lives. Nyai Ontosoroh and her daughter Annalies, show in great detail how this can be so true, yet at the same time so in accurate. By looking at the lives of these two individuals, the line between similarity and difference can be so fine at some points, while so extremely bold in other aspects of their lives. By comparing mother and daughter in this case, one can see how Annalies seems to follow an identical path to that of her mother, but at the same time, learn from the many things that Nyai had to endure while growing up to be the prominent woman that she is today.

Nyai Ontosoroh and her daughter Annalies look almost identical when comparing their lives from a distance. The most obvious comparison that arises when looking at these two individuals is the fact that both were forced to leave their families as young women. Both women had no choice in whether they were allowed to stay and live with their family or move away from home to a stranger infested area. In continuing on this same subject, Annalies took the same suitcase that her mother took when she was forced to leave home. This only would go to show that neither Nyai or Annalies would ever return to see their families again. In addition, neither woman officially, according to the European court system, was able to get married. Although Annalies did have an official wedding with Minke according to other societies, the European society did not see a native wedding as being legal. This made it so both Annalies and her mother Nyai were never wed. Also, Nyai and Annalies worked hard to keep the dairy farm up and running. Both had responsibilities that required their attention many hours of the day. This showed how much of a hard worked both women were. Without their determination and hard work, neither woman would have had the life that they had. They had a nice house and, even though being native, or part native in Annalies’s case, they gained respect from the people around them. Overall, Nyai and Annalies proved how so many characteristics from the mother can be seen in the daughters which they raise.

After looking broadly at mother and daughter, by examining Nyai and Annalies more closely, one is able to see how the lives of these two, yet so similar, branch in a variety of ways. Nyai Ontosoroh is a woman who grew up in a small Dutch family living how a young woman should at that time. She lived with her mother, her brother Paiman who was three years older than she, and her father Clerk Sastrotomo. Nyai was forced, by her father, to leave her home and go live with an older man by the name of Tuan Besar Kuasa simply to advance further in his place at work. From this point on in her life, Nyai never accepted the fact that her father rid her of their family. Nyai always said that her father, the clerk, was never fit to be her father as he by no means ever cared for her as one of his children. At the same time, Nyai also looked down upon her mother as she in no way stood up for her daughter or attempted to stop her husband from allowing him to “sell” their daughter to another man.

Once accepting the fact that she became a “real” Nyai on that day, Nyai Ontosoroh learned that life from this point on would not be easy. Her sole duty as a Nyai concubine was to satisfy her master in every aspect of his life. Nyai never had the opportunity to choose her own husband, but rather was forced to slave for another man. After one year, Nyai had the opportunity to leave her master, Herman Mellema, but chose to stay under his watch as he began teaching her different aspects of how to survive in the world. She was taught how to look after the dairy cattle, and at night, Herman taught her how to read, write, speak, and even put together Dutch sentences. She no longer felt enslaved by this man, but felt more of a companionship as she grew to love him. Eventually, Nyai asked her acquaintance if the two of them could be wed, but Herman never would allow it. Nyai would never have the chance to marry the man who she eventually fell in love with. These landmarks in her life would help her to raise and treat her daughter in a completely different manner than she was brought up.

On the other hand, Annalies had many different opportunities in life than did her mother, Nyai Ontosoroh. Annalies was allowed to attend school for a while, before she was later taken out to attend to the responsibility of looking after various parts