30-4-2026

The 5th Philippus Corts Fund grant was awarded to Bernard Kleikamp for his music project and to Niels Mathijssen and Wengki Ariando, Louie Buana and Adrian Perkasa for their book projects. The goal of the fund is to support research and publications on the shared history of Indonesia and The Netherlands in the period 1602–1949.

Philippus Corts Fund

The Philippus Corts Fund (PCF) has been realized to support research, to preserve original source materials and make these materials accessible (in local languages and Dutch) in Indonesia and The Netherlands, pertaining to the shared history of these two areas in the period 1602 – 1949, with special attention to the periods of the VOC and the Second World War in Asia.

Applying to PCF is open to students and researchers working in the Netherlands, or to a joint Dutch Indonesian team, conducting scientific research in collections in The Netherlands or Indonesia in line with the PCF goals. Each year approximately € 15,000 will be available. The maximum amount that can be applied for is € 7,500.

The PCF is managed by the Vereniging KITLV.

Winners 5th PCF grant

In the fifth subsidy round of the PCF the grant was awarded to Bernard Kleikamp for his music project to release the dance-opera The Death of Menakjingga: Three episodes of the Javanese dance-opera Langendriyan on CD (€ 2000); Niels Mathijssen for his biography on Poncke Princen (€ 7500); and Wengki Ariando, Louie Buana and Adrian Perkasa for their book project Whose Nusantara? New narratives on decolonizing Indonesian knowledge and archipelagic futures (€ 4000).

Bernard Kleikamp
CD release of dance-opera The Death of Menakjingga: Three episodes of the Javanese dance-opera Langendriyan 

Langendriyan is a genre of dance-opera, developed in the Mangkunegaran Palace in  Surakarta (Solo), Central Java, Indonesia, in the mid-19th century. In Langendriyan, all of the roles are sung and danced by women. The plots come from a cycle of east Javanese stories concerning a hero, Damarwulan, and his defeat of the evil king Ménakjingga. The music is played by a full Javanese gamelan, and all of the dialogue is sung. Langendriyan is a highly refined form of theatre, which became an artistic specialty of the Mangkunegaran.

This double CD from PAN Records presents three episodes from the Damarwulan Menakjinggo cycle. Each episode was originally issued as a six-record album of 78rpm double-sided discs. The recordings were made by the U.K. record label Columbia in the Mangkunegaran Palace in 1931 and 1932. The Langendriyan episodes are supplemented here with other gamelan recordings made in the Mangkunegaran in 1931-1934. Most of these additional recordings feature sung poems attributed to Mangkunegara IV (reigned 1853-1881) that were collected under the title Sendhon Langenswara. Read more.

Bernard Kleikamp has been a key person in the folk revival of The Netherlands in the mid-1970s and 1980s as an organiser, writer, andinfluencer-avant-la-lettre. He is  an ethnomusicologist and businessman, who studied drama, ethnomusicology, and (Dutch) literature at the University of Amsterdam in the late-1970s. He is president/owner of Pan Records since 1988 and in 1997 he graduated as a music publisher. In 2020 Bernard finished a master's degree in Asian Studies at Leiden University.

Niels Mathijssen
The biography of Poncke Princen (1925–2002)

It is an incontrovertible fact that Poncke Princen deserted the Dutch army during the war in Indonesia (1945-1949). Also incontrovertible is that he defected to the Tentara Nasional Indonesia (TNI), with whom he fought against Dutch troops. Yet how much is true of all the other rumours and allegations circulating about his person is hard to say with any certainty. The furore about his actions only intensified over the decades, and the line between fact and fiction became increasingly blurred. Everyone seemed to have their own truth about Princen. This in turn reflected the Netherlands’ problematic handling of the war in Indonesia. He thus became a symbol and symptom in one. Princen himself offered anything but clarity on the matter; he fabricated freely about his own life. 

The Indonesian perspective on him, moreover, differs strongly from the Dutch one. After the colonial war, Princen became a human rights activist and joined the fight against Suharto’s autocratic regime (1966-1998). How effective and prominent Princen really was in this regard, though, is equally unclear. This study sharpens, where possible, the historical record of Poncke Princen's past, separates fact from fiction, provides the essential social-historical context, and in doing so unravels this historical tangle.

Since January 2025, Niels Mathijssen has been conducting his research on Poncke Princen at the NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies. In addition, he is affiliated as a PhD candidate with the VU Amsterdam and as a research fellow with the Netherlands Institute for Sound & Vision. Previously, Mathijssen studied history and media studies in Amsterdam and New York, and journalism in Rotterdam. He specialized in colonial history and historical representation. Currently, he is a staff writer for De Groene Amsterdammer, where he writes about colonialism, the Dutch slavery past, the Indonesian War of Independence, and colonial looted art. 

Wengki Ariando, Louie Buana and Adrian Perkasa
Whose Nusantara? New narratives on decolonizing Indonesian knowledge and archipelagic futures

This proposal introduces a collaborative edited volume book by KITLV researchers, recently accepted for publication under Leiden University Press’s 'Colonial and Postcolonial Continuities' edition. In a strategic shift from previous KITLV publications, this book will utilize high-quality illustrations and accessible prose. This book connects historical scholarship with contemporary relevance, catering to a diverse audience that includes students from various universities, scholars, government officials, and practitioners. What makes this book unique is its focus on young people in Indonesia, who are increasingly less interested in traditional books and require more diverse choices for literacy materials.  

This book aligns with KITLV's contemporary focus by centering Indonesian voices and promoting a more inclusive and nuanced understanding of the nation and a decolonized approach in knowledge (re)production. In addition, this book focuses on a transformative dialogue about Indonesia, one that prioritizes Indonesian perspectives, engages with diverse voices, and fosters a more understanding of the nation's past, present, and future. The book is divided into three sections: (1) pathways and linkages, (2) ecological histories and maritime legacies, (3) transformations: present realities and challenges, and (4) visions: reimaging futures and new methodologies. While there are crossing cutting issues that will be picked up through careful cross-referencing and an integrative concluding chapter, each contribution will sit within one of these three sections and speak mainly to that area of concern. Authors will open their chapters by summarising the current situation in the sub-field, highlighting controversies and emerging debates, and then situating and justifying their case within these literatures and debates. The expectation is that each contribution will be based on and around a significant case study, but authors will also be expected to link their case to the broader academic context. 

In short, this volume is not just a retrospective look. It is an active effort to connect the past, present, and future, using the intellectual legacy of KITLV to inform current development discussions in Indonesia. By bringing together a group of scholars at KITLV, the book is dedicated to communicating scientific concepts in a creative and accessible way. To enhance understanding and engagement, this book will include illustrations and other visual aids, making complex research findings accessible to a broader readership.

Wengki Ariando and Adrian Perkasa are postdoctoral researchers at KITLV. Louie Buana is a PhD researcher at KITLV and Leiden University.