I was bent on becoming an anthropologist when I decided to pursue my university education. My keenness to study anthropology was in part due to my interests in the subject of Ilmu Bangsa-bangsa (Science of Nations) at high school, during the Sukarno era. Enrolled in the cultural stream, I remember how the textbook used in this subject made me curious as to why there were no Indonesian anthropologists cited in this book on Indonesian society. As only Western anthropologists were cited in the textbook, I wondered why no Indonesians were studying Indonesia? Inevitably, my question was not due to the ideas of “Orientalism”, which was unheard of then. Rather my concerns were influenced by my strong nationalist sentiment, which was a result of being raised to see myself as a part of a heterogeneous Indonesia. An ethnic Chinese and a Catholic, my father was a fervent nationalist, strongly involved in the political and social integration of ethnic and religious minorities into the Indonesian nation state during the Sukarno era. Influenced by my father's political inclinations, I was myself an active participant in various social and youth organizations at this time. The turmoil created by the Gestapu (Gerakan Tiga Puluh September) coup d’état of 1966 and the ideological pogroms which took on ethnic overtones, strongly motivated me to believe in the need for Indonesians to think about their own society. Although qualified to enter the more prestigious science stream during my senior high school, I chose instead to study the cultural stream. This was precisely because of my sentiment, youthful idealism, and my interest in dance and art performances. This decision marked the beginning of an intellectual journey that would lead me to study anthropology when I entered university.

Forty-four years have since passed. I can no longer easily presume that being an anthropologist is merely about studying my own society, or about relating my own self with the heterogeneity of Indonesian society. Instead I have gradually come to understand that “self ” and “Other”, “ethnicity”, or any identity category are not to be understood merely within the confines of nation state boundaries.