“I really don’t deserve this award,” Mona Lohanda said, referring to the Nabil (Nation-Building Award) she is about to receive this Thursday.   

Courtesy of Brigita Sicilia

When she was told she was one of the three Nabil Award winners this year (the other two recipients are Asvi Warman Adam and Anhar Gonggong) — to recognize her impressive contribution as one of the nation’s leading historians and archivists — she admitted to being skeptical. 

Although she felt deeply honored, her skepticism stemmed from her belief that she had not “produced any monumental work nor achieved anything exceptional to aid Indonesia’s academic progress” as a loyal civil servant at the National Archives for the past 38 years. 

Her modest statement attests to Mona’s character as a hardworking, productive historian who never expected to be rewarded for her love of archival research. 

Her lengthy body of work includes six books, one of them being The Kapitan Cina of Batavia, 1837-1942: A History of Chinese Establishments in Colonial Society, which is based on the Master’s thesis she completed at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London. 

Aside from these books, she has also edited five works on archival research and published more than 30 book chapters and articles in various journals. She has also written and presented her work at countless seminars and workshops within Indonesia and elsewhere. 

Although incredibly busy with her many responsibilities as an archivist, she still makes time to teach graduate students at the University of Indonesia, working with them as they put together their theses. 
She is also one of the first historians whom foreign researchers would approach when looking for information on Indonesian history, especially regarding the colonial era. 

No wonder almost all writers — including Master and doctoral thesis students — who have conducted research at the National Archives from 1980s to this day have thanked Mona Lohanda in their acknowledgements. 

Despite Mona insisting she is an “ordinary person”,  her life is nothing but ordinary.  As her close friend and colleague, Professor Bambang Purwanto of Gadjah Mada University observed, “Mona is the only person I know who is able to combine her talent as archivist and historian to consistently produce exceptional work with a high degree of professionalism.” 

Bambang, who attended University of London around the same time as Mona, always admired her for her wealth of knowledge, which led him to call her a “living encyclopedia” who is able to move beyond history merely as a “reconstruction of the past” by providing the social context and meanings which prove to be significant in the colonial society. 

Mona’s love for books and historical facts originated from a family who valued literacy and education.

The second of 14 children, Mona was raised from the age of five by her grandparents when her biological mother passed away. It was her grandfather who nurtured her love of books when he allowed her to spend many hours at his bookstore. 

A self-proclaimed Cina Benteng  (Chinese from Tangerang), Mona is also proud of her heritage as a peranakan Chinese, with indigenous ancestry from her grandfather’s line. Her pride in being a part of a hybrid culture combining Indonesian and Chinese elements led to several articles and book chapters on the peranakan Chinese history, customs and rituals; most notably in the beautiful, richly illustrated book, The Peranakan Chinese of Indonesia: A Cultural Journey. 

Being steadfast to the notion of Indonesian nationalism, Mona’s father, educated at the Dutch Volksschool during the colonial era, encouraged her and her siblings to pursue their education at state schools instead of schools primarily targeting children from Chinese families. 

It was at these schools that Mona and her siblings learned to be an integral part of Indonesia. They even learned the fundamentals of Islam even though their father was a Confucian and Mona herself became a Roman Catholic later on in life. 

Mona’s father always told his children that studying another religion is part of a learning process
that encourages tolerance and teaches ways to have an extensive social network regardless of race and ethnicity. 

Growing up in an environment that promotes an appreciation for Indonesia’s multiculturalism and its past, Mona chose a career in the National Archives that was not only appropriate for her, but also gift to this nation. 

Her ceaseless contributions in unearthing difficult materials and making them accessible and comprehensible to the general public are part of her ongoing struggles, which she finds most rewarding. 

While her expertise is often sought whenever Indonesia is choosing the next national hero or to evaluate a national treasure, in the eyes of many of her students, colleagues and anyone who has worked and read her works, she is an invaluable treasure herself.

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