The partial nature of translation was evident in how Dutch curses were
transformed into Javanese verbs: for doing something wrong one could be digodverdom
or di-kerdom or di-verdoma (with the Dutch curse "God damn you"
here given a JavaneseIIndonesian prefix indicating the passive voice). When
asked to translate "godverdom, zeg!" Ibu Rubi glossed it as "ah, not like
this!"l13 More often, people offered no translations when they imitated Dutch
commands like "kom hier," conveying meaning instead through harsh tone and
imperious gesture.
These concrete and sensory recollections of the everyday called up an intimate
landscape of affective ties and asymmetric relations. Neither dramatic
tales with sweeping moral judgments nor wrenching testimonials, they registered
an uncomfortable space where servants' sensibilities jostled uneasily
against those of their employers