As early as the mid-1870s, Chinese pirates were trafficking Vietnamese women and children into China to be sold as slaves. However, with the arrival of the French in 1885, this trade significantly increased. Find out why in this episode. ICYMI: last September 30 we celebrated International Podcast Day and HERstory Southeast Asia was included in Tat…

This is part of two of us revisiting the Minangkabau matrilineal society. In the previous episode, we talked about Ruhana Kuddus, Indonesia’s First Female Journalist. In this episode, we’re going to talk about Soenting Melajoe, the pioneering indigenous women's newspaper published from 1912-1921 in the Minangkabau community in West Sumatra. Researc…

In the next couple of episodes, we’re revisiting the Minangkabau matrilineal society, specifically through Ruhana Kuddus, Indonesia’s First Female Journalist, and Soenting Melajoe, the pioneering indigenous women's newspaper published from 1912-1921 in the Minangkabau community in West Sumatra. Research and writing for this episode was in collabora…

In this episode, we’ll examine the Burmese Women of the Khit Kala, the women of the times, the “It girls” of colonial Burma. Beginning in the 1920s, they were seen in magazines, advertisements, and newspapers, a clear and controversial symbol of change that mirrors what other women went through in the Southeast Asian colonial period. Thank you to o…

Thank you to our patrons: Yati, Charlie, Shereen, Matt, Raymond, Christina, Jennifer, Xiaomeiby Milish, Beverly, Alyssa, and Lawrence. This is Part 3 of the series on Meet Me at the Manila Carnival. For 31 years, young women from across the country vied for the title of Miss Manila Carnival, then Miss Philippines, navigating racial prejudice and st…

We’re continuing our deep dive into the Manila Carnival, a two-week festival held during the early American colonial period which culminated in the crowning of the queen and her court at an elaborate formal ball. For 31 years, young women from across the country vied for the title, navigating racial prejudice and standards of beauty, and becoming a…

In the next few episodes, we’re taking a deep dive into the Manila Carnival, a two-week festival held during the early American colonial period which culminated in the crowning of the queen and her court at an elaborate formal ball. For 31 years, young women from across the country vied for the title, navigating racial prejudice and standards of be…

In this episode, we’re going to talk about the many lives of Emiria Sunassa, a pioneer of Indonesian modern art, who was also a nurse, singer, pianist, and traveler, who claimed to be a princess of the Tidore sultanate. Emiria was one of only three female artists in Persatuan Ahli Gambar Indonesia (PERSAGI). The other two were Saptarita Latif and T…

PATREON EXCLUSIVE | A couple of months ago, I took a very memorable trip to George Town, the capital city of the Malaysian state of Penang. It was founded as an entrepôt in 1786 and was the first British settlement in Southeast Asia. Currently, it’s the second largest city in Malaysia and possibly number one in my heart. So, digressing from our usu…

In this episode, we’re going to talk about the Black and White Amahs — Chinese women from the southern provinces of China who emigrated to the Straits Settlements and the Malay States in the 1930s and established themselves as domestic servants par excellence. The beautiful song in this episode is Penang Hill by Malaysian singer songwriter RJ Kevin…

In this episode, we are going to meet Erb Bunnag, a woman whose photographs give us a rare and important glimpse into the early 20th-century Siamese royal court. Chao Chom (royal consort) Erb Bunnag is a rather unique historical figure. I’m happy to report that there ARE sources of information about her, although they’re mostly academic. "Erb's ins…

PATREON EXCLUSIVE. Extremely excited to share this bonus episode with you on the 4 queens of Aceh who ruled from 1641 to 1699, beginning with Sultanah Safiatuddin or Taj al-Alam Safiatuddin Syah. Unlike the four queens of Patani, this was not an unbroken lineage. EXCERPT: Khan argues that maintaining peace and stability so commerce could thrive was…

PATREON EXCLUSIVE. This bonus episode is supplementary to the Episode 16, Filipino Girlhood in American Colonial Manila, 1908-1939, with Tala Wong. Best if you listen to that first (if you haven't). Paz Marquez Benitez, born in 1894, was known for her athletic prowess, captaining Manila’s first girls’ basketball team, and playing tennis in European…

PATREON EXCLUSIVE. This is a Patreon bonus episode on Suriyothai, a queen who fought and died during the Burmese–Siamese War of 1547 to 1549. We go into the royal family drama at the time because it is a doozy and a half. And war elephants. I have a ton of feelings about war elephants.

PATREON EXCLUSIVE. In the regular episode, we talked about Dyah Gitarja, the third monarch of the Majapahit Empire. The Majapahit Empire lasted from the 1200s until the late 15th or early 16th century. Around 1500, there was a Chinese-Muslim trader who rose to prominence in that part of the world. This is a bonus episode about Shi Daniang, better k…

PATREON EXCLUSIVE. The Krom Klone were the all-female bodyguard of the King of Siam. They were established in 1688 and were a well-disciplined force, responsible for the security of the royal family and the maintenance of order within the palace grounds.

PATREON EXCLUSIVE. This is an interview with Haldi Patra, a history Master's student, writer, podcaster, and Orang Minang. This is supplementary to episode 07, the Minangkabau Matrilineal Society. I would recommend listening to the episode first as we reference many of the terms I explained there like suku and pai merantau. This bonus episode is go…

This is Part 2 of Acehnese Women at War. In Part 1 we talked about Cut Nyak Dhien and Cut Nyak Meutia, two heroines with very similar elite backgrounds, both widowed twice, and fought the Dutch to their very last breath. Their legacy is preserved in both national and popular culture, something that has not been afforded to the majority of female pa…

In this two-part episode, we’ll be talking about Acehnese Women at War. In part 1, we’ll discuss the “Named” women, Cut Nyak Dhien and Cut Nyak Meutia, whose lives are fairly well-documented. Cut Nyak Dhien and Cut Nyak Meutia were two noblewomen turned guerilla fighters who were widowed twice and defied the Dutch colonizers to the very end of thei…

Episode 18 is about Osoet Pegua, an influential Thai businesswoman of Mon descent who acted as the business agent between the Ayutthaya Kingdom and the Netherlands in the mid-17th century. This episode was made possible by the generosity of Dr. Dhiravat na Pombejra, former Associate Professor at Chulalongkorn University, who shared his 2011 lecture…

This episode is not about a particular historical figure, but about an embattled group of women known as the nyai, housekeepers, companions, and concubines in the former Dutch East Indies, or present-day Indonesia. We’ll learn about them through several narratives, the most popular of which is Nyai Ontosoroh’s story from the 1980 novel, This Earth …

We’re back from the long much-needed break and ready to continue our exploration into the hidden worlds of Southeast Asian women, with diverse topics and interviews centered on the colonial period before World War 2. This episode is about “Filipino Girlhood in American Colonial Manila, 1908-1939.” Girls’ studies or girlhood studies is a developing …

This is the last part of episode 15, where we sit down with Kai, a musicology major and comic book fan, for a casual chat about Trese, a Filipino komik series written by Budjette Tan and illustrated by Kajo Baldisimo. Alexandra Trese is a Babaylan-Mandirigma who deals with crimes of supernatural origin. Its first issue was published in 2005 and the…

This is episode 15, part 2, where we sit down with independent researcher, Makadiwata, to get their thoughts on the babaylan's role in uprisings during the colonial period as well as the divide between the indigenous or traditional babaylan and the modern babaylan in the Philippines and abroad. Follow Makadiwata on Twitter if you want to send them …

The last episode of Season 1 is about a group of people, usually women, called the Babaylan -- shamans endowed with powers to cure the sick, predict right times of planting and harvest, and invoke the souls of ancestors to guide the deceased to the afterlife. There are many people I'd like to acknowledge. First, the patrons Raymond, Matt, Chito, As…

A heroine nine-feet tall, with yard-long breasts, and a voice like a temple bell riding an elephant into battle? There is a lot going on in episode 14, Ba Trieu and the Uprising of 248 AD. Ba or Lady Trieu was a 3rd century Vietnamese warrior who managed, for a time, to resist the Chinese state of Eastern Wu during its occupation of Vietnam. We als…

This episode is about Dyah Gitarja, a Javanese queen regnant and the third Majapahit monarch, reigning from 1328 to 1350. I went over the top on clips on this one, but it's a long story! We have two ads this month: First is the History of Colonisation podcast! @hoc_pod is hosted by Nanyang Technological University student, Fidellithy. Second is @tu…

In this episode, we’re taking a deep dive into the Cham, a matriarchal and matrilineal society descended from the refugees of the Kingdom of Champa, whose members now mostly reside in Vietnam and Cambodia. Later in this episode we’ll meet Ang Mei, one of only three female Cambodian rulers, who was queen during a pivotal moment in Cham history. We h…

In this episode, we’ll meet Cik Siti Wan Kembang, who according to some sources was the ruler of the state of Kelantan from 1610 to 1677. Like the previous episode on Prinsesa Urduja of Tawalisi, fact meets fiction for Cik Siti Wan Kembang and her daughter Puteri Saadong. This month's ad is the History of Colonisation podcast! @hoc_pod is hosted by…

This December, we are joined by Tiffanie Ang, a University of the Philippines Film Institute graduate, Creative Director of VISH Media, and director of the short film Princess Urduja. In the second part of this two-part interview, we will take a deep dive into the filmmaking process and discuss the legacy of this warrior princess. Please stay until…

This December, we are joined by Tiffanie Ang, a University of the Philippines Film Institute graduate, Creative Director of VISH Media, and director of the short film Princess Urduja. In the first part of this two-part interview, we will be talking about myth versus legend, how the short film came to be, and the immense power of telling stories. An…

In this special two-part episode, we’ll uncover the story of Prinsesa Urduja of Tawalisi, a legendary warrior princess who led her own army. While she was recorded in the travel accounts of Ibn Battuta in the 14th century and is a popular heroine in the Philippines, we still don’t actually know for sure where Tawalisi is. In the first part we’ll ta…

In this episode, we’ll meet Queen Indradevi of the Khmer Civilization, one of Cambodia's first known women poets and the author of the Sanskrit poem inscribed on the stele at the temple of Phimeanakas in Siem Reap. While this episode is called Indradevi, the Poet Queen of Angkor, this really is about three people -- Queen Indradevi, her younger sis…

In this episode, we’ll talk about Hajjah Fatimah, the Sultana of Gowa, a tradeswoman and philanthropist from Malacca who built the Hajjah Fatimah Mosque, a rare example of a mosque named after a woman in Singapore. We'll also discuss the mosque as well as Hajjah Fatimah’s descendants who still play a role in managing it today. This month's short bo…

In this episode, we’ll talk about the Minangkabau, a matrilineal society in West Sumatra, Indonesia which traces descent and inheritance through the female line. In the second half of this episode, we will be joined by Haldi Patra, a writer, podcaster, history master’s student, and Orang Minang. Haldi's full interview is available on Patreon. Don't…

This episode is about the Trung Sisters, Trung Trac and Trung Nhi, heroines of the first Vietnamese independence movement, who headed a rebellion against Chinese Han dynasty overlords and briefly established an autonomous state. Don't forget to follow us on Twitter and Instagram, @herstoryseapod! For a copy of the show notes with all the references…

In this special two-part episode, we are going to talk about the Indonesian heroine Raden Ajeng Kartini, with our guest Priscilla Riabertha. Raden Ajeng Kartini is a prominent Indonesian national hero from Java. She was a pioneer in the area of education for girls and women's rights for Indonesians. In the first part, we discussed her early life, e…

In this special two-part episode, we are going to talk about the Indonesian heroine Raden Ajeng Kartini, with our guest Priscilla Riabertha. Raden Ajeng Kartini is a prominent Indonesian national hero from Java. She was a pioneer in the area of education for girls and women's rights for Indonesians. In the first part, we discuss her early life, exp…

Welcome! In episode 4 we’re going to talk about Aceh’s Laksamana Keumalahayati, the first female admiral in the (modern) world, who led the Inong Balee, an all-women army of widows. This episode is special because we feature a song called Malahayati by the Indonesian band Keubitbit. Don't forget to follow us on Twitter and Instagram, @herstoryseapo…

In this episode, we’ll meet Lady Chan and Lady Mook, the Heroines of Phuket, who defended the island in the Burmese–Siamese War of 1785–1786. How did two sisters come to be in charge of an island's defence? What does their memory mean to the people of Thailand? Find out now and don't forget to follow us on Twitter and Instagram, @herstoryseapod! Fo…

In this episode, we’ll talk about Raja Hijau’s rise to power, and the Malay Sultanate of Patani’s nearly unbroken line of queens from 1584 to 1718. This episode features a music clip, "Bangkit Pemuda Pemudi - Patriot Patani" by Fai Kencrut. Don't forget to follow us on Twitter and Instagram, @herstoryseapod! For a copy of the show notes with all th…

In this episode, we’re going to meet the beautiful and ruthless Queen Supayalat. She has long been credited for the massacre of a hundred of the King's relatives to ensure her claim to the throne. But she would not hold on to power for long. Join us as we take you through the story of the last queen of Burma. This episode has been re-recorded on th…

Welcome to HERstory, the history of Southeast Asia, told from her perspective. We’ll discover historical figures, matriarchal societies, and contemporary female icons — and maybe learn about ourselves along the way. Season 1 focuses on the Southeast Asian age of commerce up to the colonial period. HERstory SEA is hosted by Manila-based Agas Ramirez…