Klingalese

Studio portrait of a Klingalese woman, Stafhell & Kleingrothe (Fotostudio), 1890-1905.

Klingalese^[1] (Malay: Orang Keling, Dutch: Klingalezen, Kodja's, English: Klingalese) referred to an ethnic group in at least Dutch East Indies (Indonesia), Straits Settlements and British India, originating from the Coromandel Coast, Kalinga and the Malabar region. They were predominantly Shiite muslims and traders. At least at the beginning of the 20th century there was a Klingalese quarter in Padang.^[2] In British India Klingalese was also used to designate a specific ethnic group, witness antiquarian photography captions, shown here. Klingalezen was also used in the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia) in a broader sense including other Asian minorities as well.

Gallery

• 
  Klingalese man from Madras, India, around 1880
• 
  Klingalese woman from Madras, India, around 1880
• 
  Klingalese women pounding rice in India, around 1890
• 
  Klingalese coolies constructing a bridge at a tobacco plantation in the Dutch East-Indies (Indonesia), 1898.
• 
  Klingalese woman, east coast of Sumatra.
• 
  Klingalese coolies with spouses and children, 1885-1895.

See also

• Indian Indonesians

Sources

1. entry Klingalezen, ENSIE, vol. 10, Lexicon en Register, Amsterdam 1952, p 722
2. Photograph of a street in the Klingalese quarter of Padang.