page_title: Njai
hierarchical_section_title: Njai
caption_attribution_description: English: Hand-tinted photograph of a njai, circa 1867, by Jacobus Anthonie Meessen. Gelatin silver print on paper, measures 90 by 60 millimetres (3.5&#160;in ×&#160;2.4&#160;in).
context_page_description: The njai were women who were kept as housekeepers, companions, and concubines in the Dutch East Indies. In the Javanese language, the word nyai meant "sister", but the term later took a more specific meaning. Author Rob Nieuwenhuys described the position of the njai as always subservient, being the white man's housekeeper and companion, before she was his concubine.
context_section_description: The njai ([ɲai]; Enhanced Indonesian Spelling System: nyai) were women who were kept as housekeepers, companions, and concubines in the Dutch East Indies (modern-day Indonesia). In the Javanese language, the word nyai meant "sister", but the term later took a more specific meaning. Author Rob Nieuwenhuys described the position of the njai as always subservient, being the white man's housekeeper and companion, before she was his concubine.
caption: Hand-tinted photograph of a njai by Jacobus Anthonie Meessen, c. 1867. He described the concubines as a "necessary evil".[1]
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