Characters from Pramoedya Ananta Toer's 1980s Indonesian historical fiction novel series The Buru Quartet a.k.a. Tetralogi Buru, sorted by the book in which they make their first appearancenote . Under construction.
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This Earth of Mankind
Minke
Played by: Iqbaal Ramadhan (Bumi Manusia), Reza Rahadian (Bunga Penutup Abad), Temmy Melianto (Nyai Ontosoroh)
The quartet's protagonist. The intelligent and inquisitive son of a Javanese aristocrat, he enjoys the privilege of being able to attend HBS (Hogere Burgerschool), a high school managed by the Dutch colonial government offering prestigious Western education, which at the time the novel begins was still reserved for those of European and native aristocratic descent. These advantages allow him to be more aware than most of his fellow natives of the new modern period the East Indies is transitioning into by the time the plot begins—and from those came, too, the chance to question himself regarding which side of the colonial society he truly belongs to within the initial waves of political tumult the period brings along. Largely inspired by Tirto Adhi Soerjo, known in Indonesia as the father of modern national press.
- Adaptational Nice Guy: To fit its more idealistic portrayal of anti-colonialism, his snobbish attitude and inferiority complex as a Javanese get quite the hefty toning down in the movie. For starters, he openly challenged Suurhof's mockery of native politicians as lustful primitives and unabashedly spoke Javanese to Annelies during their first meeting, even though in the novel he mocks indigenous Javanese beliefs right at the start of the book and finds the idea of speaking Javanese to a European woman revolting.
- Blue Blood: He is a Javanese nobleman with an ancient lineage that dates way back to pre-colonial times, which is why he was able to attend a Dutch school in the first place. The narrative certainly isn't lost on the irony of him being able to learn about Western egalitarianism at school thanks to feudalistic privilege.
- Category Traitor: Initially. His family and some of his friends repeatedly chastise him for being indifferent toward native traditions and insisting on writing in Dutch instead of Javanese. His tedious journey in unlearning these internalized prejudices is one of the quartet's most crucial narratives and one of its strongest messages as well: in colonial societies, revolutionary ideas often come from the upper classes thanks to their privilege, yet those ideas will only become meaningful if these learned elites are willing to see through the unfairness of the society they've benefited from and use their positions not to speak over the marginalized, but allow those voices to be heard along with their own.
- Cartwright Curse: Proudly proclaims himself to be something of a casanova—or a "philogynist", as Pram put it—yet is ironically unable to live out a truly fulfilling life with any of the women he loved, either separated by death, cruel circumstances, or both.
- Disabled in the Adaptation: Unlike his historical counterpart, Minke is completely unable to sire children, as the third book reveals. Tirto Adhi Soerjo meanwhile had about 5 from his three wives combined, the descendants of whom still survive today.
- Embarrassing Nickname: His trademark nickname originated from a Dutch teacher's Last-Second Word Swap on a racist insult (monkey).
- Leitmotif: His exclusive motif in Bunga Penutup Abad is the somber, contemplative piece "Kesedihan Minke"
("Minke's Sadness"). - Hypocrite: Detests his father for embodying many aspects of traditional Javanese aristocratic values he finds shamefully primitive in the face of Western modernity but looks down upon the native peasant class just as patronizingly and not to mention also just as eager to receive the approval of white authority figures.
- Most Writers Are Writers: Pramoedya Ananta Toer's own sentiments regarding the state of literary appreciation in Indonesia is blatantly obvious throughout, as evidenced by Minke's inexplicable intention to work as a writer instead of a government official.
- Ordinary High-School Student: To a modern-day reader with normal access to education, he's pretty much no different from one. From a colonial viewpoint however, he can be considered exceptional because not many native boys had as much access to Western education as Minke does in that day, let alone managing to become top of the class, in no small part thanks to institutionalized racism.
- Race Fetish: Has a certain fixation on non-native women he can't quite let go of even after undergoing Character Development. One of the reasons he's attracted to Prinses van Kasiruta, his mostly native third wife, is because he thinks her facial features are still somewhat foreign and exotic compared to that of other native women's.
Nyai Ontosoroh
Played by: Sha Ine Febriyanti (Bumi Manusia), Amanda Khairunnisa (Bumi Manusia, young), Happy Salma (Bunga Penutup Abad, 2015-2018), (Nyai Ontosoroh), Marsha Timothy (Bunga Penutup Abad, 2018—)
Born Sanikem, she is the deuteragonist of the quartet. A stereotype-defying concubine of a wealthy Dutchman, she tremendously surprises and intimidates Minke right on the start of their meeting with her keen intelligence and the formidable authority she imposes over Boerderij Buitenzorg, an enormous estate and company legally owned by her white master. Quickly acquainted herself as something of a surrogate mother to Minke and later becomes one of his firmest and most powerful allies throughout the series.
- Adaptational Angst Upgrade: The movie significantly toned down her mercilessly neglectful attitude towards Robert Mellema and his mentally deteriorating father, demonstrated by additional scenes not present in the book that make her conflicting feelings towards the two more apparent:
- The scene where she commands Robert to investigate Minke's whereabouts in the novel clearly shows the authority she holds over him and how much he fears it, what with her sternly barking orders from behind her desk with Darsam by her side; this gives Robert virtually no chance to have his racist backtalk hold any weight in the conversation. The movie though has her angrily approach him by herself with Darsam nowhere to be seen, therefore not only putting her in a more emotionally vulnerable position but also giving Robert's racist retorts more room to impact her where it hurts; the insults indeed provoked her so much that she gave him a dramatic yet much-deserved Bitch Slap.
- The movie also gave a humanizing touch to her relationship with Herman by showing her and Dr. Martinet patiently calming him down after coming home dead-drunk from his usual trip to Ah Tjong's brothel, something her counterpart in the source material would likely deem to be beneath her. She and Ann also demonstrate a much more emotional reaction to his death here. In the novel their reaction is so jaded and emotionless that Minke briefly stops in his pursuit of Fatso to remark just how pathetic it is that Herman had died in such a shameful manner—choking on his own vomit in a brothel—without so much as a tear shed by his former partner and daughter, while in the movie the discovery of his corpse sent Ann into a crying shock and unnerved Nyai Ontosoroh to the point of yelling at everyone dumb enough to taunt her, like Maiko.
- Affectionate Nickname: Gently asks Minke to call her "Mama" in their first meeting due to Annelies' instant attachment to him and his hesitance to call her "Nyai" just like everyone else does. Her warm and nurturing attitude towards Minke gets him used to the nickname pretty quickly. She also affectionately calls him "Sinyo" note due to his atypical bearing for a young man of Javanese descent.
- Babies Ever After: She finally fulfills Annelies' final request for her to find happiness and give the former a cute little sister at the end of the first book in the third book, bearing a beautiful baby girl named Jeanette from her marriage with Jean Marais.
- Iron Lady: Almost inarguably the most mentally formidable female character throughout the series and one of its most strongly-principled. People may drag her name through the mud but she'll always make sure it isn't done without her having put up a fierce fight to wear them out beforehand. Even Pangemanann is severely intimidated by her.
- Earn Your Happy Ending: After putting up with losses after losses in the first and second books, she mellows out for a bit in the intervals between the plot of the second and third book. Once things finally settle down for her in the second half of the third book she gets married to Jean Marais and starts out a happier new family with him in Paris, thus becoming one of the characters whose arc ends up the happiest at the end of the final book.
- Leitmotif: The titular "Nyai Ontosoroh" from Bunga Penutup Abad's soundtrack.
- The Mistress: During colonial times, "Nyai" is a title for an Indonesian mistress of a European man. The common perception during the time is that a Nyai is promiscuous and uneducated, but Nyai Ontosoroh is a subversion of this trope, to Minke's astonishment.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: In Bunga Penutup Abad. Though also shown as a very Doting Parent to Annelies here, stress induced from the imminent threat of Maurits Mellema taking all of her hard-earned wealth as well as her own daughter with him to the Netherlands following Herman's death caused her to yell at a hysterical Ann after returning from a humiliating summons at Surabaya's European courthouse.
- Sex Slave: Regardless of all the affection he initially lavished on her, it still doesn't change the fact that Herman voluntarily bought her from Sastrotomo, her father, for the nearly explicit purpose of sexual gratification. Her extreme bitterness at this callous treatment prevented her from ever trusting Herman completely and Maurits' arrival effectively snapped her out of the affection and respect she'd been beginning to harbor for him.
- Will They or Won't They?: Subtly with Jean Marais on the latter half of the first book. They finally do in the third book, happily.
Jean Marais
Played by: Hans De Kraker (Bumi Manusia), Lukman Sardi (Bunga Penutup Abad)
Minke's French, middle-aged best friend, an artist and jaded veteran of the colonial military who sympathizes with the natives greatly following his brutal experience in the Aceh War.
- An Arm and a Leg: In the novel and the movie the war robbed him of one of his legs, the cause of which is explained in the former to be a fatal slip into a bamboo-spiked trap made by Acehnese rebels; the wound turned gangrenous and necessitated amputation. In Bunga Penutup Abad however both of his legs are still mostly intact, albeit the right one covered in bandages and not functioning as well as the other one does.
- Artsy Beret: Courtesy of Lukman Sardi as Jean in Bunga Penutup Abad's promotional photos.
- Bus Crash: Downplayed. His significance gradually decreases in the third book especially after marrying Nyai Ontosoroh and moving to Paris with her, but one of May's letters on the latter part of the third book does imply that his age is beginning to catch up to him, causing him to become decreasingly involved on the writings of his wife's letters to Minke. Therefore it's only natural to assume that he's most likely passed away by the time the final book ends, as Nyai Ontosoroh returns to the Indies in the epilogue with nobody else but a slightly grown-up Jeannette in tow.
- Demoted to Extra: A large chunk of his backstory and unpleasant history with Mr. Telinga got Adapted Out in both the movie and Bunga Penutup Abad, but the latter adaptation didn't tone down his crucial significance as Minke's mentor and Nyai Ontosoroh's eventual Love Interest; in the movie he's practically a Satellite Character whose narrative revolves entirely around being Minke's best friend and motivator, his budding relationship with Nyai Ontosoroh entirely trimmed out.
- Informed Flaw: His Malay isn't entirely fluent and he hates learning Dutch but nobody around him speaks French either, so he speaks in a confusing combination of Malay, French and a little bit of Dutch. We're unable to fully relate to the confusion Minke sometimes feel when talking to him in text however, since Translation Convention renders all of his dialogue into completely eloquent Indonesian/English, and other characters don't seem to have a lot of problems holding a conversation with him as well. Comes into full effect in the movie and Bunga Penutup Abad since he speaks in fully comprehensible, albeit heavily accented, Indonesian in both adaptations.
- Shell-Shocked Veteran: He only signed up for the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army because he was strapped for cash (like many of his white non-Dutch peers) and didn't think much about whatever they'll get him into at first. Being an emotionally sensitive man however, Jean quickly realized into his first few forays of combat that the persistent, tactical indigenous warriors he'd been fighting against weren't nearly as cowardly or primitive as he initially imagined them to be, causing him to sympathize with their cause and question his—even moreso after meeting May's Acehnese mother. However, she was killed by her own brother during a skirmish at the barracks not long after May was born, having sought death from Jean beforehand despite their implied love for each other, yet the war didn't give him a lot of time to recuperate from the painful loss and he lost one of his legs during a particularly intense ambush. Jean was prematurely retired from the army afterwards, the horrible experience leaving him an embittered man disillusioned by everything the colony of the East Indies stands for.
- Starving Artist: Jean's always had a very idealistic outlook on his artistic passion since he was younger, which was why he abandoned his academic studies at Sorbonne University to make a living exclusively out of hawking his paintings in the Latin Quarters of Paris. This was neither emotionally nor financially fulfilling, so he set out on a brief journey across the world until his money actually ran out in the Indies, during which he decided to sign up for the colonial army out of financial desperation. Following his premature retirement from the military however this is downplayed as he managed to eke out quite a comfortable living as a portrait artist and woodworker, the incomes from which are enough to afford May's education in a Dutch school.
- Will They or Won't They?: Subtly with Nyai Ontosoroh on the latter half of the first book. They finally do in the third book, happily.
May Marais
Played by: Ciara Nadine Brosnan (Bumi Manusia), Sabia Arifin (Bunga Penutup Abad)
Jean Marais' mixed-race daughter, cherished by Minke and Annelies as something of a little sister.
- But Not Too Foreign: French father, native Acehnese mother. Minke notes that she mostly takes after her father, though her actress' appearance in Bunga Penutup Abad makes it appear she takes after her mother more in that adaptation.
- Children Are Innocent: Easily one of the quartet's most moral and pure characters by virtue of her young age, and also because Jean presumably never told her anything regarding her true parentage.
- Glamorous Wartime Singer: Finds her gift in singing as she grows up and gradually transforms into a prolific young songstress beginning from the second half of Footsteps; she is gaining fame around Europe at nearly the same time the Great War began.
- The Heart: The combined force of her innocence and kindness quickly convinces Minke and Jean to reconcile after their first big quarrel, however briefly, and later becomes one of the final straws that drives Maurits Mellema away from Wonokromo out of humiliation.
- Replacement Goldfish: Of Ann to Nyai Ontosoroh from the third book onwards as she would later grow up to be an almost spitting image of her, giving Nyai Ontosoroh the incentive to match her up with Minke. This nearly caught him off-guard but he has significantly moved on from his grief of losing both Ann and Ang San Mei at that point and politely rejects the not-so-subtle proposal, reminding Nyai Ontosoroh the importance of moving on from her own grief as well as the selfishness the latter created.
Annelies Mellema
Played by: Mawar Eva De Jongh (Bumi Manusia), Chelsea Islan (Bunga Penutup Abad), Madina Wowor (Nyai Ontosoroh)
Minke's first genuine love and later wife, the youngest child of Nyai Ontosoroh and Herman Mellema. Though a competent foreman of the Boerderij and businesswoman in her own right it becomes quickly apparent that she has a frail and delicate mental condition.
- But Not Too Foreign: Her father's Dutch, her mother's native Javanese, and she has Eurocentric physical features many characters deem attractive.
- Happily Married: To Minke, briefly. Since Annelies is still about 17 years old by the time they are legally married, the Deliberate Values Dissonance present in their relationship gets deconstructed harshly In-Universe by the disapproving colonial law as it vehemently refuses to acknowledge even the explicitly consensual nature of their relationship, despite its legality in native and Islamic laws and the insistence of Minke's friends and allies. What's even more hypocritical is that these colonial authorities are at the same time shown to be pretty much unwilling to acknowledge the criminality of her white father's relationship with her native mother, which perfectly qualifies as slavery and statutory rape.
- Floral Motifs: Roses in the movie. It begins and ends with her taking out a single rose from a vase and later putting it back in.
- Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: The responsible to Robert's foolish, though also deconstructed as having to shoulder all the responsibilities that should've went to her father and brother at a young age left her mentally and physically burdened on top of impairing her emotional development.
- Historical Character's Fictional Relative: The entire quartet is a series of highly fictionalized biographical novels of Tirto Adhi Soerjo's life and career as a pioneer of national journalism and the first book is the particular point where Minke's fictional narrative still remains mostly separate from that of his real-life counterpart's. Annelies' character is thus one of the least connected to Tirto Adhi Soerjo's actual history, especially since all of his three wives in real life were native noblewomen.
- I Am Not Pretty: Suurhof called her the most beautiful girl in all of Surabaya but she never appeared to be actively conscious of her own beauty. Hearing Minke compliment her at the beginning of This Earth of Mankind comes off as such a shock to her that it gives her a mini-freakout, presumably because she isn't used to hearing it from anyone else other than her mom.
- Leitmotif: Several in Bunga Penutup Abad, as the overall play revolves around her impact on the other four characters' lives and relationships. In particular is the titular "Bunga Penutup Abad", the snippets of which sometimes come up in several other tracks.
- Manchild: This is one of Minke's first impressions of her and it shows. She's essentially an awkward, anxious little girl in young woman form, very emotionally dependent and prone to crying and nervous breakdowns. Dr. Martinet surmised that her fragile personality could've been caused by a combination of family trauma as well as Nyai Ontosoroh's overprotectiveness and over-projection of ambitions on her psyche.
- Mixed Ancestry Is Attractive: Many characters in the novel (especially Minke) note that Annelies is beautiful precisely because she is biracial, a perfect blend of Javanese and European beauty standards.
- Rape as Backstory: Tearfully admits to Minke after Their First Time together that Robert Mellema had raped her a few years before the former's arrival in Wonokromo.
- Sudden Sequel Death Syndrome: Dies of grief only a few pages or so into the second book.
- World's Most Beautiful Woman: The entire first book really wants you to know that she's the only prettiest character around; Minke and many other characters can't help but stop the plot for a few moments just to gush about how beautiful she is.
Robert Mellema
Played by: Giorgino Abraham (Bumi Manusia)
The socially awkward oldest child of Nyai Ontosoroh and Herman Mellema, one of the first book's prominent antagonists. Racist, all-around unpleasant and shunned as a good-for-nothing moocher by his own family, Minke is quickly put off by his unwelcoming attitude.
- Adaptational Villainy: On top of being less socially awkward, the movie shows him being more openly antagonistic and racist towards his own mother and Minke, whereas in the novel he at least knew how to be outwardly polite to Minke when possible and is implied to be so intimidated by his mother's presence (largely thanks to Darsam) that his attempts to talk back to her often come across as meek and wimpy. He also goes out of his way to wound Darsam during his attempt to escape from Babah Ah Tjong's brothel and Surabaya altogether.
- Dumb Muscle: Described by Maiko as a "tall, big-bodied youth", and the things he seems to be actually good at are limited to physical activities like soccer, hunting and horseriding; he stopped attending school after graduating from ELS (a.k.a. primary school) and has neither the intellectual nor practical capability to assist Nyai Ontosoroh in running his father's massive company, preferring to spend his time at home mooching off his mother's hard-earned wealth and under Darsam's heavy supervision at that.
- Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: The foolish to Ann's responsible.
- No Social Skills: Shares this trait with Annelies to a different degree. Unlike the latter's more endearing sort of awkwardness Robert's lack of social skills are displayed through callousness, emotional insensitivity, and inability to form a genuine friendship even with someone who actively sought one from him, like Robert Suurhof. He also has a habit of creepily staring at people he doesn't like.
- One-Steve Limit: Averts this along with Suurhof. Must've not been a coincidence that the quartet's most prominent Boomerang Bigot antagonists share the same first name.
- Parental Neglect: Nyai Ontosoroh more or less abandoned him to his own devices the moment he denounced her status as a native woman. He was still an elementary school kid when he did that.
- Race Fetish: Possibly. For someone who thinks that "there's nothing greater than to become a European and for all the Natives to bow down to him" (in Annelies' words) he sure lusts over a lot of women of Asian descent. Namely, Maiko, the Japanese prostitute from Ah Tjong's brothel, Minem, one of the female workers of the Boerderij, and even his own sister.
- Redemption Equals Death: Repents all of his wrongdoings throughout the first book in his last letter in the second book, which he wrote while dying of syphilis alone and penniless. It ended with a remorseful apology to Annelies. By the time the letters arrive however neither Nyai Ontosoroh nor Minke sheds a single tear for him.
Robert Suurhof
Played by: Jerome Kurnia
Minke's foppish fairweather friend from HBS, also mixed-race though ambiguous to what degree. Becomes more and more openly antagonistic towards Minke as the plot progresses.
- Boomerang Bigot: Along with Robert Mellema he represents one of the worst effects racism against mixed-race Europeans could offer in colonial times: blatant bigotry against natives and fellow mixed-race people born out of decades' worth of generational inferiority complex. It gets much worse by the time he reappears in the third book.Minke: "Why don't you take it all for yourself. Veal and this goddess?"Suurhof: "I? For me—only a goddess with Pure European blood!"Minke's narration: So the goddess we were about to visit was an Indo girl, a Mixed-Blood, Indisch. Robert Suurhof—I remind you once again, I'm not using his real name—was also an Indo.
- Bigot with a Crush: Essentially a Boomerang Bigot white supremacist but is clearly head-over-heels for Annelies, who's not only also mixed race and not the pure-blooded white woman he claims to exclusively has a type for, but also identifies herself as a native Javanese.
- Jerk Jock: He's tall, athletically built, fond of soccer, and one of the quartet's most prominent examples of mixed-race bigotry against natives.
- Loser Friend Puzzles Outsiders: Minke might think his standing is lower than Suurhof's in the colonial racial strata but to outsiders their friendship is ultimately this trope—a penniless mixed-race troublemaker somehow befriending a Javanese prince. Victor Roomers, one of Minke's classmates, implies in the second book that Suurhof isn't particularly close with anyone at school other than Minke due to him generally being an insufferable jackass and questions why Minke would still bother with him even after he nearly got caught robbing the ring he gave Annelies as a wedding gift to from a Chinese cemetery.
- Noble Tongue: Nearly never speaks in anything other than pure Dutch in the movie, which likely signifies his racism and inferiority complexnote . Gotta give props to Jerome Kurnia for being the only non-Dutch actor in the movie whose dialogue is almost entirely in Dutch—which in colonial times is formally reserved for the colonizers and educated elites. Even the pureblooded Dutch characters themselves would resort to Malay—or, due to Translation Convention, modern Indonesian—when the situation calls for it. The only time he doesn't is at the beginning of the movie when he announces himself and Minke to Darsam.
Herman Mellema
Played by: Peter Sterk (Bumi Manusia)
Master of Nyai Ontosoroh and the father of Annelies and Robert. Though enormously wealthy, Minke notes that he has become very reclusive as of late.
- Bathe Her and Bring Her to Me: Downplayed. After having Sastrotomo bring her to his home he bathed Sanikem a.k.a. the future Nyai Ontosoroh himself instead of having his servants do it, which just makes it even creepier. To top it all off Sanikem was only 14 at the time. See I Have You Now, My Pretty below.
- Broken Pedestal: Nyai Ontosoroh lost whatever trace of love and respect she'd been beginning to harbor for him the moment he began to experience a rather swift Sanity Slippage following a traumatizing verbal beatdown from his biological son Maurits, who suddenly confronted him after years of abandoning his legal wife and the former in the Netherlands.
- Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: Being a white Dutch guy he is physically much larger than the natives around him but this isn't Played for Laughs or anything romantic as Nyai Ontosoroh finds it one of the most repulsive things about him, especially considering the icky nature of their relationship.
- Hypocrite: Said to be a frequent churchgoer before his Sanity Slippage but couldn't resist the unfortunately common practice among white men in colonial East Indies of keeping young Asian girls at home as sexual companions regardless of consent.
- I Have You Now, My Pretty: One of the first things he did to Sanikem after having her brought to his home was carry her around and coo at her like she was a baby, a behavior certainly more appropriate for a little girl to her toy doll than a middle-aged man to a teenage girl he just took away from her parents to be his Sex Slave.
- Mighty Whitey and Mellow Yellow: A common trope in colonial master-concubine relationships that is eventually subverted in theirs as Nyai Ontosoroh, out of spite, forces herself to grow out of her fear and Herman's shadow. Her sheer determination would later even invert this trope as Herman came to be the one who grew dependent on her as her skill and intelligence in managing Boerderij Buitenzorg developed to an impressive extent, even more so after Maurits' arrival made him lose his marbles ever since.
- One-Steve Limit: Like his son, he also averts this trope by sharing a first name with Herman Kommer.
- Sanity Slippage: Started out as a caring master and patient teacher to his
teenage mistress Sanikem, gaining her respect over her own power-hungry parents, only to descend into the slope soon after his legitimate Dutch son, a renowned engineer, confronts him for running off and starting a new life with a native woman. By the time the actual plot begins, he has grown rather uncontrollably violent and distant. - Self-Made Man: One of those lucky European colonists in 19th-century East Indies who figuratively struck gold in the agricultural industry. Following Maurits Mellema's arrival and his subsequent mental deterioration however his concubine who took control over the business out of necessity.
Darsam
Played by: Whani Darmawan (Bumi Manusia)
A fierce warrior from Madura employed as chief personal bodyguard of the Mellema family, though his allegiance lies firmly on Nyai Ontosoroh, her daughter and the latter's boyfriend, Minke.- Battle Butler: A colonial Indonesian variation. Darsam is, in colonial era-terms, an oppas/opas, a personal household staff who is specifically hired for security purposes but are expected to carry out a number of other chores as well, like running errands. His Madurese heritage made for a plus point in those days because the people of Madura, even now in present-day Indonesia, are often known for their assertiveness and penchant for combat.
- Book Dumb: Academically uneducated, but is willing to continue learning when Nyai Ontosoroh gives him the chance to. That aside he is indeed physically reliable and aware of the right cause to spend all that fighting prowess on without the need of any formal education to inform him beforehand.
- Earn Your Happy Ending: Ends the quartet likely a very wealthy man as the new owner of Boerderij Buitenzorg—by that point known as Boerderij Wonocolo. When Minke finally gets the chance to see the renewed company at the end of House of Glass, Pangemanann notes how he seems emotionally overwhelmed in some way upon hearing the implication that the formerly rough warrior Darsam has transformed into a diligent, sophisticated businessman.
- Manly Facial Hair: His thick mustache serves to accentuate his menacing status as the badass Madurese henchman of the Mellema family.
- Never Learned to Read: Like many working-class natives in colonial times Darsam wasn't born with the privilege of receiving formal education but Nyai Ontosoroh sees to it that he receives substantial lessons in reading and writing under her service. In the movie he is seen relying on one of his daughters to read Minke's newspaper article criticizing the colonial government's decision to anull his marriage as per Maurits Mellema's request. His willingness to continue to educate himself under Nyai Ontosoroh's wing later serves him very well as he, along with the Nyai herself, make a great team in restoring Boerderij Buitenzorg to its former glory following the vacuum created by Maurits' humiliating exit at the end of the second book.
- The Reliable One: The only household staff Nyai Ontosoroh has complete faith in. Before leaving for Paris, she rewards his incredible loyalty by bequeathing him the entire property of Boerderij Buitenzorg to manage, having been restored to its former glory.
- Undying Loyalty: To Nyai Ontosoroh and everyone she considers her family—except Robert Mellema, which is why he immediately snitches the latter's order to murder Minke right on the target himself.
Dr. Martinet
Played by: Jeroen Lezer (Bumi Manusia), Rudy Wowor (Nyai Ontosoroh)
Private doctor of the Mellema family, an observant man whose field of interest is clearly not limited to the science of physical health.
- Demoted to Extra: Has a very limited screentime in the movie that makes his character automatically more distant and less nosey around the Mellema family, unlike his far more outgoing counterpart in the source material.
- Hollywood Psych: Reliability and intelligence aside his approach in analyzing Annelies' fragile mental condition would be deemed extremely unethical by today's standards considering how he relentlessly hounds Minke into revealing very uncomfortable aspects regarding the latter's sexual relations with her. Even though his aim is to delve into Ann's perceived trauma of white men he doesn't appear to have so much as a thought of asking for her consent as a patient, much to Minke's very appropriate chagrin.
- Hopeless Suitor: Aside from his duty as a doctor of the Mellema family and Boerderij Buitenzorg he is actually one of Nyai Ontosoroh's many hopeless admirers.
- The Shrink: The Awesome type for the Mellema family, if not for the case above—but in an unofficial capacity. He never psychologically examined any of the family members directly but has indeed been observing their behavior for the past few years and discusses the results of his findings with Minke in private.
- Super Doc: A family doctor who likely doubles as a veterinarian for the cattle and horses of the Boerderij Buitenzorg like many company doctors did back in the day, and dabbles in psychology to boot.
- No Full Name Given: One of the few European characters in the series whose first name is never revealed.
Maurits Mellema
Herman Mellema's legitimate eldest son from his wife, Amelia. An engineer and later veteran of the Second Boer War. He and his mother are vengefully intent on claiming Herman's enormous newfound wealth in the Indies even if it meant tearing apart the new life he had built there without so much as a warning.
- Age Lift: Weirdly appears to be around the same age as his father in the movie, even though the novel's description paints him to be a rather dashing young man.
- Diabolus ex Machina: His appearances in This Earth of Mankind, the total of which is only a meager two, both come with absolutely no warning and yet absolutely devastating consequences for Nyai Ontosoroh and later her entire family, along with the comfortable life she had painstakingly built to support herself and Annelies.
- Hidden Depths: For all his bark and bite, in the penultimate section of the second book he nearly attempts to calm a distraught May down, albeit fruitlessly, after she learned about his indirect role in Annelies' death en route to the Netherlands. Might be caused by the trope below.
- Shell-Shocked Veteran: In the second book much of the event he witnesses during his time serving at the Second Boer War wears down a lot of the bite and vitriol he used to previously show; by the time he returns to Wonokromo near the end of the book Maurits has turned into a more restrained, regretful man, which gives Nyai Ontosoroh, Minke, Kommer and Jean the upper hand to finally drive him away from Boerderij Buitenzorg for good.
- Villain Has a Point: The guy is certainly a major jerkwad whose greed ruin the lives of Nyai Ontosoroh, her children and Minke by association but at the same time he is right about his father being a cowardly jackass who'd rather run off to a foreign country and rashly start over a new life with a young native girl he would never marry instead of resolving whatever major marital issues he's having with his legal wife back home. Both him and Nyai Ontosoroh ironically share a point in common about how much of a spineless, irresponsible father and husband they think Herman is, though to an arguable degree since we never saw Maurits' side of the story anyway.
Magda Peters
Played by: Angelica Reitsma (Bumi Manusia)
Minke's homeroom teacher in HBS and a Dutch socialist, whom he admires—initially for her academic intelligence, not her radical beliefs regarding native rights to freedom from colonial oppression.
- Adaptational Attractiveness: Described as a mousy woman with bulgey eyes and an overabundance of freckles in the novel; her actress in the movie, despite the rather dowdy dresses put on her by the costuming department, is a beautiful, fresh-faced blue-eyed blonde.
- Character Tics: Has a habit of blinking rapidly whenever she's trying to concentrate or deep in thought. Adapted Out in the movie.
- Cool Teacher: Downplayed. She is one to Minke, who is fascinated by Western literature, but not so much to other students. The Delacroix sisters in particular think she's a silly, dowdy spinster "with a kitchen vocabulary".
- Old Maid: The Delacroix sisters express amusement at how Minke refers to Magda as a Juffrow (which means "Miss" in Dutch), indicating this trope.
- Politically Motivated Teacher: Unlike other teachers at the school Minke goes to it's quite apparent how much she tries to instill a more decolonized approach to her teachings in class, passionately teaching about Multatuli at an age where many in Dutch literary circles regard his writings with skepticism. Later she also wholeheartedly supports Minke's humanizing depiction of marginalized native individuals (e.g. concubines, like Nyai Ontosoroh) in the writings he publishes as Max Tollenaar. Unfortunately these crossed the threshold of what was considered acceptable sympathetic behavior towards natives in colonial Dutch society and put her under scrutiny of the government, who then proceeds to deport her back to the Netherlands at the end of the school year.
Delacroix family
Herbert, Sarah and Miriam
Played by: Tom De Jong (Herbert), Dorien Verdouw (Sarah), Salomé van Grunsven (Miriam) (Bumi Manusia)
Herbert Delacroix is the Assistant-Resident (colonial European vice regional overseer) of B—, the native regency which Minke's father has been recently appointed as the ruler of. Sarah and Miriam are his astute daughters and alumna of the HBS Minke goes to. Their interest in the betterment of education for the natives as part of their duty as the white ruling class drew them to Minke's intelligent bearing, awakening his sense of duty to fellow natives in the process.
Minke's parents
Played by: Donny Damara (Father), Ayu Laksmi (Mother) (Bumi Manusia)
The stern newly-appointed regent of B— and his ideally demure, maternal wife. They embody the primordial aspects of Javanese values which Minke is desperately trying to escape from.
- Amazingly Embarrassing Parents: To be born as the son of a high-ranking government official is an exceptional privilege in itself, especially when one is a native in the colonial times, but to Minke—whose inferiority complex runs deep against the current of Western post-Enlightenment ideals—it's nothing short of an embarrassment. He refuses to even confirm his parentage in front of Nyai Ontosoroh, a concubine from a far lower social class than his who's nonetheless equally intelligent despite not being born with the same kind of privilege in the slightest.
- Blue Blood: Native nobles who are not quite on par with European elites in terms of privilege yet are certainly much higher in rank than the rest of their fellow natives. Unlike their son Father and Mother take their ancient lineage and the responsibilities that come with it much more seriously.
- No Name Given: Since Pramoedya Ananta Toer was unable to find a lick of information regarding Tirto Adhi Soerjo's biological parents in historical records.
- Open-Minded Parent: Mother, despite her adherence to traditional values, isn't at all opposed to the idea of her son courting a woman who's not only of European descent, but also born from an illegitimate union, and later even shows up to Wonokromo in person for the wedding, forming a deep friendship with Nyai Ontosoroh in the process. It should be noted that she still went through all that trouble despite her husband's clear displeasure of their son's blatant disregard of aristocratic norms, thus making her approval a demonstration of uncharacteristic independence for married Javanese noblewomen at the time.
- Professional Butt-Kisser: Father is all but explicitly stated to be this to his Dutch superiors as currying favors with the white ruling class was one of the standard surefire ways for native politicians back then to climb up the ranks of the colonial administrative government ladder. Notice how quickly he warms up to his son after the Dutch guests at his appointment ceremony—especially the Assistant-Resident himself, Herbert Delacroix—praised Minke's excellent Dutch and poise.
- Proper Lady: Unlike her brash, stern husband, Minke's mother is pretty much a representative of Javanese matronly ideals: patient, enduring, demure, but knows how to utilize her feminine wisdom to gently steer her children in the right direction. Said direction being conventional Javanese values, of course. But her subtle nudge at Minke's overly-Westernized way of thinking does slowly but surely snap him out of his blinding infatuation for Western civilization.
Ah Tjong
Played by: Chew Kin Wah (Bumi Manusia)
The slimy proprietor of a brothel sitting right next to the estate of Boerderij Buitenzorg, which Herman Mellema has been wasting his life away in by the time the plot begins.
- Asian Speekee Engrish: His speech is written in a derogatorily stereotypical fashion quite unlike the eloquent dialogue of other characters regardless of ethnicity or social class; for example, "Sinyo Lobell" when referring to Robert Mellema.
- Yellow Peril: An unfortunately very caricaturized antagonistic character of Chinese descent, he is stereotypically immoral and abusive towards women.
Maiko
Played by: Kelly Tandiono (Bumi Manusia), Sita Nursanti (Nyai Ontosoroh)
A prostitute working under Ah Tjong, she represents the rarely-mentioned history of prostitution of Japanese women in 19th-century Southeast Asia.
- A Day in the Limelight: The entirety of Chapter 10 is told from her perspective as she is one of the key witnesses present in the discovery of Herman Mellema's body. Adapted Out in the movie adaptation however.
- Artistic License – History: The movie has her describe herself as a Geisha, which is an awfully huge misnomer and disservice to Pram's more accurate depiction in the source material—the more correct term to refer to Japanese prostitutes working in the Indies like Maiko would be karayuki-san. The definition of the latter term more consistently matches her history as a poverty-stricken woman trafficked into late-19th century Southeast Asian sex industry.
- Broken Bird: An enchantingly beautiful woman who has turned jaded and resigned after years of abuse and humiliation.
- Cute, but Cacophonic: Exploited In-Universe. As a Japanese girl she is considered to be an exotic item at Ah Tjong's brothel and thus sold at a higher rate than his other girls, who are either Chinese or native; to milk in further profit from her earnings Ah Tjong actively takes advantage of her inability to speak in any other language except her native tongue by turning it into a marketable novelty for his clients.
- The Disease That Shall Not Be Named: Averted; she's stricken with syphilis and frankly admits to it in front of the court, later also admitting that she has infected both Herman and Robert Mellema with it.
- Meaningful Name: When written with the correct kanji her name would rather fittingly translate into "lost child" or "lost girl". She is stuck in a foreign country whose languages she can't at all understand, thousands of miles forcibly removed from her homeland, and her hopes of returning to it are all but lost; even more so after her implication in the murder of Herman Mellema is put to light.
Child of All Nations
Surati
Daughter of Sastro Kassier, Nyai Ontosoroh's older brother. A facially and mentally scarred survivor of chickenpox, her unfortunate condition was partly brought about by her father's desperate attempt to curry favors with the cruel administrator of the sugar factory he's working at.
- Babies Ever After: By the time Minke meets her again during the final act of the last book she has become a much happier mother of several children.
- Beauty Is Never Tarnished: Heavily averted. Her pock-marked face serves as a cruel reminder of the utter selfishness of her father's ambitions, which Nyai Ontosoroh and his own wife proceed to relentlessly shame him for.
- Broken Bird: It causes Nyai Ontosoroh considerable grief to see her lovely niece become a pock-marked, traumatized young woman after only several years.
- Determinator: Unlike poor Nyai Ontosoroh in the past she is more adamant to go against her father's heartless wish for her to become Plikemboh's concubine, making him see the consequences of his own greed at the cost of her physical well-being and presumably also her only chance to secure a more comfortable living via marriage. Thankfully not the case in the end as she gradually gets better—see Earn Your Happy Ending below.
- Earn Your Happy Ending: Ends the quartet as a wife and mother to several children in Surabaya, having worked herself way beyond her Dark and Troubled Past as recounted in Child of All Nations. Pangemanann notes that Minke is beaming with pride after having his much-deserved little reunion with her.Minke: "What an amazing woman!...I have met so many fantastic women in my life."
- Small Role, Big Impact: Appears only briefly during the first act of the second book in an encounter that becomes one of Minke's biggest catalysts to finally give up his blinding infatuation for the Dutch and learn to use his privilege to give voice to the marginalized.
- Taking You with Me: Did this to Plikemboh by infecting herself with chickenpox and then giving herself up to him. It worked, but ironically she survived, albeit with scars from the illness.
- Whole-Plot Reference: Her entire Dark and Troubled Past is a nearly whole reference to the plotline of Tjerita Nji Painah (The Story of Painah the Concubine), a melodramatic short story written in 1900 by the real-life journalist who inspired this book's incarnation of Kommer.
Sastro Kassier
Born Paiman, he is the older brother of Nyai Ontosoroh. Follows exactly in his father's footsteps not only as a native employee of the Tulangan sugar factory in Sidoarjo but also as an ambitious man willing to give up even the dignity of his daughter to earn the favor of its white administrator.
- Abusive Parents: What kind of parent carelessly gives up his own daughter to a physically and sexually abusive man just to save his own hide? Well, Sastro, that's who, and his own late father, too.
- Ambition Is Evil: In the end it is also his own ambition—the spirit that made him survive the plague that ravaged his remaining family—that destroys the comfortable life and happy family he had worked so hard to build.
- Determinator: Was once this when he was younger; in a Dramatic Irony young Paiman was just as determined to escape the plague that killed his parents and siblings as his daughter is to defy Plikemboh's Scarpia Ultimatum by deliberately infecting herself with the pox.
- Early-Bird Cameo: Appears in person during Nyai Ontosoroh's flashback sequence in the movie as a younger man who does nothing but give a dumbfounded stare to his sister's imminent abduction, much to their mother's exasperation.
- Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: Not unlike his sister's children Robert and Annelies, his short-sighted ambition makes him the foolish to Nyai Ontosoroh's responsible.
- Henpecked Husband: For good reason. His wife constantly hounds him for having failed their daughter horribly.
- Hypocrite: Religiously fasted and prayed for days and nights only to come to the conclusion that he needs to give his own daughter away to become a Sex Slave.
- Meaningful Rename: Twice—but this isn't that uncommon in traditional Javanese culture, especially among the older generations. Changes his birth name, Paiman, which sounds lowly and peasant-like in Javanese, to the more stately Sanskrit-rooted Sastrowongso after marriage, which is then also Westernized to Sastro Kassier upon securing an enviable position as paymaster at the Tulangan sugar factory.
Kommer
Played by: Christian Sugiono (Bumi Manusia)
A mixed-race freelance journalist and business partner of Jean Marais. Partially based off Herman Kommer, an author during the colonial period who is today remembered for having written Tjerita Nji Painah, a melodramatic short story considered to be one of the most significant anti-colonial works written from a European perspective in Indonesian literary history.
Footsteps
Ang San Mei
Minke's second wife, a republican Chinese activist and schoolteacher. Physically frail like Annelies but strong-willed, especially when it comes to politics.
House of Glass
Jacques Pangemanann
An officer of the colonial police force assigned on surveillance duty to monitor Minke and other intellectuals showing critical inclinations against the government. He is of Minahasan descent yet adopted by French parents and received a prestigious education in Paris; as such he finds it difficult to sympathize with other natives, especially their rising urge to be independent from colonial authority. After a brief Early-Bird Cameo in Footsteps he overtakes Minke's role as narrator and protagonist in this book. Like the latter, his character is also heavily inspired by a literary figure from Indonesian colonial history—Frederick Pangemanann, a newspaper journalist of Minahasan descent.
- Adaptation Name Change: His first name in this fictional portrayal is changed to Jacques from his real-life counterpart's Frederick.
- Historical Villain Upgrade: What few surviving records containing mention of the real FDJ Pangemanann in history showed that he was likely not more than a military veteran-turned journalist (which Pramoedya indeed confirmed despite assumptions that closely resembled his depiction in the novel) and in fact may have professionally crossed paths with Tirto Adhi Soerjo himself.
