Husband Pieter's Paternal Grandmother was named Steenbreker or in English Stonebreaker.
This is what we both witnessed when passing by on our way from Yogyakarta to the Dieng area in Central Java, where we lived and worked.
For years we have observed this; rather painful for watching such hard labor!
All we learned from our travels and living and working in Indonesia or India, to NEVER EVER COMPLAIN!
Just search the Internet for the art work by French Gustave Courbet 'The Stone Breakers 1849'
That gives us a good perspective of the era.
Cor Jesu, victima peccatorum - Latin
Sacred Heart of Jesus victim for our sins - English
Johanna Christina Steenbreker, Pieter's Paternal Grandmother...
One wonders where they got their name from, some generations back!
Hello Mariette, Now I am imagining Pieter's grandmother wielding a sledge-hammer in her hands! Rock breaking has been done for a number of reasons, from excavation to a need for smaller stones to a form of punishment. "Breaking rocks for a living," meaning being a prisoner, has always been a common expression. In truth, the amount of heavy human labor expended over the years is awe-inspiring. Even if those temples in Indonesia were built partly using animal labor, we know that a tremendous amount of human strength went into them.
ReplyDelete--Jim
Dearest Jim,
DeleteNo, it was certainly not Pieter's grandmother but somewhere back in time it was a name selected due to their profession.
Yes, back over the ages there have been many back-breaking labor performed by humans and animals alike. Look at the Egyptian Pyramids...
Hugs,
Mariette
Expressive painting.
ReplyDeleteI like the image of the Sacred Heart. May she rest in peace.
God bless.
Dearest Victor,
DeleteYes, that painting is quite expressive and gives us a good insight in that kind of back breaking labor.
Guess nowadays we will no longer find such images of the Sacred Heart, sadly so!
Yes, maybe Pieter's Grandmother will be smiling down from heaven for seeing her name being mentioned. Pieter never met her, she died years before he even was born.
Hugs,
Mariette
Looks like hard work.
ReplyDeleteDearest Carol,
DeleteOh, definitely that is back breaking labor!
Hugs,
Mariette
What an image ... it took several seconds to find you and Pieter! LOL
ReplyDeleteDearest Helen,
DeleteIndeed what an image and Pieter, standing behind the lens, felt rather embarrassed for capturing those two doing this kind of inhuman labor.
Hugs,
Mariette
Buona serata Mariette,se tu sapessi cosa mi è successo,sono caduta,ho rotto il radio e mercoledì dovrò
ReplyDeleteessere operata.Ho tanta paura.
Cara Olga,
DeleteAugurandoti forza e speranza puoi superare la tua paura per questo intervento chirurgico. Spero che tutto vada bene e che presto ti riprendi!
Grandi abbracci tutto intorno,
Mariette
You are so right Mariette, we really don't have much to complain about these days and yet.. we often do 😉
ReplyDeleteDearest Grace,
DeleteWe all are far better off than the majority of people living on earth, even today and we absolutely have no reason to ever complain!
Hugs,
Mariette
Some people have a hard life and sadly they earn so little for doing such hard jobs.
ReplyDeleteDearest Sami,
DeleteYes, there is almost zero reward for such labor and no chance for living a better life.
It is oh so hard to watch this and it makes you feel guilty...
Hugs,
Mariette
The ones who did this type of work must have felt the effects of it. Such hard work. I bet some eyes were hurt from pieces flying off of rocks being broken down. I went to the site and saved it to my desk top to finish reading.
ReplyDeleteHugs betsy
Dearest Betsy,
DeleteYou are so right about that and it is quite sobering when you watch something like this with your own eyes!
Sure our ancestors might have lived equally hard lives a couple of centuries back...
Hugs,
Mariette