[Indonesia] Playing the Name Game in Jakarta

Party-goers frequenting Kemang’s packed pubs and posh restaurants probably don’t know they’re in prickly company: the area is named after a wild, sweet variety of mango tree known for its irritating sap. This and other little-known facts about the names of places around the capital are the subject of Rachmat Ruchiat’s book, “Asal Usul Nama Tempat Di Jakarta” (“The Origins of the Names of Places in Jakarta”), which was released two weeks ago, just in time for the 484th anniversary of the city’s founding this month.


In the book, Rachmat traces the interesting stories behind the Big Durian’s nomenclature, mainly derived from the different areas’ terrain, unique flora and fauna as well as ethnic groups who settled there. In some cases, local legends lend color to the otherwise ordinary names of streets and districts. However, the author pointed out that many of the areas’ names have changed as the city has developed. “All we can do now is to learn the history behind those names,” the 84-year-old author said. “(It is) the least we can do to keep the city’s past alive.”

For instance, Central Jakarta’s Tanah Tinggi means highland and Bukit Duri in the south means hill of thorns. Lapangan Banteng, a historical site near the National Monument (Monas), means bulls’ field. Settlers also made a habit of dividing residential areas into kampungs (villages), which is why Jakarta is brimming with names like Kampung Ambon, Kampung Bali, Kampung Melayu and Kampung Makassar. While many of these historical narratives have not survived, there are still corners of the city with great stories to tell.

Jakarta

The city itself was once called Sunda Kalapa for its bustling port that belonged to the Hindu kingdom of Sunda, which included parts of present-day Banten and West Java. Here, the Portuguese were given access to the lucrative pepper trade. In 1527, forces from the rival Demak kingdom, commanded by Sultan Maulana Hasanudin, also known as Fatahillah, seized the port and renamed it Jayakarta, which means “absolute prosperity.”

Mester
While most people know this East Jakarta district as Jatinegara, some of the older residents and public transport drivers still call it Mester; from the Dutch word for a male teacher, “meester.” The area was named after Meester Cornelis Senen, a wealthy man from the Banda Islands who came to the city to teach Christianity in the mid-17th century. With permission from the Dutch East India Company (VOC), he cleared a forest to found a settlement where he taught religion in Malay and Portuguese. The settlement, known as Meester Cornelis, became an important urban center. But during the Japanese invasion in World War II, the area’s Dutch-sounding name was changed to Jatinegara in order to conform to the Japanese regime’s nationalist push under its “Asia for the Asians” policy.

Rawa Bangke
The story of Rawa Bangke’s name is probably one of the most sinister in Rachmat’s book. The name literally means “the swamp of dead animals,” but it was a dumping ground for the bodies of murdered Chinese during the 1700s. The killings came in the wake of the Dutch government’s plan to send ethnic Chinese laborers to their neighboring colony, Sri Lanka, to prevent overpopulation by migrants from mainland China. But a rumor spread among the minority group that they would be killed and their bodies would be thrown into the ocean. In 1741, the Chinese threatened to revolt, but the Dutch responded by ransacking their homes, taking their possessions and killing them. The colonial government had the bodies thrown into a “rawa,” or swamp, which later became known as Rawa Bangke.

Batu Ampar
East Jakarta’s Batu Ampar, which means “stone spread,” has a more whimsical history. The area is named after the rocky trail that a smitten prince made for his bride, according to legend. The prince, Pangeran Astawana, the son of Pangeran Tenggara of Makassar, had agreed to the seemingly impossible task of building a retreat for his beautiful bride, Siti Maemunah, overnight. The girl’s parents, Pangeran Geger and Nyai Polong, asked the prince to construct the palatial house and a floating gazebo over a fish pond near the Ciliwung River. Unveiling his work the next day, the prince spread a trail of stones leading from Siti’s doorstep to her new home. The floating rest hall later came to be known as Bale Kambang, now a residential subdistrict in Jakarta that sports one of the city’s biggest markets and is traversed by a section of the Ciliwung River.

Senen
Known for many years as one of Jakarta’s trade centers, the Senen subdistrict was once a massive market called Vinckpasser, built by Dutchman Justinus Vinck. At the time, the Dutch decided that the market would only open on Mondays, or Senin in Bahasa Indonesia. Starting as only a complex of shacks and makeshift stalls, the market quickly attracted a huge market; both locals and foreigners. In 1766, Vinckpasser started opening on all days of the week and became even more popular. However, tragedy struck in July 1826, when a huge fire razed all the structures in the area, including surrounding shanties. After the incident, the market was rebuilt with bricks and other sturdier materials. Today, Senen is still one of the busiest shopping areas in Jakarta and is home to one of the largest train stations in the city’s railway system.

Glodok

There are different versions of how this Chinatown in West Jakarta got its name, though most of the stories seem interlinked. The area has a murky history, mainly because of the existence of a dam there around 1670 to collect water from Ciliwung. In one version, Glodok is derived from the sound of water flowing from a pancuran, or traditional shower, raised around 10 feet from the ground. The gush of water apparently sounded like “grojok,” a term that the Chinese who populated the area could only pronounce as “glodok.” Another version puts Glodok as a portmanteau of “golodok,” a Sundanese term for a series of steps. These pathways; built in 1643 at the edge of a bridge over Ciliwung, near the dam; allowed Indonesians and the Dutch to bathe or swim in the rivers during leisure time.

Source : JakartaGlobe