Exposing Indonesia through its cities

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Sun, 04/09/2006 9:51 AM  |  Life

Zamaahsari A. Ramzah, Contributor, Yogyakarta

Kota Lama, Kota Baru: Sejarah Kota-kota di Indonesia
(Old City, New City: The History of Cities in Indonesia)
Freek Colombijn, Martin Barwegen, Purnawan Basundoro, John Alfian Khusyairi, eds.
Ombak, Yogyakarta, December 2005
636 pp.

Only a few reference books contain the history of cities in Indonesia, most of which are kept in museums of libraries in Europe. In view of the importance of such historical references, the School of Letters of the Department of History at Airlangga University, Surabaya, held an international conference on August 24, 2004, by inviting a number of historians and civic experts from various countries.

The outcome of this conference at the then Hotel Yamato (now the Hotel Majapahit) was later compiled into this important book: Kota Lama, Kota Baru: Sejarah Kota-kota di Indonesia (Old City, New City: The History of Cities in Indonesia). The 636-page book covers the growth of cities from pre-Independence times up to the present.

One of the oldest records on settlements in Indonesia is the Ying-Yai Sheng-Lan, a book written by Ma Huan about the voyage of legendary Chinese Admiral Cheng-Ho over the 1405-1433 period.

According to Ma's account, Java only had four major cities: Tuban, Gresik, Surabaya and the capital of Majapahit. Houses at that time were stilted to the height of over a meter, with wooden floors covered in straw mats and shingled roofs.

This illustration is not far different from the dissertation of T.P. Galestin (1936) on wooden buildings as depicted in the reliefs of 13th-14th Century temples in East Java.

Meanwhile, literary expert Empu Prapanca wrote in his article Negarakertagama that houses in those days were already finely designed and neatly arranged around open courtyards.

According to Prapanca, Surabaya was developing rapidly, and when King Hayam Wuruk traveled around the area, he would visit the city and spent the night there. Batavia was not yet established and Sunda Kelapa was still a fisherman's village.

The map of Surabaya in 1825, under the VOC (Dutch East Indies Company), showed that this city had long existed and later developed according to the mandala, or circular, Javanese cosmic pattern, with a court as its hub and villages of different social strata surrounding it at the four points of the compass.

A subsequent map of 1866 indicated the growth of new cities imitating the Renaissance urban pattern, with fortresses. The inner settlements were designed for settlers from Europe and local citizens whom they considered necessary to maintain close relations.

The Mataram and Mangir chronicls recorded that the influence of the Dutch in Batavia, now Jakarta, was longer than in other cities.

The above descriptions suggest that today's cities basically developed from agrarian villages that underwent agglomeration by the process of collective concentration and expansion. Villages with only a limited capacity for growth are now known as kampung kota or urban kampongs/sub-districts.

Some of these kampongs were formally set up by specific ethnic groups, such as Kampong Bali, Kampong Arab, Kampong Melayu and Kampong Pacitan. Others trace their origins to prior settlements of craftsmen or workers such as the Javaese cities Plampitan (formerly a mat makers' settlement), Pandean (blacksmiths) and Jagalan (butchers). Still others were formerly established for court officials like Tumenggungan, Maspatih, Keranggan and Prabuan.

According to Johan Silas, one of the book's contributors, cities in Java were generally mandala-shaped, with settlements conforming to the residents' occupations.

Ethnic groups considered guests or immigrants were located north of the central palace, craftsmen and workers occupied the east, officials lived in the west and the royal family in the south. Today, these court-based settlements have become sub-districts, with the trades of their past inhabitants retained as names.

During the colonial reign of the Netherlands in the 19th Century, a new civic model was imported and established for European residents and those seen as their equals, almost without any rational or formal approach. This was in contrast to the local civic model, which was created to suit the lifestyle and demands of the region's wet tropical climate.

New settlements were built to border and surround the existing villages, complete with new and better urban utilities. Consequently, a polarization in housing development took place.

Compared to the new villages, the old villages were smaller, semi-permanent, crowded and provided with modest and limited facilities. They were generally inhabited by indigenous people. The bigger, permanent, sparsely distributed, Western-style houses were set up for residents of a higher status, most notably the Dutch.

Amid the scarcity of books dealing with the history of cities, Kota Lama, Kota Baru is very important, as it presents a portrait of Indonesia's cities with critical observations. The data provided by its contributors also gives it greater weight and quality.

Although it is still less than complete, this publication will complement the very few resources of its kind in the country.

The writer is currently pursuing a degree at the School of Social & Political Sciences at Muhammadiyah University, Yogyakarta.

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