Haunting reminders of Banten Lama's past

Simon Marcus Gower ,  Contributor ,  Banten   |  Tue, 08/05/2008 10:15 AM  |  Potpourri

There are two aspects of Banten Lama that seem to contrast so much that they create strikingly different impressions.

Visiting Banten Lama on a weekend, for example, one is likely to encounter large crowds, as bus loads of visitors arrive, effectively on a pilgrimage to the Grand Mosque.

Stalls selling everything from fruit, drinks and local snacks to toys for passing children and prayer beads for their parents, line the way to the Grand Mosque, creating a bustling market. Large buses and much smaller mini-buses churn up the dust as they squeeze into congested parking areas.

The solid looking minaret -- or lighthouse, as it is also known, thanks to its appearance -- standing proudly within the mosque grounds, is busy with visitors anxious to climb the tower to its two viewing galleries.

This area conveys the bustle of busy crowds, and the sense of being among masses of people. Yet in the neighboring ruins of the Surasowan Kraton royal palace, it is possible to feel quite alone.

The only hints of the nearby crowds are the voices carried on the wind, but the high and wide walls that box in the ruins of the palace create an area of seclusion next to the hustle and bustle.

A well and stairway to the walls at Surasowan Kraton show considerable brickwork. (JP/Simon Marcus Gower)

The ruins of Surasowan Kraton have an eerie aspect to them, quite apart from the seclusion they offer, which seems accentuated by the remote sounds of the nearby crowds. All that remains of the palace are hints of the original buildings and of rooms that must once have stood within its heavily fortified walls.

There are stairways and floor tiles along with, these days, low walls that indicate the shapes of the spaces that were once, hinting at the extent of large residential space within the palace as it is, after all, a very large area. Now, though, few people come inside the powerful walls that surround it.

Children use a section of the ruins flooded by rainwater as an impromptu diving and swimming pool. Near one of two wells there are signs of someone perhaps drawing water from the well and possibly residing in a cavernous section of the massive walls. Otherwise few people enter these places and they seem left mostly to the ghosts of yesteryear.

The palace was here for 300 years from the early part of the 16th century, but like another ruin not so far away from it, Fort Speelwijk, it then suffered neglect and decay as the colonial Dutch turned their backs on Banten and moved to their preferred Batavia, which is now Jakarta.

The massive walls that surround Surasowan Kraton highlight that during the time that Banten was a thriving port, and capable of supporting a palace, then there were numerous conflicts that created the need for such protection. This kind of massive defensive construction can also be seen at Fort Speelwijk which is a short walk from the palace grounds.

The fort was first established here in the early 1680s at a time when there was civil war throughout the Banten region. Then as Banten surrendered to the Dutch V.O.C. (Vereenigde Oost Indische Compagnie) the fort grew and within the next century was further added to. But as the Dutch increasingly favored Batavia over Banten the fort then suffered abandonment and was partly dismantled.

Despite this, what remains today is a large fortified area that shows that the Dutch presence here was quite significant and although mostly in ruins there are rooms tucked away down darkened tunnels and intact aspects of the giant walls that show the detail and quality of its construction.

The high, broad and brooding walls retain their castellation effect that gives the look of a castle and there is a conical look-out tower perched on the walls whose triangular viewing ports give views out to sea. Elsewhere the walls show some signs of wear and tear caused by warfare, but these are not so easily spotted.

Upon entering the fortress grounds it is quite likely that a local teenager will approach and offer his services as an unofficial guide.

There are no entrance fees to be paid into either the Surasowan Kraton or Fort Speelwijk and there is no guide or guidebook on-hand to assist a tour. The presence of an "unofficial guide" can be helpful.

Such a guide will, for example, point out the holes in the mighty walls that could otherwise have been overlooked. These holes are the pitting marks made by bullets presumably fired from heavy muskets, centuries ago. He will also take you down uninviting tunnels with reassurances that it is "Ok, ok, no problem... it's cool".

It is indeed cool within the rooms that can be reached via these dark and gloomy tunnels. With light penetrating into them from rudimentary skylights cut into their ceilings, these rooms are effectively buried deep in the walls and would probably have been used as secure storage spaces, as they are cool and well away from prying eyes or interfering hands.

Nearby there are massive stone tombs that form a small cemetery, apparently for Dutch soldiers.

The tombs are in poor condition and only one of them retains an inscription stone. This tallest of the tombs has an inscription that informs us of the death on the 5th of September 1763 of a man born in 1718.

The cemetery stands just outside the fort walls, but back within the walls our unofficial guide is keen to tell of how the ghosts of soldiers buried in the cemetery perhaps linger within the fort.

He tells of how at night two figures can be seen standing guard at a doorway, their spirits seemingly destined to keep watch on the fortress for all eternity.

Whether or not such ghostly apparitions may be seen among the night shadows is not certain but it is clear that the sites at Banten Lama are well worth a visit.

The palace and the fort both stand as striking reminders of what Banten Lama once was, a major port in Asia. Today these ruins are mostly deserted and somewhat eerie and sad but they are fascinating. They give almost haunting hints about the intriguing history of this part of the West of Java.

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