Jakartans may have limited public space, but they can still find places to relax even in a cemetery.

Indri Seska and her son, Indra Tamabudi Wijaksono, came all the way from their home in Cibubur, West Java, to join a historic tour and martabak (pancake) cooking at a graveyard in Petamburan, Central Jakarta.

'This is the first time I've come here. I love history and museums, while my son currently craves martabak. He agreed to join me when I told him about this event,' Indri told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.

The event was held by Love Our Heritage, a community focused on the preservation of historical places of interest in Jakarta, and D'Marco café, which offers martabak as its signature food.

Over two dozen people joined the tour in the morning while enjoying the breeze in the green and shady cemetery. It started with a visit to the marble mausoleum, which is the final resting place of Chinese landlord Khouw Oen Giok (OG Khouw), who died in 1927.

Head of the community, Amelia Devina, said the main problems for the mausoleum were stained marble, structural damage from banyan tree roots and clogged drains causing floods.

'Dozens of our community members gather here on the second week of every month to clean up the mausoleum. We plan to raise funds for a total clean up,' she said.

Information about OG Khow can be found in Sam Setyautama's book Chinese Figures in Indonesia. OG Khow was the owner of sugarcane plantations in Tambun, East Jakarta. He was born in 1874 and owned a house in Pinangsia, West Jakarta, which became a Chinese-Dutch School in 1908.

'I am impressed with the giant mausoleum. I had never seen such a huge thing in a cemetery before,' eight grader Indra said.

Ferry Guntoro, a volunteer with Love Our Heritage, later brought the tour to the tomb of Khow Kim An, which is located just next to the mausoleum. 'Khow Kim An was the last Chinese mayor. In the past, every ethnicity was led by a mayor to make it easy for the Dutch to manage them. OG Khow was close to the Dutch and had a European lifestyle, which was different from Khow Kim An,' he said.

The group also visited a room containing jars of the ashes of Japanese people, both new and old. Mamat, 50, the caretaker of the room, told the visitors that pictures of the jars could only be taken in March and September when the Japanese Embassy paid a visit to the room.

Members of the group expressed their curiosity upon arriving at six tombs of Jewish people, which had Latin and Hebrew letters on their headstones. Some of the tombs were already cracked and vandalized, while several have been taken over as graves for other people.

Adjie Hadipriawan, the head of the consulting board at the community, said no families claimed the Jewish tombs or took care of them. The cemetery management, he said, had the right to replace them with new graves at any time because they were not included as heritage items.

A 2006 bylaw stipulates that a grave that has passed an extension rental time of three years can be replaced by another grave.

The tour ended with cleaning the mausoleum and a martabak cooking demonstration in front of the mausoleum. Co-owner of D'Marco café, Ira Lathief, demonstrated the ingredients and special pan to cook the martabak.

Popular

Indonesian hotel chain confirms exit from Cuba

Corruption scandals, rupiah fall revive reshuffle talks

Waiting is not an option