JP/Wendra Ajistyatama

Jakarta is the country'€™s biggest melting pot where Indonesians of different ethnicities, religions and languages live and work. On Oct. 28, 1928, a group of young men and women from far-flung islands assembled in Jakarta to pledge that they would be united under one motherland called Indonesia, one nation called Indonesia and one language, the Indonesian language. With the many ethnic enclaves in Jakarta currently coexisting peacefully, it seems that their wishes have somewhat come true:

Indian-descent

If you walk around shops in Pa-sar Baru area in Central Jakarta, you will experience a different atmosphere. Textile shops with Sanskrit names exude the smell of incense and vegetarian restaurants with flower garlands on their front doors become a regular part of the scenery.

The atmosphere of Pasar Baru, a commercial area built by the Dutch in the 1730s, is quite different from other parts of the city because most of the inhabitants are Indian businesspeople.

Eighty percent of the approximately 100 stores in Pasar Baru belong to Indians selling textiles and sports equipment.

Aside from Pasar Baru, many Indians also live in Sunter, North
Jakarta.

Both Pasar Baru and Sunter have facilities like temples and schools for Indian children.

Chinese-descent

The Chinese were among the first people who immigrated to Indonesia. Their descendants now inhabit almost all corners of the country.

Like Indians, most Chinese Indonesians in Jakarta are traders, ranging from small shop owners in neighborhoods to tycoons who own multinational companies.

In Jakarta, most Chinese people live in the northern part of the city, like in Glodok in West Jakarta and Kelapa Gading, Ancol, Pantai Indah Kapuk and Pluit in North Jakarta, areas they believe to be the '€œdragon head'€ locations.

According to an ancient Chinese architectural philosophy, feng shui, a dragon head is a location that brings good fortune to people living or doing businesses in that particular area.

Arab-descent

A small area in Condet, East Jakarta, is known for its many people of Arab descent, who mostly make a living by selling homemade perfume and Arabian tobacco, shisha.

According to Haddad, an Arab Indonesian who was a perfume vendor in the area, concocting perfumes was a tradition of his ancestors. He added that his father, along with several friends of Arab descent, moved to Condet in the 1970s and started selling perfume not long after. It was not until the 1990s that Arab perfume kiosks started to crowd Condet.

'€œMy father sold perfume and various other Arabian oils. Our fellow Arab Indonesians followed suit and started selling similar things too,'€ he said.

An older Arab community also lives in Kwitang area, Central Jakarta.

Batak

Many residents from North Sumatra migrated to Jakarta after independence in 1945 in search of better jobs and living conditions in the capital city. Since then, Batak have spread throughout the city.

One of the most notable Batak residences in the city that still stands today is in Cililitan in East Jakarta, where most of the neighborhoods were inhabited by Batak. The area has many Batak churches and
eateries.

Aside from Cililitan, the Batak community in Jakarta also resides in Kernolong and Senen in Central Jakarta, Peninggaran in South Jakarta, Pulo Mas, Pramuka and Taman Mini in East Jakarta.

Betawi

Although the Betawi are considered Jakarta'€™s indigenous ethnicity, the number of Betawi residents has steadily decreased following the migration of other ethnic communities into the capital.

The Betawi people, who are descended from an intermingling of different races and ethnicities, such as Balinese, Malay, Chinese, Arab and Portuguese, became known in the 17th century. The name itself was given by the Dutch.

The Betawi people were traders and landlords and owned many plots of land in Jakarta.

Although some have left Jakarta, Betawi enclaves can still be found in Mampang in South Jakarta, Kampung Pulo in East Jakarta, Manggarai in South Jakarta and Condet in East Jakarta alongside Arab Indonesians. '€” JP

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