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Jakarta Post

Former Chinese cemetery serves as bustling market

Looking for a bit of history with your shopping experience this Idul Fitri? Customers strolling through Pasar Bong market - in Surabaya's Chinatown - may not know it, but a unique and interesting multicultural history lies right beneath their feet

Indra Harsaputra (The Jakarta Post)
Surabaya
Sat, September 19, 2009

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Former Chinese cemetery serves as bustling market

L

ooking for a bit of history with your shopping experience this Idul Fitri? Customers strolling through Pasar Bong market - in Surabaya's Chinatown - may not know it, but a unique and interesting multicultural history lies right beneath their feet.

Pasar Bong may not be the biggest wholesale market in the city, but every Ramadan the market is jammed packed with local shoppers who come from far and wide.

Not many people are aware that Pasar Bong was built on the grounds of a Chinese cemetery, where Han Bwee Kong, alias Han Bwee Sing (1727-1778), the first person from the Han clan to serve as a Chinese captain, was buried.

The Dutch colonial administration appointed Souw Beng Kong (1580-1644) as a Inlandsche kommandan, or Kapitein der Chineezen, (Chinese captain) on Oct. 11, 1619.

Chinese captains were not military or government officials, but were given a mandate to manage the Chinese community, or traders in general. The practice lasted until the Japanese invaded Indonesia and the duties of a Chinese Captain included collecting taxes.

Sixty-year-old Maesudan, a local figure in Bongkaran, said Pasar Bong was formed in the 1980s, after the Chinese cemetery had been levelled.

"When I was twelve, the Chinese cemetery still existed, stretching from the Kembang Jepun area to Jl. Gula, while the old warehouses on Jl. Slompretan was the center of loading and unloading of cargo from Bandung, Jakarta, and even China," he said.

Matsudan added that when the land rights to the cemetery expired in 1980, more and more newcomers were arriving in the area. The rapid increase in population led to the development of a squatter community in the cemetery. As conditions improved, the site developed into a trading area.

"It went from a squat to a market because there was a warehouses on Jl Slompretan, which the new arrivals flocked to because of its cheap, quality goods," he said.

Matsudan said the area then gradually turned into the Pasar Bong market ("bong" means "meeting place" in Chinese) as the new locals traded among themselves.

"Dozens of traders and cottage industries depend their existence on Pasar Bong, not only residents from the Indonesian-Chinese community, but also ethnic Javanese, Madurese and descendants from Hadramaut.

"Despite the various ethnic groups, we have never worried about ethnic differences and have bound together to proudly be called Arek Surabaya," he said.

Matsudan was proud to say religious and ethnic conflicts have never been a problem in the Pasar Bong area. If a trade or social conflict does takes place, residents resolve it peacefully.

"There is a consensus among us to maintain peace and harmony and avoid harming our respective businesses," he said. "Pasar Bong is always busy during Ramadan. Many people come to buy sarongs or other Muslim clothing or perhaps order clothes from tailors," Matsudan said.

He added a sarong in Pasar Bong cost half what it would at other wholesale markets. A good quality and regular size sarong is priced at Rp 35,000 (US$3.50) and a medium quality one at Rp 15,000.

Mariana, who sells Muslim clothing and accessories, said she could earn up to Rp 10 million a day during Ramadan, twice what she can make the rest of the year.

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