Tale of Jl. Pecah Kulit more than skin deep<\/p>\n
By Ida Indawati Khouw<\/p>\n
For those unfamiliar with the capital, its assortment of
\nunusually named streets -- Jl. Gereja Ayam (\"church chicken\"),
\nJl. Gambar Hidup (\"portrait of life\") and Jl. Tiang Bendera
\n(\"flagpole\") -- may sound more than a little odd. Our 33rd
\narticle in a special weekly series on Jakarta's historical and
\nprotected sites and buildings digs into the horrific tale of Jl.
\nPecah Kulit (\"broken skin\") in West Jakarta.<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Street names come and go with the times,
\nespecially when their unusual meanings hit a discordant note with
\nmodern residents.<\/p>\n
One of them, Jl. Jagal Monyet, literally \"monkey
\nslaughtering\", has become the more genteel sounding Jl. Suryo
\nPranoto.<\/p>\n
But Jl. Pecah Kulit, a small L-shaped street near the busy Jl.
\nPangeran Jayakarta in West Jakarta, has kept its name.<\/p>\n
The 250-meter-long street's eponymous name refers to the
\ngrisly mass killing of rebels by the Dutch colonial government at
\nthe site some 278 years ago.<\/p>\n
Extant records say the rebels were led by Pieter Erberveld, a
\nson of a German-Siamese couple, who plotted for the 1722
\nrebellion.<\/p>\n
Printed data said locals gave the street its name from the
\npieces of human skin left after the torture and killing of the
\nmen on April 4, 1722.<\/p>\n
The rebel leaders were reportedly dragged along the street by
\nhorses before being skinned alive.<\/p>\n
Erberveld (some sources call him Erbervelt or Ervervelt) was
\n59 when he was killed.<\/p>\n
A report compiled in 1977 by the then City Museum and
\nHistorical Agency, titled Pieter Erberveld Trying to Reach the
\nStars, said Erberveld, who was born a Christian, converted to
\nIslam partly due to his closeness with local Muslims, who shared
\nhis desire to banish the Dutch from Java.<\/p>\n
It said Erberveld's father, who shared the same name, was a
\nnoted landlord and a captain of a cavalry unit in Batavia. His
\nfather came from a small town in Germany's Wuppertal-Elberfeld
\nregion and married a Siamese Christian woman, Elizabeth Cornelis.<\/p>\n
The younger Erberveld is believed to have been born in Batavia
\nand enjoyed a close relationship with the pribumi (indigenous
\ncommunity).<\/p>\n
The agency's report said the plan for rebellion stemmed from
\nan incident when Erberveld was publicly humiliated by a Dutch
\ntrader, Van der Shuur, who accused Erberveld of being a man of
\nGerman descent who once tortured a group of Javanese.<\/p>\n
\"After the incident, Erberveld held hatred toward the Dutch.
\nIt could have been from then that he decided to take revenge ...
\nIn stages, he gathered (local) friends, who shared the same
\nfeeling and desire,\" the report said.<\/p>\n
Adolf Heuken said in his book Historical Sites of Jakarta that
\nErberveld wanted to kill all Dutch inhabitants residing in
\nBatavia on New Year's Day 1722 simply to fulfill his dream to
\nbecome a community leader, locally called Tuan Goesti (My Lord).<\/p>\n
The agency's report stated that Erberveld started plotting his
\nrevenge in 1720 by recruiting local people in Java. He named
\nnobleman Raden Kartadria from Kartasura in Central Java as his
\nclose aide.<\/p>\n
The main task of Kartadria was to initiate contact with people
\nliving outside of Batavia and to prepare weapons, like kris and
\nspears, for the massacre.<\/p>\n
Erberveld had become known as Tuan Goesti by his followers at
\nthe time.<\/p>\n
With support from 17,000 people from many areas across Java,
\nhe set up a series of secret meetings with his followers at his
\nhouse on Jl. Jacatra (now Jl. Pangeran Jayakarta).<\/p>\n
\"It was like a huge group of grasshoppers surrounding a paddy
\nfield, ready to ravage the grains,\" the report said.<\/p>\n
The plot of Erberveld and his troops was thwarted when his
\nslave, Ali, and the Sultan of Banten in West Java betrayed him to
\na senior Dutch military official and Governor General Hendrik
\nZwaardecroon respectively.<\/p>\n
The report does not mention the sultan's reasons for betrayal,
\nbut noted Ali was angered when Erbereld would not allow him to
\nmarry his daughter, Sarina.<\/p>\n
During a secret meeting on Dec. 31, 1721, a day before the
\nmassacre of the Dutch was to be carried out, Erberveld, Kartadria
\nand 17 followers were arrested by the Dutch troops.<\/p>\n
A court sentenced them to die on April 24, 1722.<\/p>\n
Dutch clergyman Francois Valentijn recalled in his book that
\nErberveld and his followers were \"tortured by using burning
\npliers to peel off their flesh in six parts\".<\/p>\n
Their right hands were cut off, and their hearts pried out and
\nthrown into their faces. They were beheaded and their bodies torn
\ninto four, he said.<\/p>\n
\"The parts were scattered at several locations outside the
\ncity as a frightening deterrent to others,\" said Valentijn.<\/p>\n
He said that four indigenous people also were killed. Three
\nwomen were strangled to death and 10 other people were killed by
\nbeing tied to wheels as their bodies were torn apart.<\/p>\n
Another version says Erberveld and Kartadria were dragged by
\nhorses along what is now Jl. Pecah Kulit, causing the flaying of
\ntheir skin.<\/p>\n
The city agency's report said 24 people were killed.<\/p>\n
To commemorate the incident, the Dutch government erected a
\nwhite wall monument with a stone skull statue at the site of
\nErberveld's house.<\/p>\n
The inscription on the monument was written in Dutch and
\nJavanese: \"In loathsome memory of the punished traitor Pieter
\nErberveld, nobody shall now or ever be allowed to build, to
\ncarpenter, to lay bricks or to plant in this place, Batavia, 14th
\nApril, 1722.\"<\/p>\n
Heuken believed the monument was actually constructed years
\nlater when people no longer remembered the tragedy because \"the
\nstone says that it's erected on April 14th, 1722, while Erberveld
\nwas quartered on April 24, 1722\".<\/p>\n
The inscription's sober warning apparently fell on deaf ears;
\nErberveld's home is now long gone, replaced by a big auto
\nworkshop and showroom.<\/p>\n
Local residents have no idea of the site's grisly history.<\/p>\n
The original stone is now in the grounds of the Jakarta
\nHistorical Museum in West Jakarta, and a replica is at Memorial
\nStone Park Museum in Central Jakarta.<\/p>\n
The blood which flowed on an April day three centuries ago has
\ngiven way to the dirt and odors of the traditional market which
\nnow operates at the site.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/tale-of-jl-pecah-kulit-more-than-skin-deep-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}