Balinese enriched old Jakarta

Balinese enriched old Jakarta

By Ida Indawati Khouw

The city of Batavia, now Jakarta, was known as a melting pot
of various ethnic groups. However, for various reasons, most of
the ethnic identities have disappeared. The 73rd article on old
Jakarta looks into the history of the Balinese here.

JAKARTA (JP): Quite a large number of Balinese ethnic groups
lived in the city of Batavia, old Jakarta, many years ago.
However, the only indication which now remains is the term "Bali"
which can still be found in certain areas of the capital city.

Jakartans, for instance, can still find Kampung Bali in
Central Jakarta and Kampung Bali Mester in East Jakarta. In the
past, the two residential areas were Balinese settlements, but at
present, it might be hard to find Balinese living there.

In Batavia, Balinese were one of largest ethnic groups and
their history could be traced back to the years when slavery was
still being practiced here, starting when the city was founded by
the Dutch in 1619 and abolished in 1859 (see also Save Old
Batavia in The Jakarta Post, Jan. 28 edition this year).

Although the Batavian traders purchased slaves in various
parts of the Malay archipelago, it appears that Bali was one of
the most important suppliers of slaves apart from Sulawesi.

Quoting the daily account of proceedings in the 17th century
of Batavia, the daghregisters, A. van der Kraan said that as many
as 20, 30 or sometimes even a hundred slaves were imported from
Bali in a single month.

The daghregisters contain additional scattered references
indicating that at certain times in the 17th century the Balinese
made up the majority of slaves in Batavia.

"Considering that Batavia under the VOC (Verenigde Oost-
Indische Compagnie Dutch East-India Company that ruled the town
between 1619 and 1795) had a slave population of between fifteen
and eighteen thousand, the town at times may have had a Balinese
population of between eight and ten thousand," van der Kraan said
in his monograph Bali: Slavery and Slave Trade in Antony Reid's
Slavery, Bondage and Dependency in Southeast Asia.

Most of the early Balinese people in the old city of Batavia
(in the area currently known as downtown Kota in West Jakarta)
were slaves who worked for the VOC.

C. Lekkerkerker, who in 1918 wrote a book titled De Baliers
van Batavia (Balinese People in Batavia), said Balinese women,
who were brought here in large numbers, were made concubines by
European and Chinese men because they were considered more
beautiful and desirable than those coming from other areas.

"Indeed, they (the female Balinese slaves) were the most
discussed at that time ... Since Batavia was established (in
1619) the Dutch relied on Bali to satisfy their need for women,"
Lekkerker said.

The suppliers of slaves were kings in Bali. According to van
der Kraan, Bali's slave trade was rooted in the nature of the
island's social hierarchy.

Stop

Lekkerkerker said slave trading from Bali had been stopped in
the first 10 years of the 19th century. But before that time,
there had been free Balinese, usually those who were freed by
benevolent masters, who had their own settlements in Batavia.

Some Balinese slaves, for instance, were freed in 1667 and
granted land near the Meester area (now the Jatinegara area in
East Jakarta), thus forming the so-called Bali-Mester area.

In his book Historical Sites of Jakarta, Adolf Heuken said
that several other Balinese settlements were also established,
such as those at Krukut, Angke, Pekojan and Jembatan Merah areas
surrounding the old city.

In 1695, the Dutch recognized six Balinese kampongs: three
near the Sunter River, two in the western part of downtown Kota
and one in the Grogol area.

Fourteen years later, there was another Balinese kampong near
the Angke area followed by that in Ciputat (now South Jakarta) in
1751. Kampung Bali area, which still exists today at Tanah Abang
district in Central Jakarta, was only recorded in the Batavia map
in 1874, Heuken said.

"In 1788 it was reported that 13,700 Balinese slaves were
freed. They were settled in West Java regions to cultivate the
land," he added.

But Balinese identity eventually disappeared from Batavia as
the ethnic Balinese no longer practiced their culture, Hindu
religion, or used their distinct Balinese names.

"It seemed that they merged with the Muslim community,"
Lekkerkerker said, referring to some journals stating that in
1678 Balinese soldiers within the Dutch military forces only ate
dried rice after all salted fish had been eaten, "because they do
not eat pork which is against the Islamic teaching."

In the 1820s it had been difficult to differentiate ethnic
groups in Batavia. "In the 1800s, a Javanese man could easily
become the leader of a Balinese kampong," Heuken said.

The substantial Balinese presence during the town's formative
years may account for the Balinese linguistic influence upon the
Batavia (Betawi) Malay dialect.

Lekkerkerker indicated some Balinese words in the Betawi Malay
language like lantas (then), mendusin (be awake), iseng (do
something for fun), kaok (shout) and many others.

"Thus, we can conclude that in the early 19th century Balinese
people were the most important influences in the diverse culture
of the ethnic Betawi," Lekkerkerker said.

According to Heuken, 44 percent of Balinese words are
compatible with the Betawi language.