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.