'Belanda Depok' trace their history to 1619

JAKARTA (JP): Jakarta's population was once dominated by slaves in the 1600s, with the number totaling almost half of the total residents.

Their descendants can still be found, such as those in Depok Lama subdistrict, Depok mayoralty, some 30 kilometers south of here.

A familiar moniker for the community members is Belanda Depok (Dutch-Depok people), although they share no physical characteristics with the Dutch.

They do not look different from other Indonesians who have dark-brown skin and black hair. That is why they refuse to be called Belanda Depok. They prefer to be called Orang Depok Asli (original Depok people).

The Dutch authority and the community called the descendants Depokkers. But they were officially referred to as Christen- Inlander (Indigenous Christian) on their birth certificate.

"We are really indigenous Indonesians and have no Dutch blood," said a Depok Asli community figure, R.M. Jonathans, 60.

Jonathans' claim was proven by the fact that, besides having similar physical characteristics with other Indonesians, they had no habits or other traditions which could be associated with the Dutch.

"Even now our younger generation can no longer speak Dutch," said the head of a research group for the Depok history of the Cornelis Chastelein Foundation (LCC).

A unique feature of the Depok community was that they had 12 western family names since the community was established some 300 years ago.

The 12 family names are Jonathans, Leander, Bacas, Loen, Samuel, Jacob, Laurens, Joseph, Tholense, Isakh, Soedira and Zadokh.

Unfortunately, the Zadokh family name has disappeared, due to a lack of male children, said LCC chairman Rene Roland Loen.

No one knows the real history behind the establishment of the 12 family names. However, some believe they followed the number of Jesus Christ's first 12 disciples.

They were the 12 family names who inherited the Depok land which was granted by a Dutch official and landlord, Cornelis Chastelein, in 1714.

"Through the family names it is easier to identify the Depok people," Loen said.

LCC treasurer Otto Leander said there were 8,000 Depok community members, some of whom live in other areas.

Jonathans said the term Belanda Depok has a more political background. "It was during the time when the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI -- in the 1960s) that the moniker started to emerge," he said.

He said PKI tried to discredit the Depok community because the latter was a religious community. "It's obvious that communism is opposed to religion, that's why they made use of anything to discredit the religious.

"The term Dutch could have meant having less nationalism at that time," he said.

The Depok community had cut off contact with the Dutch as their great-grandparents were slaves of Dutchman Chastelein in 1619 at the latter's huge plantation in Depok.

Slavery was popular in Batavia, with a 1674 document saying the number of slaves totaled 12,278 out of a city population of 27,068.

Chastelein, who once constructed a building called Weltevreden the name of which has been used as a reference to the elite area of Menteng in Central Jakarta, bought a great number of slaves from the kings of Bali and from other areas like Sulawesi and Timor to work on his plantation. The Balinese were known to be skillful workers in agriculture.

Jonathans said 150 slaves were brought to Chastelein's huge property in the wooded area of Depok, which he bought in 1619.

The landlord was known to be a religious man so the slaves were not only obliged to work but were also taught Christianity.

A church was built in 1700 for the slaves which still exists until now.

Chastelein was known as a "civilized" man during his era as he freed his slaves in 1714 far before the law which permitted slavery was abolished in 1860.

There were 120 freed slaves, historian Adolf Heuken said.

He said in addition to freedom, the slaves were also granted a parcel of land in Depok, 300 sheep, two sets of gamelan (traditional Javanese musical instrument) and weapons.

The inheritance was clearly a part of Chastelein's will.

The kind landlord died on June 28, 1714, the date of which has been celebrated as Chastelein Day. (ind)