Beng Kong: Tomb of a forgotten captain

Beng Kong: Tomb of a forgotten captain

By Ida Indawati Khouw

Residents around Jl. Pangeran Jayakarta in Central Jakarta
know of an area in their neighborhood called Beng Kong. But, only
a few of them know that the name belongs to a great figure among
the Chinese community in Batavia in the 16th century. This is the
25th article in the series on historical sites and buildings in
Jakarta in Saturday editions of The Jakarta Post.

JAKARTA (JP): The area is named after Souw Beng Kong, the
first Chinese "captain" -- a title given by the Dutch colonial
authorities to certain community figures at the time -- in
Batavia whose body is buried in a tomb in the area.

He originated from Fujian in mainland China, along with many
Chinese Indonesians.

His tomb, which like many historic sites in the capital is
badly preserved, is not on the list of Jakarta's preserved
buildings. But local historians have plans to propose it be put
on it.

It is located in a narrow alley off Gang Taruna near the busy
street of Jl. Pangeran Jayakarta. Only bicycles or motorcycles
can pass along it.

People firmly suggest strangers are escorted by locals when
walking through the alley in the slum area. The tomb itself is
often occupied by squatters.

According to historians Denys Lombard and Claudine Salmon, the
tomb of Souw (1580-1644) is the oldest Chinese archaeological
inheritance that still exists in the city.

But the historians apparently have no idea that the grave is
no longer complete. The only remaining part that is still visible
is the bongpai (gravestone in Chinese).

The other part of the tomb has been used for the concrete
foundations of a modest house, which is currently occupied by the
head of the local neighborhood.

The owner, Durat, and his family enter the house via a wooden
staircase built near the gravestone.

The house was empty when the Post visited the site on
Wednesday. Piles of worn-out junk were stacked around the
gravestone.

The only things which could have proved its value were three
separate inscriptions on the front of the gravestone.

Unfortunately, two of the inscriptions are missing.

The remaining one describes, in Dutch, about the brief career
of the "late first captain Souw Beng Kong" from 1619 until he
died in 1644.

According to a book entitled Chinese Epigraphic Materials in
Indonesia, the two missing inscriptions -- both in Chinese -- say
briefly about Souw and his history.

One of the stones mentions that Souw was from Hokkian in China
and was an expert in letters and wushu martial art.

It also states that he was a generous man who landed in Banten
(in West Java) and moved to Batavia in 1619 after he became a
rich merchant.

"On Oct. 11 (1619), he was granted authority by the governor
to watch over the Chinese community. Under his leadership,
Chinese people were prosperous," the inscription reveals.

In 1636, it continues, Souw "sailed to Taiwan with the Dutch
people and was highly respected there.

"On Apr. 8, 1644 (he) passed away.

"After 280 years, the grave was badly damaged so the gong-tang
(Chinese council) donated 2,500 dun to renovate the grave on Oct.
11, 1929," reads the inscription as quoted by the book.

The book says that unlike wealthy notables of his time, Souw
-- who was a native of Tongan in Fujian province of China -- had
a very small family; the tombstone only mentions two children:
Sing Nio and Sik Nio.

There is no data on the gender of the two but the name Nio is
usually used for girls.

Adolf Heuken in his book Historical Sites of Jakarta said Souw
had one child in China, two boys from two Balinese slaves,
another from a Chinese woman and a daughter from an unknown
woman.

The spelling of Souw differs. Some call him So Beng Kong, So
Bing Kong or Su Minggang, while the Dutch named him Bencon.

But historians agree on the significance of his role in
Batavia's history. Such was is status as the first captain in
Batavia that his name became the "symbol of cooperation" between
the Chinese and Dutch trading empire, VOC.

The site of his tomb is his own garden, which at the time was
located close to the oldest Chinese graveyard in the city.

Not long after Souw was buried in 1644, the local Chinese
community, who lived mostly in the areas in and around the walled
city of Kota in West Jakarta, built a public Chinese graveyard
six years later.

Expert on Chinese architecture Edison Yulius said that Jl.
Pangeran Jayakarta area was at the time an ideal site for a
graveyard as its location, on the west bank of the Kali Besar
River, is inline with Chinese beliefs.

Based on Chinese cosmology, west was the symbol of death while
east symbolized life, he said.

The lecturer on architecture at the privately owned
Tarumanagara University here explained that in the beginning
Souw's grave was typical of a Chinese tomb. It had a high pile of
earth surrounded by another pile of earth in the form of a half
circle at the rear.

"This is in accordance with the belief that the deceased is
considered to be in the sitting position so there should be the
back of a chair that is in the form of the half circle of earth,"
Edison said.

Due to the need for large tombs, the local Chinese then
extended the size of the graveyard.

Lombard and Salmon recorded that in 1761 the graveyard had
spread to the nearby areas of Kemayoran, Gunung Sahari and
Sentiong.

In Hokkian, Sentiong means new graveyard.

In the early 19th century, the Dutch colonial government
permitted the Chinese community to build other graveyards at
several places in West Jakarta, such as Tanjung, Slipi and Kota
Bambu.

All of these graveyards no longer exist.

Tragically, old tombstones with Chinese characters have been
used by locals, for example those in the slum area of Kota Bambu,
as blocks to cover open drains.

Lombard and Salmon noted that due to several reasons,
including rising land prices in the city, many Chinese preferred
to cremate their dead relatives instead of burying them.

According to the historians, the custom of cremation in the
city was pioneered by a prominent Chinese journalist and
community leader, Kwee Tek Hoay, who died in 1951.

"Since that time, thousands of Chinese Indonesians have
followed his lead," they said.