Sion Church: Jakarta's oldest building

Sion Church: Jakarta's oldest building

By Ida Indawati Khouw

This is the 2nd article on old churches in Jakarta published
in commemoration of Easter. It is also the 36th in a series of
articles on old and protected buildings in the capital published
every Saturday in The Jakarta Post.

JAKARTA (JP): In the period after Jan Pieterszoon Coen built
the wall around the city of Batavia in 1619, the Dutch colonial
authorities introduced two types of Protestant churches for the
Mardijker, the Dutch prisoners who had recently been "freed" from
India and Malaya.

The first type of church, the Portuguese Buitenkerk (meaning a
Portuguese church built outside the walled city) was designed to
serve the congregation of the so-called "black Portuguese", the
prisoners who had become slaves in Batavia .

The second, the Portuguese Binnenkerk, was located exclusively
inside the walled city compound and specially constructed for the
"white Portuguese" congregation.

Unlike their "black" brothers and sisters, the status of the
"white" ex-Dutch prisoners was unclear. Some historians say the
"white Portuguese" were wealthier than the "black" ones.

Historian Adolf Heuken has claimed the "white Portuguese" were
placed in an upmarket residential area inside the walled city
(today known as the Roa Malaka in Kota), while the "black
Portuguese" lived outside the walled city.

Unfortunately, the real motive behind the seemingly racist
decision to divide the congregation based on their skin color and
societal status remains unclear.

There are almost no books or documents that can help reveal,
for example, the actual status, profession and skin color of the
congregation of the Portuguese Binnenkerk.

One should underline here that the word Portuguese had nothing
to do with the congregations' nationality or blood. Some
historians have argued the word referred to the former colonial
powers of several lands in the East which were later conquered by
the Dutch, who then shipped the prisoners to various places,
including Batavia.

Historians have also written that the prisoners were mostly
Catholics, who agreed to become Protestants after the Dutch, who
only recognized the Dutch Reformed Church, promised to free them.

According to available sources, the Dutch authority
constructed one Binnenkerk and two Buitenkerk.

The only church built inside the walled city for the "white
Portuguese" was razed by a big fire in 1808. The Portuguese
Binnenkerk was built in 1673.

It is a blessing that the two churches outside the walled
city, now named Sion Church and Tugu Church, remain in their
original places in West and North Jakarta respectively without
any significant changes in either their design or color.

Since Tugu Church, which was constructed between 1744 and
1747, has been the subject of a previous Save Old Batavia article
(The Jakarta Post, Nov. 22, 1999), today's article will focus on
the 305-year-old Sion Church.

Standing solidly among a crowd of modern buildings and facing
the hectic traffic of Jl. Pangeran Jayakarta, the building is a
typical "hall church". The shape is similar to a cube, and it has
large windows and doors.

Its vast interior is garnished with marvelous ornaments. A
golden-colored baroque pulpit with fine carvings is set under the
church's huge wooden canopy. The pulpit is the same age as the
church itself.

The church's furniture also dates back to the 17th century.
Another important item is the 18th-century richly engraved organ
standing on the balcony. The carvings along its side are painted
reddish brown and gold.

In his book Historical Sites of Jakarta Heuken said the street
where the church was located was one of the oldest roads in
ancient Jakarta.

In the old days people called it Jacatraweg, as it led to a
little fort, built in 1695, named Fort Jacatra.

According to Heuken, the church was initially constructed to
replace a simple shed built in 1676, which functioned as a
temporary church, complete with a bell to call congregations for
catechism classes.

The bell, casted in 1675 in Batavia, can still be found in the
wooden tower in the church's front yard.

The church compound was also used to bury thousands of people.
In 1790 alone, a total of 2,381 bodies, most of whom were
soldiers and clerks of the VOC (the Dutch East India Company),
were buried there, Heuken notes.

"Life was really unhealthy in 18th century in Batavia and
people died like flies," the historian wrote.

Heuken regarded the Sion Church as the oldest building in
Jakarta and that its function has remained the same since it was
built in 1695.

The book Teater Lenong Betawi (Betawi Lenong Theater) notes
the number of Mardijker" grew rapidly after their introduction
into Batavia.

In 1673, their population was the third highest (5,362) out of
the seven listed ethnic groups, including slaves, in Batavia.

Their number in the entire population affected the everyday
language in Batavia. The most popular language used a mixture of
Portuguese and Malay words.

"Therefore some Protestant ministers had to learn Portuguese
in order to serve this growing community," Heuken wrote.

Following the decline of the VOC in the 18th century, the
liberated people lost their special status and began to mix with
indigenous people.

A few "Black Portuguese" descendants can still be found in
several kampongs in the city, such as Tugu in North Jakarta and
in the Depok area.