Somba Opu, a lost historical city
By Jupriadi
UJUNGPANDANG, South Sulawesi (JP): The 20-meter thick ancient fort walls remain sturdy in the middle of paddy fields full of wild shrubbery.
There is no obvious evidence that the 1,500-hectare area, located on the Janeberang River delta bordering Gowa and Ujungpandang, was one of the world's busiest commercial districts 300 years ago.
Abu Hamid, a senior anthropologist at Hasanuddin University, Ujungpandang, says Somba Opu, then known as Bandar Makassar, was known in international circles to have been a commercial city from the ninth century.
He notes that between 1550 and 1650 there were eight major cities in Southeast Asia that were commercial centers; one of those being Bandar Makassar.
The fort of Somba Opu, which fortified the city of the same name, was established in 1510 by king I Manguntungi Dg. Matanre Karaeng Tumaparisi Kallonna when the Gowa kingdom was transformed from an agricultural town to a maritime one.
At about the same time, the Gowa kingdom built another nine forts of Portuguese architecture. This won Somba Opu the nick name "city of a hundred forts" among Portuguese, Dutch and Spanish merchants.
The Somba Opu fort overlooked the Makassar Strait. Among European merchants, Somba Opu was best known as a spice trade center, according to historian Mattulada.
Historical traces are still evident that the area had enclaves and trade representative offices of Portugal, Denmark, Britain, Pakistan, Arab countries, Spain, China, Pahang and Johor.
Somba Opu began to lose its shine in the 17th century after Gowa was invaded by Dutch troops under Cornelis J. Speelman and their local collaborator, Arung Palakka. Somba Opu fort was destroyed.
The grandeur of Somba Opu City is evident in a secret map made by the Dutch East Indies Company in 1670. The map is currently the property of Austria's national library.
Somba Opu's historical glory inspired South Sulawesi governor Achmad Amiruddin, in office from 1983 to 1988, to develop it into a historical research center. The fort was dug up with the intention of reviving the historical grandeur and remind people of the area's past splendor.
But before the project was completed, Amiruddin retired and it became neglected. His successor started something new: turning the historical site into the South Sulawesi Miniature Park in 1989.
"Now, the fort remnants are left high and dry. I'm afraid the rubble will be lost," says the irritated Abu Hamid.
The problem only worsened when the miniature park project also failed. The park project -- which mirrors the Taman Mini Indonesia Indah in Jakarta -- remains neglected.
"The South Sulawesi miniature project is now history. And so is the fort of Somba Opu," Abu notes.
Syamsudin Azis, a theater activist from Ujungpandang, is one of those worried about Somba Opu's survival. He observes that four Bugis houses on the site are also in bad shape.
He says the worsening economic crisis is a good reason for the public to worry about the future of Somba Opu because the local government has lost its financial capability to restore it.
"Unless the government does something to preserve Somba Opu, the historical site will be lost," Syamsudin says. "In the end it will all be lost."