Tanah Abang market history at a glance

Damar Harsanto and Novan Iman Santosa, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Tanah Abang textile market in Central Jakarta, which was hit by fire on Wednesday, is said to be one of the largest markets in Southeast Asia although there has been no direct evidence or comprehensive research to support such a claim.

Valid or not, Tanah Abang is indeed Indonesia's largest distribution center for textiles and textile products as traders there have customers nationwide.

Currently it is estimated that the turnover in the textile market reaches some Rp 15 trillion (US$1.6 billion) a year.

Such a massive income is generated by about 7,500 stalls owned by some 4,700 traders.

Before Wednesday's fire, Tanah Abang market stood on a 39,300- square-meter plot of land with a total floor area of about 82,000 square meters.

There are also some 2,000 street vendors who help create the massive traffic congestion around the market complex, making it nearly impossible for people and vehicles to move.

According to various sources, Tanah Abang literally means "red earth" in Javanese. There is a possible connection with Lemah Abang district in Bekasi, West Java, which also means "red earth".

The term Tanah Abang itself is believed to come from the Mataram expeditionary force under Sultan Agung which launched attacks in 1628 against the East Indies Dutch trading company (VOC) in Batavia, the old name for Jakarta.

The Javanese soldiers set up their camps around the present time Tanah Abang market, located on a hilly site surrounded by swamp, with the Kali Krukut river flowing nearby.

In addition to this widely accepted version, a noted Betawi (native Jakartan) cultural observer, Ridwan Saidi said that the name is derived from a certain tree common to the area, the Nabang.

Ridwan's theory is likely based on a drawing made by a Dutch soldier and artist, Johannes Rach, titled De Nabang which depicts a panoramic view of Tanah Abang.

"That's why the Betawi people identify the area as Tenabang until now. The name changed after the construction of a railway station there in 1890," Ridwan said in his book Profil Orang Betawi, Asal Muasal, Kebudayaan dan Adat Istiadatnya (Profile of the Betawi People, Their Origins, Culture and Customs).

"The railway company thought that the word Tenabang derived from Tanah Abang," he added.

The area was further developed as Batavia expanded its territory. There was Weltevreden or the current Pasar Senen area in the east, the west frontier was Molenvliet (Jl. Gajah Mada) until Rijswijk (Jl. Veteran).

Transportation became inevitable following the expansion to connect those newly claimed areas and canals were the main option.

Chinese Captain Phoa Bing Ham was a main figure in the canal construction when he dug a canal in Molenvliet reaching the Ciliwung River to the east in 1648.

To the west, Phoa constructed a canal to the edge of Kebon Sirih area connecting it with Kali Krukut on the west side of Tanah Abang.

The presence of canals really helped the fertile areas around Tanah Abang where people, mostly of Chinese descent, grew many kinds of plants such as ginger, jasmine and sirih (betel vine).

That's why now there are areas named after specific plants such as Kebon Jahe (Ginger Garden), Kebon Melati (Jasmine Garden) and Kebon Sirih (Betel Vine Garden).

The area soon became a prosperous, progressive new economic center.

As the Arabs came to the city in large numbers, the market also became famous for its herds of goats which are still there up until now.

The emerging market caught the attention of a wealthy Dutch landlord, Justinus Vinck who bought the area in 1733. He also had the land title of Weltevreden.

The Dutch trading company VOC granted Vinck a license to open a market in Tanah Abang and another one in Weltevreden on Aug. 30, 1735.

The license allowed the Weltevreden market to open on Mondays (hence the name Pasar Senen which means Monday Market) while Tanah Abang was to open on Saturdays.

Due to increasing commercial activities, the Dutch colonial administration then allowed Tanah Abang market to also open on Wednesdays.

Vinck then constructed roads to connect both markets including the one passing Prapatan Kwitang in Central Jakarta.

Tanah Abang met its first destruction in 1740 during the Chinese rebellion which was suppressed violently by the Dutch authorities here causing a large Chinese exodus out of Batavia.

The Chinese traders returned only after the Dutch persuaded them to continue their halted activities.

The market was then reconstructed in 1881 followed by modernization by the Dutch colonial administration in 1926.

Meanwhile, the Indonesian government further renovated the market in 1976, comprising of 4,351 shops with a total floor area of 11,154 square meters.

Records show that Tanah Abang has been razed by fire at least twice before. The first fire took place on Dec. 30, 1978 which consumed the third floor of Block A.

The second fire was on Aug. 13, 1979 in Block B.

The city administration is planning a Rp 153.95 billion renovation project expected to be finished by 2004.