What's in a name of the capital's streets

Novan Iman Santosa, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

We pass along them every day, but in our haste to get from A to B we rarely give a thought to the stories behind the city's streets and communities.

A glaring case in point is Jl. MH Thamrin, the prestigious address that is home to swank modern offices buildings, five-star hotels and diplomatic missions.

The younger generation has sketchy knowledge, if any, about Muhammad Husni Thamrin, whose name is immortalized in this street. Yet many consider him one of the two most prominent Betawi (native Jakartan) citizens, along with the late actor and comedian Benyamin Suaeb.

He served as a member of Volksraad (parliament) during the waning days of the Dutch colonial administration, and was highly regarded for his fluency in Dutch. He spoke the language, it was said, like a Dutchman.

His name was also used for the kampong improvement project, more popularly known as "Proyek MHT", from 1969 to 1982. The project was an extension of his own ideas for urban renewal programs during his term in the legislature.

The other famous "native son", Benyamin, the hugely popular star of a string of movies in the 1970s, also has a street named after him in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta.

The street was formerly a runway at Kemayoran Airport. At its southern end, Jl. Benyamin Suaeb is connected to Jl. Gunung Sahari by Jl. Angkasa. This street was formerly known as Jl. Patrice Lumumba, in honor of the slain Congolese prime minister and believed to be the only Jakarta street named after a foreigner.

The most prominent woman with a street (actually two) named after her has to be women's emancipation figure Kartini. The first is in Pasar Baru area in Central Jakarta while the other is in South Jakarta as an extension of Jl. TB Simatupang.

The difference is the one in Pasar Baru is known only as Jl. Kartini, with a network of numbered side streets, while the southern is called Jl. RA Kartini, with the initials designating her status as a Javanese noble.

Another women's emancipation fighter, Raden Dewi Sartika, is immortalized with a street in East Jakarta. Dewi Sartika was a Sundanese noblewoman who opened schools for girls to improve their lives in Bandung during the early 1900s.

In South Jakarta, one of the most prestigious addresses, Jl. Haji Rangkayo Rasuna Said, is also named after an emancipation pioneer from Maninjau, West Sumatra.

Another important feature of Jakarta is the pasar (markets) which evolved as landmarks for certain areas.

There are markets for almost every day of the week: Pasar Minggu (Sunday market), Pasar Senen (Monday market), Pasar Rebo (Wednesday market) and Pasar Jumat (Friday market).

There is a Pasar Kemis (Thursday market) but it is located in neighboring Tangerang, Banten.

The city's various kampong also denote the "melting pot" nature of the city, and the "divide and conquer" policy of the Dutch colonialists in keeping the groups apart.

During the Dutch colonial era, slaves or migrants from outside Batavia were grouped in one place according to their ethnicity to allow easier supervision. Names such as Kampung Bali in Central Jakarta and Kampung Melayu and Kampung Ambon in East Jakarta hark back to these times.

The origins of the Betawi people are unclear. The most accepted theory is that the group emerged about 400 years ago as a mixture of several ethnic groups who dwelled in old Batavia.

There are Arab and Chinese influences in Betawi culture, as well as Sundanese, Balinese, Dutch and Portuguese.

Strong Dutch influence can be found in the Betawi tanjidor ensemble using Western brass musical instruments in playing traditional songs.

About the Portuguese, there is the Tugu area in North Jakarta whose residents are believed to be the descendants of sailors from the Iberian peninsula.

The Tugu area of North Jakarta is also known for its unique musical ensemble known as keroncong Tugu, displaying strong Portuguese influences.