Yogyakarta -- Indonesia's proverbial melting pot

Yogyakarta -- Indonesia's proverbial melting pot

Sri Wahyuni, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta

There are few other places like it in Indonesia. Yogyakarta is,
perhaps, Indonesia's definitive melting pot. A center of
education and historic relevance, Yogyakarta since early times
has opened itself to welcome Indonesians of all ethnic groups.
Here we look at how the ancient city has succeeded in becoming so
accommodating to newcomers without losing its own unique cultural
identity.

Tenris Sihite, 32, is of Batak origin, born and bred in the
North Sumatra town of Sampali. Fate, however, led him to
frequently move from one town to another in order to make a
living, mostly by selling rattan furniture.

As such, he has tasted the heated life of Jakarta, the rough
living of the East Java provincial capital Surabaya, and the
tough competition of Bandung, West Java.

Now in Yogyakarta, where he currently lives with his Batak
wife and their three-year-old son, he has found a home away from
home.

"As outsiders, we feel that we are completely accepted here.
The local predominantly Javanese Muslim villagers do not treat us
differently just because we are Batak or Christians," Sihite says
of his four years in the ancient city.

Sihite, who now runs a small rattan furniture shop in Sleman,
said locals are always inviting him to take part in village
activities, including the neighborhood watch patrol, or ronda as
it is locally known.

Sihite is not alone. There are many other "outsiders" who feel
the same way. An overwhelming number of non-indigenous Javanese
are always impressed by the way locals welcome and accept them.

So homely is Yogyakarta for them that they enjoy being
addressed with the common Javanese forms of address like mbak
(for women) or mas (for men), regardless of whether they are
Javanese or not.

Despite having a distinctive Batak name like Pakpahan, for
example, the person will be referred to as mas in Yogyakarta,
instead of abang which is more familiar for a North Sumatran. Or
a Western Sumatran girl with the family name of Lubis will easily
be referred to as mbak instead of her native uni.

"Yes, I'm accustomed to being called mas and I really enjoy
it," said lawyer Afnan Malay, hailing from the West Sumatra town
of Maninjau who now resides in Bantul regency.

Having lived in Yogyakarta since he was a university student
-- afterwards trying his luck in Jakarta and Bandung for two
years before returning to Yogyakarta -- Afnan says he finds
Javanese people here very accommodating.

"Of course there is always a bargaining process between the
indigenous people and newcomers. However, the process runs
smoothly without inciting conflict. It gives an impression that
Yogyakartans are accepting (of newcomers)," Afnan says.

Marto Darsono, an elder Javanese villager from Pakuncen in
Wirobrajan subdistrict, agrees, saying that newcomers who can get
along well with the surrounding community, and who have a
willingness to open themselves to society, will certainly win
total acceptance from locals.

"The key lies in how they place themselves in the surrounding
community. If they make themselves close to the community, the
community will do the same. If otherwise, the community will also
distance them," Marto remarked.

Yogyakarta indeed has often been referred to as a mini
Indonesia in terms its ethnic diversity and pluralism.

"I've learned from my own experience that pluralism is very
well understood and practiced here. People respect one another
regardless of their ethnicity or religion," says Budi Satyagraha,
a Chinese Indonesian who runs a store selling construction
materials in Yogyakarta.

"I felt this even before I decided to convert to Islam," adds
Budi, who is also a former chairman of the Yogyakarta branch of
the Association of Indonesian Chinese Muslims (PITI) and a local
politician with the National Mandate Party.

Being of Chinese descent in Yogyakarta, he says, does not
cause him much difficulty both in society or in the business
community. He makes friends with anyone of any ethnicity,
especially the Javanese majority.

That explains why, he says, when the May 1998 riots took place
in many cities across the country, Yogyakarta remained relatively
secure.

Since converting to Islam in 1983, Budi has found it even
easier for him and his family to get along with the Yogyakarta's
predominantly Muslim community while at the same time maintaining
good relationships with the non-Muslim Chinese community.

"Being of Chinese descent and a Muslim at the same time has
allowed me to be a bridge between indigenous Javanese and the
non-indigenous Chinese, thus reducing prejudices that may persist
between the two communities," he adds.

The presence of non-Javanese people in Yogyakarta is not a new
phenomenon. The city has been open to 'foreigners' since the era
of Sultan Hamengkubuwono (HB) I who established the Yogyakarta
kingdom in the 18th century.

"Even the first and second 'Bupati Kutha' (regents of the
capital city), namely Adipati Reksonegoro and Adipati
Setjodiningrat, were of Chinese descent," an expert in Javanese
culture Suryanto Sastroatmodjo said.

However, at that time, according to Suryanto, the presence of
immigrants in the region was strictly controlled both under the
colonial regulations and by the royal Yogyakarta court.

For example, an immigrant, after being appointed as a
government officer was only allowed to take with him his core
family members (his wife and children) to live inside the palace
compound (kraton).

Those who were placed outside the compound could to bring with
them their extended family as long as it did not exceed 10
persons.

Chinese and Europeans were also permitted to seek work in
Yogyakarta as long as their stay did not exceed one year. These
were mostly investors or employees of sugar factories.

The Chinese immigrants were given a special area along the
city's main streets of Malioboro, Pringgokusuman, and
Gedongtengen, while the Europeans were placed in the Kotabaru and
Demangan areas.

"There were not many of them, only some 35," said Suryanto,
adding that during the rule of HB VI (around 1850s) the number of
Chinese increased and they began to live in the kampongs.

Suryanto, however, said that the growing number of local
immigrants -- non-Javanese, Chinese or European -- rose
significantly in the early 1950s, after the countrys independence
and following the establishment of Universitet Negeri Gadjah Mada
(now Gadjah Mada University).

Anthropologist P.M. Laksono of Gadjah Mada University also
pointed out that this phenomenon was also the result of the
Indonesian capital being temporarily moved from Jakarta to
Yogyakarta.

As educational institutions began to mushroom in the city,
more and more people of different ethnic groups from all across
the country began arriving. This resulted in greater interaction
between locals and the newcomers.

"Such a phenomena actually can also be found in other cities
that have education centers like Yogyakarta. Yet, people of other
ethnic groups find Yogyakarta much more enjoyable to live in
mostly because Yogyakartans are accustomed to interacting with
non-Javanese people since the beginnings of the Yogyakarta
kingdom," Suryanto said.