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Orang Tionghoa Benteng / Cina Benteng | |
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Regions with significant populations | |
Indonesia (Tangerang) | |
Languages | |
Peranakan Malay, Hokkien, Banten Sundanese, Indonesian | |
Religion | |
Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism, Catholicism, Protestantism, Islam | |
Related ethnic groups | |
Peranakans, Chinese Indonesians |
Benteng people (Indonesian: OrangCina Benteng or Orang Tionghoa Benteng) are a Chinese Indonesian community of 'Peranakan' or mixed descent, native to the historic Tangerang area in the modern-day Indonesian provinces of Jakarta, Banten and West Java. [1] [2] [3]
The name 'Benteng' is derived from the Malay word for 'fortress', used formerly to refer to the historic Tangerang area. It refers to a colonial fortress on the banks of the Cisadane River, built by the Dutch East India Company in the seventeenth century as part of their defence system against the neighbouring Sultanate of Banten. [1] [3]
According to a Sundanese manuscript Tina Layang Parahyang (Notes from Parahyangan ), the Chinese community of Batavia and Tangerang has existed since at least 1407 CE. [4] [5] [6] This manuscript recounts the arrival of among the earliest Chinese migrants to the area, led by a certain Tjen Tjie Lung, also dubbed 'Halung'. [4] They landed at the mouth of the Cisadane river, now called Teluk Naga (Dragon's Bay). [4]
Subsequent waves of Chinese immigration from the seventeenth century onwards took place under the auspices of the Dutch East India Company. [7] [1] Boen Tek Bio, the oldest Chinese temple in Tangerang, was built by the community in 1684. [6] Some Benteng Chinese trace their origin to those fleeing Batavia during the Chinese Massacre of 1740. [8]
Many ethnic-Chinese allies and officials of the Dutch colonial authorities held office (see: Kapitan Cina ), and owned landed estates (particuliere landerijen) in the historic Tangerang area. [1] The historian Mona Lohanda, herself a Benteng Chinese, goes so far as to say that "Tangerang was practically a Chinese private domain" (p. 258). [1] These landlords and bureaucrats also sponsored a large-scale migration of Chinese indentured laborers, who played a crucial role in the agricultural and economic development of the region.
In the Indonesian Revolution from 1945 to 1949, tension rose between indigenous Indonesians and Benteng Chinese, who were perceived to be in favour of the Dutch colonial status quo. [9] [10] On 23 June 1946, riots targeting Benteng Chinese homes broke out in Tangerang, where revolutionary militiamen sympathetic to the Indonesian republican cause looted Chinese possessions, including Chinese prayer tables. [10] These riots were apparently triggered by placement of an Indonesian flag with a Dutch flag by a Dutch colonial army soldier of Chinese descent.
Indonesian journalist Rosihan Anwar wrote in the Merdeka daily on 13 June 1946 that relationship between native and Chinese Indonesians had reached an all-time low. Conditions worsened after Pao An Tui, a pro-Dutch Benteng Chinese youth group, mobilized armed groups to evacuate Benteng Chinese residents to Batavia. Anti-Chinese rioting was successfully suppressed by the alliance of Pao An Tui and Dutch colonial troops.
At the time, nearly the entire Benteng Chinese population was displaced, and upon returning, they found that their properties were no longer intact: their land holdings had been confiscated or their homes had been looted.
Upon Indonesian independence, Tangerang was the last part of Java to be handed over to the Republic of Indonesia by the Dutch.[ citation needed ]
The traditional dress of the Benteng people is a mixture of the Chinese traditional dress mostly of Hokkien heritage and the Betawi traditional dress. The males wear a black shirt and long pants with a traditional hat in conical shape. The female dress called 'hwa kun' is a blouse with headdress and veil. An alternative costume is the 'kebaya encim' of Peranakan heritage.
Benteng culture today is a mixture of Betawi and Chinese cultures. One example is cokek, a dance featuring a male and female couple set to gambang kromong music. Religiously, the Benteng Chinese adhere to Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism, Catholicism, Protestantism, ancestor worship, and few adhere to Islam.
Although most Benteng people do not speak Chinese, they maintain a number of Chinese traditions, including the use of Qing wedding costumes.
Notable people with Benteng Chinese heritage or ties include:
Karawaci is a town and an administrative district (kecamatan) of Tangerang City, in Banten Province of Indonesia, on the island of Java. The district covers an area of 13.48 km2, and had a population of 171,317 at the 2010 Census and 184,388 at the 2020 Census; the official estimate as at mid 2023 was 193,480. Lippo Karawaci, a planned community, is located here.
Phoa Keng Hek Sia was a Chinese Indonesian Landheer (landlord), social activist and founding president of Tiong Hoa Hwe Koan, an influential Confucian educational and social organisation meant to better the position of ethnic Chinese in the Dutch East Indies. He was also one of the founders of Institut Teknologi Bandung.
Khouw Kim An, 5th Majoor der Chinezen was a high-ranking Chinese Indonesian bureaucrat, public figure and landlord who served as the fifth and last Majoor der Chinezen of Batavia, Dutch East Indies. The Chinese Mayoralty was the highest-ranking, Chinese government position in the East Indies with considerable political and judicial jurisdiction over the colony's Chinese subjects. The Batavian Mayoralty was one of the oldest public institutions in the Dutch colonial empire, perhaps second only in antiquity to the viceregal post of Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies.
Kim Tek Ie Temple, also called Vihara Dharma Bhakti, also known as 金德院, is a klenteng located in the China Town neighborhood of Glodok, Jakarta, Indonesia. Completed in 1650, Vihara Dharma Bhakti is the oldest Chinese temple in Jakarta.
Tio Tek Ho, 4th Majoor der Chinezen was an ethnic Chinese bureaucrat in the Dutch East Indies who served as the fourth and penultimate Majoor der Chinezen or Chinese headman of Batavia, now Jakarta, capital of Indonesia. This was the most senior position in the Chinese officership, which constituted the Chinese arm of the civil bureaucracy in the Dutch East Indies. As Majoor, Tio was also the ex officio Chairman of the Chinese Council of Batavia, the city's highest Chinese government body.
Tan Eng Goan, 1st Majoor der Chinezen was a high-ranking bureaucrat who served as the first Majoor der Chinezen of Batavia, capital of colonial Indonesia. This was the highest-ranking Chinese position in the civil administration of the Dutch East Indies.
Oey Tamba Sia, also spelt Oeij Tambah Sia, or often mistakenly Oey Tambahsia, was a rich, Chinese-Indonesian playboy hanged by the Dutch colonial government due to his involvement in a number of murder cases in Batavia, now Jakarta, capital of colonial Indonesia. His life has become part of Jakarta folklore, and inspired numerous literary works.
Souw Beng Kong, 1st Kapitein der Chinezen, called Bencon in older Dutch sources, was an ally of the Dutch East India Company and the first Kapitein der Chinezen of Batavia, capital of colonial Indonesia. This was the most senior Chinese position in the colonial civil bureaucracy with legal and political jurisdiction over the local Chinese community in the colony.
Sia was a hereditary, noble title of Chinese origin, used mostly in colonial Indonesia. It was borne by the descendants of Chinese officers, who were high-ranking, Chinese civil bureaucrats in the Dutch colonial government, bearing the ranks of Majoor, Kapitein or Luitenant der Chinezen.
Boen Tek Bio is the oldest Chinese temple in Tangerang, Indonesia. It is located at the corner of Jalan Bhakti and Jalan Cilame in the heart of Pasar Lama, Tangerang's old market district.
The Cabang Atas —literally 'upper branch' in Indonesian—was the traditional Chinese establishment or gentry of colonial Indonesia. They were the families and descendants of the Chinese officers, high-ranking colonial civil bureaucrats with the ranks of Majoor, Kapitein and Luitenant der Chinezen. They were referred to as the baba bangsawan [‘Chinese gentry’] in Indonesian, and the ba-poco in Java Hokkien.
Tan Tjoen Tiat, 2nd Majoor der Chinezen was a Chinese-Indonesian bureaucrat who served as the second Majoor der Chinezen, or Chinese headman, of Batavia, now Jakarta, capital of Indonesia. This was the most senior Chinese position in the colonial civil bureaucracy of the Dutch East Indies. As Majoor, Tan was also the Chairman of the Chinese Council of Batavia, the city's highest Chinese government body.
Letnan Cina Oey Thai Lo was a notable Chinese-Indonesian tycoon who acted as a pachter for tobacco in the early 19th century.
Lim Soe Keng Sia, also known as Liem Soe King Sia, Soe King Sia or Lim Soukeng Sia, was a Pachter, or revenue farmer, in Batavia, capital of the Dutch East Indies, best known for his rivalry with the notorious Betawi playboy Oey Tamba Sia. He acted as administrator of the 'Ngo Ho Tjiang' Kongsi, the most influential consortium of opium monopolists in early to mid-19th century Batavia.
Oey Djie San, Kapitein der Chinezen was a Chinese-Indonesian public figure, bureaucrat and landlord, best known for his role as Landheer of Karawatji and Kapitein der Chinezen of Tangerang. In the latter capacity, he headed the local Chinese civil administration in Tangerang as part of the Dutch colonial system of 'indirect rule'.
Oey Giok Koen, Kapitein der Chinezen was a Chinese-Indonesian public figure, bureaucrat and Landheer, best known for his role as Kapitein der Chinezen of Tangerang and Meester Cornelis, and as one of the richest landowners in the Dutch East Indies. As Kapitein, he headed the local Chinese civil administration in Tangerang and Meester Cornelis as part of the Dutch colonial system of 'indirect rule'. In 1893, he bought the particuliere landen or private domains of Tigaraksa and Pondok Kosambi.
Oey Khe Tay, Kapitein der Chinezen was a Chinese-Indonesian bureaucrat and landlord, best known for his role as Kapitein der Chinezen of Tangerang and Landheer of Karawatji. In the former capacity, he acted as the head of the Chinese civil administration in Tangerang as part of the Dutch colonial system of ‘indirect rule’.
Tan Tiang Po, Luitenant der Chinezen (1846–1912), also spelled Tan Tjeng Po, was a colonial Chinese-Indonesian bureaucrat, landowner, philanthropist and the penultimate Landheer (landlord) of the domain of Batoe-Tjepper in the Dutch East Indies.
Oey Liauw Kong, Kapitein der Chinezen (1799–1865) was a Chinese-Indonesian high official, Landheer (landlord) and head of the Oey family of Kemiri, part of the 'Tjabang Atas' or Peranakan gentry. He was also the owner of the 18th-century Baroque mansion and Jakarta landmark, Toko Merah.