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ABSTRACT
1 Sariyatun, M.Pd, M.Hum, lecturer at the Department of History Education [Jurusan Pendidikan
Sejarah] – Faculty of Educational Sciences, Sebelas Maret University [FKIP-UNS] For the academic
purpuses she can be contacted by E-mail: Sari_fkip_uns@yahoo.co.id Her article has heen reviewed by Dr.
Nana Supriatna, M.Ed (Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia), and Prof. Dr. Dadang Supardan (Universitas
Pendidikan Indonesia).
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Introduction
As a town which is approching 250 years old, Surakarta has a lot of sites
with old historical buildings scattered within it. Besides, there are those which
form clusters in several places in the old parts of the town, each with their own
social-cultural backgrounds. The Kasunanan Palace of Surakarta is definitely the
most important building in the entire Sala town.
Sala is the first of the many towns built with the modern concept of town in
Indonesia. The palace or “Kraton” being built close to the River Sala, or Bengawan
Sala, has always been threatened by flood. Therefore, high embankments had
been constructed along the river banks and they are visible up till now from the
southern part of Jurug up to the Solo Baru area. The boulevard runs straight
from the southeast to the west and south towards the palace square (now Jalan
Slamet Riyadi). It was designed so as to enable pedestrians to directly see Mount
Merbabu or “Gunung Merbabu.” (Kusumastuti, 2004)
Since the colonial period, there had been clusters of settlements for the
newcomers in Surakarta. The Pasar Gede (or Pasar Gedhe Hardjonagoro) enclave
and Pasar Balong are the Chinese villages or kampungs, but the Arabic enclave
(with the original residents mostly from Hadramaut) is located in Pasar Kliwon.
Many Javanese batik merchants at the end of the nineteenth century and the
beginning of the twentieth century ran stores and lived in the Laweyan enclave
(now covering Kampung Laweyan, Tegalsari, Tegalayu, Tegalrejo, Sondakan,
Batikan, and Jongke). In this very enclave, an Islamic-national organization
Syarikat Dagang Islam was established for the first time in Indonesia by Haji
Samanhudi. The traces of the past glory of the native batik merchants or tempo
doeloe batik traders are still visible in a number of remaining luxurious houses
in Dr. Rajiman Street. In this area, the original residents had openly displayed or
flaunted their success by building big luxurious houses with beautiful architecture.
The houses were protected with high walls and equipped with the big traditional
gates or “regol.”
Inside the palace there is a kampong called “Kauman” which was used for
the residences of the royal ulemas and their families. The complex is located to the
west of the Royal Grand Mosque or “Masjid Agung Keraton.” Several kampungs’
names in this area still show clear historical traces, for example Pengulon (from
the word “penghulu”) Trayeman, Sememen, Kinongan, Modinan, and Gontoran.
These kampungs are full of a variety of architectural designs derived from a
mixture of European, Javanese and Chinese house models. Initially, Kampung
Kauman on the front of the western side of Kasunanan Palace was reserved for
the dwellings of the royal ulemas’ and their families. The Surakarta Palace has left
artefacts, and cultural symbols which have been turned into tourism objects with
cultural and historical values. They are capable of attracting both domestic and
foreign tourists. These features are similar to those found in other sites or places
in town, such as Mangkunegaran, Radya Pustaka, Sriwedari, Balekambang and
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Taman Taru Satwa Jurug [Jurug Park Zoo]. With such a rich cultural historical
background, it is easy to develop the potentials of Surakarta town’s tourism.
In this connection the authorities have coined the slogan“Surakarta ke Depan,
Surakarta Tempo Dulu” [or “Surakarta’s Future is Surakarta’s Past”]. This concept
and endeavour have been adopted in anticipation of the increasing number of
tourists travelling in the pursuit of certain specific objective: to comprehend the
cultural wealth of a country and to enjoy the country’s natural beauty.
The present changes in the patterns of tourism are caused by the
concentration or over-concentration of tourists in the various traditional places
of tourism destinations (or Daerah Tujuan Wisata), such as the beaches,
amusement parks, and supermarkets. The number of tourists making trips with a
certain or specific aim of gaining knowledge is increasing. The inclination on the
part of the tourists to enjoy natural and historical sites imposes certain demands
on the hosts. The hosts are obliged to have a sufficient knowledge of the places to
be visited (sense of place). Thus, the knowledge and intrepretations of tourism
objects have important roles in shaping tourists’ experiences (Bromley,1994).
Many parts of the town which have certain historical characteristics and elements
related mythologies (folkores) will be able to attract tourists. Ethnic settlements
have many such sites.
In the world of tourism, interpretation means explaining to tourists the
important meanings associated with the places, communities that they visit or
the objects that they see. After having gained such knowledge it is hoped that
the tourists would like to visit the places again in order to better understand
the cultural heritage of these places. It is also hoped that it will instill in them
the caring attitude and get them involved in any endeavour directed towards
preserving such attractions. Educational writings can help to reveal the historical
meanings and build relations between the sites and the visitors. Interpretation is
a part of the tourism ‘language’ or “language of tourism” (Dann, 1996). Edwards
explains that through the interpretations, the visitors will be able to better know
the object of tourism. To Fawcett (1997: 1) interpretation also plays a role in
supporting the effort to build sustainable tourism development that emphasizes
the importance of preserving the natural functions of the cultural resources.
This is to educate the community as the hosts and the tourists as guests. Thus in
tourism, the process of interpretation is closely related to the task of promoting
educational travel (Kalinowski & Weiler, 1992).
From the above background, the researcher formulates the problems as
follows: (1). What ethnic settlements are there in Surakarta? (2). How is the
interpretation-based revitalizing model formulated and how can the benefit-
oriented ethnic settlements be developed? Based on the model, the research is
aimed at identifying the kinds of ethnic settlements that exist in Surakarta and
formulating a revitalizing model of interpretation-based and benefit-oriented
ethnic settlements.
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Discussion
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a. Laweyan
Laweyan has been known as a batik center since the early twentieth
century. It is located about 4 kilometers from Surakarta’s downtown. It is on the
main street connecting Surakarta with Kartasura. The size of Laweyan (in 1980)
is about 29,267 hectares, inhabited by 2,004 people. During the early traditional
kingdom, Laweyan was divided into two areas, namely: Laweyan Barat and
Laweyan Timur. The social-cultural life of Laweyan Barat had been shaped in a
dominant way by the facilities provided by the king for the funeral. On the other
hand, most people living in Laweyan Timur worked in the market and most of them
were traders and batik producers. There market was the centre of commerce, but
now it is already defunct and it has been turned into two kampungs, Kampung
Lor (North) and Kampung Kidul (South) (Soedarmono, 2004).
In his book Radikalisasi Petani [or Farmers’ Radicalization],
Kuntowijoyo has discussed the dominant culture as well as the counter culture in
Surakarta in the early twentieth century. It was Laweyan which became the base for
the counter culture in opposition to Surakarta Palace. Laweyan was a ”kematren”
in the most western part of Surakarta. This kampung was said to have existed
since the Pajang Kingdom. During the Pajang and Kartasura era, Laweyan was on
the eastern border of the royal town, but during the era of Surakarta Palace it was
the on the western border of the royal town. Situated on the edge of the kingdom,
it was very important for the development of the people and culture.
The name of “Laweyan” was not only used as a local name, but also for
describing a group of people in the Surakarta region. The group was known as
a group of the haves (wonngLaweyan), who had an excess (keluwih-luwih) of
everything, especially with regard to the needs of the worldly life (wealth or “harta
kekayaan”). The local people were rich because Laweyan was the center of the
batik trade and the residential area of the Javanese hand written batik producers.
There are two ways to write the name Laweyan: “Laweyan” and “Lawiyan.”
Based on the traditional information, the name “Laweyan” was found on the
tomb of Sunan Lawiyan in the Astana Laweyan Cemetery in the southern part of
Laweyan.
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became “Laweyan,” that is a transitory place for people moving out from Desa
Nusupan (a port in the River Nusupan Bandar during Pajang-Kartasura Era).
Desa Nusupan (which is now part of Kelurahan Semanggi) during the Pajang
and Kartasura era became an important port. But, due to frequent flooding, the
merchants in Nusupan then followed the streams of Wingka and Jenes and moved
to Laweyan. Up till now “wong NgLaweyan” (the people in Nglaweyan) are the
group of rich people belonging to the Surakarta’s communities. Later, for the
first time, there emerged an association of batik producers known as Sarekat
Dagang Islam which was pioneered by Kyai Haji Samanhudi in 1911 (Korver,
1985).
Kelurahan Laweyan consists of several kampungs, namely Kampung Lor
Pasar (where Sutajaya lived under the name of Mas Ngabei Loring Pasar), Kampung
Kidul Pasar (its boundaries are now not clear), Kampung Setono (or “sentono”)
the place of the servants of Mas Ngabei Kartahastono; Kampung Sayangan Wetan
and Kampung Sayangan Kilen, where the servant Saying lived and whose daily
work as servant involved the making of copper wares for Pajang Palace (Kampung
Pajang), Kampung Kwanggan, Kampung Kramat (because Astana Nglaweyan
was regarded as being sacred or kramat) and Kampung Kelaseman, where they
processed batik in such a way that the batik’s colour would not be glaring but
remain soft and pleasant to the eyes (Soedarmono,1987).
Laweyan reached its glory as a commercial centre during the Pajang
Sultanate. During that period, Laweyan was the center of traditional looms and
cotton trade. The raw items came from Wedi, Tembayat and Klaten, that is before
these places in turn became the centers of the batik industry. The economic power
of Laweyan was held by the merchants. In the sight of Javanese feudal lords, the
position of the merchants was parallel to that of the common people although the
merchants had wealth as much as the aristocrats. The progressive characteristics
also belonged to the Laweyan merchants and this was due to the demand of the age.
This brought more benefits rather than harm to the merchants in their business,
although certain conservative characteristics of the aristocrats did impair their
activities. Batik industry experienced rapid development in the early twentieth
century after the invention of batik stamps, replacing “canting.” This method was
brought into Laweyan in the early twentieth century. Modernization in the batik
industry had taken place since this period. The orientation of their batik products
were marked by the productions of batik to wear or “batik sandang” in 1925 and
batik Tedjo in 1956 (Daubanton, 1992. Philip Kitley, 1991).
In 1987, Kalurahan Laweyan was included in Kecamatan Laweyan. This
kampung, after having been occupied by batik producers, became better known
as “kampung dagang” or “Trade Kampung.” It is bordered by River Jenes, River
Batangan, and River Kabanaran. The patterns of settlement still followed the
original one. Geographically, Laweyan is not located in the market alongside
River Laweyan anymore. It is now located on the main street of Laweyan, to the
west of the town.
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The legend about the relations between Laweyan and the Palace can be traced
historically to the period when Pakubuwono II fled Kartasura after his palace was
taken over by the Chinese rebels. Although there are many versions of this story,
there is one worthy of mentioning. According to this version, three hundred years
ago, Desa Laweyan was already known as the place of rich merchants engaged
in the business of yarns or “lawe” for weaving cloths and batik. The high walls
enclosing their houses were everywhere. Their spacious yards were surrounded
by strong, thick, high brick walls like the ones surrounding the Palace. There exist
many opinions about the Laweyan community. For example, they were perceived
as being associated with a strong trading image; they were also seen as working
for their own interests and this was related to their strong opinions about trade
and their desire of wanting to become merchants. All this was remote from the
pursuit of honour and prestige of being loyal servants to the king or kingdom.
Their greatness, glory, and pompous status, regardless of whether they were
traders or labourers, could be gleaned through their wealth.
One story stated that on 30 June 1742, Kartasura Palace was attacked by the
Chinese rebels. Raja Pakubuwono II and the first son who later would succeed the
father, together with their escorts fled from the palace towards the east. Passing
Pajang in the eastern part of the River Premulung, they took a break because their
horses were tired. While having a rest there, the king sent a messenger to Desa
Laweyan to borrow fresh horses for them to ride on and to carry the equipment,
but none of the Laweyan people was willing to offer their horses because their
horses were being used for carrying their own merchandise. Business in the
market at that time was flourishing.
Upon hearing the report, Pakoe Boewono II became very angry. However,
after a few minutes he soothed his feelings and thought that the Laweyan people
did not belong to ‘kelompok priyayi tinggi’ or highly refined rich people. They
had simply grown up to become traders who counted profits and losses, striving
for wealth and richness,” above everything else. The words of Pakoe Boewono
II reflected the reality of that time. Many Laweyan people were traders. Many of
them became large scale merchants and batik producers. They were very rich and
amount of their merchandise was accumulating. But, a few of them did become
really refined rich people or servants for the kingdom and country.
b. Pecinaan
The Dutch Colonial authorities had created special enclaves for Chinese
so that they could easily watch over or monitored the activities and actions of
the community. The measure was then followed by the appointments of Chinese
officers taken from the community and they were formally endorsed by the VOC
government. These Chinese officers were responsible for the community’s entire
needs and they reported matters of concern to the VOC. They were also given
the task of relaying the VOC’s decisions on the community affairs to their own
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c. Baluwarti
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With different patterns, the spirit of the belief had been continually woven into
the life of the traditional community.
Within the second ring, there was the complex of Baluwarti. Baluwarti
(which means “Fort”) was the second biggest ring to enhance the existence of
Kedhaton. It was simultaneously functioned as a form of protection. With the basic
wall structure of two meters thick, 3 – 6 meters high, Baluwarti was a spacious
place that catered for all the individuals who were close to the power centre. These
individuals might have been part of Susuhunan’s descendants (family tree). They
could have been the descendents through marriages between members of the
royal household with those of past kings, or with the royal servants who were
entangled in the traditional power system. (Akhmad Ramdhon, 2007).
Properly functioning, Baluwarti consisted of various spaces, each with its
own basic functions. There were spaces for residences of the Susuhunan’s royal
family and for the king’s servants. Besides, Baluwarti also functioned to cater for
the various needs of the palace. It had a quarter for Susuhunan’s horse-drawn
carriages and another for the sentries. However, not all the royal servants lived
in Baluwarti; many lived outside it. To enter the Baluwarti compound located
between the two squares, i.e. Alun-Alun Utara and Alun-Alun Selatan, one had to
pass through a gate. One gate (or “kori”) was called “Kori Brajanala Utara” and
another “Kori Brajanala Selatan.” In addition, there were two small gates, one
on the left side and the other on the right side of the compound. This form and
concept was known as mancapat.
Outside Kedhaton (with the walls surrounding the Palace) of Kasunanan
Surakarta, there was a compound dwelled by the princesses, royal families, male
and female servants, as well as free people working as traders. This compound
called Baluwarti (derived from the Portuguese word “Baluarte” which means
“fort”), was also within the second ring. It was located between two big walls,
2 meters thick and 6 meters high. It had two gates, i.e. Kori Brajanala Lor (or
Gapit in the North) and Kori Brajanala (or Gapit in the South), and they were
connected with two streets running parallel to each other and also to the walls
of Kedhaton. In early 1900, Susuhunan Pakubuwana X extended the Baluwarti
compound by adding to it two other gates, i.e. Butulan in the south-east, and
Butulan in the south-west. One was formally opened in 1906 and another in
1907. With these additional gates, people living in Baluwarti were able to conduct
relations much more easily with the community outside the Kedhaton complex
(Hariyani, 2005).
To identify the status of a dweller’s house in Baluwarti, one would have
to pay attention to the form of the house and the equipment stored inside it.
Generally, houses in Baluwarti could have been classified into one of at least three
groups. First, the complete Javanese-type house comprising of “Joglo” with
“pendapa” (inside court), “peringgitan” (ajoining parts of joglo), “dalem ageng”
(the host’s main rooms), plus a series of houses along the left and right sides
of it, sometimes even on the front side of the main building. This type of house
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was usually equipped with spacious yard, surrounded with high walls with a gate
in the middle of it. Second, there was the Javanese-type house in the form of
“Limasan.” Third, there was a type of house in the form of a Kampung house;
besides that there were other simpler types. Most houses in Baluwarti belonged
to the common house type. There were several houses of the first type in the
northern, western, and southern parts of Baluwarti. They were occupied by those
who belonged to the high strata of the community (the aristocrats).
People living in Baluwarti had to observe several specific regulations. For
example, the relation between them and the community outside Kori Brajanala,
which was also called Kori (lawang) Gapit, was rather limited. This was because
the compound was closed from 23.00 p.m. till 05.30 a.m. everyday. Besides,
they also had to obey certain other regulations. Until the twentieth century, for
instance, the inhabitants of Baluwarti were not allowed to sit on chairs, even
though they were in their own houses. The inhabitants had to wear formal dresses
befitting their own respective positions when going out, even for small errands or
business matters. They were not permitted to play gamelan either.
Not all buildings in Baluwarti were used for private residences. There
were some houses that were used by the Palace for its own needs. For example,
there was a sentry house which the people called Dragorder, on the western
side of Kori Brajanala Lor, next to the Mesjid Suranata (mosque) and a house
for the king’s carriages. On the eastern side of Kori Brajanala Lor there was
Paseban Kadipaten, another sentry house for soldiers, and on the eastern side
of it there was Sekolah Ksatriyan (a school). In front of this school, there was
Gedung Sidikara. On the right and left sides of Kori Kemandhungan there were,
respectively, a place for carriages and a front yard, called Balerata or Maderata.
The latter served as a place where people could get on and off their carriages
(Akhmad Ramdhon, 2007).
Generally, the names of dwelling places in Baluwarti’s compound fitted
in well with the names of the aristocrats living there. The names would also
carry a suffix “an”, for example¸ “Ngabean”, was used for houses around the
residence of Pangeran Hangabei, “Mlayasuman,” was derived from Pangeran
Mlayakusuma, “Widaningratan” was derived from the regent Hurdenas
Widaningrat; “Purwadiningratan” was derived from the regent or bupati
nayaka Purwadiningrat; “Mangkuyudan” was derived from the Architect Regent
Mangkuyuda; “Suryaningratan” was derived from the Regent of Gedhong
Tengen Suryaningrat; “Sindusenan” was derived from Pangeran Sindusena,
“sentana” or a grandson of Pakubuwana IX; “Prajamijayan” was derived from
R.M. A. Prajahamijaya, a grandson of Pakubuwana IX.
Besides becoming the residences of princes, royal families and other
aristocrats belonging to the royal families, the Baluwarti compound also housed
several regents nayaka, soldiers and servants, both male and female ones. The
heads of the female servants was Nyai Lurah Gandarasa and Nyai Lurah Sekul
Langgi, each of them lived in different kampungs in the eastern and southern
part of the palace called Gondorasan.
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d. Kauman
Kauman was built in conjunction with the building of the Great Mosque
(Masjid Gedhe) in 1767 by the order of Paku Buwono III (1749 – 1788) and it
functioned as the centre for religious activities of Kraton Kasunanan Surakarta.
Kauman which was situated outside the palace fort became the intermediary space
between the palace, the squares and Masjid Gedhe. The great mosque of Kauman
besides being the centre for religious activities, was also at the same the dwelling
place of the “santri” community. Those servants living in Kauman became part of
the organizational structure of the Surakarta Palace; they were: “Reh Pengulon,”
whose functions included the taking care of the religious affairs, subsumed under
the leadership of the Head or “Pimpinan Penghulu Tafsir Anom”. Officers who
helped the institution “Reh Pengulon” were called the servants of “Pamethakan”
which means “the white group” (or “mutihan” meaning “holy”). Reh Pengulon
was headed by a Head of Tafsir Anom (“tafsir” means “explain” and “anom”
means ‘the wider society’ or “masyarakat luas”) who was responsible for religious
affairs, including executing justice in settling disputes related to Islamic laws. In
relations to the Palace, they were given the tasks of heading religious ceremonies,
leading prayers for Susuhunan’s safety, and conducting the teachings of Islamic
religion to Susuhunan’s families. Politically they ought to be the supporters
of the Surakarta Palace (with Masjid Gedhe Surakarta as part of the cultural
entity). These religious leaders had the right to live on and make use of the land
around the mosque, Masjid Gedhe. This right was known as the anggaduh right.
They carried out their daily functions in accordance with the structure of “Reh
Pengulon.”
The prevailing structure was an inheritance from the Islamic tradition of
Demak. The idea was to instill Islam-based cultural values so that it would become
part and parcel of the community’s daily and annual rituals, such the daily prayers
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as well as the Grebeg. Grebeg was held in conjunction with a number of religious
occasions. Grebeg Poso was held during Iedul Fitri Day. Grebeg Besar was observed
on the Iedul Qurban Day and Grebeg Mulud was celebrated to commemorate
the birth of Prophet Muhammad. The interpretations of these Islamic traditions
become the spiritual basis for such cultural events. When Islam penetrated the
hinterland of Java it developed through the adaptation process in the context
of the religious and cultural values of the in-land community. The harmonious
development of the Islamic religion in inland Java can be traced back to their
interactions with the various local forms of the community’s social, cultural and
political norms. In particular, this had to do with the specific interaction between
the place and the religious preachers (ulemas) or “walis” or “kyais” (warosatul
ambiya) at the top structural level in the daily life of the community. The process
provided an insight into syncretism that dealt with “the revelation of unification of
the Lord and the subjects” or “wahdat al-wujud” or “terbukanya manunggaling
kawula lan Gusti” (Ramdhon, 2007). Later, along with the weakening power of
the Kasunanan Palace in facing the colonial penetration, other spheres of life were
also affected by the colonial onslaught. The roles of the ulemas were uprooted
and isolated. They then no longer participated in the process of decision making.
They were eased out of the political domain. The ulemas were then only given
roles in religious matters, but not in other affairs. Kauman and their leaders
could not prevent such a development.
The role of Kauman was then transformed: it was devoloped into one
responsible for supporting the existence of Masjid Gedhe (as the symbol of religious
traditions). This in turn gave birth to the emergence of various authoritative devices
charged with handling all religious activities in accordance with the regulations
and the welfare function of Masjid Gedhe. Under the leadership of Penghulu Tafsir
Anom, all servants in Pamethakan had duties and functions as Ketibs. A Ketib
was responsible for delivering sermons on Friday prayers in Masjid Gedhe. There
were seven, Ketibs: Ketib Winong, Trayem, Sememi, Cendana, Arum, Imam and
Anom. All Ketibs were directly under the jurisdiction of their Penghulu. Then,
there was the Modin. The term Modin was derived from the Arabic term Muadzin
whose job was to call the faithful to prayer. The call to prayer or “lafal adzan”
was made five times a day. The Modin also took care of the marital and funeral
rites. Next, there were the Marbots whose work was to take care of the activities
in Masjid Gedhe. They were also assigned to take care of the environment. The
last functionary was the Qoyyim. He would shoulder the responsibility and work
of the Modin whenever the latter was absent.
The social system had its own uniqueness. In the recruitment exercise for
the employment of royal servants, pamethakan, for instance, a good knowledge
of the Islamic, religion was demanded of the candidates. This was to ensure
that religious elements like the value system, behavioral pattern and other social
etiquettes were maintained. All this was seen as essential to the very existence
of the Kauman itself. As a consequence of all this a closed family system
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(endogamy) comes into being. The servants in Pamethakan developed their own
closed marriage pattern. In other words the mutihan people married among
themselves. In some cases when the religious pre-requisites or conditions could
not be fulfilled, they extend their relationship to an outside community. They
fell back on the “pesantren” or the religious education system. The pesantren
became an alternative mechanism through which they could still maintain their
religious values (Musyawaroh, 2004).
The name “Pasar Kliwon” was based on the fact that it was used as a
market centre by the town population. It was also based on the fact the market
was conducted on the Javanese market day of “Kliwon.” There were five Javanese
market days: Pon, Wage, Kliwon, Legi and Pahing. So, in Surakarta, besides Pasar
Kliwon, other markets had also emerged, such as: “Pasar Legi,” “Pasar Pon” and
so on. The decision of which market day to choose was based on the merchandise
sold on the very day, i.e. the merchandise available from the surrounding areas.
Market days were rotated in turn from village to village.
With regard to “Pasar Kliwon,” R.M. Said (1980: 55) described it as
follows: Pasar Kliwon was formerly a cattle market, but one noted as a place for
selling and buying goats. The market was very crowded on every Javanese market
day or “Kliwon.” Thus it was then also known as ”Pasar Kliwon”. It was located
in Kampung Arab
The growth of Kampung Arab or Arab kampung in Pasar Kliwon can be
seen through two aspects, namely (1) as a consequence of a politically motivated
dwelling arrangement in the past, and (2) as a result of the natural development of
the town itself. First, the dwelling or residential policy of the past was intertwined
with the emergence of Arab kampung. Its origin could not be separated from
both the king’s policy and the Colonial Dutch government’s policy. The patterns
of settlement in the traditional Javanese kingdoms, like this one in Surakarta,
followed the concentric pattern style in which the king occupied the center. The
further the settlement was from the center or king, or palace, the lower would be
its quality. (Benedict Anderson, 1985: 25). Thus, the pattern of settlement during
the kingdom’s era was still based on the social divisions: sentono dalem (the royal
families), abdi dalem (the royal servants) and kawulo dalem (the subjects or
common people). The Arab community then was regarded as a group of strangers
outside the Javanese social system; so the settlement was located in a place away
from the other population.
The emergence of Arab people in Pasar Kliwon was scrutinized again
during the Colonial Dutch’s rule over Java. The Dutch wanted to separate the
Arab people from the social life of the Javanese. They also wished to prevent any
or minimize contact between the Arab community and Javanese people. After
Snouck Hurgronje became the Colonial Dutch government’s adviser, various
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regulations were enacted to limit the influx of Arab immigrants into Java. Those
who were already in Indonesia were required to have permits to stay, and they
were only allowed to live in a certain part of a town.
The second point to be noted relates to the natural development of the town
itself. This can be explained in the context of the growth of towns in Indonesia
in general. Each of the tribe or ethnic group in Indonesia had tended in the past
to establish its own settlement. The emergence of villages or kampungs based
on ethnic origins had been encouraged by the Dutch rulers in Batavia in the
seventeenth century. As a result there existed Javanese, Chinese, Arab villages as
well others based on different ethnicities. The Dutch Colonial power had the aim
of creating settlements based on the exclusive characteristics of the various ethnic
groups. This kind of distinctive settlements had been built by their predecessors
based on the different ethnic groups that had already migrated to Batavia (Warto
1985: 105). Thus, the later Dutch Colonial power was not the first authority to
have established such kinds of kampungs. However, clearly they had made
use of the policy to ensure that they succeeded in limiting Arab migration to
Indonesia. That was the reason behind the policy of Wijken Stelsel.
The process of developing the Arab kampung in Pasar Kliwon Surakarta
can be compared to the elements found within the emerging settlement patterns
in towns at the present time. Nowadays there is an increasing urbanization
process (or ”urbanisme”) with people moving from villages to towns. This
”urbanisme” or urbanization process has encouraged individuals to seek for
friends, brothers, sisters, families, or relatives who had migrated before them
and had already adapted themselves to urban situations. Ultimately these old
and new immigrants would be united together in the same ”social space” and
”physical space”. In other words, they had recreated the entity that they had
eariler formed in their kampung. Therefore in the town’s social structure
a process of pulling migrants into one’s own group with the same background
of language, religion, and traditions (”primordial sentiments”) had obviously
taken place. Thus the earlier and later migrants had connected themselves within
the newly formed social network (Warto, 1985: 106).
Seen from their spatial spread, the Arab settlement in Kelurahan Pasar
Kliwon had a pattern of spreading out among the natives. Viewed from the
integration angle, this geographical factor, or the spread of settlement is very
meaningful. It is so because it will help influence interactions between the Arabs
and the natives.
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elements which, with the right ‘synergy’, can form a model of IBaBOM. These
elements are the potentials, problems, stakeholders, or elements which hold
interests and benefits. The potentials are related to the attractions, accessibilities,
amenities and activities. The problems cover matters related to diversification,
collaboration, human resource, patterns of thought, and promotion. The
stakeholders comprise of the community, government, higher learning
institutions, private and non-governmental organizations, and associations or
“paguyuban.” The benefits that consist of various things which can be enjoyed
by all stakeholders can become attractions of cultural tourism in Surakarta town.
This can also result in the empowerment of ethnic settlement as a whole.
In connection with the revitalization of ethnic settlement project, there are
various potentials that can be realized. For instance the ethnic settlement has the
potential to become an attraction to tourists and it can even become a cultural icon
of Surakarta town. In the contextual, potency can be seen from four aspects which
are called “4-A approach,” which cover attractions, accessibilities, amenities,
and activities. These various aspects are very much related to the tourism
sector, and when an ethnic settlement is developed then there will be mutual
benefit (symbiosis) to both the ethnic settlement and the local community. In
the development of the community-based tourism, the local community is given
a chance to undertake or promote the interpretation of the ethnic settlement to
the visitors or tourists.
There are problems related to the basic arrangement in the model of
revitalization of the ethnic settlement in Surakarta town. These consist of several
matters related to efforts at diversification, collaboration, human resource,
thought patterns and promotion. Diversification refers to the ability of each
ethnic settlement to create a variety of products as attractions of Surakarta town.
This is relevant to the slogan which has been coined about Surakarta town being
a Cultural and Tourism Town. Collaboration in the revitalization model for ethnic
settlement in Surakarta town is based on the assumption that efforts towards
preserving and developing or revitalizing ethnic settlements will be successful
when there are collaborations between the related parties. This in turn would
constitute the interest of the stakeholders. Human resource is a key element
in ensuring the success of the revitalization model for ethnic settlements in
Surakarta town. This is because the task of interpreting the various aspects of the
ethnic settlement is a specialized job. It involves a special technique undertaken
by a human being (i.e. the interpreter). In this case, the interpretation hopefully
can be done by members of the local community (or the local people) because the
members of local community are assumed to have sufficient knowledge regarding
the existence and development of their own ethnic settlements with all the
relevant characteristics and attributes. Therefore, the question of human resource
becomes an important issue in working out the model of IBaBOM. It involves the
thought pattern of the local community as the owners of the settlement. Thought
pattern in the framework model of revitalizing ethnic settlement refers to the
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Conclusion
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