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Journal of Chinese
Architecture and Urbanism Chinese cemeteries in Semarang

Each colonial power had policies corresponding to the traders soon dominated the economic activity in the city
historical moment in the colony. For example, quarters (Wickberg, 1964). Chinese cemeteries could be found
separation based on ethnic groups occurred in port cities throughout Semarang’s hilly areas, from west to east.
in Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam as a deliberate Today, Semarang is the capital of the central Java
move to avoid violent conflict among different ethnic province, with a population of 1.65 million people, up
groups (Luengo, 2023). In the Dutch East Indies, the to 5% of whom are Chinese-Indonesians. During the
policy of wijkenstelsel (settlements separation based on colonial period, the population of Chinese-Indonesians
ethnic groups) was also part of the broader strategy of was higher compared to the present time. They resided
“Divided and Rule.” Europeans would settle in the town
or port, or inside the city wall, while others would often be in what is currently labeled the business district,
relegated to kampungs ), or places assigned by the colonial including Chinatown. Nowadays, many of them live in
1
government. The Chinese, Arab, and Indian communities gated communities in the suburbs. Most of the Chinese
played a social and spatial intermediary role between the cemeteries have vanished and transformed into kampungs
Europeans and the natives (Tsai, 2011). due to the suburban expansion.
In addition, colonialism introduced new concepts to The transformation of the Chinese cemeteries into
the region, such as a new concept of space. The Dutch informal settlements was not unique to Semarang; a similar
colonial authority not only assigned a place of residence to phenomenon happened in Manila (Akpedonu, 2016). In
each ethnic group but also declared all land without proof contrast, the situation in Indonesia differs from that in
of ownership as state holdings. They exploited state lands Malaysia, where the Chinese community could transform
for agricultural exports from their colony and even rented their cemeteries into a memorial park (Salmon, 2016b).
them out to the private sector. As explained by Claudine The political events and history of the Chinese community
Salmon, the colonial government also granted land plots in Indonesia, along with the common practices of city
to certain persons as a reward. Under these circumstances, planning in Indonesian urban areas, played a role in this
the Chinese community in the Dutch East Indies required change.
permission from the colonial authority for their cemeteries. Urban development in Southeast Asia is a manifestation
In addition, the colonial government implemented a series of power contestation. As a post-colonial region, urban
of rules, taxes, and fines for Chinese cemeteries (Salmon, development here extends colonial systems. Urban areas
2016a).
in post-colonial times also served as staging grounds for
Semarang exemplifies the historical and socioeconomic nationalist projects. Due to the importance of cities in
dynamics of Southeast Asian port cities. After being post-colonial economies, their populations and footprints
handed over by the Mataram Sultanate to the Vereenigde proliferated during this period (Padawangi, 2022). This
Oostindische Compagnie (VOC) in 1678, Semarang grew situation has significant implications for urban space
into an important port city. Agricultural products from management.
the hinterland were exported to other continents through
the port of Semarang. During the colonial era, Chinese Given that urban expansion in Southeast Asia has
turned into a process of marginalizing those who are
1 The term “kampung” is widely used to refer to native less powerful politically and economically (Padawangi,
settlements found in Brunei, Malaysia, Indonesia, 2022), the fate of the Chinese cemeteries in Semarang
and Singapore. Since kampungs are mostly found in is an intriguing occurrence. The Chinese-Indonesians
rural areas, the word “village” can be used in place had a slightly better political position than the
of kampung in Malaysia, Singapore, and Brunei. indigenous people during colonial times. However,
However, please note that in Indonesia, the situation after independence, the indigenous people held political
is different. There is a type of settlement in urban power. Nevertheless, the Chinese-Indonesians, in
areas that shares many characteristics with rural
communities but also differs in significant ways. This general, had greater economic power during both
type of settlement is called “kampung kota,” where colonial and post-colonial periods.
“kota” means “city.” Urban kampungs are crowded, Semarang was selected as the case study because it has
have poor infrastructure, feature mixed land use, and had the second-largest Chinese-Indonesian community
function as both living and working environments,
resembling slums. The social and cultural structures of since colonial times. In addition, Semarang exemplifies
these urban settlements are strikingly similar to those an Indonesian city built in the style of a Dutch colonial
of rural ones. The characteristics of these settlements, city. Although the disappearance of Chinese cemeteries
such as their incremental growth, are critical to the occurred in many cities in Indonesia, Semarang represents
argument presented in this article. this phenomenon well. By investigating the trends of

Volume 6 Issue 3 (2024) 2 https://doi.org/10.36922/jcau.3254