Page 135 - JCAU-6-3

Journal of Chinese
Architecture and Urbanism Chinese cemeteries in Semarang

or water running off a straight course, were believed to Semarang is eight. During the documentation process, it
concentrate malign influences and were avoided as burial was discovered that the four oldest cemeteries were from
sites (Yeoh, 1996). the 18 century. Five of the eight cemeteries were family
th
In Chinese culture, a tomb was an essential component burial grounds.
of ancestor worship (Groot, 1897). Its sacredness However, it appeared that Chinese funerary customs
transcended private property regulation; it should not be fueled a lucrative industry. The colonial administration
bought, sold, transferred, or used otherwise; its preservation frequently accorded some individuals the privilege by
was believed to have a propitious and benign effect on the granting them land parcels to use as family burial grounds.
welfare of the descendants. Chinese funeral rites placed In addition, the Chinese Council (a high government
a strong emphasis on the continuation of kinship after body in the major cities, consisting of all incumbent
death as well as the idea of communication between the Chinese officers) also made substantial money by selling
living and the dead (Watson, 1988). The burial place was burial grounds and collecting land rents from Chinese
stratified according to a rigid socioeconomic hierarchy, as community members who could not afford an individual
in life. To demonstrate the value of the deceased person cemetery plot (Li, 2003).
and his family, descendants would compete for the best Despite the use of affluent Chinese merchants’ land for
location in the city based on geomancy. the new city growth plan, a Chinese cemetery in the Tjandi
Chinese cemeteries were an issue in a number of region had to be relocated. The Tjandi region was chosen
Southeast Asian cities, including Singapore, Kuala as the site of a new luxury settlement for the upper class of
Lumpur, Manila, and Batavia. The main issues were related Semarang society. This initiative was initially rejected by the
to the excessive use of urban space and poor urban hygiene Chinese community in Indonesia. However, the colonial
(Akpedonu, 2016; Yeoh, 1996). Foucault stated that the authority, holding political power, eventually persuaded
main instruments for governing become tactics (Foucault, the Chinese community to relocate the cemetery further
2007). In this case, the Dutch implemented various fees east with a proper traditional ceremony.
and fines in an effort to regulate Chinese burial customs The colonial government saw an opportunity to
and limit the areas occupied by cemeteries within the city capitalize on these beliefs. In Semarang, there were
(Plakaatboek, 1641; Salmon, 2016a). Notably, these fees two distinct types of Chinese cemeteries: family burial
increased gradually. cemeteries owned by rich families and communal burial
The Chinese cemeteries in Semarang were dispersed grounds donated by affluent Chinese people to provide
from west to east over the hilly area. Normally, the location respectable burials for the poor Chinese people. Leaders
was chosen by the Chinese council. One exception stands of Chinese communities abroad had the duty to look after
out: the second-oldest cemetery was situated to the east of both the living and the dead (Salmon, 2021). In 1832,
the former Chinatown. The Chinese were told to relocate the Tiang Tjhing Tan, a well-known Chinese major, requested
cemetery to a hill further south when the VOC enlarged the authorization from the colonial government to set aside a
European settlement (Liem, 2004). The location of Chinese location for low-income Chinese burials in the hilly region
cemeteries in Semarang can be seen in Figure 5. of east Semarang (Liem, 2004). Low-income Chinese
people were required to make only a small contribution
In recent years, the Chinese community in Semarang, toward funeral and burial expenditures. Chinese converts
Indonesia, has been attempting to record all of the city’s to Christianity were later buried in the Dutch cemeteries
Chinese cemeteries, as nearly all of these cemeteries have (Kerkhof) in the east of the European quarter of Semarang,
vanished and been overrun by kampungs. The number a practice similar to that of the Chinese community in
of Chinese cemeteries and former Chinese cemeteries in Manila (Akpedonu, 2016). Figure 6 and Table 1 show
the timeline of the establishment of Chinese cemeteries
and Chinatowns in Semarang, Indonesia, illustrating the
exploitation of cultural needs, agrarian laws, and relocation
orders.
The wealthy Chinese-Indonesians took advantage
of the colonial government’s practice of leasing lands to
bypass mobility restrictions. They obtained waivers for the
requirement to have a pass when leaving their settlement
Figure 5. Chinese-Indonesian cemeteries located in the hilly area of if they possessed particuliere eigendom land outside the
Semarang. Source: Drawing by Kezia Dewi city, effectively gaining the right of passage beyond their

Volume 6 Issue 3 (2024) 7 https://doi.org/10.36922/jcau.3254