Benteng Chinese
Mass wedding ceremony of Benteng Chinese, Jakarta 2012.
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| Regions with significant populations | |
|---|---|
 Indonesia (Tangerang) |
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| Languages | |
| Peranakan Malay, Hokkien language, Indonesian language | |
| Religion | |
| Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism, Catholicism, Protestantism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Peranakan, Chinese Indonesian |
Benteng Chinese (Bahasa Indonesia: Cina Benteng or 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.
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.
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. This manuscript recounts the arrival of among the earliest Chinese migrants to the area, led by a certain Tjen Tjie Lung, also dubbed 'Halung'. They landed at the mouth of the Cisadane river, now called Teluk Naga (Dragon's Bay).
Subsequent waves of Chinese immigration from the seventeenth century onwards took place under the auspices of the Dutch East India Company.Boen Tek Bio, the oldest Chinese temple in Tangerang, was built by the community in 1684. Some Benteng Chinese trace their origin to those fleeing Batavia during the Chinese Massacre of 1740.
During 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. 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. These riots were apparently triggered by placement of an Indonesian flag with a Dutch flag by a Dutch colonial army soldier of Chinese descent.
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Wikipedia