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Dark Story Massacre on Bank of Solo River


Thus Benny G. Setiono through the Chinese book in the Political Vortex (2008) narrated the tragedy of ethnic Chinese massacre that occurred in Ngawi on September 23, 1825 (p. 173).
On the morning of the Friday before the tragedy, hundreds of horsemen came to Ngawi, heading to the Chinese settlement in the border area between Central and East Java. Without further ado, the cavalry immediately slaughtered every Chinese peranakan they encountered.


The leader of the cavalry was a woman, named Raden Ayu Yudakusuma. He is one of the sons of Prince Mangkubumi or who since 1755 declared himself as the leader of the Sultanate of Yogyakarta with the title Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwana I (1755 -1792).

Grandma Panglima Diponegoro

Raden Ayu Yudakusuma is the daughter of Hamengkubuwana I from one of his concubines. His mother who was married to the sultan, Raden Ayu Srenggoro, was the daughter of Adipati Natayuda III who had served as the Regent of Kedu.

Since it began to be enthroned as the first king of Yogyakarta, marriage has been one of the many methods employed by Hamengkubuwana I to maintain and expand its influence. So, the sultan also married his sons and daughters with local rulers scattered in various regions.

Raden Ayu Yudakusuma is one of them. He was married to Raden Tumenggung Wirasari, Regent of Ngawi. In accordance with the contents of the Giyanti Agreement signed on February 13, 1755, Ngawi — which originally belonged to Surakarta Sunanate — included the former Mataram area given to Prince Mangkubumi or Hamengkubuwana I.

The massacre of the Chinese people which occurred on September 23, 1825 was apparently still related to the Javanese War against the Netherlands led by Prince Diponegoro.
Between Raden Ayu Yudakusuma and Prince Diponegoro are still close relatives. Diponegoro is one of the sons of Hamengkubuwana III. The Sultan who twice ruled (1810-1811 and 1812-1814) was the son of Hamengkubuwana II, who was none other than Raden Ayu Yudakusuma's sister. Thus, Raden Ayu Yudakusuma is still counted as the grandmother of Prince Diponegoro even though they are of the same age.

Raden Ayu Yudakusuma was estimated to be born in 1787, while Diponegoro in 1785. The relationship between Raden Ayu Yudakusuma and Diponegoro was possible because Hamengkubuwana I, who died in 1792, had many wives. Raden Ayu Srenggoro, Raden Ayu Yudakusuma's mother, is expected to be born in 1752.
When the Javanese War began in 1825, Raden Ayu Yudakusuma helped the struggle of her grandson, Diponegoro, against the Dutch, as the commander of the women's army. Peter Carey in The British in Java 1811-1816: A Javanese Account (1992) refers to Raden Ayu Yudakusuma as "a very intelligent woman with genuinely male genius" (p. 30).

Carey also wrote that Raden Ayu Yudakusuma, personally, was the person responsible for the massacre of a large number of Chinese communities, in Ngawi, near the Sala River (Bengawan Solo), on September 23, 1825.

Crack Harmonization of Native-Chinese

In his other book, Javanese & Chinese Society 1775-1825 (1985), Peter Carey said that before the invasion took place, between Chinese peranakans and local residents in Ngawi actually there was a fairly harmonious relationship. These two groups help each other. Not infrequently Raden Ayu Yudakusuma asked for help from residents of Chinese descent. The wife of the Regent of Ngawi even borrowed money from Chinese merchants in the area (p. 84).

However, this intimacy began to crack because of the actions of a number of Chinese people who were trusted by the Dutch as tax collectors, or officers who guarded the main streets, bridges, trading ports or ports on the pier or in rivers, to markets. .

Not only the Netherlands, local officials, including the king, also embraced the Chinese for similar tasks. According to Benny Setiono, local officials often owe money to wealthy Chinese in their territory (p. 175). Many of the kingdom's lands were rented out to Chinese people who later tilled them well.

Peter Carey said, some Chinese people actually acted arbitrarily because they got a "position" from the government (the Netherlands) and felt needed by native officials. This is one of the triggers of hatred of the local people towards them (p. 242).

The position of the tax collector became a lucrative wetland so that more Chinese people made offers to get a tax levy. Both native and Dutch kings or officials, especially in the regions, took advantage of this situation by raising money as a requirement for Chinese people who submitted bids.

As a result, as explained by Benny Setiono (p. 176), tax dealers seek to collect the maximum tax in a more cruel way to the population. In fact, higher levies were imposed on fellow Chinese who sometimes had to pay up to three times more than the Javanese had to pay.

The Chinese taxpayers act arbitrarily without fear, because they get legal protection from the king, sultan, local officials, as well as the Dutch government. Their position can only be changed if they obtain approval from the Company.

In a number of cases in a number of areas, including in Ngawi, the situation escalated after taxing the Chinese who formed special guard forces and acted as almighty officials.
The resentment of local residents also peaked, as illustrated by A.R.T. The pair in his dissertation entitled "The 1740 Chinese Massacres in Java: How Dutch Colonialism a Problem Minority in Its Effort to Thwart Indonesia's Domestic Bourgeoisie" (1988) follows:

"[...] has never happened before, those from various" nationalities "feel that they have something in common, namely facing a common enemy: the Chinese, who as usual are considered" exclusive ". The only race that did not appear on the road with them, including their masters (ie) the Dutch "(pp. 1-2).

Slaughter on the banks of the Solo River
Until finally, on September 23, 1825, Raden Ayu Yudakusuma moved the cavalry to a residential area of ​​Chinese descent located not far from the Bengawan Solo river. On the other hand, the Regent of Ngawi, Raden Ayu Yudakusuma's husband, was unable to act decisively because he was lying sickly.

Ngawi, wrote Nurhadiantomo in Social Reintegration Law: Social Conflicts of the Pribumi and Social Justice Law (2004), when it became a very important trading post, inhabited by many ethnic Chinese consisting of rice dealers, small traders, porters , craftsmen, and others (p. 152).

To deal with the invasion of the cavalry led by Raden Ayu Yudakusuma, the local Chinese had tried to build a defense, but the attack they faced turned out to be too difficult to resist.
However, the Javanese soldiers did not indiscriminately carry out their duties. Every person of Chinese descent, no matter who and what their profession, including women and children, they find certain to be killed, without exception.

Infographics of Sultan HB I's daughter
Denys Lombard in Nusa Java: The Asian Network (1996) writes that about one hundred Chinese died in the massacre at Ngawi (p. 359). While those who escaped then escaped to areas of the north coast of Java which they considered relatively safer, or to cities where there were Dutch troops who were expected to provide protection.

The bloody tragedy in Ngawi became one of the sad events in the course of Indonesian history, especially the history of Java, in relation to people of Chinese descent. This event also triggered a number of similar incidents in other areas, or what is often referred to as the commotion of Chinatown.

Moreover, the breakdown of relations between local residents and the Chinese in Ngawi coincided with the outbreak of the Java War. Moch. Sa'dun in Pri and Nonpri: Looking for a New Format of Assimilation (1999) even mentions that the Diponegoro war was not only limited as a resistance to the Dutch, but also an opportunity that the Javanese did not waste to vent hatred towards Chinese peranakans (p. 61) .
Although they often experience unpleasant treatment, people of Chinese descent in Java, and in other parts of the archipelago, continue to have positive relations with the natives. Such relations even occurred during the Java War, or not long after the massacre at Ngawi.

Benny Setiono (p. 174) revealed that there were many Chinese who fought alongside Diponegoro's troops, especially in providing money, silver, weapons, opium, and others for war purposes. In fact, not a few young Chinese descent who fought against the Dutch, for example in the battle in Lasem led by Diponegoro's brother-in-law, Raden Tumenggung Sasradilaga, in 1827-1828.

Probably not counted sad events related to conflicts between "native" with residents of descent, especially Chinese peranakans. However, once again, every time there is a "ebb" period, a "tide" period will surely come. Tidal relations that color almost every chapter of Indonesia's history, eternal intertwined through the ages and generations, even today.

Reporter: Iswara N Raditya
Author: Iswara N Raditya
Editor: Ivan Aulia Ahsan

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