China Benteng [Tangerang]

Centeh Manis Berdiri ~ Betawi Folk Song

In English:

Oh dear my dear

Betel vine on the mountain is eatable, girl

Oh dear my dear

Alih gung alih diguna

Oh dear my dear, girl

Betel vine on the mountain is eatable, girl

String of red pomegranate

How confused I become

There's an angry man

Hey, Jasmine's bud seems falling

Where could my sweetheart go

Note:

This song is rarely sung, usually sung by a group gambang kromong on special events, a special events such as weddings. Today, only a few people know the lyrics of this song. You could say this classical song is on the verge of extinction.

China Benteng

The name of "China Benteng (China Fortress)" comes from the word "Benteng", the old name of the city of Tangerang. At that time there was a Dutch fort in the city of Tangerang on the riverbank Cisadane, functioned as a post security to prevent attacks from the Sultanate of Banten, the castle is a fortress defense leading the Dutch in Java. Chinese Benteng Society have several generations living in Tangerang which has now grown to three cities/regencies, Tangerang city, Tangerang regency and South Tangerang city.

According to the history book titled Tina Layang Parahyang (note from Parahyangan), the presence of the Chinese community in Tangerang and Batavia are there at least since 1407 NI. The book tells about the landing of the first group of mainland China led Tjen Tjie Lung alias Halung in Cisadane River estuary, which has now changed its name to Dragon Bay. 

Chinese Benteng tribal clothing is a blend of large ethnic Chinese traditional dress (a predominantly Hokkien) and ethnic Betawi traditional clothes. Traditional men clothes such as baju black koko and trousers, with a distinctive hat similar to caping hat. While women traditional clothes called hwa kun, a blouse and a subordinate form complete with headdress and face coverings blinds. However sometimes used encim kebaya, with flower accents rocking the headdress, which shows the influence of Batavia in her suit.

The Chinese Benteng known as the color of their skin slightly darker (though still yellow) compared to people of Chinese descent in Indonesia, they are more similar to the Vietnamese people than the Chinese. Their art is the famous art-tionghoa betawi mix, Cokek is a pair of men and women dance with musical accompaniment gambang kromong. The religion of diverse including Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism, Catholicism, Protestantism, Ancestor Worship, Worship of Heaven, and there are few who are Muslims.

It draws from China Benteng that even they haven't speak Chinese anymore, they still preserve the ancestral culture and traditions of China, it can be seen from those who use the traditional wedding ceremony style Manchu dynasty (Qing), they also wear clothes like Manchu dynasty style such as Manchu robe and Mancu hat at the time of marriage. The Chinese Benteng is one of Chinese community in Indonesia, which has the blood of the Manchus, because only these Chinese people who still use fortress-style the Manchu Dynasty marriage ceremony after  Qing Dynasty collapsed in 1912, in China itself, the Qing Dynasty style wedding ceremony was almost lost and very rare.

In addition, many people china Benteng is actually a descendant of the imperial family of the Qing Dynasty (Manchu clan Aisin-Giorio or Aixinjueluo in mandarin). They are descendants of an illegitimate child outcomes affair between Emperor Qianlong with a beautiful girl surnamed Wang in Fujian province.

Because the Emperor do not want the affair became public, to hide the facts, the illegitimate child of a relationship is forced to use their mother's surname, that is "Wang" in mandarin or "Ong" in Hokkien. They are the Chinese Benteng people surnamed "Ong" in Hokkien or "Wang" in the Mandarin dialect. But not all Chinese Benteng people surnamed Ong are Aixinjueluo  descendants. Those who are the descendants of the Emperor Qianlong dynasty now use traditional Indonesian name Wangsa Mulya/Wangsa Mulia.

Name is derived from the Noble House of Sanskrit, Wangsa (dynasty), and Mulia (pure) when translated to English becomes "Pure Dynasty". While the word "Qing" itself means "pure". So the Wangsa Mulia literally means "Qing Dynasty". Most of the Wangsa Mulya family  and others Ong family clan do not realize that they are the descendants of the empire,however the blood and breath Kingdom Qing Empire keep flowing in them. They adhere to modern life, but the ultra-conservative and anti-feminism as feudalism. 

topeng betawi