Behind A City's Name

Photo taken outside Bekasi stadion during the 2008 mayoralty election

There's a lot of things you can learn from just the name of a place as it gives a hint of its history or local character. 

For example, Rio de Janeiro in Brazil means River of January because it was first seen by Europeans in January 1, 1502. Hanoi consists of two words: Ha (river) and Noi (within) so Hanoi means Within the River, which is quite proper given the city's location is near Mekong Delta. Tokyo means the Eastern Capital, while Beijing means the Northern Capital. Singapore consists of two words: Singa (lion) and pura (city), so it means The Lion City.

How about in Indonesia? Jakarta is a short version of Jayakarta, which means Victory City, a name given by Fatahillah after he took over the Sunda Kelapa harbor from Demak sultanate. Bandung (the capital of West Java province) in Sundanese has the same meaning as "appeal" in Bahasa. 

Semarang (the capital of Central Java province) is believed to come from Asam (tamarind) and Arang (rare), while another version says it comes from Chinese words San Bao Loong (The City Of Sam Po). Sam Po (also known as Zheng He/Cheng Ho) was a Muslim Chinese admiral. Surabaya (the capital of East Java province) consists of two words: Sura (shark) and Baya (a short from Buaya or crocodile). Legend has it that a shark and a crocodile fought in that place.

And now, let's talk about Bekasi, a city where I live:).

In 2007, my then mentors assigned me (and other TJaP cubreporters) to write an article, which include a bit of history about the district or city where I reside. At that time, I was a bit shocked because I thought there was nothing interesting in Bekasi, until I remembered about the Clash I massacre mentioned in Chairil Anwar's poem Antara Karawang dan Bekasi (Between Karawang and Bekasi). 

Just a quick history flashback: although Indonesia proclaimed independence in August 17, 1945, the Dutch colonial government never approved it. There were two military aggressions between 1945 and 1948/1949, also called as The Clash I and II. One of the clashes took place between Karawang and Bekasi, where the Dutch troops killed - without reason or trial - hundreds of residents fleeing the villages. The Dutch finally acknowledged Indonesia's freedom after the Round Table Conference in December 1949.

Then I found another interesting fact about Bekasi. The history of Bekasi dated back to the Tarumanagara kingdom in the fifth century! An artifact found in Cilincing, Bekasi (Cilincing became part of Jakarta in 1970s) mentioned about the construction of a big canal from the Chandrabhaga river by King Purnawarman.  Chandra is moon, bhaga is river, so it's Moon River.

Another name for "chandra" is "sasi", so the name is actually Sasibhaga, but it was interpreted backwards into Bhagasasi, which later experienced different spelling and pronunciation. Archives made in the 19th century had several versions of Bhagasasi, such as Backassie, Bakassie, and the latest one Bekasi.

How about your city's name? What is the story (or history) behind it?