JAKARTA - The charm of Ancol as a place of entertainment has been started since a long time ago, even before Indonesia's independence. Before being enjoyed by the natives, Ancol was a place where the rich Dutch spent their vacation time.
By location, Ancol is strategic. Apart from that, the calm atmosphere, plus the many luxury villas are another attraction of Ancol. In its history, the existence of the Ancol area can be seen in the ancient Sundanese manuscript of the 15th century, Carita Parahiyangan .
The text illustrates that Ancol was once touted as the location of the battlefield, beside Kalapa (Sunda Kalapa), Tanjung, Wahanten (Banten), and other places during the reign of the King of Sunda, Prabu Surawisesa (1521-1535).
Meanwhile, for the name Ancol, Rachmat Ruchiat in the book The Origin of Place Names in Jakarta (2018), tells that the name Ancol means low, swampy land. There is a reason. In the past, when the sea was high, the brackish water of Kali Ancol could turn to land to inundate the surrounding land, making it taste salty.
Therefore, the Dutch in the VOC era then called this area zoutelande or salty land. The designation is also given to the stronghold, in the form of a canal built in the Ancol area in 1656.
"Before the canal was built to connect the City of Batavia, the VOC government built the Ancol canal, which is still navigable by boats. Then, a road parallel to the canal was built. Considered strategic in the context of defense of the City of Batavia, canals, roads and canals were built in Ancol, "wrote Rachmat Ruchiat.
After Jayakarta was controlled by the Dutch trading partner, VOC in 1619, Jayakarta changed its name to Batavia. In the hands of the VOC, Ancol became a stronghold after the first attack by the Mataram Work on Batavia in 1628. We reviewed the details of the attack earlier in the writing "The Story of the Mataram Attack Company with Feces Behind the Nickname 'Batavia Kota Tahi.'" To that end, the VOC began strengthen the defense by building a number of fortresses.
Because the only remaining fortresses were Kasteel Batavia and Onrust Island, the construction of the new fort began to be overtaken by the Dutch. Some of them are Fort (fort) Jacatra, Fort Rijswijk, Fort Noordwijk, Fort Vijfhoek, Fort Angke, and Fort Antjol. The construction of this new fort made the Dutch confident against Mataram, which resulted in victory.
After that, the land around Fort Antjol was controlled by VOC officials, Jeremias van Riemsdijk, before he became Governor General of the VOC in 1775. Jeremias built a vacation home in the form of a luxury villa. Partly again, Jeremias cleared his land to make agricultural land and turned part of the swamp into productive land.
Not only that. The owner of the land also made the canal between Kasteel Batavia and Fort Antjol a traffic lane for transporting trade commodities. Jeremias also brought in slaves from various places to succeed in his efforts to form agricultural land. This effort was made to increase other coffers of income, apart from being a VOC official.
Miraculously, Jeremias' move to create a luxury villa was followed by other wealthy people, including VOC Governor General Adriaan Valckenier (1737-1741). Since then, Ancol has become a special recreation area for Dutch citizens for weekends. In time, all these things will be the basis for why Ancol is called the "dream garden".
"It seems that since three centuries ago, Ancol has become a place of recreation, especially for Dutch citizens for the weekend. Seen a number of Dutch noni-noni with the umbrella of their slaves enjoying Ancol beach. Some of them use telescopes, ”wrote Alwi Shahab in the book Time of the Netherlands, Drunk was Born in Batavia (2013).
It was forgotten and became a monkey's den
The story of Ancol as a place of recreation was also recorded by VOC Artillery Officer, Johannes Rach (1720-1783) in a painting depicting the condition of Ancol Beach in 1772. At that time the area was called Slingerland. However, the glory of Slingerland as a place of leisure must come to an end. The large number of epidemics that have infected Batavia residents is the main cause.
As a result, during the reign of the Governor General of the Dutch East Indies, Herman Willem Daendels (1808–1811) all buildings including the Batavia Castle and a line of luxury Ancol villas in Oud Batavia (Old Batavia) were destroyed. With the remaining ruins, Daendels established and moved the center of government from Oud Batavia (Old Batavia) to Nieuw Batavia (New Batavia) in Weltevreden, or what was known as the area around the Banteng field. As a result, Ancol has become a forgotten area for quite a long time.
Long uninhabited, the Ancol area became a thicket forest. This condition lasted until entering the 1950s. Because there is no life, Ancol is known as a monkey's den. Therefore, when vehicles start to cross the Ancol bridge, they must be extra careful. Not because there is a ghost from Ancol bridge, but because the monkeys often run out of the forest.
Even so, Ancol is still visited for leisure, although it is not as busy as before. One of the people who had experienced the pleasure of traveling to Ancol in the 1950s was Firman Lubis. Through his book, Jakarta 1950-1970 (2018), Firman wrote about his experience of going on a trip to Ancol with friends for fishing. Firman said, Ancol was once overgrown with shrubs, mangroves, coconut trees, and hundreds of palm trees.
It is said that because Ancol is lonely, rumors of crocodiles still living in the Ancol swamps in the early 1950s were quite popular among the residents of the capital. However, the ruler of this area is not the crocodile. This is because the monkeys, which are very numerous, seem to have transformed into Ancol rulers.
"Around the railroad track at the end of Jalan Gunung Sahari opposite the entrance to Taman Ria Ancol now, many monkeys roam freely. Known as the Ancol monkey, it belongs to a species called Macacus. The monkeys often cluster around the train tracks at the T-junction at the end of Jalan Gunung Sahari and Jalan Ancol. "
Firman also added that those who travel to Ancol often pay attention to the behavior of monkeys. Some gave peanuts, and some provided other food to entertain themselves and see the behavior of the Ancol monkeys.
"At that time, the Ancol monkey was quite well-known among the citizens of Jakarta, so people in Jakarta used to curse someone they did not like or considered behaving strangely by saying: you Ancol monkey!" close the Word.
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, Tanjung, Wahanten (Banten), dan tempat-tempat lainnya pada masa pemerintah Raja Sunda, Prabu Surawisesa (1521-1535). Sedangkan untuk nama Ancol sendiri, Rachmat Ruchiat dalam buku Asal-Usul Nama Tempat di Jakarta (2018), menjelaskan nama Ancol mengandung arti tanah rendah berpaya-paya. Artian itu tak lain karena dulu bila laut sedang pasang, air payau Kali Ancol dapat berbalik ke darat menggenangi tanah di sekitarnya sehingga terasa asin. Oleh sebab itu, orang-orang Belanda zaman VOC kemudian menyebut kawasan ini sebagai Zoutelande atau tanah asin. Menariknya, sebutan itu juga diberikan pula untuk kubu pertahanan berupa kanal yang dibangun di daerah Ancol pada 1656. “sebelum dibangun kanal untuk menghubungkan Kota Batavia, pemerintah VOC membuat terusan Ancol yang sampai sekarang masih dapat dilayari perahu. Kemudian dibangun pula jalan yang sejajar dengan terusan. Dianggap strategis dalam rangka pertahanan kota Batavia, maka dibuatlah terusan, jalan, dan kanal di Ancol,” ujar Rachmat Ruchiat. Setelah Jayakarta dikuasai kongsi dagang Belanda, VOC pada 1619, Jayakarta bersalin nama menjadi Batavia. Ditangan VOC, Ancol kemudian dijadikan kubu pertahanan pasca serangan pertama Kerjaaan Mataram ke Batavia melawan VOC pada 1628. Detail peristiwa penyerangan telah kami ulas sebelumnya dalam tulisan Kisah Kompeni Serang Mataram dengan Tinja di Balik Julukan “Batavia Kota Tahi.” Untuk itu, VOC mulai memperkuat pertahanan dengan membangun sejumlah benteng. (https://voi.id/memori/14748/kisah-kompeni-serang-mataram-dengan-tinja-di-balik-julukan-batavia-kota-tahi ) Lantaran benteng yang tersisa hanya berada Kasteel Batavia dan benteng Pulau Onrust, pembangunan benteng baru mulai dikebut Belanda. Beberapa di antaranya ada benteng (fort) Jacatra, Fort Rijswijk, Fort Noordwijk, Fort Vijfhoek, Fort Angke, dan Fort Antjol. Pembangunan benteng baru itulah yang membuat Belanda tampak percaya diri melawan Mataram yang berbuah kemenangan. Setelahnya, lahan di sekitar Fort Antjol dikuasai oleh pejabat VOC Jeremias van Riemsdijk sebelum menjadi Gubernur Jenderal VOC pada 1775. Di tangannya, Jeremias membangun sebuah rumah peristirahatan berupa vila mewah. Sebagiannya lagi, Jeremias membuka tanahnya untuk membuat lahan pertanian dan menyulap sebagian rawa menjadi lahan yang produktif. Tak hanya itu, empunya tanah turut menjadikan kanal antara Kasteel Batavia dan Fort Antjol sebagai jalur lalu lintas mengangkut komoditi perdagangan. Jeremias turut mendatangkan budak belian dari berbagai tempat untuk menyukseskan usahanya membentuk lahan pertanian. Upaya itu dilakukan untuk meningkatkan pundi-pundi pendapatan lain, selain sebagai pejabat VOC. Ajaibnya, langkah Jeremias membuat villa mewah kemudian diikuti oleh orang kaya lainnya, termasuk Gubernur Jenderal VOC, Adriaan Valckenier (1737–1741). Semenjak saat itu, Ancol menjadi tempat rekreasi khusus warga Belanda untuk berakhir minggu. Kelak, istilah taman impian disematkan pada Ancol sekarang ini bukan tanpa alasan. Yang mana, sejak dulu Ancol menjadi salah satu akses utama ketika warga Batavia ingin menikmati wisata pantai. “Rupanya sejak tiga abad lalu, Ancol sudah menjadi tempat rekreasi khususnya bagi warga Belanda untuk berakhir minggu. Terlihat sejumlah noni-noni Belanda dengan dipayungi para budaknya menikmati pantai Ancol. Diantara mereka ada yang menggunakan teleskop,” tulis Alwi Shahab dalam buku Waktu Belanda Mabuk Lahirlah Batavia (2013). Sempat dilupakan Ancol sebagai tempat plesiran juga sempat direkam oleh Perwira Artileri VOC, Johannes Rach (1720-1783) dalam lukisannya yang melukis keadaan pantai Ancol pada 1772. Kala itu kawasan itu bernama Slingerland. Namun, kejayaan Slingerland sebagai tempat plesiran harus berakhir. Banyaknya wabah yang menjangkiti warga Batavia menjadi penyebab utamanya. Alhasil, pada saat pemerintahan Gubernur Jenderal Hindia-Belanda, Herman Willem Daendels (1808–1811) seluruh bangunan termasuk Kasteel Batavia dan sederet vila mewah Ancol di Oud Batavia (Batavia Lama) dihancurkan. Lewat puing-puing bangunan yang tersisa, Daendels mendirikan dan memindahkan pusat pemerintahan dari Oud Batavia –Batavia Lama-- menuju Nieuw Batavia –Batavia Baru-- di Weltevreden, atau yang dikenal dengan kawasan di sekitar lapangan Banten. Alhasil, Ancol menjadi kawasan yang terlupakan untuk waktu yang cukup lama. Ancol sarang monyet Setelah lama tak ditinggali, kawasan Ancol menjadi hutan belukar. Kondisi tersebut bertahan hingga masuk era 1950-an. Sangking tak ada kehidupan, Ancol dikenal sebagai sarang monyet. Oleh karena itu, saat kendaraan mulai melewati jembatan Ancol, mereka harus ekstra hati-hati bukan karena ada hantu jembatan Ancol, melainkan karena monyet-monyet sering berhamburan keluar dari hutan. Meski begitu, Ancol tetap dikunjungi untuk plesiran, namun tidak seramai dahulu. Salah satu yang pernah merasakan nikmatnya plesiran ke Ancol era 1950-an ialah Firman Lubis. Lewat bukunya Jakarta 1950-1970 (2018), Firman menuliskan pengalamannya pergi jalan-jalan ke Ancol bersama teman-teman untuk memancing. Kata Firman, Ancol dahulu banyak ditumbuhi semak belukar, mangrove, pohon kelapa, dan ratusan pohon lontar. Konon, karena sepinya Ancol, desas-desus buaya masih hidup di rawa-rawa Ancol pada awal 1950-an cukup populer di antara warga Ibu Kota. Kendati demikian, yang menjadi penguasa kawasan ini bukanlah buaya. Sebab, monyet yang jumlahnya sangat banyak, seakan-akan menjelma menjadi penguasa Ancol. “Di sekitar lintasan jalan kereta api di ujung Jalan Gunung Sahari di seberang pintu masuk Taman Ria Ancol sekarang, banyak monyet yang bebas berkeliaran. Dikenal sebagai monyet Ancol, tergolong spesies yang disebut Macacus. Monyet-monyet ini sering bergerombol di sekitar lintasan kereta api di pertigaan ujung Jalan Gunung Sahari dan jalan-jalan Ancol.” Firman pun menambahkan mereka yang jalan-jalan ke Ancol tak jarang memperhatikan tingkah laku dari monyet. Ada yang memberi kacang, dan ada pula yang memberikan makanan lain untuk menghibur diri dan menerawang tingkah laku dari monyet Ancol. “Waktu itu monyet Ancol cukup terkenal di kalangan warga Jakarta, sehingga biasa dipakai orang di Jakarta untuk memaki seseorang yang tidak disukai atau dianggap berkelakuan aneh dengan ucapan: dasar monyet Ancol lu!” tutup Firman. ilustrasi: Ancol Zaman Belanda| Wikimedia Commons Bucket Files: public/buckets/Oct2020/8780_20201012160504_4.jpeg public/buckets/Oct2020/8780_20201012160504_3.jpeg public/buckets/Oct2020/8780_20201012160504_2.jpeg public/buckets/Oct2020/8780_20201012160504_1.jpeg){kind=link}