Singkawang

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Singkawang, a town backed by mountains (san) and (and the 'mouth' (kheu) of the mountains) faces the sea (jong) in Hakka Chinese, is a municipality in the Indonesian province of West Kalimantan. Singkawang is located about 160 km north of Pontianak, the provincial capital, and is surrounded by the mountains Pasi, Poteng and Sakok.

1 Population
2 History
- 2.1 The 1999 conflict
3 Festivals
4 Around Singkawang

[edit] Population

Singkawang's population is about 170,000 residents, of which 42% are Chinese descent, 33% are Malay, 9% Dayak, and the rest are a mix of Madurese, Batak and Javanese.

Beside the national language of Indonesia, the Chinese dialect of Hakka is commonly used by the general population, including the non-Chinese ethnic groups. Each of the larger groups, such as Malayu and Dayak, use their own dialects, so an average educated person speaks three languages.

The distribution of the religion practically follows the distribution of the ethnic groups; the three largest groups are Islam, Buddhism, and Catholics.

[edit] History

From the middle of the 18th century the Chinese governed trading in the city.

[edit] The 1999 conflict

From the early to mid ninenties, the population of Singkawang experienced a growth mainly from Madurese, of the island of Madura, right north of Java. As the rest of the population of Borneo, the people of Singkawang are extremely friendly, and when the Madurese arrived with no belongings and nowhere to live, they were given permission to stay in any spare place like people's front yard. As timed passed, the Madurese got accustomed to the local hospitality, offering nothing in return but rude comments. Soon they started to treat the small pieces of land they were lent as their own, in addition to getting into robbery, pity crimes and extorsion. As one local policeman said: "They started to behave like mobsters." Soon, they were driven out of the city, many of them staying in the beach of Pasir Panjang.

The tension culminated in may of 1999, when the Dayak and the Malayu population of Sinkawang took the matter into own hands and drove off the Madurese for good from Pasir Panjang in a bloody battle. The local police could not interfere as they didn't have enough forces to divide the crowds apart.

Since the battle on Pasir Panjang the tension between the ethnicities has disappeared in Singkawang.

In Sambas a similar occurred leaving no Madurese in the city and its surroundings.

[edit] Festivals

January: Cap Go Meh is celebrated 15 days into the Imlek New Year;
May: Gawai Dayak Naik Dango is celebrated by the Dayak in the opening of the rice harvest to thank the Gods;
June 1st: Ngabayotn is celebrated by the Dayak people to celebrate the closing form of rice harvest and beginning of the cultivation season;
August: Wayang Gantung;
August 15th: Karnaval Augustus celebrates Indonesian Independence day;
October: Singkawang 10km running contest is held on Singkawang's anniversary;
October: Dragon Cup soccer championship gathers the clubs from the surrounding districts to celebrate Singkawang's anniversary;
October: Pawai Takbir;
Festival Bedug on Idul Adha day;
Karnaval Muharram celebrates Islamic new year;

[edit] Around Singkawang

Places of interest around the city are:

Bukit Bougenville, a botanical garden about 6km south of Singkawang;
Chidayu Indah, is a similar garden to that of Bougenville, and lies right next to it;
Pasir Panjang beach resort about 17 km south of Singkawang;
Sungai Hangmoy, a river used for bathing mainly by the Hakka Chinese population;
Kawasan Wisata, a white sand beach 8 km south of Singkawang;
Teradai Indah, only 2 km south of Singkawang lies an artificial lake used for recreation by the locals;
Vihara Chikung, the largest Buddhist temple in the area, funded by Singaporians, is only 3 km south of the city;
Gunung Roban, only 4 km from the city centre into the eastern part of Singkawang, lies a tiled path up the mountain used by the locals for easy hiking.
Batu Belimbing, or Starfruit Rock, lies 8 km east of the city;
Gunung Poteng is one of the main water resources for the city, and lies 7km east. The mountain is a Natural Reserve where unique flora such as the Tuan Mudae Rafflesia grows.