The Hakka People in Singkawang, Pemangkat, and Sambas: A One-of-a-Kind Cultural Experience

Portrait of Hakka people in Pemangkat in the 1980s. Photo credit: the author.

Chinese sources from the Tang Dynasty (618-907) mentioned Borneo. However, significant Chinese migration to the world’s third-largest island only began in 1740.

Hakka people from Fujian and Guangdong

Most of these migrants were Hakka from Fujian and Guangdong, who came to work in the gold mines of West Borneo. 

By the late 18th century, the Chinese population in the Sambas district, Singkawang city, and Bengkayang district had reached over 40,000, surpassing the Malay and Dayak populations at the time.

Initially, they worked under Malay rulers, but by the end of the 18th century, the Hakka formed alliances to ensure their survival.

In 1776, the Heshun Zongting was established in Montrado, and in 1777, the Lanfang Kongsi Zongting (Orchid of Glory) was formed in Mandor. A splinter group, Santiaogou (Three Valleys), separated from Heshun Zongting around 1819.

For nearly a century, these zongtings managed their territories like "mini-republics" with elected councils and executive boards. The Dutch, astonished by the success of the Hakka people, sent anthropologist J.J.M. de Groot in 1880 to study the situation. His research concluded that the success of the Chinese in West Borneo at that time was based on Hakka culture and the application of a naturally republican village model.

Recently, Yuan Bingling has challenged this village-based analysis. He proposed that the social structure of the zongtings was inspired by the story of the 108 heroes from the 14th-century novel "Water Margin" by Shi Naian.

Strong brotherhood spirit

According to Yuan, the story of the 108 heroes promotes a spirit of brotherhood, a principle underlying Chinese social behavior and their support systems. However, other views suggest that storytelling has greatly influenced Chinese society, with mythology, theater, and folk literature serving as primary tools for teaching traditional values.

In West Kalimantan, these zongtings were voluntary associations, and family ties were often extended to the Dayak community. Chinese men arriving in the 18th century without partners often married Dayak women and viewed their in-laws as part of their own family.

de Groot in 1880, based on his research, concluded that the success of the Chinese in West Borneo (Singkawang and surrounding areas) at that time was based on Hakka culture and the application of a naturally republican village model.

These historical traces are still evident in the Dayak term for Chinese, such as "sobat," meaning "friend." Conversely, the Chinese referred to the Dayak as "Lo-a-kia." 

This term is thought to refer to the belief that the Dayak originated from the Lie tribe in Hainan. Meanwhile, the term "fanzi" was reserved pejoratively for non-Dayak groups. During times of conflict, brotherhood often took precedence, with Dayak and Chinese uniting in internal solidarity.

Hakka cultural strength in Singkawang and surroundings

What about de Groot’s other propositions? The paid professional researcher described the Hakka cultural traits as contributing to the Chinese success in Borneo. Kiang described the Hakka as "energetic, controversial ... adventurers, explorers, fighters, and pioneers."

According to him, these traits stem from the history and genetics of the Chinese as a migrant nation seeking livelihood from the poor highlands of Fujian and Guangdong, while the native populations enjoyed the fertile lowlands.

The Hakka claim to originate from Central Asia. They moved into northern China before the Qin Dynasty, fought in wars that established the Han Dynasty (206 BC–220 AD), and then migrated south in five waves.

Importance of narrative and rhetoric

Yuan dismisses this narrative as a "myth of noble descent," but as Constable illustrates, narrative and rhetoric are far more significant than Hakka self-perception, as each claimed quality "can have special power in ethnic mobilization as a social force."

If understood as a cultural construct, ethnicity shows "how reality becomes real, how essence becomes important, how materiality becomes material."

If so, what can be understood from the fact that books and websites about the Hakka, created by the Hakka themselves, often include long lists of prominent Hakka figures?

Similarly, when I spoke with Hakka people in Indonesia and Singapore about their heritage, they quickly mentioned prominent Hakka leaders. For example, Kiang lists Deng Xiaoping, Lee Kuan Yew, and Lee Teng Hui among many others as notable figures.

Prominent Hakka in Singkawang

Christiandy Sanjaya, Vice Governor of West Kalimantan (2008 - 2018), Hasan Karman, Mayor of Singkawang, and Tjhai Chui Mie are Hakka. Thus, just as in the 18th century, there are also Hakka leaders in West Kalimantan today.

Hakka in Singkawang take pride in their Chinese identity. They have maintained their language from generation to generation despite pressures from the New Order.

During my research travels, I repeatedly noted that Hakka is the primary language used in conversations among local Chinese, rather than Indonesian or a creole comparable to rough Javanese.

In contrast, many Chinese in Java do not master the Chinese language. One example of the revival of ethnic pride is the resurgence of wayang kulit from the New Order's ban, with the region's only wayang kulit group, Xin Tian Cai (New Heaven Colors), led by the elderly puppeteer Zhong Lian Lin.

No longer viewed as "strangers" or "migrants" 

Not surprisingly, Singkawang and its surroundings are known as the "Small China in the Tropics." 

The largest Chinatown anywhere in the archipelago and Indonesia to this day. However, there is another side to the resistance of the West Kalimantan Hakka community to cultural assimilation into the larger indigenous communities, despite their more than 250 years of history there.

Today, the Hakka people in Singkawang and the surrounding areas are no longer viewed as "strangers" or "migrants." 

They are called "sobat," or brothers, by the local Dayak people, who are the first nation in the region. Many Chinese and Dayak people intermarry in this area.

-- Masri Sareb Putra