![COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM De 's avonds verlichte ingang van de Pasar Gambir op het Koningsplein in Batavia TMnr 60029670](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6f/COLLECTIE_TROPENMUSEUM_De_%27s_avonds_verlichte_ingang_van_de_Pasar_Gambir_op_het_Koningsplein_in_Batavia_TMnr_60029670.jpg)
The Gambir Fair ( in
Indonesian
Indonesian is anything of, from, or related to Indonesia, an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. It may refer to:
* Indonesians, citizens of Indonesia
** Native Indonesians, diverse groups of local inhabitants of the archipelago
** Indonesian ...
) was a fair held in 1906 and yearly from 1921 until 1942 in the Koningsplein, Batavia,
Dutch East Indies
The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, which ...
(now
Merdeka Square,
Jakarta
Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coast of Java, the world's most populous island, Jakarta ...
, Indonesia) to celebrate the birthday of
Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands
Wilhelmina (; Wilhelmina Helena Pauline Maria; 31 August 1880 – 28 November 1962) was Queen of the Netherlands from 1890 until her abdication in 1948. She reigned for nearly 58 years, longer than any other Dutch monarch. Her reign saw World Wa ...
. After the
Japanese occupied the Indies, the fair was no longer held. However, after a failed attempt in 1952, in 1968 it was reinstated as the
Jakarta Fair
Jakarta Fair ( id, Pekan Raya Jakarta or PRJ, ) is a fair held annually in Jakarta International Expo Kemayoran, Jakarta, Indonesia, in June and July. It features exhibitions, trade promotions, shopping, music performances, various shows, amuseme ...
.
Gambir Market featured hundreds of kiosks selling arts and crafts, food, and other items. It also included singing competitions, dances, and movie showings. Other activities included
association football
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
games and a lottery. Most visitors were European and
ethnic Chinese
The Chinese people or simply Chinese, are people or ethnic groups identified with China, usually through ethnicity, nationality, citizenship, or other affiliation.
Chinese people are known as Zhongguoren () or as Huaren () by speakers of s ...
, although rich
natives
Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...
also went.
Layout and attractions
![COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Gezicht over de Pasar Gambir op het Koningsplein in Batavia TMnr 60019735](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/06/COLLECTIE_TROPENMUSEUM_Gezicht_over_de_Pasar_Gambir_op_het_Koningsplein_in_Batavia_TMnr_60019735.jpg)
Gambir Market was held in Koningsplein, Batavia,
Dutch East Indies
The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, which ...
(now
Merdeka Square,
Jakarta
Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coast of Java, the world's most populous island, Jakarta ...
, Indonesia); this was a part of
Gambir subdistrict, which lent the fair its name. The front gate, which was located on the north side of Daanhole Street (now Sabang Street), was made of bamboo and wood, roofed with
True Sago Palm leaves, and served as a ticket booth. The gate's architectural style differed every year, although it was generally modeled on traditional Indonesian buildings; the architects in charge of designing the gate often began researching the style to be used six months before the event.
![COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM De jaarmarkt 'Pasar Gambir' van 1928 te Jakarta Java TMnr 10002576](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/05/COLLECTIE_TROPENMUSEUM_De_jaarmarkt_%27Pasar_Gambir%27_van_1928_te_Jakarta_Java_TMnr_10002576.jpg)
The fairgrounds, which included its own police station, was surrounded by a high wooden fence. Just inside the front gate were flowers, benches, and fences for resting. Further back were open and covered stalls, made of the same material as the gates; there were often more than 200 stalls open. The open stalls were generally used for photographic exhibitions and the sale of arts and crafts from throughout the archipelago and imported goods, while the covered stalls — which charged an additional entrance fee — featured various attractions, including movies, magic shows, a dancing hall, and a lottery. Government stalls included book exhibitions from the state-owned publisher
Balai Pustaka
Balai Pustaka (; also spelled Balai Poestaka, both meaning "Bureau of Literature") is the state-owned publisher of Indonesia and publisher of major pieces of Indonesian literature such as ''Salah Asuhan'', ''Sitti Nurbaya'' and '' Layar Terkem ...
and information on the oil industry from
Bataafsche Petroleum Maatschappij.
At the centre of the complex, a large restaurant exclusively for Dutch patrons was established. This restaurant sold alcohol and European food. Other ethnic groups ate from food kiosks scattered throughout the square, which sold snacks from different parts of the Indies.
The fair featured ''petasan'' (local fireworks) on three occasions: at its beginning, on Wilhelmina's birthday, and at the end. Outside the front gate, street sellers from throughout Batavia laid down sheets and sold their wares.
Artistic performances were also common. Initially, art shows were held by Dutchmen and other Europeans. However, beginning in 1937 traditional Indonesian art forms such as dance, ''
wayang wong
''Wayang wong'', also known as ''wayang orang'' (literally "human ''wayang''"), is a type of classical Javanese and Balinese dance theatrical performance with themes taken from episodes of the '' Ramayāna'' or '' Mahabharāta''. Performances ...
'', and ''
ketoprak
''Ketoprak'' ( jv, ꧋ꦏꦺꦛꦺꦴꦥꦿꦏ꧀, Kethoprak) is a theatrical genre of Java featuring actors who may also sing to the accompaniment of the gamelan. It draws its stories from Javanese history and romances and in this differs from ...
''. Other activities available included
association football
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
during daytime hours and singing and ''
keroncong
Kroncong (pronounced "kronchong"; id, Keroncong, nl, Krontjong) is the name of a ukulele-like instrument and an Indonesian musical style that typically makes use of the kroncong (the sound ' comes from this instrument, so the music is called ' ...
'' competitions at night.
History
![COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Bezoek van Gouverneur-Generaal Mr](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/04/COLLECTIE_TROPENMUSEUM_Bezoek_van_Gouverneur-Generaal_Mr._D._Fock_en_Hertog_Adolf_aan_de_Pasar_Gambir_in_Batavia_TMnr_60029716.jpg)
To celebrate the birthday of
Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands
Wilhelmina (; Wilhelmina Helena Pauline Maria; 31 August 1880 – 28 November 1962) was Queen of the Netherlands from 1890 until her abdication in 1948. She reigned for nearly 58 years, longer than any other Dutch monarch. Her reign saw World Wa ...
on 31 August, in 1906 the Batavia city government decided to hold a
bazaar
A bazaar () or souk (; also transliterated as souq) is a marketplace consisting of multiple small Market stall, stalls or shops, especially in the Middle East, the Balkans, North Africa and India. However, temporary open markets elsewhere, suc ...
. In 1921, due to great interest in the event — attendance over one week had reached 75,000 — the Dutch decided to hold it yearly to coincide with the queen's birthday; as such, the week-long fair was held from the end of August until the beginning of September. Open from 10 in the morning until midnight, the entrance fee was 10 cents for
Native Indonesians
Native Indonesians, also known as ''Pribumi'' (), are Indonesians whose ancestral roots lie mainly in the archipelago, distinguished from Indonesians of known (partial) foreign descent, like Chinese Indonesians (Tionghoa), Arab Indonesians, India ...
and 25 cents for the Dutch.
The initial displays were privately owned and run, but as the fair grew increasingly crowded elements of the government became involved and opened their own kiosks. It was also extended to two weeks. The visitors were generally well-off financially, mainly Europeans and
ethnic Chinese
The Chinese people or simply Chinese, are people or ethnic groups identified with China, usually through ethnicity, nationality, citizenship, or other affiliation.
Chinese people are known as Zhongguoren () or as Huaren () by speakers of s ...
. Natives
Betawi and other groups were fewer, and those which came were generally of noble background.
After the
Japanese occupied the Indies in 1942, the fair was stopped. After the end of World War II and
Indonesia's independence, several attempts were made to reinstate the fair. In 1952 an attempt was made near Sudirman Street; however, this event did not last long. The next effort, the
Jakarta Fair
Jakarta Fair ( id, Pekan Raya Jakarta or PRJ, ) is a fair held annually in Jakarta International Expo Kemayoran, Jakarta, Indonesia, in June and July. It features exhibitions, trade promotions, shopping, music performances, various shows, amuseme ...
, was launched in 1968 and better received; it continues to this day.
In popular culture
The fair featured in several works from the period. In
Armijn Pane
Armijn Pane (18 August 1908 – 16 February 1970), also known as Adinata, A. Soul, Empe, A. Mada, A. Banner, and Kartono, was an Indonesian author.
Life
Armijn Pane was born in Moeara Sipongi, Tapanuli, Sumatra, the third of eight children. He ...
's 1940 novel ''
Belenggu
''Belenggoe'' ( Perfected Spelling: ''Belenggu''; translated to English as ''Shackles'') is a novel by Indonesian author Armijn Pane. The novel follows the love triangle between a doctor, his wife, and his childhood friend, which eventually cau ...
'' (''Shackles''), the male lead Tono discovers that his mistress, Yah, is also his favourite
kroncong
Kroncong (pronounced "kronchong"; id, Keroncong, nl, Krontjong) is the name of a ukulele-like instrument and an Indonesian musical style that typically makes use of the kroncong (the sound ' comes from this instrument, so the music is called ' ...
singer during a competition at Gambir.
Ismail Marzuki
Ismail Marzuki (also known as Bang Ma'ing; 11 May 1914 – 25 May 1958) was an Indonesian composer, songwriter and musician who wrote around 202 to 240 songs between 1931 and 1958, including numerous popular patriotic songs. Among his best- ...
wrote the song "Kr. Pasar Gambir dan Stambul Anak Jampang" ("Kroncong of Gambir Market and Stambul of the Cowlicked Child") to describe the atmosphere of the fair; the song has since been recorded by several other artists, including
Chrisye
Hajji Chrismansyah Rahadi (; 16 September 1949 – 30 March 2007), born Christian Rahadi (), better known by his stage name Chrisye (), was an Indonesian progressive pop singer and songwriter. In 2011 ''Rolling Stone Indonesia'' declared hi ...
.
Gallery
File:Pasar Gambir (6259926731).jpg
See also
References
;Footnotes
;Bibliography
*
*
*
*
*
External links
{{Commons category, Pasar Gambir
Fairs in Indonesia
Batavia, Dutch East Indies