Tegal, Central Java

Tegal is a city in the Tegal Regency, Indonesia. It is located on the north coast of Central Java about one-hundred kilometres from Cirebon. While the city of Tegal is the largest in the residency, Slawi, about twelve kilometres south, is its suburb.

Together with the nearby city of Pekalongan, approximately fifty kilometres east, Tegal was the site of the origins of the Dutch East Indies colonial sugar industry, and the regency remained a major sugar production center until the mid-twentieth century. [Knight, G.R. (1993) "Colonial Production in Provincial Java. The Sugar Industry in Pekalongan-Tegal, 1800-1942". Amsterdam: VU University Press.] The city served as a port for exporting sugar produced on the nearby plantations. Tegal is also known as its tea product (i.e. teh botol sosro, teh tong tji, teh 2 tang, teh gopek, etc)

History

The city of Tegal is an embodiment from a small village called “Tetegual”. The modernization of the village had been shown in early 1530, in which eventually became the part of Pemalang Recidency area who admitted the existence of Pajang Empire in Central Java. Pajang Empire was the successor of the Sultanate of Demak, established by its descendant.

The city was built by Ki Gede Sebayu. Together with the locals, he inspired to increase the region’s agricultural sector due to its soil fertility. Because of his endeavor to develop the region and to spread the faith, soon he became the high leader and the symbol of the city. His coronation as a leader was held together with a traditional festival after having a big agricultural harvest. In accordance of district ordinance no. 5/1988; 28 July is the anniversary of the city of Tegal.

In the 1920s, the city was a center of Communist Party of Indonesia (PKI) activism, and the radical leaders of the Tegal PKI branch were among the instigators of the 1926 rebellion that lead to the temporary destruction of that party. [McVey, Ruth. (1965) "The rise of Indonesian communism". Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. pp 329-340.]

On October 8, 1945, an anti "Swapraja"/anti feudalism movement called Three Regions Movement/"Gerakan Tiga Daerah" was established in Tegal, Pekalongan, and Brebes. The goal of this movement was to replace the blue blood regents (related to the kings from Jogyakarta and Surakarta) with ordinary people. According to the leaders of this movement, the old regents had cooperated with Japanese during the world war II and sent people to the Japanese slave labor camps.

The main leader of this movement was Sarjiyo who became the new regent of Pekalongan. Other leaders of this movement were Kutil, K. Mijaya and Ir. Sakirman. Ir Sakirman was the local leader of Indonesian Communist Party (PKI).

The old regents were arrested, stripped naked, and dragged into the prisons. Other government officials and police officers were kidnapped and massacred at Talang bridge. This movement also started a racial riot against ethnic Chinese in Brebes.

The government of Republic of Indonesia (RI) in Jogyakarta disagree with this movement and declared it as an illegal movement.

On November 4, 1945, the movement attacked Indonesian army HQ and the regent office in Pekalongan. The rebels were defeated by Indonesian army in a fierce battle on December 21, 1945. Most leaders of this movement were arrested and thrown into the prisons. This rebellion is called Three Regions Affair.

During the unrest following the resignation of President Suharto in 1998, Tegal was the site of extensive protests, and occasional violence, against local government officials, especially in June 1998.

Language

Tegal has its own language known as 'Bahasa Tegal'. Some Indonesian comedians speaks Bahasa Tegal because of its funny accent and dialect. They greet other people "How are you?" by "Kepriben kabare?"

lang

It is common practice to call 'Jon' or 'Jack' to their friends in Tegal.Daddy is 'Jasak' and mommy is 'jok'

Interesting Places and Buildings

* Gunung Guci, natural sulfur waterfalls for healing many skin diseases
* Pantai Alam Indah (PAI), famous beach in Tegal
* Alun-alun Tegal, located in the front of Mesjid Agung Tegal (mosque)
* Pasar Pagi Tegal, the biggest market in Tegal
* Best food to try: satay kambing muda, teh poci
* Best place to eat: Pondok makan jalan teri (pokanjari), Jalan A Yani area (at night), Restaurants in PAI, Restaurant Miraos, Restaurant Sari Laguna, Restaurant Pi'an, Satay Ayam Margadana, etc.
* Hotels: Bahari Inn, Karlita International Hotel, Plaza Hotel, Alexander, Susana Baru, Paramesti, Riez Palace.
* Shopping Center and Malls: Pacific Mall, Dedy Jaya Plaza, Rita Super Mall, Marina Plaza, and Moro.
* Bird Market in Pasar Senggol next to Alun-alun area.
* Taman Poci : Small park with children playground and picnics area located in the front of Train Station, served with kioks selling Tegal exotic foods and famous Teh Poci
* Tegal Train Station, connecting many other big cities in Java

References

External links

* [http://www.sejarahtni.mil.id/index.php?cid=2002 Military History Centre/Three regions affair]
* [http://www.sejarahtni.mil.id/index.php?cid=2008&page=4 Military History Centre/Battle on December 21, 1945]