BandungBergerak.id – On the Lembang-Tangkubanperahu map published by the publishing company Uitgave Hovic and printed by the Visser printing house in Bandung, there are two places with the name Patrol. The first Patrol village is 13 kilometers from the city of Bandung and is in the Cihideung area which is now part of West Bandung Regency. The second Patrol is located at the crossroads between Cihideung and Cisarua. It is approximately 15 kilometers away from the city of Bandung.

Places named Patrol are not only in the Lembang area but can also be found in other areas such as Indramayu, Cipatik, Cileunyi, and Arjasari in Bandung Regency. Then what is the true meaning of Patrol so that it becomes a regional name in many places?

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The Toponymy of ‘Patrol’

Quoting the Dutch-Sunda dictionary written by S. Coolsma, patrol is a guard post (wachtpost). Meanwhile, the Basa Sunda dictionary compiled by R. A. Danadibrata defines patrol as a place on the edge of a large road on the border of the district, regency and city. The word patrol is also usually used to refer to a guard post for security officers to observe border crossings and intersections.

The areas of Patrol do have the characteristics described in the dictionary. For example, Patrol around Cipatik and Cisarua is located at the intersection of highways and is the boundary between the two regions.

A related word to patrol is patrol which is an absorption of the Dutch word patrouille, which means a small team of several people who go around keeping the neighborhood safe. The word patrol has the same meaning as ronda.

So the name Patrol is related to the security of the region. Of course, there are other security terms that were later used as regional names. One example is Cordon.

Bubonic Plague

Perhaps few people know that the village with the name Patrol has a past story related to the bubonic plague outbreak in Bandung. According to Mr. Unung, as stated in the book Sastra Lisan Sunda: Cerita Karuhun, Kajajaden, dan Dedemit written by Yus Rusyana and Ami Raksanagara, the mention of the name Kampung Patrol in Banjaran began when the bubonic plague hit the Banjaran and Ciherang areas in 1932. Kampung Patrol functioned as a guard post so that people from Rancakole or from the east could not freely cross into the area that was hit by the bubonic plague. Those coming from the east had to return to Rancakole.

Still according to Mr. Unung who told his story in 1976, Patrol Village is located at the intersection of two branches of the road that must always be guarded. Since then, this village in the Arjasari area has been called Kampung Patrol.

The oral story of Kampung Patrol in Arjasari has several descriptions that match the description in the Sundanese dictionary. One of them is a place on the side of a large road that is guarded at the boundary to keep an eye on passersby.

The past incident that became the reason for the naming of Kampung Patrol was repeated in the Covid-19 pandemic since last year. To prevent the spread of the virus, regional restrictions are made with various names and terms.

Guard posts were set up to keep an eye on passersby in both small and large areas. These posts can also be called patrols because in some ways they match the meaning of the word patrol in the dictionary.

If the plague in the past has made the name Patrol for several areas in the Greater Bandung area, perhaps in the future there will also be names of villages, villages, or roads that are based on the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

 * Translated from this article by Altaf Hasna Banafsaj.