BandungBergerak.id - It was Sunday, October 28, 1830. The fasting month had just passed. Prince Diponegoro, the leader of the Java War, was captured in negotiations held at the residence of the Resident of Magelang. Thus ended the great war that had lasted for five years.

Then, what happened to the former combatants of Diponegoro’s army? As it turned out, some of them moved to Bandung and started businesses that would later grow bigger.

Moving from Java to the Land of Sunda

After the Java War, one of Prince Diponegoro’s soldiers named R. Endrokoesoemo, who came from Settu village, Demak, fled to Bandung, before returning to his hometown. Endrokoesoemo was the son of a religious leader in Demak named R. Adipati Tjokro Winokoesoemo. He left Settu to join Diponegoro’s army in Magelang at the start of the Java War in 1825.

During his escape, Endorokoesoemo felt that he was always being followed by the Dutch police and decided to seek refuge with Kyai Demang Singarangi. It was during this hiding time, that Endrokoesoemo remarried and after going on hajj, changed his name to Haji Hoesen. This change of identity may have been intended to eliminate the trail of the Dutch secret police.

The story of the senapati’s escape in Diponegoro’s army was written by Syamsuri in the book Himpunan Silsilah (Stamboom) Keluarga Pasar Baru Bandung (1971), based on written information from Dadang Sukri who obtained this story from H. Abdoelbasah in 1937.

Dadang Dachmir, who is a descendant of the Pasar Baru family of Bandung, later wrote a story to support this, namely that one of the senapati in Diponegoro’s army came to Bandung to become a merchant in the Pasar Baru neighborhood after previously renouncing the identity of his noble title in the Plered area of Cirebon. The story of the Pasar Baru family was published as an article in a local West Java newspaper in 1984-1985. The same story was later quoted in several books explaining the origins of “urang pasar” (market people), including Semerbak Bunga di Bandung Raya and Bank Saudara 1906-2006.

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War Commander-turned-Merchant

According to R. Moech. A. Affandie in his book Bandung Baheula Djilid I (1969), former Diponegoro soldiers who fled from the Central Java area after Prince Diponegoro was arrested then became batikan goods merchants with the “mandoran” system. These merchants would buy their goods from areas in Central Java, such as Mataram (Solo), Kaliwungu, Pekalongan, Lasem, Jogjakarta, Banyumas, and Gresik.

They usually went shopping in groups like the merchant caravans of the Prophet’s time to prevent security disturbances on the road. Quoting information from the book “Gedenkboek vereeniging Himpoenan Soedara 1906-1936”, the amount of trading capital that must be spent when shopping is at least f 20,000 because the purchase of merchandise before 1906 must be paid in cash.

Before Bandung had Pasar Baru in the early 20th century, after the burning of Pasar Ciguriang due to the Munada riots in the mid-19th century, merchants sold their goods along Pangeran Sumedangweg, or now Oto Iskandar di Nata Street. Apart from the area around Pasar Baru, the “mandoran” batikan merchants would sell their wares to areas around Bandung, such as Cimahi, Soreang, Banjaran, Ciparay, Majalaya, Cicalengka, Ujungberung, Lembang, and Padalarang.

Apart from the mandoran system, batik goods were also sold on commission. The batik merchants, some of whom were former followers of Prince Diponegoro, then controlled commerce in Pasar Baru Bandung, especially batiks, by becoming wholesalers or large traders.

The condition of Pasar Baru Bandung around 1906 was still very simple. The stalls and shop houses on the side of the main road were still wooden and bamboo buildings. The batik merchants’ selling places were not yet organized.

Gradually Bandung became the center of the batik business, and many traders from outside the region, such as Cianjur, Sukabumi, Bogor, Garut, Tasikmalaya, and Ciamis came to shop for batik goods.  The progress of the batik business accelerated after the train route to Bandung was opened, which had an impact on improving the economic level of batik traders who had a new title “saudagar Bandung” in addition to another nickname, “urang pasar”.

The Bandung merchants then controlled land assets around Pasar Baru. The families of H. Pahroeradji, M. Masdoeki, H. Syarif, H. Idris, H. Oemar Kadar, H. Ayoeb, H. Pagieh, H. Achsan, and H. M. Boekri owned land around Pasar Baru and Suniaraja. Apart from these two areas, the properties of the market merchants’ families were scattered throughout Bandung, such as the Kebon Kawung, Kresna, Wastukancana, and Sudirman areas.

In addition to the Bandung merchants who had a background from the Central Javanese tribe, later merchants from Palembang also came. Some of the most famous were Ki Agus H. Anang Thayib, Ki Agus Abdul Syukur, Ki Agus M. Thamim, and Kiagus Asep Abdullah bin Kiagus Haji Abdul Syukur (Asep Berlian).

It can be said that at that time, in the early 20th century, the Bandung’s merchants were prominent.

From Small Group to Large Association

In 1906, 10 market merchants, namely H. Basoeni, H. Domiri, H. Bajoeri, M. Marta, R. Wargadipradja (R. H. Djoewaeni), H. Domiri, H. Maksoedi, Basar, Jahja Adiwinata, Oenoed (H. Hoetomi), and Kasah (H. Boekri), some of whom were related as “rehrehan urang pasar” (market family), founded an association called Himpoenan Soedara (H.S.). Boekri), some of whom were related as “rehrehan urang pasar” (market families), founded an association called Himpoenan Soedara (H.S.). The establishment of this association began with a conversation between H. Basoeni, H. Domiri, and H. Bajoeri. They wanted to promote trade by binding the batik merchants in an association, a kind of trade union similar to the Sarikat Dagang Islam, an association founded a year earlier in the blood of Surakarta by the batik merchants of Laweyan.

In the 100th anniversary book of Himpunan Saudara, entitled Bank Saudara 1906-2006, it is said that it was the desire for sufficient working capital that initiated the merchants’ efforts to establish a trading partnership.

The effort to raise capital for the business was carried out by requiring the members of the association to deposit a certain amount of funds and on the condition that they could not be withdrawn for five years. The collected capital was then rolled over among the members. An example occurred in 1907 when H. Basoeni borrowed funds from the Himpunan Sudara for capital to buy leather goods from Solo. He later returned the funds with interest.

Efforts to raise capital for this business activity are carried out by requiring members of the association to save their funds with a certain amount and on condition that they cannot be taken for five years. The collected capital is then rolled over among the members. An example of this occurred in 1907 when H. Basoeni borrowed funds from Himpunan Sudara to buy leather goods from Solo. He later returned the funds with interest.

The funds of the Sudara Association became larger and larger over time and could be used not only for business capital, but also to improve the welfare of its members. Funds are also allocated for death donations, medical treatment, and calamity funds.

Himpunan Sudara became a larger association over time, both in terms of funds and members. From 1909, membership was no longer restricted and many other market traders signed up. From a trading association, Himpunan Sudara turned into a mutual savings and loan business.

The growing needs of the association eventually demanded clarity of legality. The application for legal entity status obtained permission from the colonial government under the name Vereeniging Himpoenan Soedara on October 4, 1913 with the issuance of Government Besluit No. 33.

In its early days, the Brotherhood was led by H. Bajoeri as its first chairman. The association then reached its peak of success under the leadership of M. Masdoeki, who served from 1919 until his death in 1965.

During M. Masdoeki’s leadership, the number of Himpunan Sudara members reached one thousand in 1929. This was due to the elimination of the merchant membership requirement. It should be noted that at the beginning of its establishment, Himpunan Sudara set membership requirements similar to the Islamic Trade Union in Solo, namely merchants and Muslims.

The increase in the number of Himpunan Sudara members, from only 62 in 1919 to 736 by the end of 1935, also resulted in an increase in cash, from f 2,640 in 1919 to f 308,568.50 by the end of 1935. With a large amount of cash, Himpunan Sudara had become a large trade association in Bandung, with land assets and a magnificent office building located on Moskeeweg (now Dalem Kaum Street). In fact, at the beginning of its establishment, the association rented a room in the Societeit Merdika building on Kebonjati Street and had also rented a house on Achter-Pasarstraat (Belakang Pasar Street).

So it was no surprise that on the 30^th anniversary of the Himpunan Sudara, celebrations were held for two consecutive nights, on April 18 and 19, 1936. About a thousand people attended. Some of the important figures who attended included the Regent of Bandung R. A. A. Wiranatakusumah V and the Chairman of the Paguyuban Pasundan Executive Board R. Oto Iskadar di Nata.

The excitement of the 30th anniversary of the Brotherhood was preserved in a commemorative book titled “Gedenkboek Vereeniging Himpoenan Soedara 1906-1936”, which included letters of appreciation to the Brotherhood from prominent figures in the city of Bandung such as Bandung elder D. K. Ardiwinata and Bandung Mayor (Burgemeester) J. M. Wesselink. All this proves that the association (vereeniging) of Himpunan Sudara was recognized in Bandung.

The story of the Himpuan Sudara association is also in line with its ideals: “Bibirintik, tut saeutik, geus gede ngan kari make” or “Berhemat, sedikit demi sedikit lama-lama menjadi bukit” (little by little fills the purse). From a small association of a few market merchants, Himpunan Sudara became a large association in Bandung.

* Translated from this article by Altaf Hasna Banafsaj.