Si Pitung illustrated by and used with the kind permission of Reza Ilyasa
An Orang Betawi or descendant of the indigineous people who lived in the Batavia ( the old name of Jakarta) area during the Dutch colonial times, Si Pitung is probably the most well-known outlaw in the history of Indonesia and adored by many Indonesians even today. However, like most folk legends, his story is a mix of historical hear-say and popular myths. Pitung was believed to have magical powers, making him impenetrable to all kinds of weapons and even bullets.
Alm. Maswan Hasan (Rawabelong)
I first heard of Si Pitung's name from my grandfather, Alm. H. Hasan Abd Hamid and my father Alm. Maswan Hasan (from Rawabelong).
According to legend, Si Pitung was a robber who roamed around Batavia and its surrounding countryside between 1886 to 1894.
He was a cunning individual and gave the Dutch a tough time by outsmarting them every time when they tried to catch him. Many words have been said and written about him but, as many of these stories are derived from legend and superstition and not rooted in documented fact, it's hard to say just how true they are. Despite this, the leaders of the Betawi community swear by Si Pitung's stories, feats and powers, some of which border on the supernatural. He is almost always portrayed as a pious Muslim and an shining example of a social justice during the criminality and banditry of the Dutch East Indies era. Sensing the great social divide in Batavia, he utilised his dexterity and guile to steal from the rich to give to the poor.
Si Pitung was born in Pengumben, a village in Rawabelong (an area in present-day West Jakarta) to Bung Piung and Mbak Pinah. Si Pitung was sent to an Islamic school run by a gentleman named Haji Naipin as both his parents hoped for him to be a religious person who would help others when he grew up. After his evening prayers every day, he would train in the martial art of Silat under the watchful eyes of Haji Naipin until he became an extremely skilled practitioner.
After Si Pitung grew up, he was asked by his father to sell two of their goats at the market in Tanah Abang (incidently around the same area where the tomb of Olivia Raffles is located - we have a writeup on that here and here). The two well-fed and healthy goats were quickly sold and he made his way home. He soon realised that the money he made had been stolen. He thought hard and recalled meeting a group of five men who had held him in conversation at the market, suspecting that one of them might have picked his pocket.
The Golok or Indonesian Machete was believed to be Si Pitung's weapon of choice
He knew right away that he would be in big trouble if he did not bring the money home safely. Flustered, he returned to the market where he found the five men. He confronted them for stealing his money and a fight soon ensued. Despite having the odds stacked against him, Si Pitung was able to overcome them with his impeccable Silat moves. It is said that his determination to recover the stolen money from the crooks gave rise to the nicknames Jago Betawi (translated as the Batavian Warrior) and Banteng Betawi (the Batavian Bull), a testament to his amazing perseverance and tenacity.
He later joined forces with three other robbers, namely Ji'ih, Rais and Jebul (from Kemandoran) to carry out their now-famous pilfering feats around Batavia. Their targets were often the wealthy Bugis, Chinese and Arabs and the gains of their robberies were given to the orphans and the poor and needy, many of whom were enslaved by debts to their rich landlords. Some say that Si Pitung was not just an individual, but a gang of seven robbers who operated under the same name. The word Pitu in means seven in Javanese, and could have gave rise to this belief as well.
with the betawi swordsman
It is said that Si Pitung's burglaries never involved any act of violence and that he never resorted to murder nor even drew a single drop of blood from his victims. His agility enabled him to enter and leave the house of the rich quietly, and he never left any trace. Si Pitung's crime soon caught the attention of like this soon attracted the attention of the police and the Dutch police commissioner, referred to as Schout Hinne* by the Betawi storytellers, in particular. Scores of heavily armed men, guards and policemen were ordered to capture and lock up Si Pitung for good.
*Schout Hinne (literally Sheriff Hinne in Dutch) in these stories is most likely an actual police officer named Adolf Wilhelm-Verbond Hinne who was stationed in Batavia between 1888 to 1912.
The house of Si Pitung which I mentioned earlier actually belonged to a wealthy landowner in Marunda (a village north-east of Batavia) named Haji Sapiudin, who was a Bugis himself. The story of how it became Si Pitung's house is rather interesting.
The most popular version tells of how Si Pitung used a clever ruse to trick Haji Sapiudin out of his money in the year 1892. Disguised as civil servants, they visited the house and handed Haji Sapiudin a letter instructing him to place his money at their disposal, offering an excuse that he was under suspicion of forgery. Therefore, they were there to collect the money, which had to be taken to the office of the Demang (the village head) to have its authenticity checked. Since such checks were common under the Dutch at that time, Haji Sapiudin naturally complied with the request and Si Pitung made off with his money.
Si Pitung's House
Haji Sapiudin later found out that he had been conned by Pitung's band of bandits, but instead of turning to the authorities for help, the patient Haji Sapiudin decided to investigate the reasons behind Pitung's actions and before long, he learnt all about Pitung's valiant deeds. A person with a kind heart himself, Haji Sapiudin then decided to allow the Betawi Bandit to use his house as a hideout, which Pitung did for several years before his unfortunate death.
The details of Pitung's eventual capture and death in 1912 is pretty murky, and there are several versions which Betawi storytellers tell off. One says that Pitung lost his mysterious powers after he cut his hair, resulting in his capture, while another says that he was killed by an egg thrown by a Dutch official, supposedly the only item which could penetrate his magical impenetrable skin. The most popular version, which was later used in a movie, depicts Pitung being killed by bullets made of gold; similarly his magical armour was broken by the golden bullets.
..to be Continued..
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