Peter J. M. Nas

Flooding in Jakarta : Towards a blue city with improved water management

Sunday, 27 January 2002, a large flood swept down on Jakarta and inundated several parts of the city. From the evening of 27 January to the morning of 28 January rain came streaming down, and the dike south of Jakarta broke. The pungent black water, with a hefty cargo of garbage, poured onto the main roads to Bogor, Kramat Jati and East Jakarta. In North Jakarta, in Kelurahan Pejagalan, Kecamatan Penjaringan, the flooding or banjir hit at midnight and continued until five o’clock in the morning, reaching levels as high as 20 cm. Even harder hit was Kelurahan Kapuk Muara, inundated with 70 cm of water.

Jakarta, City Full of Symbols: An Essay in Symbolic Ecology

This article focuses on the signs and symbols of contemporary Jakarta, including statues, street names, images of the city in poems, paintings, stamps, graffiti, word games, as well as in the modern myths, which are being spread by television. Alongside the symbolism of Jakarta, it also takes that of Leiden into consideration. While it attempts to flesh out some insights on Jakarta and Leiden from their contrasts, it does not aim at a systematic comparison. The discussion on Jakarta and Leiden is based on informal talks and conversations, the location and observation of statues, and the collection of data, such as poems, songs, stamps, photographs of paintings and sculptures, lists of street names, observation of television programmes, and so on. Formal written interviews with a group of students was also conducted in Jakarta, and research in the municipal archives was conducted in Leiden.

The Indonesian City in Urban Theory

Abstract This contribution to urban theory determines what concepts developed in the Indonesian context play a role in general urban studies and conversely this study also describes what widely used terms have proven to be valuable in the specific context of Java and the Archipelago. The focus of this literature resear ch is mainly directed towards migration, mega-urbanisation and symbolism.

The Network Metaphor: An Assessment of Castells’ Network Society Paradigm

AbstractThis article is an assessment of the recent contribution of Manuel Castells to development sociology. His trilogy on the network society comprises an analysis of present-day fundamental soc...

The urban anthropologist as flâneur The symbolic pattern of Indonesian cities

Cities are places full of symbols. In the past decades, Indonesian cities have become the cradle of urban symbolism studies. In this article, the author presents the results of these studies. The cities researched differ tremendously, ranging from the national capital to provincial capitals and small towns; some of them, such as Jakarta, are purely colonial in origin, while others are more or less traditional in character. Some of them have a top-down symbolic structure, largely the product of government activities, while others have symbolic configurations which have a more grassroots character and are based in the religious domain. The methodological aspect of urban symbolism fieldwork is explored by the introduction of the concept of flâneur.

Local Autonomy: Urban Management in Indonesia

Urban management is dependent on the possibilities offered by the administrative structure in which it has to operate and it can, accordingly, be adequately analysed from the perspective of local autonomy. In this article, the latter concept is specified in terms of of four components, namely, the legal-constitutional, resources, linkages, and ideology. The structure of the Indonesian administrative system is described and particular emphasis is placed on characteristics such as pluriformity , a two-tiered system, and the dual function of the military. In addition to the historical background of the specific characteristics of Indonesian urban municipalities, an agenda for research on local authorities in Indonesia is presented.

A Task Ahead1

Abstract More and more, anthropologists will be forced to direct their attention towards the mega-urban areas that, increasingly, are dominating societies in Asia, Africa and Latin America. In this contribution based on the closing lecture delivered at the IUAES Inter- Congress held in Beijing, 28 July 2000, Peter J. M. Nas emphasizes the fundamental social transformations that are taking place moving us towards an urbanized and informational society. He makes a case for anthropological research on different types of mega-urban regions and their cultural and symbolic characteristics. Cities and urban regions are containers of rituals and symbols. They have to be studied holistically.

Contained Student Protest. The Symbolic Meaning of Urban Space during the 1998 Crisis in Jakarta

Abstract In this paper a spatial analysis is presented of the 1998 riots and the 1965 October events in Indonesia. It shows the dynamic aspect of urban symbolic ecology by describing the meaning of space within the context of these influential social transformations. The comparison aims at a deeper understanding of spatial symbolism.

Reminiscences of the relief of Leiden: a total ritual event

This article examines the Third of October festivities in the city of Leiden, The Netherlands, held in commemoration of its relief from the Spanish siege in 1574. These festivities are defined as a total urban ritual event and put in a historical perspective. They include all sorts of activities such as the handing out of herring and white bread, the eating of a beef stew, reveille, choral singing, a solemn church service of thanksgiving, and the funfair and market selling a variety of wares. The meaning of the core rituals is analysed at three levels. At its most profound level, this total urban ritual event is conceived in relation to the basic value dichotomy of life and death, which is expressed in the use of space during the festivities. At the level of intergroup relations, the exchange of food is seen as an important form of gift exchange which defines the relationships. At the institutional level, the interplay of city, state and church is shown to be crucial to the understanding of the main ritual activities. The Leiden Third of October festivities, analysed as a total urban ritual event, unveil the inversion of power relations and the celebration of common social interaction. Copyright Joint Editors and Blackwell Publishers Ltd 1998.