That was merely because I passed the road in front of the tomb many times already, and saw the grave sign board hanging on the gate. My growing curiosity was finally able to stop the vehicle I was riding in and parked it by the side of the road. Footsteps brought me into the complex, through a tiled-roofed door, flanked by a long, high wall that looked quite new. Thank goodness that the entrance gate's iron rail was unlocked.
Frangipani trees with very old trunks adorn the grounds on the right side of the complex. Several old tombs without names could be found on this side. There were no new graves in the tomb complex, as told by Amin, a janitor who suddenly appeared just before I left the site.
A biker was seen passing in front of the Tomb of Pangeran Sanghyang. Four-wheeled vehicles were forced to park on the road side with half of the wheels at the sidewalk, so as not to disturb traffic, even though it robbed pedestrians of their rights. All wrongs were due to limited options.
The parking area that had been planned since 2010, which was also intended to accommodate the vehicles of the pilgrims to the Prince Jayakarta Tomb, seemed to have been completed, but until recently it had not been used, whatever the reason was. The two grave complexes that were planned to be connected had also not yet been opened. What was a relief was that the inside of the Prince Sanghyang tomb complex looks quite well-maintained.
Tomb's Keeper
On the cupola's window of Prince Sanghyang's grave, there's a photo of the keeper with a thick mustache named R. H. Upi Supriyadi. The text under the photo stated that he's a cultural heritage observer, and there's an inscription stating that even though several renovations were carried out, the shape of the tomb was maintained.The building measuring 8x7 meters to the left of the area is the cupola of the Prince Sanghyang Tomb. On the right there's a green painted building that functions as a prayer room and an office for the keeper, which at that time was fast asleep. It was fasting month and the sun had just risen towards noon. Enjoy the sleep.
To the left of the cupola is the Tomb of Tubagus Unung bin Tubagus Aslan. It's not known who this person was, other than that he was a Banten nobleman. To the right of the cupola is another grave with Raden Kojong's writing on the headstone.
History of Prince Sanghyang
The jakarta.go.id website stated that Pangeran Sanghyang (Raden Syarif bin Pangeran Senopati Ngalaga) was an Islamic leader of Banten nobility. He fought against the Dutch with Prince Tubagus Badaruddin and other Banten figures. According to history, Prince Sanghyang was exiled by the VOC to Sri Lanka in 1746-1750, about a century after Prince Sageri's arrival to Jatinegara Kaum.Prince Sanghyang's grave was wrapped in a white net, flanked by three expanding umbrellas. The carpet looked clean and the delicate flowers of the night were placed on the grave. On the right wall was a landmark of the restoration of the tomb dated 17 August 2002 funded by the family of KH Rd Moh Alibasyah and his sons.
To the right is the tomb of "Ibu Sri Ratu Pembayu", and to the lower left are two more tombs. To the far left, where there's a dead tree trunk, is the tomb of Prince Tanzul Arifin. Next to it is the Tomb of the Prince of Nasib.
Prince Tanzul Arifin was the son of Prince Sageri (Prince Sugiri, Pangeran Sogiri, or Ash-Shogiri). He is the grandson of Sultan Ageng Tirtayasa (1651-1672), a descendant of Syarif Hidayatullah. Prince Sageri came to Jatinegara Kaum in 1640 with his brother named Pangeran Sake to help Prince Jayakarta's struggle to build strength in this area, after leaving the Pasar Ikan area because he was attacked by the Dutch colonial army.
Inside the cupola of Prince Sanghyang's grave there's a grave gravestone on the right, two on the left, and another in the corner of the room with four wooden posts to tie the white net. Each tomb looks very neat, covered with very good quality ceramics, with a length of about 2.25 meters each.
When I got out of the grave, I walked along the yard towards the Prince Jayakarta Tomb complex, which access had not yet been opened, enjoying the view of thick bamboo trees that I had not seen since I lived in Jakarta. Around the area, you could see several ancient tombs under frangipani trees whose trunks were twisted so old.
When I walked out of the gate of the Prince Sanghyang Tomb, Pak Amin, the janitor, all of sudden appeared, who claimed to have been working in this place since 1997. At a glance, he also mentioned that Pangeran Sanghyang was the 13th descendant of Siliwangi, King of Pajajaran. God knows.
Prince Sanghyang's Tomb address is at Jl. Jatinegara Kaum Raya No.20B, Jatinegara Kaum. Kecamatan Pulo Gadung, East Jakarta. GPS Location : -6.2025, 106.89931, Waze. Open : any time.
Label: East Jakarta, Jakarta, Tomb
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