Learning the Meaning of a Name

KOMPAS/RHAMA PURNA JATI

Muhammad Ikhsan

His insatiable curiosity has motivated Muhammad Ikhsan (53) to trace the origins of hundreds of streets and alleyways in Palembang, South Sumatra. Names of streets pique his interest. He believes that every name must have a story, particularly from the historical perspective.

The educational background of Ikhsan might not be history. He is a lecturer in law at Sriwijaya University. However, exploring toponymy, the study of the names of places, has been his hobby since he was in high school approximately 35 years ago. “It would be ironic if one knew the origin of numerous places in the world but remained ignorant of one’s own hometown,” said Ikhsan in Palembang, South Sumatra, on Saturday (6/2/2021).

Ikhsan still remembers the first location whose origin he traced, a place called Lorong Basah (Wet Alleyway). The location is not far from his childhood home in the neighborhood of 16 Ilir in Palembang. Many believe that Lorong Basah refers to the official name of the alleyway, namely Jl. Sentot Ali Basya (Basya= Basah). However, it is not as simple as that.

Based on interviews with elder residents in the region, it was found that the location had been one of red-light districts in Palembang. “Changing the name of the alleyway into Jl. Sentot Ali Basya was part of efforts to change the stigma that the people had toward the alleyway,” said Ikhsan.

However, Ikhsan said there was another version of the name’s origin story. Husein Natodirajo, a Palembang history enthusiast, argues that Lorong Basah got its name because it used to be a crossing for Chinese people to deliver water from the Musi River to the Great Mosque of Palembang and its neighboring areas.

They delivered water using buckets, which spilled a large amount of water. “We can see that one place often has numerous versions of its origin. These various opinions enrich our knowledge,” said Ikhsan.

His search for the origins of names has continued ever since, spreading to several other street names. From his study, Ikhsan found that street names in Palembang mostly referred to names of plants, community activities, regional characteristics and folklore.

For instance, the name of Jl. Tanjung Siapi-api, located in Plaju, was taken from the siapi-api and plajau plant species. “Palembang used to be a forest and swamp area. It is possible that the early settlers in Palembang named various locations across the city based on the name of plants that they often encountered,” explained Ikhsan.

Colonial text

Ikhsan also came across several names of plants in colonial texts left by the Dutch. He learned the required skills to analyze these old texts from his legal expertise. “While studying the law, I learned a lot of Dutch vocabulary. This has helped me study old texts in Dutch,” said Ikhsan.

Similarly, their difficulties in pronouncing Pemulutan, a region in Ogan Ilir regency, caused the name of the region changed into Pamulutan.

The name of the city too, according to Ikhsan, was originally Pelembang, instead of Palembang. The name was changed during the Dutch colonial era because the Dutch had difficulty pronouncing the word Pelembang. Similarly, their difficulties in pronouncing Pemulutan, a region in Ogan Ilir regency, caused the name of the region changed into Pamulutan.

“Gradually, Palembang, instead of Pelembang, became widely used by the people, and the name has stuck until now,” said Ikhsan. However, he added, in daily conversations, Pelembang is often still used. “Budak itu wong Pelembang [That child is from Palembang],” said Ikhsan, as an example.

He found that the name Pelimbang had been used as well in the record of a British Royal Navy military expedition entitled Memoir of The Conquest of Java written by Major William Thorn and published in 1815.

KOMPAS/RHAMA PURNA JATI

Muhammad Ikhsan

Pelimbang refers to the activity of melimbang, sifting for precious metals. This explanation is plausible considering that there used to be many trading activities

for gold and other precious metals around the Musi River.

Another explanation comes from Palembang historian Djohan Hanafiah, who said the name Palembang came from the word lembang, which in Old Malay refers to submerged land (lembeng). In Malay, Palembang then means seepage of water.

Protecting history

From this, Ikhsan believes that it is particularly important to safeguard the history of Palembang by preserving the characteristics of its street names. The goal is to pass down the history to the next generations. Unfortunately, many street names have gradually lost their original names, replaced with the name of national heroes, some of whom were not even from Palembang.

This had caused concern that the history of certain places will be steadily eroded. “Changing names, whatever the reason is, is a systematic effort to erase the history and civilization of a region,” said Ikhsan.

Ikhsan hopes regional history will be introduced to young children. It would be even better if regional history were included in the school curriculum, he said. “It will be good for children to travel to regional areas and learn about the history of the areas. This will help foster children’s love of local areas,” said Ikhsan.

In this book, which was published in 2018, the origins of several places’ names were explained.

His passion for the origins of names has led him to write a book called Palembang dari Waktu ke Waktu (Palembang Throughout the Years). In this book, which was published in 2018, the origins of several places’ names were explained. “There is still a lot to be discovered. My plan is to write [another book] after I finish writing my dissertation,” said Ikhsan with a smile.

At the end of our conversation, Ikhsan quoted a German jurist and legal scholar, Friedrich Karl von Savigny, who said that law and history will grow, develop and die together with the people.

Ikhsan asserted the importance of preserving the history of Palembang so that it would not be lost. His statement instantly reminded us of the words of Indonesia’s first president Sukarno, “Never, ever forget history!”

Muhammad Ikhsan

Born: Palembang, Feb. 21, 2968

Wife: Sri Mulyasari

Number of Children: 3

Education:

· SD Negeri 81 Palembang elementary school

· SMP Negeri 6 Palembang junior high school

· SMA Negeri 2 Palembang senior high school

· Law Faculty, Sriwijaya University

Occupation: Lecturer in Law, Sriwijaya University’s Law Faculty

(This article was translated by Astria Z. Nabila).