The Betawi tribe and its language often raise questions about why they feel different from the Sundanese and Javanese even though geographically they are on the same island. To understand this uniqueness, we need to trace the long history of the region now known as Jakarta and the social and cultural dynamics that shape the Betawi identity. It is important to know that there is indeed no native Betawi tribe in the ancient sense that formed its own kingdom and this region never had its own kingdom that stood independently as the center of government of a great kingdom. Its history is a story about the meeting point of various civilizations and extraordinary adaptations. The history of the Jakarta region is the absence of the "Betawi" kingdom. The region that is now the heart of the Indonesian capital long before it was named Jakarta or Batavia was part of the scope of power of the great kingdoms in West Java. This situation is different from many other regions in the archipelago which have a long history of local kingdoms that developed independently. Control by the previous kingdom, one kingdom of Salakanagara and Tarumanagara in the first 7th century AD. In the early period of Nusantara history , especially in the early first millennium AD, the coastal area of West Java, including the area that is now Jakarta, is thought to be part of the Salakanegara kingdom. Then around the 5th century AD, the Tarumanagara kingdom emerged, a strong Hindu-Buddhist entity. Its territory stretched across most of West Java including the Ciliwung River basin which is a strategic location where Jakarta now stands. Evidence such as the monument inscription found in North Jakarta confirms the existence and reach of this kingdom's influence in the area. The population that inhabited this region at that time was an integral part of the Tarumanagara people. They paid tribute and submitted to the power of their kings. They were not independent tribes that formed their own kingdoms. The Sundanese kingdom of the 7th to 16th centuries AD and the role of Sunda Kelapa after the decline and collapse of Tarumanagara, the baton of power in this region shifted to the Sundanese kingdom. Under the umbrella of the Sundanese kingdom, this was an important maritime port at the mouth of the Ciliwung River which developed rapidly and was known as Sunda Kelapa. It is important to know that Sunda Kelapa was not the capital of the Sundanese kingdom , its center was in Pakuan Pajajaran Bogor , but rather functioned as the main gateway for international maritime trade activities. The Sundanese kingdom's existence as a strategic and busy port with trade traffic made this region the target of various powers that wanted to control the spice line. The transformation into a strategic trading port, Jayakarta was influenced by the Sultanate in 1527 AD. A significant turning point in the history of this region occurred in 1527 at that time the Sunda kingdom which was also known as the Pajajaran kingdom because its capital was in Pakuan Pajajaran Bogor which was probably led by Prabu Surawisesa Jaya Perkasa had established cooperation with the Portuguese to legitimize his power in Sunda Kelapa. Fatahilah, a commander of the combined forces from the Demak and Cirebon sultanates, saw the presence of the Portuguese as a threat to the archipelago. He then led an attack and succeeded in expelling the Portuguese troops and taking control of Sunda Kelapa as a symbol of victory and to mark the power of Islam. The name Sunda Kelapa was then changed to Jakarta which literally means The city of victory or perfect victory, the event of Fatahillah's conquest of the Portuguese on June 22, 1527, was later commemorated as the anniversary of the city of Jakarta, although it now has a new name. Jakarta's status remains as a very important trading port, but it is not the capital of an independent kingdom. It functions as a subordinate region or part of the influence of the Banten or Demak Sultanate , which shows that central power is still outside this region. Two colonial arrivals and the formation of Batavia in 1619 AD. History continued until the early 17th century. In 1619, the Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie or VOC or the Dutch East Indies Company under the command of Jan Pieterszoon Coen succeeded in capturing Jakarta after a series of VOC conflicts. Then he destroyed Jayakarta and on its ruins built a new fortress city called Batavia. With the establishment of Batavia as the center of VOC power and trade in Asia, this region is increasingly far from the possibility of developing an independent local kingdom structure. Instead, it became the center of administration and economy for foreign colonial powers with a focus on the exploitation of wells and control of trade routes. Why did the Sunda kingdom not retake Sunda Kelapa after The capture of Sunda Kelapa by Fatahillah in 1527 the Sundanese kingdom of Pajajaran failed to recapture the important port due to several complex factors that indicate a decline and relative weakness compared to the rising Islamic power. First, the superior military power of the Demak-Cirebon alliance . Fatahillah led a combined force from the Demak and Cirebon sultanates which had significant military power. This power was supported by the spirit of jihad and the strong goal of Islamic expansion on the north coast of Java. The Sundanese kingdom, although once victorious , probably did not have sufficient military strength to face this formidable alliance directly in a major battle to recapture Sunda Kelapa. Second, the internal weakness of the Sundanese kingdom after the leadership transition and challenges. Although Prabu Surawisesa led during the invasion of Sunda Kelapa , the period after the leadership of Prabu Siliwangi or Sri Baduga Maharaja was often marked by internal challenges. Several historical sources indicate a weakness in leadership or focus on other things that reduced the central power of the kingdom. Second, the loss of other strategic ports, not only Sunda Kelapa, another important port belonging to the Sundanese kingdom , namely Banten, also fell into the hands of Islamic troops led by Maulana Hasanuddin, Fatahillah's son-in-law, Fatahillah lost these two main ports directly. drastically cut off the Sunda kingdom's access to international maritime trade and reduced its vital economic income 3. the failure of Portuguese support even though the Sunda kingdom had entered into an agreement with the Portuguese in 1522 to build a lodge or trading post and a fort. The military support expected from the Portuguese did not prove effective at the time of Fatahillah's invasion. The Portuguese themselves were still struggling to consolidate their power in Malacca and were facing a rebellion in Gowa, India, so they were unable to provide adequate and timely military assistance. The promised fort had not yet been built strong. 4. continued economic and political pressure after the fall of Sunda Kelapa. The Sunda kingdom faced increasing pressure from the Islamic sultanates on the north coast of Java. Like Demak and then Banten continued to expand and even imposed an economic embargo cutting off the supply of vital goods such as salt to the interior of Sunda, this further weakened the Sundanese kingdom economically and politically. 5. The shift in regional power. The conquest of Sunda Kelapa and Banten marked a significant shift in the map of political power in Java. Islamic power was at the peak of its expansion. It effectively surrounded the Hindu-Buddhist kingdoms in the interior. In this situation, efforts to reclaim territory that had fallen into the hands of a more dominant power would be a very difficult and high-risk task. The Sundanese kingdom tended to focus more on defending its core territory rather than making large-scale attacks that might drain limited resources. Finally, the Sundanese kingdom itself collapsed in 1579 after its capital, Pakuan Pajajaran, was attacked and conquered by the Banten Sultanate under the leadership of Maulana Yusuf, marking the end of the era of the Hindu-Buddhist kingdom in West Java. This information is supported by various historical sources including research and academic publications. From this explanation, it becomes very clear that the area inhabited by the Betawi people has always been in the circle of influence or has become an integral part of the larger kingdoms in West Java in pre-colonial times and then became the center of Dutch colonial power because of that it never had the opportunity to develop and maintain an independent kingdom structure with a Betawi king ruling in his own territory the formation of the Betawi ethnic group acculturation in the port city the absence of a local kingdom does not mean that this region has no identity on the contrary the unique dynamics as a multicultural port city under colonial rule are what became the womb of the birth of the Betawi ethnic group the Betawi tribe is not an indigenous tribe in the primordial sense or has existed since ancient times with a pure and homogeneous lineage like other inland tribes they are a relatively new ethnic entity formed sociologically and culturally around the 17th century batavia as a multi-ethnic meeting point one attraction Trade center the role of Jakarta as a very strategic trade and port center is a key factor in the formation of Betawi identity since the Sunda Kelapa era to the batavia period this advantageous geographical location attracted waves of immigrants and traders from all over the city became a kind of magnet for those seeking a living and opportunities two diversity of origins the population of batavia consists of a rich mosaic of ethnic groups they include groups from all over the archipelago such as Javanese Sundanese who are the natives of this region Malay Bugis Makassar Bali Ambon Minangkabau and many more were brought in by the VOC as sailors or even slaves. Not only that, Batavia also became home to immigrants from abroad such as Chinese who came as traders and Arab workers as traders and clerics, as well as Indians , Portuguese and of course the Dutch themselves. Daily interactions between these very diverse groups were the core of the process of forming Betawi social dynamics and cultural blending, a different urban environment, different from the centers of traditional kingdoms which tended to have a hierarchical social structure. which is more rigid and homogeneous based on lineage batavia is a dynamic and fluid cosmopolitan city its community is egalitarian where people from various backgrounds live side by side continuous interaction both in market work and social life encourages deep cultural assimilation and acculturation one of the main drivers of the formation of a new identity is the frequent occurrence of intermarriage or mixed marriage between different ethnic groups children born from these marriages grow up in a multilingual and multicultural environment no longer fully identify themselves with the ethnic group of their father or mother but develop a unique collective identity they begin to consider themselves as Batavians or Betawi people the formation of the Betawi ethnic identity creole society one creole society therefore the Betawi ethnic group is often referred to as a creole society this term refers to an ethnic group formed from a mixture of cultures and genetics between various populations interacting in a certain context in this case in a colonial center such as Batavia Betawi identity grew and developed in the dynamic and multicultural urban environment of Batavia the two identities born from the colonial urban context Betawi culture customs and traditions are closely related to the history of the city of Jakarta itself including the influence influences that come with them from all over the world they are natives of Jakarta but native in the sense that they were formed in the city as a result of its unique history as a colonial trade and administration center the Betawi people are a real product of diversity born from cross-cultural encounters creating a distinctive ethnic identity that is different from other ethnic groups in Indonesia that may have more singular primordial origins they are a living reflection of the mosaic of the archipelago that interacts at one central point the uniqueness of the Betawi language reflects multicultural history just like its ethnic group the uniqueness of the history of the formation of the Betawi community is also reflected very clearly in its language although Jakarta is geographically located in the middle of the Sundanese-speaking area to the West and Javanese to the East the Betawi language has very different characteristics and cannot be categorized as a pure dialect of either language these striking differences are caused by the history of its formation as a result of a mixture of various languages and cultures that are extraordinarily complex not a direct descendant of Sundanese or Javanese one dialect of market Malay the Betawi language is not a direct derivative that developed organically from the Sundanese or Javanese language family instead it is a krio language or more precisely an areal dialect of market Malay that has developed rapidly in Batavia since the 19th century 17 This is the main foundation that distinguishes it from the structure of Sundanese or Javanese which tend to have language levels and phonological systems that tend to be fundamentally different. Two adaptive port lingua francas. Basically, Malay has long been a lingua franca or connecting language in various ports in Southeast Asia. In Batavia as a bustling international trade center, the need for a simple and effective communication language was very high among merchant sailors and immigrants from various language backgrounds. speak in their own way so that the market Malay language which tends to be simpler and easier to learn becomes the most effective medium of communication and is then widely adopted three profound processes of creation this market Malay language then underwent a profound creolization process meaning that it was not only used as a functional communication language or trade language but was also adopted as a mother tongue by the next generation born in Batavia in this process the market Malay language actively absorbed and adapted many phrasal vocabularies and even some grammatical structures from other languages that were dominant in the environment forming a new rich and very unique language system that we know as Betawi the influence of various languages the differences between Betawi and Sundanese and Javanese are mainly influenced by the intense multi-ethnic and multinational mixing in Batavia this is a linguistic laboratory where various languages interact and influence each other the dominant influence of Malay language although it absorbs from many languages the main roots and grammatical framework of Betawi language remains market Malay this is a Malay language that has undergone simplification of grammar and vocabulary for trade purposes this flexibility allows Betawi language to easily absorb elements from other languages making it very dynamic and different from Sundanese or Javanese which have structures and manners a more complex language a multi-ethnic mix of the archipelago over time this market Malay language was enriched and mixed with languages brought by immigrants from various regions in the archipelago, this includes one Sundanese language considering that Jakarta is a historical area of Sundanese land the influence of the Sundanese language is certainly there especially in certain vocabularies or even intonations in the Betawi dialect on the outskirts which is often called Betawi ora which borders directly with the Sundanese area for example in Bekasi Depok and the northern part of Bogor for example breakfast from Sunda the word danta is clear antepin just leave it alone two Javanese languages the influence of Javanese is also significant especially from workers and slaves who were brought from Central Java and East Java to Batavia words like ora or not very Commonly used in the Betawi dialect ora shows the strong influence of 3 other Nusantara languages various traders and slaves brought by the VOC from other islands such as Makassar Bali Ambon Bugis Minangkabau and others also contributed vocabulary and language styles that enriched the Betawi language treasury making it very eclectic 3 strong foreign language influences intense interaction with foreign nations also left deep linguistic traces on the Betawi language making it very different from the pure local language 1 Dutch as the colonial ruler of Batavia for centuries Dutch contributed a great deal of vocabulary to the Betawi language especially those related to daily life administration tools and new technology popular examples ondel-ondel from rondelan rotating warehouse from godang bekel from backlu buttons aunties rooms stopan red lights money money got gutters pansement trousers two Chinese languages especially Hokkien large and important Chinese community in trade in Batavia gave a significant influence on Betawi vocabulary especially for terms related to food trade , calculations and social family relationships , for example , I 'm sorry ... why there is become ade we become kite me become me the productive use of this suffix this suffix is very productive in Betawi and is often used as a substitute for i kan or lah in Indonesian for example write becomes writein eat becomes makanin take becomes take come become datangin udik and eclectic vocabulary Betawi language has many words that are not found in pure Sundanese or Javanese because it is the result of absorption from various other languages or unique creolization from multilingual interactions its richness of vocabulary reflects the history of trade and acculturation simple and straightforward grammatical structure compared to Javanese or Sundanese which have a complex language level system to indicate social status or undak usuk bahasa Betawi tends to be more straightforward egalitarian and does not have complex language levels this reflects the nature of a market society that focuses more on direct and efficient communication without much hierarchical formality thus Betawi language is very different from Sundanese and Javanese because it is not a direct descendant but a linguistic laboratory formed from the interaction of various ethnicities and cultures in the very dynamic colonial trading center, namely Batavia this language is a silent witness to the cross-cultural encounters that shaped Jakarta and modern Betawi identity