These studies show that Chinese-Indonesians
society is very interesting as a community which is
considered as a community that still conserves its
culture. The other important culture on that ethnic is
its wedding tradition.
Marriage is one of the major events that is very
important and sacred so that it will not be missed
just like they go through everyday life. Marriage
events are carried out with various series of
ceremonies which contain noble and sacred cultural
values. Everyone who organizes a wedding
ceremony will not feel hesitant to sacrifice energy,
mind, time, and large costs for the smooth
implementation of the wedding ceremony.
In South Tangerang, besides being inhabited by
Betawi, Sundanese, Javanese, and other indigenous
people there are also residents who are foreign
migrants, one of whom is a resident of China
Benteng. China Benteng is a term of Chinese
descent living in Tangerang. The word "Benteng"
here is the name of the Tangerang City in past,
because there was a Dutch fort in Tangerang on the
banks of Cisadane River. In the past, the fort was
used as a security post to prevent attacks from the
Sultanate of Banten.
The fortress, which became the foremost place of
defense of the Dutch forces on Java, had an
important role for the existence of the Dutch at that
time. Meanwhile, Chinese descendants called the
Chinese-Indonesians (Chinese Peranakans) have
lived in Tangerang for generations. So many people
of Chinese descent in Indonesia, made them
segmented as Cina Benteng or Chinese citizens who
settled in the Benteng area, which is now called
Tangerang.
In his book "Pilgrimage Culture City of
Tangerang", former Mayor of Tangerang, Wahidin
Halim said, "China Benteng cannot be separated
from Tangerang. The good and bad history of the
region, including the existence of China Fortress, are
interlocked ".
It is so interesting and the importance of Chinese
bridal makeup to be explored and studied further.
Although the Chinese have been recognized in
Indonesia, from totok Chinese and peranakan
Chinese, but not many know and know the culture
that is done and owned. Basically the Chinese
community is a society that holds fast to its tradition
and is difficult to influence. Chinese people have
high mobility, seen from the Chinese community
which is located in almost all countries in the world.
Although it is not easy to maintain a culture, it
should be used as a reference and target in
maintaining our own culture which will ultimately
have a positive impact. The impact is related to
having the existence of each culture of each tribe
that is increasingly high in the community in various
regions, can boast the country by appreciating its
own culture, can maintain a cultural resistance to
other cultural influences.
In the beginning, the population of Tangerang
could be said to be ethnic and Sundanese culture.
They consist of indigenous people, as well as
migrants from Banten, Bogor, and Priangan. The
next population is the Betawi people who now live
on the Tangerang-Jakarta border. they were people
who in the Colonial period lived in Batavia and
began arriving around 1680.
Chinese people in South Tangerang form a
society with different ethnicities. Society is a
collection of people who live in a certain area, which
has been around for a long time, and has rules that
govern them, to go to the same goal (Joko Tri
Prasetya, 2013: 36).
Chinese communities in Indonesia are a
minority, because they are immigrants and not
native to Indonesia. In the 19th century, when
Indonesia was colonized by the Dutch, there were
groups of people namely European, Eastern, and
Native groups. The Chinese community entered into
the Foreign East group, at the beginning of the
Chinese people entering Indonesia, they brought
their culture in accordance with their respective
customs including the culture of their marriage.
China Benteng is a call that refers to Chinese
descent living in the Tangerang area, Banten
province. The name "Chinese Fortress" comes from
the word "Benteng". There was a Dutch fort in the
city of Tangerang on the edge of Cisadane river,
used as a security post to prevent attacks from the
Sultanate of Banten, this fort was the first fortress of
Dutch defense on Java Island.
The story of Chinese Benteng community in
Tangerang, they refused to be called "China fortress"
with "Ch" because the English pronunciation
designation was considered to be derogatory and
insulting (a manifestation of the emergence of
hybrid or Indo-Chinese society). The Chinese
Fortress community has lived in Tangerang for
several generations, which now have developed into
three cities / districts, namely, Tangerang City,
Tangerang Regency and South Tangerang City.
The number of Chinese in Indonesia is less than
three percent of the total population, and obviously
they are a minority group. However, they are not
homogeneous. Culturally, they can be divided into
peranakans (Chinese born in Indonesia and
Indonesian) and totok (Chinese who speak Chinese,