From Garden to Metropolis: Study of Clustering the Name the Kampung as Remembering the Ecological Character of The City

Abstract

When people arrived in the place where correlated to previous Islamic cultural influence such as cities on Northern East Coast and principalities, they will wonder how the city has totally changed. The figure of place that has been described in historical records and images no longer exists except in its name. The question is, where the source of the naming process in the city come from? And what is the reason behind the identification process? In order to find the answer, this research used historical methods which consist of compelling and appreciating sources, interpreting and presenting the result in written form. Existing kampung names are compared to the ancient ones to find the similarity or correlation between both names.  From this analysis, there are three conclusions as follows. The construction of the name indicates the evolution of the term from the ancient, middle, and contemporary periods of Bahasa. Sometimes it shows the inconsistency of Javanese language. The conversion from Hinduism to Islam has strikethrough some words connected to pre-Islamic ritual practice.  From geographical standpoints, identities of place represent original landscapes such as water springs, river banks, and dry fields. Otherwise, big trees, specific plants, and rare and extinct vegetation were put as the name for new places that nowadays become residential areas and cultivation fields. Some names are based on Landmarks such as shrines, structures, houses of prominent figures, Chinese-Arabic quarters, government offices, and particular activities. Finally, the toponym plays an important role in tracing a city's past, because it contains collective memories and correlates to local history.

Keywords: Malang City; ecological character; kampung; toponym

DOI: 10.7176/RHSS/13-18-04

Publication date:October 31^st 2023