Caring for Sinci Gus Dur"s memory Pray at the Tebu Ireng Islamic Boarding School
Berita Warga 
Photos by Suwito, Text by Christian Saputro
Semarang – The Socio-Cultural Association of Boen Hian Tong, also known as Rasa Dharma, which is headquartered at Jalan Gang Pinggir 31, Kranggan, Semarang, held Cengbengan Gus Dur.
The Cengbengan ritual, which was held from 24 to 25 June 2023, was then carried out by a special wabil to honor the father of the nation, Gus Dur. For this reason, the group that made a pilgrimage to Gus Dur"s grave at the Tebu Ireng Islamic Boarding School Complex, Jombang, East Java, brought Gus Dur"s sinci. The spirit board that had been buried at the main altar of Boen Hian Tong was brought to Jombang to be prayed across in front of Gus Dur"s grave.
Chairman of the Social and Cultural Association of Boen Hian Tong Harjanto Halim told the history of why there was Sinci Gus Dur at BHT. The 4th President of the Republic of Indonesia has a special place in the hearts of the Chinese people.
Gus Dur was highly respected, because he was highly respected by the Chinese community because he revoked Presidential Decree No.14 of 1967 which prohibited all activities related to Chinese people.
Gus Dur dared to revoke the intolerant Presidential Decree and bury this important culture, so in 2004 he was named the Father of Indonesian Chinese at the Tay Kak Sie Temple, Alley Lombok, Semarang.
For Chinese citizens, Gus Dur"s role was very large. Gus Dur always spoke of equality, regardless of religious, racial, ethnic and cultural backgrounds. Gus Dur was also active in defending the rights of Chinese descendants.
"Because of Gus Dur"s services towards diversity tolerance in Indonesia, BHT honored him by making a Sinci which was placed in an honorary position with the founders and previous chairman of Boen Hian Tong," said Harjanto.
Furthermore, Harjanto explained, Sinci is a wooden board bearing the names of deceased ancestors and placed on the altar of respect. Sinci Gus Dur was made as a dedication to Semarang Chinese figure Sapto Utomo Hidayat, the owner of the “Sango” ceramic factory.
Gus Dur, Teacher of the Nation
“If Sinci or genealogy has been given, the Chinese community will always pray for his name. This time, especially at the Cengbengan Gus Dur event, the cross-religious prayers were prayed in front of Gus Dur"s grave at the Tebu Ireng Complex, Jombang," said Harjanto.
Gus Dur"s sinci is written in Chinese script, the sentence; ‘Yin Hua Zhi Fu, Fu Ruo Guo Zhi"” which means, “Father of Indonesian Chinese, Teacher of the Nation, Supporter of Minorities. “The easiest function of sinci is to trace the ancestral lineage. Seeing his descendant get to the very beginning level became easy. Also about hobbies and what he likes are also written, "explained Harjanto.
Interestingly, Gus Dur"s genealogy board at its peak looks like a roof consisting of three tiers. According to Harjanto, this is modeled on the roof of the Great Mosque of Demak, which has three trapezes that symbolize Faith, Islam and Ihsan.
“In the past, the peak was round like most mosque domes. But after consulting with Gus Mus it was suggested to be replaced, because Gus Dur preferred local architecture. Gus Mus suggested replacing the top of the Demak Great Mosque, "explained Harjanto.
Respect for Gus Dur was given in the form of Sinci. The reason, continued Harjanto, was that for the Chinese, Gus Dur was considered to have removed restraint, pressure and prejudice. In the past, the Chinese often received a bad stigma from both the Indonesian government and society in general. Gus Dur was also considered to have contributed to making all citizens equal. Gus Dur was tolerant and accepted differences.
"We want to honor Gus Dur"s services both when he was still alive. So Gus Dur was also prayed for by the Chinese like other ancestors. This time we are holding Cengbengan Gus Dur to preserve the memory of the founding father of the nation and at the same time embody the tolerance and diversity he taught," added Harjanto.
Semarang – The Socio-Cultural Association of Boen Hian Tong, also known as Rasa Dharma, which is headquartered at Jalan Gang Pinggir 31, Kranggan, Semarang, held Cengbengan Gus Dur.
The Cengbengan ritual, which was held from 24 to 25 June 2023, was then carried out by a special wabil to honor the father of the nation, Gus Dur. For this reason, the group that made a pilgrimage to Gus Dur"s grave at the Tebu Ireng Islamic Boarding School Complex, Jombang, East Java, brought Gus Dur"s sinci. The spirit board that had been buried at the main altar of Boen Hian Tong was brought to Jombang to be prayed across in front of Gus Dur"s grave.
Chairman of the Social and Cultural Association of Boen Hian Tong Harjanto Halim told the history of why there was Sinci Gus Dur at BHT. The 4th President of the Republic of Indonesia has a special place in the hearts of the Chinese people.
Gus Dur was highly respected, because he was highly respected by the Chinese community because he revoked Presidential Decree No.14 of 1967 which prohibited all activities related to Chinese people.
Gus Dur dared to revoke the intolerant Presidential Decree and bury this important culture, so in 2004 he was named the Father of Indonesian Chinese at the Tay Kak Sie Temple, Alley Lombok, Semarang.
For Chinese citizens, Gus Dur"s role was very large. Gus Dur always spoke of equality, regardless of religious, racial, ethnic and cultural backgrounds. Gus Dur was also active in defending the rights of Chinese descendants.
"Because of Gus Dur"s services towards diversity tolerance in Indonesia, BHT honored him by making a Sinci which was placed in an honorary position with the founders and previous chairman of Boen Hian Tong," said Harjanto.
Furthermore, Harjanto explained, Sinci is a wooden board bearing the names of deceased ancestors and placed on the altar of respect. Sinci Gus Dur was made as a dedication to Semarang Chinese figure Sapto Utomo Hidayat, the owner of the “Sango” ceramic factory.
Gus Dur, Teacher of the Nation
“If Sinci or genealogy has been given, the Chinese community will always pray for his name. This time, especially at the Cengbengan Gus Dur event, the cross-religious prayers were prayed in front of Gus Dur"s grave at the Tebu Ireng Complex, Jombang," said Harjanto.
Gus Dur"s sinci is written in Chinese script, the sentence; ‘Yin Hua Zhi Fu, Fu Ruo Guo Zhi"” which means, “Father of Indonesian Chinese, Teacher of the Nation, Supporter of Minorities. “The easiest function of sinci is to trace the ancestral lineage. Seeing his descendant get to the very beginning level became easy. Also about hobbies and what he likes are also written, "explained Harjanto.
Interestingly, Gus Dur"s genealogy board at its peak looks like a roof consisting of three tiers. According to Harjanto, this is modeled on the roof of the Great Mosque of Demak, which has three trapezes that symbolize Faith, Islam and Ihsan.
“In the past, the peak was round like most mosque domes. But after consulting with Gus Mus it was suggested to be replaced, because Gus Dur preferred local architecture. Gus Mus suggested replacing the top of the Demak Great Mosque, "explained Harjanto.
Respect for Gus Dur was given in the form of Sinci. The reason, continued Harjanto, was that for the Chinese, Gus Dur was considered to have removed restraint, pressure and prejudice. In the past, the Chinese often received a bad stigma from both the Indonesian government and society in general. Gus Dur was also considered to have contributed to making all citizens equal. Gus Dur was tolerant and accepted differences.
"We want to honor Gus Dur"s services both when he was still alive. So Gus Dur was also prayed for by the Chinese like other ancestors. This time we are holding Cengbengan Gus Dur to preserve the memory of the founding father of the nation and at the same time embody the tolerance and diversity he taught," added Harjanto.
