A visit to the oldest mosque in Pontianak
The grey sky seems to have had a problem making up its mind that noon when I reached the mosque, dubbed Masjid Jami by locals, on Jl. Kampung Masjid, Pontianak, West Kalimantan.
With the rain drizzling on and off, I watched people wander near the mosque. All and all, the atmosphere was calm, a bit somber even.
History stated that in 1771, Sultan Syarif Abdurrahman Alkadrie went to the Kapuas River and Landak River estuary with a group of 14 ships.
The sultan and his troupe then opened up the forest and built a settlement that initiated the city of Pontianak.
The mosque became one of the first buildings constructed in Pontianak, along with Keraton Kadriah palace.
When construction was completed, the mosque was smaller than its current size. Sultan Syarif Abdurrahman Alkadrie’s son, Syarif Usman, continued the mosque’s construction and named it after his late father.
I was in awe of the building’s wooden construction. It is humble yet beautiful and grand in scale. At the center of it, six large columns support the mosque’s ceiling and roof.
A local boatman stationed at the nearby crossing told me that a Muslim was considered to have only truly visited the mosque if they prayed in it. He added that visitors usually tried wrapping their arms around the huge wooden column in the middle of the mosque.
“It’s just tradition, I don’t know if a successful attempt will bring one luck or not,” he said.
I imagine, though, that it would be quite a challenging task since since the wooden column is half a meter in diameter each.
The dense Kampung Beting is located behind the mosque. Even though it was not yet time for midday prayer, several people had come to the mosque to pray.
I took in the atmosphere of being inside this historical Mosque amid humble and slightly chaotic surroundings and decided that this was one part of the city that I hoped would remain the same in years to come.
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