With the high rise tall buildings standing far away as the background, the old Christian cemetery is no longer a spooky place, even at night when those buildings are glittered with lights.

Pak Roup, together with his wife, whom my friend, Lukman Anas and I had a short conversation with in the so-called porch of his house that afternoon, came from Bumiayu, Central Java. Pak Roup had been living at Petamburan since 1991. It was the year he decided to move to Jakarta to try his fortune. Today, he worked as a construction worker.

The skill everyone living close to the railways has to develop is how to sense when a train comes, especially during the rush hour like in the afternoon.

Stretching along the rail road that connects Tanah Abang with Palmerah, this settlement has for several times been covered by media.

The family of Oei Tiau Lin was gathered to send prayers with offering to the ancestor.

The foods in the offerings symbolized the three elements of earth. Vegetables and potatoes were for soil, fish and seafood for water, and chicken (bird) for air.

Every Chinese grave was adorned with an ornament like this box, placed on the ground where a joss sticks was burnt to honor the earth.

Pak Rusdi, who paid honor for his late father, told us that the young generation today did no longer conceive the idea of Sembahyang Rebutan. They came to the grave just to show respect for the ancestors.

Walking few blocks away from the fenced area, we met Pak Gunawan who came with his wife and son to say prayers over his late father's grave. Having a conversation with the man, I became a little bit excited to find that we shared a common perspective on the history of Islam in Indonesia. We both were convinced that eight out of nine "Wali Songo" were Chinese. In other words, Chinese traders played a very significant role in spreading the teaching of Islam, particularly in Java. Shortly after that, Pak Gunawan started the ritual of sending 'money' by burning a stack of yellow papers, folded like napkins. 

Two coins of five hundred rupiah were tossed to find out whether the spirit had agreed to start the ritual. Had those coins come up with head and tail, the spirit wouldn't have wanted it. Both coins should come up with either head or tail. Pak Gunawan had to toss the coins twice before the spirit let him do the ritual.

Under the eyes of the father, the children of Pak Gunawan sowed flowers over their late grandfather’s grave. For most young generation today, this kind of ritual is merely an obligation of showing respect to the ancestors.

Together with his son, Pak Gunawan burnt the yellow papers as a symbol of sending money to the spirit.

As we walked to leave the cemetery, many more Chinese families came to hold the ritual of Sembahyang Rebutan, while the children and women from the settlements behind the wall were waiting for some sort of donations paid by the families.