Spooky Vibe and Horrible Story of the Pieter Erberveld Memorial Mon...

This is one of the iconic inscriptions at the Museum Taman Prasasti: the Pieter Erberveld memorial. I was looking specifically for this monument when I visited the museum last week. This one is only a replica, but still gave a spooky vibe to me, especially with the skull impaled on top of it and the horrific story behind it.

Indeed, this monument holds a brutal and sad story of what happened to Pieter Erberveld (ca. 1660 – April 14, 1722).

Pieter Erberveld was an Eurasian (German father, Siamese mother) resident of Batavia (now Jakarta) who was accused of treason and planning to attack the VOC (Dutch East India Company) with local fighters. He was arrested and brutally tortured to death.

Another version of the story about the unfortunate Pieter Erberveld is that Pieter inherited hundreds of hectares of land from his parents. The VOC governor at that time wanted to buy the land, but Pieter refused. Then the VOC government took over the land by force on the grounds that the papers were not in order. Pieter protested loudly and persistently over the expropriation of his land.

After ten years of strife, the VOC was fed up with Pieter and accused him of conspiring to overthrow the VOC. Pieter and his fellow rebels were arrested, convicted, and executed. Pieter's hands and feet were tied and pulled by four horses running in opposite directions. His body was dismembered into four pieces.

One year later, The VOC built a monument on the site of his residence, featured a concrete skull driven into a spike. Rumor has it that the skull is real: He was beheaded and his head impaled on top of a wall erected in front of his old house. On the wall there was a plaque written in Dutch and Javanese language, declaring that Pieter was a traitor and that no one should build or plant any more on the site, as as a warning to possible sympathizers.

Inscription Peter Erberveld - indonesiaexpat.id.jpg
_{Source: Indonesiaexpat.id}

The original monument was destroyed during the Japanese occupation, but the inscription was saved. A replica of this monument can be seen in the Museum Taman Prasasti, at Jl. Tanah Abang 1, Jakarta.