1886
Tana Baru
The cemetery uprising
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The authorities closed Tana Baru on 15 January 1886. On 17 January, about 3,000 people carried a child there for burial in defiance of the closure.
A burial despite the closure
The closure was made under public-health law. Two days later the burial went ahead, and those gathered drove the police off with stones.
The cemetery and its scholars
Tana Baru is also the burial place of Tuan Guru and Abu Bakr Effendi. Tuan Guru’s grave is revered but lies outside the circle of kramats proper.
Visiting the ground
Tana Baru is still a place of burial. Move slowly, and expect steep, open ground with no shade.
From the page to the place
Plan a visit
Tana Baru cemetery
Top of Longmarket Street, Bo-Kaap
Tana Baru holds the graves of scholars including Tuan Guru and Abu Bakr Effendi, as well as the memory of resistance to the cemetery’s closure. These histories make it an important companion to a visit to Auwal Masjid. The slope above Bo-Kaap gives a sense of the neighbourhood’s setting, but approach first as someone entering a burial ground.
Visiting detailsConfirm access and opening times before setting out.