The hashpaedia

In-depth

Indonesia

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Introduction

Jakarata

Rest of Java

Sumatra

Borneo

Other Island

Introduction

The beautiful island nation of Indonesia lies at the heart of Hashdom. There are some 80 kennels stretching from Sumatra to Irian Jaya and many of them have a long history and a rich tradition. Former Indonesian hashers have helped shape the nature of hashing and carried these ideas around the world. Most notably it was probably the Jakarta Hash that developed the concept of the circle.

The main centres of Indonesian Hashing can be found in the capital, Jakarta, Medan on Sumatra, in the Borneo oil town of Balikpapan and on the largely Hindu island of Bali. However, cries of ‘on-on’ are by no means restricted to those areas.

Indonesia has staged Interhash twice (Jakarta 1982and Bali 1988) and Bali has been keen to bring the event back. In addition there is a Pan Indo Hash, an IndoNostalgia hash and the famous annual Jungle Run.

In Jakarta there is a balance of Indonesians and ex-pats but elsewhere – and perhaps most notably in the Central Javan city of Bandung, Indonesians form the majority of the circle.

 

Hash Classics...  1994 .......... Left The faithful  beer van, above Shit Vicious (wife was Sex Bristols)

Hashing by areas:

Jakarta

Jakarta, with nearly nine million people and terrible pollution, is nevertheless a great place for Hashers to find themselves. You can Hash four nights a week and many of the long-term residents – such as Sperm Aid and Witless Wanker - have been doing just that for nearly two decades, suggesting lifetime run totals of over 4000 Hashes might not be uncommon.

Throughout the eighties and on into the nineties the oil driven economy was booming, breweries competed with each other to provide beer wagons and sponsors fought to donate Hash T-shirts. The Indonesian bar scene was as lively as Thailand and a good time was had by all.

The economic crash and political uncertainty of 1997 reduced numbers on many kennels.

Monday is the preserve of Jakarta H3, who ‘like to think they're a bunch of macho men’ and their circles centre on singing and jokes. Gordon ‘Bent One’ Benton and Jeremy ‘Burung’ Pigeon founded the kennel in February 1971, with Jeremy Pigeon and John Reed the hares on run number one.

Initially fuelled by Bingtang beer, after run 88 Jakarta H3 was lured to the rival Anker brand, a major issue in a two-brewery town. At some point a 2 litre mug ‘The Big One’ was introduced and this later became the measurement for the InterHash Down Down competition.

Many of the great Hash legends passed through during this period, and many took the idea of ‘real Hashing’ with them to all corners of the globe.

Jakarta was a staunchly and chauvinistically ‘Men Only Hash’ but in 1973-74 the amazingly Judy Prosser started running with them. She refused to be intimidated or embarrassed and her example encouraged other women. (For example around 1978 Jacky Higgins and Carol Cooney were noted ‘regulars’.) By 1977 however the Jakarta Harriettes  were up and running and the women drifted away. The Harriettes are universally known as the Pussy Hash and use a silhouetted Pussy (a cat that is!) as their logo. The de Steur family, Jacques and Rita, were instrumental in establishing the kennel and Jaques is considered the founding Godfather, a role which evolved into Hash Cock. A Wednesday night kennel, Jakarta Harriets welcome men, as long as they respect female dominance in the circle, which features singing and games. In February 1992 Susan ‘Susutin’ Sintarno was the first Harriet to pass 500 runs.

Batavia Hash House Harrier Hoons (BH4) meet on Thursdays. This a strictly male preserve, except for the last Thursday of every month, which becomes a mixed run. ‘Their circle is characterized by interactive repartee resulting in reward or punishment’ and BH4 claim to have best Hash circles in the world. Visiting Hashers should be prepared!

TGIF (Thank God It's Friday) H3 is a mixed Hash, that used to run on the 1st and 3rd Friday of every month. Their circle is ‘interactive in the same way as BH4 but is somewhat more easy going’. They have recently changed to a Saturday Hash, becoming TGIS H3. The Friday spot has been taken over by Betawi H3.

Java Horrors run on the last Sunday of every month at 10:00 am. The Hashes occasionally organise combined weekend and there is a good deal of friendly banter between them.

The rest of Java

Bogor is famous for its botanical gardens and is linked to the capital by motorway and train. Sprawling urbanisation means Jakarta H3 trails are often laid closer to Bogor than the capital, but there is surprising little communication between Bogor H3 (founded 1981 by Brian ‘KL’ Lowry) and the Jakarta Hashes.

Bandung lies to the southeast of Jakarta, in one of Java’s most hilly and beautiful areas. Bandung H3 was founded in 1974 and has packs of 50-70 on the traditional Monday night. Bangdung II H3 was once, and possibly still is, the biggest kennel in all of Hashdom. In the early 1990s, packs regularly reached 1000, though now their Website claims between 600-700 Hashers who run a selection of trails on a Friday evening. Bandung II runs like a giant social club, with members coming together to form scuba diving and basketball sections.

In 2010 Bandung will stage Pan Indonesia for the second time.

Over on the west coast lies the holiday resort of Anyer, noted for the dramatic views of nearby Krakatoa volcano. During the late 1970s into the early 1980s, Jakarta H3 conducted outstation weekend runs at the beachside cottages there.  Relatively few ex-pats live here, but it is a popular weekend resort and the Kratatoa H3 run every 4^th Saturday of the month.

Jogyakarta, formally Jogjakarta, is the cultural centre of Java and set in the beautiful volcanic heartland of the island. Jogjakarta H3 was founded in May 1979, by Rob ‘Rooter’ Varley (ex-Jakarta) and became in Magic’s words a ‘dazzling new star of the Hashing scene’ with packs soon rising to 100 plus.

Semarang is pretty much in the centre of Java and Semarang H3, founded by Keith Meecham in 1980, is famous for a yearly ‘Choo Choo Hash’ on a vintage mountain steam train. On one famous occasion the train derailed en-route.

Surabaya lies in the far northeast corner of Java and Surabaya H3, begun in March 1975 by Ken Saunders and Dave Stewart (ex-Jakarta H3), runs on Sundays, with a pack of between 30-60 runners meeting on the slopes of a nearby volcano.

Lomok and Bali

Although the surfer’s beach of Kuta is the destination for most tourists, it is the hilly interior that is the soul of Bali. It was here, in Ubud, that Victor ‘Nightjar’ Mason founded Bali H3 in May 1977.

The hash was closely linked with the famous Beggar’s Bush bar & restaurant, which Victor claimed “dispensed the best Bintang Draught beer in Indonesia”.

In 1987 Bali staged Pan-Indonesia Hash and the following year, 1988, more than 2200 Hashers flew in for InterHash.

Bali’s reputation for being an island paradise has been badly dented by bombings in 2002 and 2005 and their 2006 InterHash bid represented an attempt to win back confidence in the island.

As Bali grew more commercial and Kuta louder and tackier, the neighbouring island of Lombok emerged as ‘the new paradise.’ Lombok H3 began in 1988 and is complemented by a monthly Senggigi H3. Lombok H3 has been going through a good spell recently, largely due to the enthusiasm of Walter ‘Big Mac’ Jamieson. 

Sumatra updated

Medan is the biggest city on the large island of Sumatra and Medan H3 has a reputation for ‘traditional’ Hashing, running under the motto ‘Give us your tired, weak and weary and we will completely destroy them.

’ Nick ‘The Gent’ Grant, Lindsay ‘Digger Too’ Few (ex-Jakarta H3) founded the kennel in 1973. It is a men only pack numbering between 40 and 50.

Hashing has proved so popular in Medan that there were at the last count 11 hash chapters in the city and it is therefore possible to run on every day of the week. Indeed on Sundays you can choose between six different run locations! Medan has exported hashing to the nearby city of Permatang Siantar where there are now three chapters.

Although Medan was founded out of Jakarta, they have exported the ‘Medan Circle’ back to the capital via Batavia H3

Other hashing cities in Sumatra include Padang, Pekanbaru, Palembang, Duri, Lampung and Benkulu.

Aceh

Aceh is a province in the northern most tip of Sumatra, with its own culture and a largely Muslim population. A freedom struggle has been taking place on and off since the 1970’s, at times making it difficult to travel (or hash) here.

There was a  Hash based around the cement works, not far from the capital city Banda Aceh. However the works was washed away in the December 2004 Tsunami tragedy. The kennel put on a few  post-Tsunami runs but the chapter is not currently functioning.

There was also a chapter named Blang Lanchang based at the LNG plant close to Lhokseumawe, also in Aceh. This chapter folded around 2002 due to the internal conflict but has now resurrected itself  as The Arun Hash House Harriers. Takengon Hash is also located in Aceh, at the small town of the same name. This hash was founded by  hashers who had run with Medan but actually lived and worked in Takengon. Surprisingly the chapter continued to run during the internal conflict. 

The shock of the 2004 tsunami and political changes since then has resulted in a relatively peaceful period and there is a good chance of hash activity increase in this beautiful part of the world..

With thanks to local hashers

Borneo

The giant island of Borneo is divided between Indonesia, Brunei and Malaysia. Balikpapan H3 is the senior kennel, and was founded in 1975 by Peter Grabenis via Penang. Balikpapan is very much an oil town and the club badge is an oilrig and helicopter.

Women are tolerated on the run, but not welcomed at the circle. The Hash is proud of staging the first Hash of each year, running at 00.00 GMT every 1^st January. Charles Tanzil is their most noted runner with 700 plus Hashes to his credit.

The Balikpapan Harriettes started in 1993 and a mixed Hash came along in 1998.

Other Islands

There are several hashes on Sulawesi and a few kennels across Nusa Tenggara although information on them is difficult to find.

For Irian Jaya see the history section of entry for Papa New Guinea.