A common sight in Jakarta are the many food stalls displaying banners featuring images of catfish and chickens that are set up on sidewalks, enlivening the capital city’s frantic streets every evening. While famous for their pecel lele (fried catfish), the vendors, who typically come from Lamongan, East Java, also serve pecel ayam (traditional fried chicken) and soto ayam (chicken soup served with noodles). The dishes are common favorites among Jakartans, with customers typically paying less than Rp 30,000 (US$2.14) per portion. Customers have probably also noticed that these stalls display similar banners, even if they have no relation to each other. The banners, which are usually placed at the front and two sides of each stall, always consist of a white background, with striking-colored lettering and images of catfish and chickens to represent the dishes they serve. These banners have become a symbol of Lamongan people in Jakarta, with the vendors pledging to maintain the classic style, despite the ease of producing new banners instantly with digital printing devices. “The banners that you see in Jakarta underwent a long journey before being known by the public as they are today,” Hartono, a 50-year-old banner maker in Pekayon, Bekasi, West Java, told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday. “The banners are not just regular fabric. They represent the struggle and hopes of the Lamongan people to be successful in a big city like Jakarta,” he added. Hartono, who comes from Lamongan and has been living in Jakarta for almost 30 years, said the history of the banners stemmed from Lamongan migrants who sought better opportunities in Jakarta in the 1970s. During this time, Lamongan people believed they could offer their version of soto ayam to Jakartans, as the dish tasted different to all other food available at the time. However, they had to name the dish soto Surabaya instead of soto Lamongan as many Jakartans did not know where Lamongan was and only knew about Surabaya, the capital of East Java, which is located around 50 km away from the regency. Hartono recalled that the vendors at the time had used dull and uninteresting banners that consisted only of text without any graphics at all. However, during the 1980s, the sellers redesigned their banners by using more vibrantly colored lettering such as red, yellow and orange after they began to serve fried chicken and fried eel in addition to their regular soto Surabaya. Those dishes proved to be a hit, with more and more people in the capital flocking to their stalls. The sellers also began gradually introducing themselves to their customers as Lamongan people and even changed the name of the stalls on the banners to Soto Lamongan. In the late 1980s, the vendors began selling pecel leles after Betawi communities in Jakarta offered them catfish they farmed in empang (small ponds). During this time, the vendors modified their banners again to include images of bright-colored chickens, catfish and ducks to inform customers about the menu. They did not draw these pictures themselves but asked talented artists in Lamongan. “Pecel lele quickly became one of the most popular meals for dinner in Jakarta and people began calling the stalls pecel lele stalls even though they could also order pecel ayam,” Hartono laughed. “That also explains why the banners are similar to each other. By looking at the banners from afar, Jakartans will know they can order pecel lele or pecel ayam because the design is so widely known,” he added. Hartono also said the banners used bright colors to catch people’s attention at night, adding that the colors would be illuminated by the headlights of passing vehicles and the lights inside the stalls. For this reason, many vendors are reluctant to switch to digitally-printed banners. Proving this point, Hartono said he recently received 70 orders from pecel lele vendors, with demand for the fabric banners relentless from Aceh, the westernmost province of the country, to Papua, the easternmost province. “My customers also say they prefer my product because of its durability. A regular banner can be used for five years while digitally-printed banners may only last one year because they use ink instead of paint,” he said. “As a native Lamongan person, I’m very happy because we can leave a legacy in Jakarta. Nevertheless, we need to continue modifying them [the banners] by using fonts that are available on the internet or enhancing the images by using drawing software, just to take advantage of the technology,” he added. Meanwhile, pecel lele vendors are unwilling to change their iconic banners even though some of them are dingy and rumpled. Purwono, a 53-year-old pecel lele vendor in Tanjung Barat, South Jakarta, said the banners had become a trademark for pecel lele vendors all around Indonesia. Changing the design of the banners, he added, would be a risky move as people might not realize he sold the dish. “People will not notice I am a pecel lele vendor from my banner. Besides, it’s not necessary for me to change the banner just to keep up with current trends because I sell traditional food,” Purwono said. Surinah, another 50-year-old pecel lele vendor in Kebagusan, South Jakarta, said there was no need to change her banner, as it still looked good even after four years. “The drawings are good and I love the banner, why would I want to change it?” she said.
"Iconic banners of ‘pecel lele’ vendors symbol of Lamongan people’s struggle", an article by Galih Gumelar published on The Jakarta Post
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