‘The latest Javanese music performance I watch in cultural center’
Jono Putro Sono, that was how he calls his name in another term. Born in farm somewhere in Victoria, Australia, John Patterson prefers calling himself as 60% Indonesian to his own Australian nationality or the fact that he is Scottish descent.
I just cannot stand to write this article next to the swimming pool. Yeah, right after doing night swimming while listening to Javanese tembang. I am going to explain what Javanese tembang is after I tell you more interesting things about The Putro Sono. He is my colleague at National Agency for REDD+ Republic of Indonesia (Reduction of Carbon Emission from Deforestation and Degradation). Well known as smiling and nice guy, he seems to be one of the happiest persons in the office. More importantly, he knows my culture much far from I do. Let me tell you his story then.
Back in late of 1980s when he was undergraduate student, he got scholarship to learn literature. He chose Javanese literature and the scholarship brought him to Solo, one of Javanese culture centers in Central Java.
The young John experienced cultural shock in the first country he visited outside Australia. But he found out that local people were extremely good and he got warm welcome and acceptance. The young John experience more than just daily class of Javanese literature but he went further to be part of the society where he lived in. He studied the culture and daily life as whole. The tangible learning process he went trough in Solo made him more Javanese rather than any other Javanese born-people. His Solo-experience is starting point where he found out the meaning of life: the simple life. He views that people in there are happy one. They have really simple standard of happiness: something that is rarely seen or found in other area especially in big city.
When he was doctoral student in Melbourne University, he had research grant and he went back analyzing the history of Javanese literature. In the perspective of him, Javanese literature is not just about writing mind onto paper and have other people know but it was paramount modality for Javanese people to understand themselves and further pride for the basic struggle for Indonesian independence back in late of 1800s and early 1900s. He found out how rich the literature was. There were so many local thinkers, philosophers, and writers but the pity fact come along where the literature had been scattered everywhere. Some or even most were even taken care and kept in Leiden of Holland. The prodigy of being Indonesian or in this essence Javanese made him go even further. With friends of him, he established a local small foundation named Yayasan Sastra Lestari. The foundation aims to collect, conserve and preserve the Javanese literature. The Javanese literature means lots for him (and for me also). It contains ways and principle of living: the values that will always be relevant for everyone despite of nationality and the geographic resident. The foundation also socializes the literature to the public thus public will get familiar to ‘the lost treasure’ of their ancestors. ‘Even if it is small, my foundation has been there in Solo’ John said to me with proud.
Right after living about 8-9 years in Belgium, the 2004 tsunami in Aceh called and brought him back again to Indonesia. He then worked with Badan Nasional Rekonstruksi dan Rehabilitasi Aceh Nias, a national agency for reconstruction and rehabilitation in Aceh and Nias, after that biggest tsunami in human history occurred. He found his love there, someone whom next to be his wife. His experiences in Aceh made him understand more about life. A pilgrimage that made a person knows what he wants and he wants not.
Do You Know Tembang?
I was born and raised in East Java, place where tembang is not that popular as in Central Java. But it was true that when I was kid, it was not difficult to find people sing tembang. Tembang is literature more in the form of poetry. Created and developed during the glorious era of Javanese kingdoms, the most popular tembang is macapat. I remember that I wrote article months ago about this tembang and published it on this tumblr. Macapat consists of 11 tembang as a life-story chain. The comprehensive life stages of someone from the worm, child, teenage, adult, old and die. Those tembang are pangkur, maskumambang, sinom, dandhanggula, durma, mijil, kinanthi, asmarandana, gambuh, pucung, and megatruh.
More I learn about the tembang, more I know that we seriously need to go back to what our ancestors have created for us. The values plugged in the tembang are just amazing. Let me give an example of pucung:
Lila lamun
kelangan nora gegetun
Trima yen ketaman
Sakserik sameng dumadi
Tri legawa nalangsa srah ing Bathara
The tembang above has meaning that as human we shall:
- Not be sad when loosing things or people
- Be patient when other people hurt us
- Release ourselves to the almighty God
Tembang is not popular now: yeah I know. The existence is endangered: yeah it is true. It is pity fact that people leave it already. Going back to John, I just find this smiling guy embeds the values of tembang in his life. Well at least I can make this conclusion after working with him along these three months although it is not in daily basis. John, in a light conversation with me in a coffee shop, told me that in life he has three wise sentences that he always holds:
- We can do anything we like as long as it does not disturb other people
- In life, we shall not pretend to be somebody else
- Understanding on something or people is very paramount and it is on the top of everything
Oh my God, I am just impressed with John, a foreigner that knows Javanese culture and have it plugged in daily life much more than I do. I have been having commitment to learn tembang and either read or sing tembang. It is so much fun to have the values alive and like John does, plug it in daily life. Will you join us?