Acehnese let out anger with poetry at Literature Night<\/p>\n
Blontank Poer, Contributor, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Teater Utan Kayu, a small building in East Jakarta which has
\nmade a name for itself by staging contemporary and experimental
\narts events, recently had a special treat for lovers of
\nliterature. The theater hosted Acehnese Literature Night on April
\n12 and April 13.<\/p>\n
The word \"Aceh\" brings to mind separatism, military
\noperations, spiraling violence, and it was the seemingly endless
\nsufferings in Aceh that those writers taking part in the event
\nwanted to convey to the audience.<\/p>\n
They wanted their troubled minds to be known and their cries
\nfor sympathy to be heard. An example of this was the poem read by
\nFikar W Eda: like the dutch\/they resort to dirty tricks\/to conquer
\nus\/ like the dutch\/they win our heart\/with promises\/quoting
\nscriptures to convince us\/like the dutch\/they serve us wine\/until
\nwe snore\/then they freely\/exploit our motherland\/natural gas,
\noil, gold, forest\/and the grass\/like the dutch\/they unsheathe
\nbayonets\/they load guns combat ready\/tear houses down\/destroy
\nmosques\/worse than the dutch\/they rape our women\/they behead our
\nchildren\/they kill our hopes and ideals\/worse than the
\ndutch\/jakarta it is.<\/p>\n
These lines from the poem Like Dutch may sound like they come
\nfrom a propaganda pamphlet, but don't be too quick to judge. The
\nwriter, who is a journalist and a poet living in Jakarta, was not
\nacting as a non-governmental organization activist protesting
\nunjust development policies.<\/p>\n
As a journalist, Fikar is all too aware of the injustices he
\nshouts about in the poem. He has ample evidence about what has
\nbeen happening in his homeland.<\/p>\n
The Aceh literary night featured such well-known literary
\nfigures as poet Wiratmadinata, playwright Maskirbi and
\npoet\/novelist Hasyim KS.<\/p>\n
Their spellbinding theatrical finesse ensured their messages
\nwere heard loud and clear. Poems were read solemnly to accentuate
\ntheir hatred of injustice and the oppression in Aceh.<\/p>\n
Wiratmadinata presented the poems Surat Hitam Untuk Ibu (Black
\nletter for mother) and Nyanyian Hipokrasi (The hypocrite's song),
\nwhich stress non-violence and wisdom in the struggle for social
\njustice.<\/p>\n
Particularly touching was the performance by Ramlah and her
\nhusband, Mahlel. The couple recited the poem Dedingin Sejuk Dalam
\nSebuku (Cool as Sebuku), which had the literary style native to
\nGayo in Central Aceh.<\/p>\n
Sebuku means \"the art of wailing\", and usually conveys
\nreminisces about partings because of death (Sebuku Mate) or
\nbecause a woman has to leave her family after marriage (Sebuku
\nMungerje).<\/p>\n
Sweetly recited, the Acehnese-language poems truly touched on
\nthe emotions. The accompanying music played on a tambourine and a
\nvery small gong added emotion to the recital of the traditional
\npoems by the tearful Ramlah and three other women.<\/p>\n
Along with the traditional singing known as Didong, Sebuku is
\nalmost extinct in its native Gayo.<\/p>\n
Didong, which usually takes place over the course of an entire
\nnight as a competition between two groups, has been absent from
\nAceh for more than 10 years. And like Didong, Sebuku has gone
\nfrom a traditional art to a luxury that is very rarely recited at
\nweddings and funerals anymore.<\/p>\n
The night also featured the authors Maskirbi (Marto) and
\nHasyim KS reading their short stories.<\/p>\n
Marto's story told of a soldier being treated in a mental
\nhospital after refusing to burn down a village and kill the
\nresidents, who had been branded \"rebels\".<\/p>\n
While Hasyim's story told of an encounter between an Aceh
\nnative and Paul Jones, an American Vietnam War veteran.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/acehnese-let-out-anger-with-poetry-at-literature-night-1447893297",
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