Focusing on Javanese village life<\/p>\n
Mata Air Bulan (Spring of the moon);
\nBy Sindhunata;
\nKanisius, Yogyakarta, 1998;
\n216 pp.;
\nRp 18,000<\/p>\n
YOGYAKARTA (JP): In Indonesian culture, villages --
\nparticularly those in Java -- assume a central position. Rural
\nareas have often been made an object of study by local and
\nforeign researchers, not because most Indonesians live in
\nvillages but, rather, because of the unique characteristics of
\nrural communities here.<\/p>\n
Although the pull of a modern, secular and glamorous life is
\nstrong, it is believed that rural people have a strong resistance
\nto this kind of temptation.<\/p>\n
The writings of Sindhunata reveal the hardships, philosophical
\nreflections and beliefs of the villagers.<\/p>\n
Sindhunata is a reporter and a Catholic priest. His clerical
\nwork took him to a village on the slope of Mount Merapi. It was
\nin this village that he discovered the spiritual gems that he
\nlater put down in this book, which is actually the Indonesian
\ntranslation of the Javanese original.<\/p>\n
In the Javanese edition the book received an extraordinary
\nreception, especially in view of the scant attention now usually
\npaid to books written in the language.<\/p>\n
The first story in the book tells of a three meter deep well
\ncalled Sumur Kitiran Mas (the Well of the Golden Windmill) found
\ninside a church in Pakem village. The well is special in that it
\nis located precisely under the altar on which the statue of the
\nVirgin Mary, the mother of Jesus, stands.<\/p>\n
The eyes of the Virgin Mary seem to be looking into the well.
\nThe well has earned a special place in the hearts of Catholics in
\nPakem and they usually pray beside it.<\/p>\n
Mystic surrounds the well and it is said to be the source of
\nmany miracles. It is said to have been discovered after a message
\nin a dream. "All the things that are said about the well are not
\nnecessarily true," writes Sindhunata, who helped unearth the
\nwell. Nevertheless, many people believe that water from the well
\ncan cure many diseases.<\/p>\n
The next story, Permata Anak-Anak Hawa (Gemstone of Eve's
\nChildren) is about the writer's journey and pilgrimage with the
\npeople of Pakem. This story depicts how Pakem's Catholics
\nrealized their dream of having a large statue of the Virgin Mary
\non the church alter after it was renovated.<\/p>\n
They cooperated, worked hard, and eventually raised enough
\nmoney to buy the statue. To them, the Virgin Mary is a mother
\nfigure who is concerned about the daily hardships which the
\npeople of Pakem face. They called their Virgin Mary statue Ibu
\nRisang Sungkawa (Sungkawa means sorrow).<\/p>\n
The atmosphere of Pakem village seems to inspired Sindhunata
\nand the characters in his work are consequently all the more
\nvivid. It is easy to imagine the ordinary and simple life-styles
\nof people such as Mbah (Grandpa) Gondo, the gamelan player, who
\nturns out to have profound insight into life, or Mbah Wir, who
\nwanders around the village selling snacks.<\/p>\n
Old, toothless and gray-haired Mbah Wir has a thin, stooping
\nbody and she walks with great difficulty. Despite her physical
\nhandicaps, she faithfully ambles around the village selling
\nsnacks. Mbah Wir is a walking clock to the villagers because she
\npasses places at a regular time every day.<\/p>\n
By doing so she reminds all who see her that man is
\nessentially a small and limited receptacle. "To be able to accept
\noneself as being small and insignificant is actually the source
\nof real peace and happiness," writes Sindhunata in his reflection
\nof Mbah Wir's life.<\/p>\n
Sindhunata's experience reflects Javanese spiritualism
\nintertwined with Catholicism. In a story about a pilgrimage of
\nflowers of seven colors and a pilgrimage of seven springs, he
\ndwells on the Javanese habit of leading a life of deep concern.<\/p>\n
The experiences of a pilgrimage will never be known until it
\nhas been completed. Completing it entails a process of tracing
\nones' own experience of the past and thereby enriching one's
\nspiritual life.<\/p>\n
All the springs -- such as the Spring of the Boar and the
\nSpring of the Night -- which are located around Pakem are
\nconsidered to be holy.<\/p>\n
Pilgrims to these springs, writes Sindhunata, usually take
\nwith them a small bottle and at each spring they will collect
\nsome water in a bottle and take it home. In this way, they enrich
\ntheir experience with God.<\/p>\n
Throughout the book Sindhunata conveys his understanding of
\nhow villagers interpret stories from the Bible.<\/p>\n
He draws a parallel between the villagers' hard daily work and
\nthe villagers of Nazareth who worked in their vineyards. "As we
\nlay in the water looking up at the shining, friendly moon, we
\nenvisioned the hard work villagers must do every day. Wasn't this
\nalso experienced by Mary in her life in Nazareth?"<\/p>\n
The stories are far from dull. They instill in the reader a
\nbetter understanding of the humanity of small and insignificant
\npeople before God. God's love for His creation has endowed man
\nwith dignity.<\/p>\n
Sumur Kitiran Mas under the statue of Virgin Mary has a spot
\nwhere Catholics in Pakem go to pray. Here they unburden their
\ngrudges, tell their stories, express their thanks and ask God to
\nhelp them with the difficulties of their daily lives.<\/p>\n
The well is only a means to help one find God and communicate
\nwith the Creator. The wisdom of life and spiritual wealth will
\ncontinue to flow as it always has. Just like the water in the
\nwell, man must come to a final place.<\/p>\n
Sindhunata closes the last part of the book, containing 22
\nstories, with a poem about the Virgin Mary and his journey with
\nthe villagers to find Sumur Kitiran Mas. This is a must-read for
\nanybody wishing to share in the spiritual wealth and pilgrimage
\nof rural people.<\/p>\n
-- A. Wisnuhardana<\/p>\n
The reviewer is an alumnus of Gadjah Mada University and a
\nresearcher at the Forum for Social Studies on Humanities (FKSH),
\nin Yogyakarta.<\/p>",
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