Inandiak's version of 'Serat Centhini'<\/p>\n
Blontank Poer, Correspondent, Surakarta, Central Java<\/p>\n
Serat Centhini is a complete Javanese classical literary work.
\nCompiled in the first half of 19th century, Centhini is to date
\nthe most complete encyclopedia about Java. It contains the
\nparadoxes in life about virtues originating in Islam and gives
\nexplicit sex education to laymen in a manner that many modern
\nscholars still find pornographic.<\/p>\n
While providing moral teachings, the Centhini also details a
\nlarge array of procedures involving traditional rites, auspicious
\ndays and how to treat nature. It gives, for example, a detailed
\nmethod of how to properly fell a tree in a forest so that a
\ndisaster can be warded off.<\/p>\n
Many literary experts are reluctant to translate the Centhini,
\narguing that the language used is too vulgar, particularly when
\nit describes sexual intercourse, ranging from the conventional
\nsex to sodomy. Reportedly, this \"pornographic\" part was written
\nby Pakubuwono V himself, who sat on his throne for only three
\nyears and then died of acute syphilis.<\/p>\n
Although it was Pakubuwono V, the King of Surakarta, that took
\nthe initiative to write Centhini, the process to create this
\nclassical literary work involved three palace poets: R.Ng.
\nRanggasutrasna, R.Ng. Yasadipura II and R.Ng. Sastradipura. The
\nthree of them, reportedly had to conduct their research
\nthroughout Java and studied literary works produced by all Java
\nsub-cultures.<\/p>\n
Having been well-kept in the palace and in the state's archive
\nbuilding for close to two centuries because it was feared that it
\nwould stir controversy among its readers, Serat Centhini can now
\nbe accessed by the common reader.<\/p>\n
Unusually, it has been popularized by a foreigner that fell in
\nlove with this Javanese classical literary work while she was
\nwriting about Javanese mysticism.<\/p>\n
Elizabeth D. Inandiak, a French poet-cum-journalist, was
\nworking in journalism in Indonesia in the early 1980s when she
\nbecame interested in this ancient masterpiece.<\/p>\n
Inandiak was in Indonesia to write a overview about mysticism.
\nA well-traveled writer with an obvious thirst for cultural
\nknowledge, Inandiak had already visited Tibet and met the Dalai
\nLama and gone to Bangladesh to meet local priests there. She was
\nin Indonesia, interviewing the farmers and grave caretakers on
\nthe ancient slopes of Mount Merapi in Central Java, when she
\ndiscovered the Serat Centhini. Actuel, a French monthly magazine
\npublished in Paris, was sponsoring her journalistic work.<\/p>\n
\"The Centhini charmed me greatly. I fell in love with this
\nwork just like a woman falling in love with a handsome guy,\" she
\ntold The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
This interest did not come to nothing. In 1996, when attending
\na dinner at the residence of Thierry de Beauce, the former French
\nambassador to Indonesia, Inandiak received an offer to undertake
\na major project of translating this literary masterpiece. The
\nambassador, who was equally interested in Serat Centhini, funded
\nthe translation project, which took a full seven years to
\ncomplete.<\/p>\n
Fascinated by this ancient literary work, Inandiak knew she
\nhad to find out more about it and examine the manuscript in its
\noriginal form. Inandiak only had in her possession the Latin
\ntransliteration of the Serat Centhini, which was originally
\nwritten in the ancient Javanese alphabet.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, Inandiak's knowledge of old Javanese was not
\ngood and there was little supporting literature to help
\nunderstand the work better. A summary of the content of the
\nCenthini, made by Sumahatmaka in 1931, is in Javanese and the
\nIndonesian edition of this summary was published by Balai Pustaka
\nin 1981.<\/p>\n
Luckily, she met an academic, Prof. Dr. H. Mohammad Rasjidi,
\nwho became an important resource for the project. Rasjidi, a
\nformer minister of religious affairs during Soekarno's times,
\nearned his PhD in Philosophy in 1956 from France's Sorbonne
\nUniversity with a dissertation about the Serat Centhini.<\/p>\n
Inandiak enlisted Rasjidi's help and returned to France,
\nexploring the collection of books and dissertations in the
\nSorbonne University library.<\/p>\n
The door to a better understanding of the narrative was wide
\nopen. \"I became optimistic that I could understand Serat
\nCenthini,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Another constraint emerged. It was not easy to find the right
\ntranslator for the work. Many linguists and literature scholars
\nrefused when Inandiak asked them to take part in the translation.
\nThey generally argued it was taboo to translate this work because
\nit dwelt on sexual matters in what they considered a highly
\nvulgar manner. The only person who was ready to help her was
\nSunaryati Sutanto, a lecturer in the School of Literature at
\nSebelas Maret University in Surakarta.<\/p>\n
Inandiak's cooperation with Sunaryati was eventually highly
\nfruitful. She finally completed the translation of Serat Centhini
\ninto French, which was published in October 2002. It appears as a
\n466-page book, excluding footnotes and appendices, published by
\nLe Relie under the title Les Chants de l'ile a Dormir Debout.<\/p>\n
Inandiak is also having a fuller version of the book published
\nin Indonesian, which is coming out in four titles. The first
\ntitle, Empat Puluh Malam dan Satunya Hujan (Forty Nights and One
\nof Rain) was published early last year. The second title,
\nMinggatnya Cebolang (The Wife Runs Away), was launched in
\nSurakarta later that year in April.<\/p>\n
The remaining two titles will see the light of day later this
\nyear. They are Yang Memikul Raganya (The One Shouldering His Own
\nBody) and Nafsu Terakhir (The Last Lust). \"I had to divide the
\nwork into four volumes so that it would not be too thick. I want
\nevery Indonesian to read this work because it is really an
\nextraordinary literary achievement,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Inandiak's obsession has also given her accolades. Last year,
\nthe French version of the book was named by Best Asian Book in
\n2003 by the French Government.<\/p>\n
In her version Inandiak retold the Serat Centhini, which,
\noriginally contains 4,200 pages, 722 verses and over 200,000
\nstanzas, in a far slimmer book. Why is her version much thinner?
\nInandiak says, \"I did not include all the encyclopedic elements.\"<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/inandiaks-version-of-serat-centhini-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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