Madurese are not coarse -- they are just direct<\/p>\n
By Mehru Jaffer<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): All the warnings about the unpredictable temper
\nof its people could not lessen Lorraine's love for Madura.<\/p>\n
In fact, the stories told to her about the coarse and
\nunrefined manners of the Madurese made her even more determined
\nto sail across to Java's neighbor to the north to check out the
\nisland for herself.<\/p>\n
Being very interested in cooking, she also was intrigued by
\nsigns that confronted her in almost every corner of Jakarta
\nscreaming Soto Madura and Sate Madura. She wanted to find out
\nwhat was so special about the food of this near, yet seemingly
\nremote place.<\/p>\n
During her five-year stay in Indonesia, she has crossed Madura
\nStrait three times and still cannot get enough of the batik,
\nboats and bull races. She is in the process of planning her next
\ntrip to Madura later this year, mainly to find out more about the
\nrole of batik in the daily lives of the Madurese, an extremely
\ncolorful and friendly people whose zest for life she finds most
\ninfectious.<\/p>\n
\"Actually it is like the flip side of a coin. For what people
\non this island (Java) call uncouth, I call open, direct and
\nnatural,\" Lorraine, an expatriate, told The Jakarta Post after
\ngiving a talk on Java's less luxuriant, but no less lascivious
\nneighbor. The talk was part of the on-going lecture series
\norganized by the Indonesian Heritage Society to explore the
\ncountry's diverse cultures, both contemporary and traditional.<\/p>\n
She compares the difference in attitude on the islands of Java
\nand Madura this way: \"A Javanese may be too polite to object to
\nme parking my car in a certain place. He will not say anything to
\nme. But I would not be surprised to find the air from my tires
\ngone as soon as my back is turned. However in Madura, I feel more
\ncomfortable about being told what is appreciated and what is
\nfrowned upon by them. I know where I stand in Madura. In Java, I
\ncan only keep guessing.\"<\/p>\n
During her trips, Lorraine has struck up a close relationship
\nwith a Madurese family that she considers very precious, and she
\nwonders why more people do not visit the island when it is just a
\n30 minute boat ride from Surabaya.<\/p>\n
Besides the view of the northern coastline of Java and of
\nMount Arjuna, south of Surabaya is so spectacular that people are
\nknown to have fallen in love all over again with Java.<\/p>\n
Lorraine has stayed overnight in Sumanep, a town in eastern
\nMadura that was a prosperous center of trade in the 18th century.
\nThere you can find a small but charming castle and a mosque built
\nby affluent Chinese Muslim traders. She drove along the northern
\ncoast of Madura stopping for delicious cups of coffee made from
\ngreen beans, boiled in cardamom and sipped amid scenery that is
\nout of this world.<\/p>\n
She rowed to one of the many islands east of Sumanep to
\nwitness an amazing fleet of fishing boats, decorated in all the
\ncolors of the rainbow and in all conceivable patterns.<\/p>\n
These boats come in different sizes and are made for various
\nweather, from dangerous wind, treacherous currents, rough seas to
\ncruising over shallows.<\/p>\n
However in fair weather or foul, the sea continues to be
\ntreated with great respect. Although the Madurese are
\nconservative followers of Islam, they still appease the spirits
\nof the sea by hanging beautifully painted talismans on their
\nboats. This is believed to help them avoid poor catches, loss of
\ntheir boats or death by drowning.<\/p>\n
Lorraine sat in one of the Lis Lis boats that bring fish
\nashore from Mayang. These boats are virtually floating factories,
\nwhere salt and water are kept boiling all the time in terra-cotta
\npots on firewood for blanching the fish and keeping them from
\nrotting. As the stock thickens it turns into delectable terasi,
\nor fish paste, which is eaten with much relish along with rice.<\/p>\n
She has been to the famous bull races, but regrets that the
\nfinal race was over before she could blink. Also, the crowds
\nprevented her from seeing much, even from the VIP galleries. She
\nprefers the more muddy, crowded, lively scene when the bulls are
\nauctioned and later when the more informal, less crowded bull
\nraces are held at the village level.<\/p>\n
Ever since she was a child in her native Sri Lanka, Lorraine
\nwas fascinated with islands. \"And the smaller they are the more
\nthey tend to tickle my imagination. It is their capacity to home
\ndiverse people all practicing different religions, customs and
\nfestivals that is so noble. If a tiny country like my own can
\naccommodate so much diversity, imagine how colorful the world
\nmust be.\"<\/p>\n
As luck would have it she left for England where she married a
\ngeologist, whose job led them to live in different parts of
\nAfrica, the Middle East, Europe and Asia. For Chris, Lorraine's
\nhusband, Madura is just one of the many interesting places he has
\ncome across during his travels. \"But it is very special to me,\"
\nadds Lorraine, who feels that maybe it is the similarity between
\nthe Madurese and the people of India and Sri Lanka, along with
\nthe glaring differences between them, that excites her.<\/p>\n
She is a great admirer of the fierce individuality of the
\nMadurese, which is reflected most in the batik found on the
\nisland. Each design is unique and even pieces made by the same
\nperson rarely look alike.<\/p>\n
\"But why should anyone be made to follow another's idea of
\nperfection,\" questions Lorraine, who hopes that one day people
\naround the world, especially in her troubled home of Sri Lanka
\nand in Indonesia, will stop attacking those who are different.<\/p>\n
For all the magic in life is said to lie in that very area
\nwhere similarities between human beings fade into differences and
\ndifferences fade back into similarities.<\/p>",
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