Mt. Carmel resounds with 'Indonesia Raya'<\/p>\n
Text and photos by Oei Eng Goan<\/p>\n
HAIFA, Israel (JP): Despite the absence of diplomatic ties
\nbetween the two countries, some Indonesian culture, including the
\nnational anthem and a number of folk songs, seem to be quite
\npopular in Israel.<\/p>\n
For example, Indonesians who visit Mount Carmel may hear their
\nnational anthem, Indonesia Raya (Great Indonesia), resound from
\nthe hill overlooking Israel's chief port of Haifa and the
\nMediterranean Sea.<\/p>\n
This was affirmed by a group of Indonesian journalists who
\nrecently visited Haifa. No sooner had they begun to enjoy the
\nscenery of the Mediterranean Sea far below them than a busker
\napproached them and asked what country they were from.<\/p>\n
One of the journalists reluctantly replied, thinking the
\nbusker only was asking as a formality. The busker nodded and then
\ntook out a trumpet from its case, stood at attention and began to
\nplay Indonesia Raya in the correct, march tempo.<\/p>\n
Understandably, all eight of the Indonesian journalists were
\nstunned. They exchanged glances and then looked at the musician
\nwith admiration and questioned him after he had finished playing
\nthe anthem.<\/p>\n
\"I come from Byelorussia after ... Chernobyl. I play 52
\ncountries ... and many songs,\" explained Yevgeni in broken
\nEnglish, referring to the number of national anthems he could
\nplay on his trumpet.<\/p>\n
Through an interpreter, Yevgeni, of Jewish descent from the
\nformer Soviet Union, said he, his wife and one daughter emigrated
\nto Israel in late 1986 following the world's worst civil nuclear
\naccident in Chernobyl, Ukraine, which lies adjacent to
\nByelorussia (White Russia). But he declined to answer when asked
\nif he was formerly a member of the Soviet military band.<\/p>\n
As a reward for playing the Indonesian national anthem, the
\njournalists dropped a few shekels into his trumpet case. Yevgeni
\nthen played an American hymn and anthem: Battle Hymn of the
\nRepublic and The Star Spangled Banner.<\/p>\n
Another Indonesian song was sung by Israel's most famous
\nfolksinger, Shuli Nathan, at Givatayim Theater in Tel Aviv on
\nFeb. 19, after the theater's director announced, during a break
\nin the ethnic music concert, there was a group of newsmen from
\nIndonesia in the audience.<\/p>\n
Accompanied only by the guitar she played, Nathan sang Butet,
\na heart-rending Batak folk song from North Sumatra. The song
\ntells of a daughter's yearning for her father, who is off
\nfighting in the revolutionary war.<\/p>\n
Nathan, in her late 40s, said she could sing seven Indonesian
\nfolk songs, which she learned some years ago while attending a
\ncourse offered by the Subud faith healing and spiritual
\norganization in Cilandak, South Jakarta. She entered Indonesia
\nwith a British passport.<\/p>\n
Another Israeli artist, poet Ronny Sommeck, a Baghdad-born
\nJew, said he knew and admired the work of Rendra, Indonesia's
\nrenowned dramatist and poet, with whom he has met and exchanged
\nliterary views at several international gatherings.<\/p>\n
Art and culture, unlike politics and ideology, have the power
\nto bring human beings closer together regardless of their racial
\nand religious backgrounds, Sommeck said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/mt-carmel-resounds-with-indonesia-raya-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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