Acehnese let out anger with poetry at Literature Night
Acehnese let out anger with poetry at Literature Night
Blontank Poer, Contributor, Jakarta
Teater Utan Kayu, a small building in East Jakarta which has
made a name for itself by staging contemporary and experimental
arts events, recently had a special treat for lovers of
literature. The theater hosted Acehnese Literature Night on April
12 and April 13.
The word "Aceh" brings to mind separatism, military
operations, spiraling violence, and it was the seemingly endless
sufferings in Aceh that those writers taking part in the event
wanted to convey to the audience.
They wanted their troubled minds to be known and their cries
for sympathy to be heard. An example of this was the poem read by
Fikar W Eda: like the dutch/they resort to dirty tricks/to conquer
us/ like the dutch/they win our heart/with promises/quoting
scriptures to convince us/like the dutch/they serve us wine/until
we snore/then they freely/exploit our motherland/natural gas,
oil, gold, forest/and the grass/like the dutch/they unsheathe
bayonets/they load guns combat ready/tear houses down/destroy
mosques/worse than the dutch/they rape our women/they behead our
children/they kill our hopes and ideals/worse than the
dutch/jakarta it is.
These lines from the poem Like Dutch may sound like they come
from a propaganda pamphlet, but don't be too quick to judge. The
writer, who is a journalist and a poet living in Jakarta, was not
acting as a non-governmental organization activist protesting
unjust development policies.
As a journalist, Fikar is all too aware of the injustices he
shouts about in the poem. He has ample evidence about what has
been happening in his homeland.
The Aceh literary night featured such well-known literary
figures as poet Wiratmadinata, playwright Maskirbi and
poet/novelist Hasyim KS.
Their spellbinding theatrical finesse ensured their messages
were heard loud and clear. Poems were read solemnly to accentuate
their hatred of injustice and the oppression in Aceh.
Wiratmadinata presented the poems Surat Hitam Untuk Ibu (Black
letter for mother) and Nyanyian Hipokrasi (The hypocrite's song),
which stress non-violence and wisdom in the struggle for social
justice.
Particularly touching was the performance by Ramlah and her
husband, Mahlel. The couple recited the poem Dedingin Sejuk Dalam
Sebuku (Cool as Sebuku), which had the literary style native to
Gayo in Central Aceh.
Sebuku means "the art of wailing", and usually conveys
reminisces about partings because of death (Sebuku Mate) or
because a woman has to leave her family after marriage (Sebuku
Mungerje).
Sweetly recited, the Acehnese-language poems truly touched on
the emotions. The accompanying music played on a tambourine and a
very small gong added emotion to the recital of the traditional
poems by the tearful Ramlah and three other women.
Along with the traditional singing known as Didong, Sebuku is
almost extinct in its native Gayo.
Didong, which usually takes place over the course of an entire
night as a competition between two groups, has been absent from
Aceh for more than 10 years. And like Didong, Sebuku has gone
from a traditional art to a luxury that is very rarely recited at
weddings and funerals anymore.
The night also featured the authors Maskirbi (Marto) and
Hasyim KS reading their short stories.
Marto's story told of a soldier being treated in a mental
hospital after refusing to burn down a village and kill the
residents, who had been branded "rebels".
While Hasyim's story told of an encounter between an Aceh
native and Paul Jones, an American Vietnam War veteran.