Aspiring musician Muji lives on monkey business

By Joko Sarwono

BOGOR, West Java (JP): Muji Cahyono, from the East Java town of Malang, never imagined he would walk from house to house with a monkey on a lead performing in front yards and alleys.

Muji always wanted to be a musician and was inspired by the success of many fellow villagers.

"They often performed on stage and became famous. I admired them and wanted to follow their example," he said.

His father left his mother before he was born and he left school after elementary school to sell newspapers and help his mother.

Despite his poverty Muji paid for a music course.

"But the music course was expensive and after a while there was not enough money for it," Muji said.

He did all kinds of work. After a spell as a newspaper boy he sold tofu, cassava, bananas and sweet potatoes. He later sold meatball and noodles.

His experience pushed him to try his luck in faraway Bogor, West Java.

In this rainy city Muji joined a meatball entrepreneur who employed several and Muji got 25 percent of his sales.

"It was 1989. I was earning Rp 3,000 to Rp 4,000 a day," he said.

In his Bogor neighborhood Muji met a man from his village named Soeran. Soeran had a monkey and did rounds of the city performing. The monkey would dance and play tricks while his master beat a drum.

When Muji was not selling food he would join Soeran.

"I felt attracted to it," Muji said. Eventually he quit selling noodles.

He needed a month to master the skill of directing the monkey. When Soeran saw Muji's capabilities, he offered him a trained monkey but it was not a gift. It cost him Rp 75,000 a month.

Muji went on his own rounds and met many people with the same job. He sometimes borrowed a monkey from one of his colleagues to study its character.

He also bought an untrained monkey and had it trained.

"I bought a monkey for Rp 30,000 and paid a training fee of Rp 200,000 in installments," he said.

After six months Muji took his monkey on the road. He toured Jakarta, Tangerang, Rangkasbitung, Sukabumi and Cianjur.

"I am a man of the road, so I stay everywhere. I sometimes spend the night at police stations, nightwatch booths, in empty houses and once in a while under the stars," Muji said.

Training

He also started training monkeys from scratch. It takes six months to train a monkey.

Monkey tricks well known to children for generations include: carrying a toy gun, wearing a mask, pulling a cart, carrying an umbrella while shouldering a bag for "shopping", "combing" and "putting on make-up" in front of a mirror, taking a bow from a kneeling position, "paying respect" and doing somersaults.

Muji said he had trained 15 monkeys but failed with two.

He blamed himself for choosing young cheap monkeys.

There is a knack to selecting the right type of monkey.

"Monkeys eligible for training are less than three years old, agile and have long legs," he said.

There is a saying that he who plays with water gets wet and that he who plays with fire gets burnt and Muji has experienced this since he started working with monkeys in 1990. Bites and scratches are a common occurrence which he sees as an occupational hazard.

"At first I would get a fever after a bite but it disappeared after some time. Later on I got used to them and I don't feel any pain," Muji said.

He is now 30, unmarried, and a respected trainer of younger men in the business.

"Years ago somebody helped me, now it is my turn to help others," he said.

Among his followers are Imam Rifai, 20, who lives in the same house, and Sutrisno, 33, his neighbor in Kedungbadak village, Tanah Sareal district, Bogor.

Sutrisno and Imam acknowledged Muji's role in teaching them how to handle monkeys. They have been in the business for two years.

Sutrisno said Muji was very serious.

"He gets angry when we laugh at him. He often advises us to show dedication if we want to improve. It took me one year to master all the methods of training monkeys."

Training monkeys for a fee has become Muji's additional income. Muji's monkey acts earns him a monthly income between Rp 100,000 and Rp 300,000 and he has several trained monkeys for hire or for sale.

"I sell a monkey for Rp 350,000. I have now three trained monkeys. I keep one. The other two are hired for Rp 60,000 a month each," he said.

With all this income Muji said he was still not secure and could not save for his retirement.

"My savings dwindle whenever I stay at home and do not work. Ten thousand rupiah is finished in one day and I feel I get nothing for it. Everything is expensive in the city," Muji said.

The money is spent on daily needs including food for the monkeys. They eat bananas and other fruit. One monkey needs Rp 1,000 a day. He occasionally sends money to his mother in the village. "Not every month, but whenever my mother needs money," he said.

But Muji is ready to try another job.

"I have wanted to change my profession for a long time," he said.

There were many reasons but the main reason was a feeling of inferiority.

"Walking down the streets with my monkey and equipment is sometimes embarrassing because there is always a following of children," he said.

He said he was still undecided and confused about what a suitable profession would be, but he remains on the lookout for possibilities of more promising activities.