Emha popularized 'maiyah' spiritual tunes

Yusuf Susilo Hartono, Contributor, Jakarta

Since last July, Emha Ainun Najib, better known as Emha or Cak Nun, and his Kiai Kanjeng Sepuh group have presented maiyah from one city to another, in and outside Java, performing door to door and even in squares, fields, sports halls, cultural centers, mosques' yards and subdistrict offices.

The term maiyah may not be popular in our community. The term is defined at PadhangmBulan.com as a cultural activity inspired by religious teachings. It injects a rich religious substance to a cultural activity. In this sense, a socio-cultural activity must always be dedicated to Allah, in keeping with the tenet of "sabbaha lillahi ma fis samawati wa ma fil ardli (all creatures in heaven and on earth praise Allah).

Emha and members of his Kiai Kanjeng Sepuh realize those extolling Allah are not only human beings and genies but also objects like the saron (one of the traditional gamelan orchestra instruments), violins, flutes, tambourines and even dragonflies, grass and dry leaves.

So, Emha and his Kiai Kanjeng Sepuh members, all dressed in white during the show, will sit in a circle and under the guidance of Emha himself chant shalawat (a short prayer usually consisting of verses from the Koran), wirid (passages from the Koran) and poetry with musical accompaniment provided by gamelan, violins, keyboards, percussion, guitars and other instruments.

Some of the shalawat are in their standard notation and are therefore popular with the community, such as Ya Rabbi Shalli, Ya Imamar Rusli, Nurul Musthafa and Ya Rabbi bil Musthafa. Others are intentionally composed using the notation of Kanjengan, Kanjengan of Melayu, Kanjengan of Mandar, Kanjengan of Bugis, Sundanese Kanjengan, Chinese Kanjengan, Kanjengan of Wonokromo, Kanjengan of Banyuwangi, Gregorian Kanjengan, Kanjengan of Magelang, Kanjengan of Jawi, Kanjengan of Sumenep and Kanjengan of Bu Cammana.

A kanjengan notation is composed by, among others, a member of the Kiai Kanjeng Sepuh or by Emha himself. The name of a place or ethnic group added after the word kanjengan in the notation shows that it is an adaptation of a tune from a particular place or ethnic group.

Since their performance in the Kenduri Cinta (Ritual Feast of Love) in the yard of the Ismail Marzuki arts center in Cikini, Central Jakarta on Nov. 9, Cak Nun and his Kiai Kanjeng Sepuh community have been chanting only their own shalawat and wirid. Previously, they also performed a piece popularly known as shalawat alongside their own.

The maiyah performed by Cak Nun and Kiai Kanjeng Sepuh members has been put on a record produced by Hadi Sunyoto of HP Record. Their twenty-fourth recording, consisting of shalawat created by Cak Nun and his group, has been released to welcome the arrival of the holy fasting month of Ramadhan.

The album is entitled Bermusik kepada Allah, untuk Indonesia, Maiyah, tanah air... untuk bangsa yang berkeping-keping (Playing music for Allah, for Indonesia, Maiyah, the motherland and for the nation now being torn to pieces).

The word kiai in the group's name usually refers to a religious figure, while kanjengan is a term used to show respect to a person. Earlier, the group was popular under the name of Kiai Kanjeng, but now the word sepuh (old) has been added.

Emha said the word sepuh had been included to show that he himself was now old enough, and that this word also marked phases in his life. At first, he concentrated on arts, then on culture and later on the propagation of Islam or a religious culture. Today, he said, he had come to the phase of spirituality.

"Therefore Kiai Kanjeng Sepuh cannot be compared with, for example, pop music groups such as Sheila on 7, Jikustik or Padi," said Emha, the husband of actress Novia Kolopaking.

When asked whether he was an arts observer, a cultural activist or someone propagating the faith of Islam, Emha simply said with a smile that he no longer needed all those separate labels.

"It is up to people (to decide) what they want to call me," he said, adding that at times he could also act as a shaman.

One thing is for sure, at this stage of his life he is trying to accentuate the spiritual dimension in his creations.

During performances, all members of the Kiai Kanjeng Sepuh community wear white. Emha said they did so not to show they were clean but more because they realized they were still dirty and sinful either to Allah or to others. The white dress, he said, would motivate them to continue their efforts to purify themselves.

Therefore, in their maiyah performances, Emha and his Kiai Kanjeng Sepuh have never failed to touch upon actual issues facing the country like those to do with power, the economy, politics, the law, security, people's representatives and the serious threats faced by the nation internally and externally.