Focusing on Javanese village life

Focusing on Javanese village life

Mata Air Bulan (Spring of the moon);
By Sindhunata;
Kanisius, Yogyakarta, 1998;
216 pp.;
Rp 18,000

YOGYAKARTA (JP): In Indonesian culture, villages --
particularly those in Java -- assume a central position. Rural
areas have often been made an object of study by local and
foreign researchers, not because most Indonesians live in
villages but, rather, because of the unique characteristics of
rural communities here.

Although the pull of a modern, secular and glamorous life is
strong, it is believed that rural people have a strong resistance
to this kind of temptation.

The writings of Sindhunata reveal the hardships, philosophical
reflections and beliefs of the villagers.

Sindhunata is a reporter and a Catholic priest. His clerical
work took him to a village on the slope of Mount Merapi. It was
in this village that he discovered the spiritual gems that he
later put down in this book, which is actually the Indonesian
translation of the Javanese original.

In the Javanese edition the book received an extraordinary
reception, especially in view of the scant attention now usually
paid to books written in the language.

The first story in the book tells of a three meter deep well
called Sumur Kitiran Mas (the Well of the Golden Windmill) found
inside a church in Pakem village. The well is special in that it
is located precisely under the altar on which the statue of the
Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus, stands.

The eyes of the Virgin Mary seem to be looking into the well.
The well has earned a special place in the hearts of Catholics in
Pakem and they usually pray beside it.

Mystic surrounds the well and it is said to be the source of
many miracles. It is said to have been discovered after a message
in a dream. "All the things that are said about the well are not
necessarily true," writes Sindhunata, who helped unearth the
well. Nevertheless, many people believe that water from the well
can cure many diseases.

The next story, Permata Anak-Anak Hawa (Gemstone of Eve's
Children) is about the writer's journey and pilgrimage with the
people of Pakem. This story depicts how Pakem's Catholics
realized their dream of having a large statue of the Virgin Mary
on the church alter after it was renovated.

They cooperated, worked hard, and eventually raised enough
money to buy the statue. To them, the Virgin Mary is a mother
figure who is concerned about the daily hardships which the
people of Pakem face. They called their Virgin Mary statue Ibu
Risang Sungkawa (Sungkawa means sorrow).

The atmosphere of Pakem village seems to inspired Sindhunata
and the characters in his work are consequently all the more
vivid. It is easy to imagine the ordinary and simple life-styles
of people such as Mbah (Grandpa) Gondo, the gamelan player, who
turns out to have profound insight into life, or Mbah Wir, who
wanders around the village selling snacks.

Old, toothless and gray-haired Mbah Wir has a thin, stooping
body and she walks with great difficulty. Despite her physical
handicaps, she faithfully ambles around the village selling
snacks. Mbah Wir is a walking clock to the villagers because she
passes places at a regular time every day.

By doing so she reminds all who see her that man is
essentially a small and limited receptacle. "To be able to accept
oneself as being small and insignificant is actually the source
of real peace and happiness," writes Sindhunata in his reflection
of Mbah Wir's life.

Sindhunata's experience reflects Javanese spiritualism
intertwined with Catholicism. In a story about a pilgrimage of
flowers of seven colors and a pilgrimage of seven springs, he
dwells on the Javanese habit of leading a life of deep concern.

The experiences of a pilgrimage will never be known until it
has been completed. Completing it entails a process of tracing
ones' own experience of the past and thereby enriching one's
spiritual life.

All the springs -- such as the Spring of the Boar and the
Spring of the Night -- which are located around Pakem are
considered to be holy.

Pilgrims to these springs, writes Sindhunata, usually take
with them a small bottle and at each spring they will collect
some water in a bottle and take it home. In this way, they enrich
their experience with God.

Throughout the book Sindhunata conveys his understanding of
how villagers interpret stories from the Bible.

He draws a parallel between the villagers' hard daily work and
the villagers of Nazareth who worked in their vineyards. "As we
lay in the water looking up at the shining, friendly moon, we
envisioned the hard work villagers must do every day. Wasn't this
also experienced by Mary in her life in Nazareth?"

The stories are far from dull. They instill in the reader a
better understanding of the humanity of small and insignificant
people before God. God's love for His creation has endowed man
with dignity.

Sumur Kitiran Mas under the statue of Virgin Mary has a spot
where Catholics in Pakem go to pray. Here they unburden their
grudges, tell their stories, express their thanks and ask God to
help them with the difficulties of their daily lives.

The well is only a means to help one find God and communicate
with the Creator. The wisdom of life and spiritual wealth will
continue to flow as it always has. Just like the water in the
well, man must come to a final place.

Sindhunata closes the last part of the book, containing 22
stories, with a poem about the Virgin Mary and his journey with
the villagers to find Sumur Kitiran Mas. This is a must-read for
anybody wishing to share in the spiritual wealth and pilgrimage
of rural people.

-- A. Wisnuhardana

The reviewer is an alumnus of Gadjah Mada University and a
researcher at the Forum for Social Studies on Humanities (FKSH),
in Yogyakarta.