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.