The `game of twisting words' is Yogyakarta's local sport

By Mochtar Buchori

JAKARTA (JP): I visited Yogyakarta recently and, being on vacation, I had ample time for myself. I visited old friends and two of my cousins who have never lived outside the city. They are still true Yogyanese in every respect.

One attribute I admire and enjoy about true Yogyanese is their wit and humor. They are very resourceful in playing with words. Through imaginative manipulations they twist words, phrases, sentences or sometimes even an entire verse, to give an existing expression a totally different meaning or connotation.

The beauty of these twists is that each time they lead us to an encounter with a cognitive surprise. This is a mental game called plesedan, meaning literally "(the game of) sliding". In daily life it means "the game of making others skid mentally."

One simple example is the following. When you approach the city of Yogyakarta from the local airport, at one stoplight on your right side, you will see a billboard with the following message: "The Best Karaoke in Town, Karo Aku" .

Here the Japanese word karaoke is twisted in pronunciation, and becomes karo aku, a Javanese expression meaning "being with me". It is thus possible to infer that this advertisement suggests the following message, "The best entertainment (karaoke) in town is to be with me." This technique is called pronunciation twist.

Another technique of this game is extending an existing expression with new phrases which contain quite different meanings. One such twist I have learned from a friend is:

Nglurug tanpa bala (Going to war without an army).

Menang tanpa ngasorake (Achieving victory without defeating anyone).

Sugih tanpa banda (Feeling rich without material possession).

If I am not mistaken, this classic teaching advises us to fight against the ill wills within ourselves to become a better person. If we engage ourselves in this kind of struggle, then we are fighting a war against ourselves where we need no army. If we succeed, then we achieve victory without defeating anyone. What we defeat is the negative aspects within ourselves. As a result we will feel rich spiritually, without having to accumulate material possessions.

My friend told me that some cynics have added to this expression new lines, purporting to express the new realities within our society, but containing meanings which are quite contradictory to the message contained in the original expression. This new addition is as follows:

Sarjana tanpa wiyata ([Claiming to be] A scholar without ever going to college).

Kuwasa tanpa prabawa (Acquiring power without ability to inspire respect).

Ngendika tanpa panggrahita (Talking without thinking).

Meres tanpa deduga (Exploiting others without consideration).

The latest creation I have learned about this game is rather political. Again, it is based on one classic expression, advocating a wisdom. The original expression advises us to be firm in our moral commitments, always mindful and vigilant in facing temptations that can lead us to vicious behavior. The cynics have added to it a new line through which they mean to express their cynicism in a humorous way.

Amenangi jaman edan (Living in a crazy age).

Ewuh aya ing pambudi (Facing a very difficult choice).

Melu edan ora tahan (Want to act crazy like the others, but conscience forbids).

Ora edan ora keduman (But if you do not act crazy, you will never get your share).

Sabegja-begjane sing edan (No matter how fortunate a crazy person may be).

Isih begja sing eling lan waspada (More fortunate are those who are always mindful and vigilant).

The original expression ends here. To this expression a new line has been added, one version of which reads:

Luwih begja maneh sing ... edan ning waspada (But most fortunate are those who are ... crazy but vigilant).

Another version of this new line reads as follows,

Mulakna kuwi edana disik, terus eling lan waspada (Hence be crazy first, and become mindful and vigilant later on).

I felt very refreshed mentally the moment I heard this narration.

The writer is rector of Muhammadiyah University, Jakarta.