Traveling through history in verse
Dari Batavia Sampai Jakarta 1616-1999: Peristiwa Sejarah dan Kebudayaan Betawi-Jakarta dalam Sajak (From Batavia to Jakarta 1616-1999: Betawi-Jakarta Historical and Cultural Events in Verse); Zeffry J. Alkatiri; Indonesia Tera, Magelang, 2001; x + 98 pp; Rp 14,000
JAKARTA (JP): This fantastic book consists of 45 poems by Zeffry J. Alkatiri, taking readers through the history of the capital.
The first section of the book details the Dutch colonial period in Indonesia from 1616 to 1942. The second spans the years 1943 to 1965, covering the Japanese occupation and the first two decades of the Republic of Indonesia, which ended with a failed coup blamed on the now banned Indonesian Communist Party (PKI). The final section of the book covers the years 1966 to 1999, which includes the entirety of the New Order era, which ended with the fall of Soeharto in May 1998 and the beginning of the reform era.
These poems are flashes of past events that are unrolled to form a historical mosaic of the capital. The book starts with the Dutch turning Jacatra little by little into Batavia. Zeffry writes: Every day, one centimeter at a time/cubit by cubit/with all certainty/the tall Major/filled Jacatra swamps and turned them/into Kastil Batavia. (p.3)
Another poem, Amsterdam - Batavia, tells how the Dutch greedily and violently devoured the spices in its new colony: Balls of fire echoed in Tidore,/Ternate, Banda and Ambone./They uprooted trees/ and loaded them into their vessels./Spices were turned into:/Church walls and minarets/Jails/City Halls/Highways/Palaces/And Club Concordia. (p.6)
The first section of the book ends with Good-bye Juliana!, a poem that begins with a depiction of the festive mood of the residents of Jakarta, which vanished as "A flag with the big red ball in the middle was being hoisted in the yard./Good-bye princess, good-bye .../Good-bye voor de oorlog/And please be seated ....?/Vaguely from Tangki Lio/Pinangsia/Small children were marching/singing: Red and white flag/tied round the head/the Dutch leave/Indonesia is free ...!" (p.24)
A new era had arrived: The period of Japanese occupation.
The second section of the book begins with a poem about the flight of the Dutch colonial rulers: Because Hermes in Harmonie/Has had his legs chained/His eyes blindfolded/His wings let free/Good-bye! (p. 27). The next poem, Djakarta, March 24, 1945, gives a detailed account of what happened on this day from 8:32 a.m. to 9:15 p.m. These events depict the cruelty of the Japanese occupational forces and the great hardships Indonesians suffered: Black Christians keep their Bibles close to their chests, three geisha leave the Japanese military compound with their barter of rice, salted fish and sugar, some young men, with heads shaven bald, march toward the "gate of hell" to the tune of Kimigayo, the Japanese national anthem and a long line forms in front of a Japanese warehouse, with people, including children with "wind-filled" bellies, who wait and scramble for canned food.
Four poems follow the early days of the Republic of Indonesia. The rest of the second section of the book dwells on unique and legendary figures and objects in Jakarta, children's games peculiar to the city and also the unique culture of the capital. We become acquainted with Mat Item, the Robin Hood of the Betawi people in times gone by (Betawi is the name for the indigenous people of Jakarta), and the Habib, or Muslim preachers of Arabic origin.
The book's final section begins with the situation after the failed coup known as the September 30 Movement. Following this are poems about developments in Jakarta that were largely initiated by governor Ali Sadikin in the 1970s.
Jakarta is today a city where "At the doors of city buses/A thousand feet are struggling to get in/A thousand hands are hanging/... Human beings move/Around/Doors of city buses." (p.69)
There are also poems to record what happened to students when they demonstrated against Japanese products in 1974 and when they took to the streets in 1998 to protest the convening of a special session of the People's Consultative Assembly. The bloody May riots of 1998, in which students lost their lives, many women were raped and fires destroyed hundreds of buildings are also covered. These events were certainly a tragedy, but they benefited looters and according to one poem, the media: In one editor's room/... secretly some writers/greedily scrambled for and ate up/their favorite menu:/sorrow, bitterness, blood,/ And ... defeat. (p. 84)
The book closes with a poem about what Jakarta is like today: Divided into a number of unofficial zones, each with their own requirements you must fulfill before you enter. But then, if you want to enter a Betawi home, just say Assalamuallaikum! (p. 97), a Muslim greeting meaning "Peace be unto you".
Zeffry, a Russian literature graduate of the University of Indonesia, believes that whatever changes have been introduced to Jakarta and no matter how many ethnic or racial groups now make up the population of the capital, the Betawi remain unique with their open hospitality.
On the whole, this book, which won the Best Poetry Award 2000 from the Jakarta Arts Council, paints a unique picture of the development Jakarta has undergone to date. Zeffry uses plain language but manipulates it so that his words, ordinary as they are, are rhythmical. His metaphors are also fresh, a few examples being, "The sun sticks out its tongue", "half-circular steel supports shake hands with each other" and "the cry of iron steel".
As there are a number of Dutch words in the poems, a glossary would have been useful. And one small thing has escaped the attention of the editor: The front and back covers refer to 1616- 1999, while the title page and the page about the author refer to 1619-1999.
-- Lie Hua
The reviewer teaches at the Department of English, School of Letters, National University in Jakarta.