Truck mudguard paintings kill drivers' boredom

Truck mudguard paintings kill drivers' boredom

Text and photos by K. Basrie

JAKARTA (JP): Traveling around Indonesia it is common to see
expressive illustrations and phrases adorning the tailgates and
mudguards of trucks.

Women probably hate many of the pictures as they are often
vulgar depictions of female bodies. But it's after reading the
accompanying captions that even a depressed driver could well
burst into laughter. The messages vary widely, with some carrying
religious meanings and others being much coarser expressions.

More often than not, the words are written in improper
Indonesian -- either slang or modified from famous sayings.

Just examine the following examples: Buronan Mertua (Wanted by
Parents-in-law), Kutunggu Jandamu (Waiting for Your Widowhood)
and Pengen Lagi, Sayang (Give Me More, Honey).

Others include Aku Bukan Budak Cinta (I'm Not a Slave of
Love), Putus Duit Biasa, Putus Rem Habislah Nyawa (You're Broke,
it's Common, Your Brakes Fail, You Die) and Deru Roda Ekonomi
(The Roaring of Economic Wheels).

Sometimes, it takes minutes to understand the real message of
the paintings and captions.

A truck bearing the phrase Buronan Mertua, for instance,
was illustrated with a picture of an eerie-looking man wearing a
black costume and holding a black bra on top of a crate of
burning coals. Under the picture, another phrase read Bertindak
Sebelum Ditolak (Take Action Before Being Rejected).

The driver probably wanted to say that he had to perform a
mystical ritual, such as baking the bra of his wife-to-be, to
ensure her parents would accept his offer of marriage.

Dialects

Local dialects are also popular. Messages in the Minangkabau
dialect (from West Sumatra), for example, are found on many
trucks in Jakarta. The sayings include Rinai, Pembasuah Luko
(Rinai, You Solve My Broken Heart) and Palala (Traveler).

An example of a common religious message written in Javanese
is Dongakke Selamet, Le (Pray for My Safety, Son).

Foreign phrases, such as those derived from film titles, have
also become one of the most popular themes among truck drivers,
even though their structure and spelling are at times unorthodox.
Two examples are Free Seks (Free Sex) and Ready For (instead of
To) Kill.

Foreign words are sometimes processed into new phrases which
can often be read by locals only after reading them dozens of
times. One example is Behakumana (Where's My Bra) which is
derived from the Indian film Behakumarri. According to
established grammatical rules, the phrase should be Behaku Mana,
written in two words instead of one.

Besides being decoration for their vehicles, the paintings
also express drivers' attitudes and help while away the boredom
of long journeys, according to several truckers.

"That's why the paintings vary from one truck to another,"
said Sujiwo, a rice truck driver plying the Jakarta-Karawang
(West Java) route.

Generally only drivers of small- and middle-size trucks go for
the paintings, which cost between Rp 15,000 and Rp 75,000 a time,
depending on the size and difficulty of the drawings.

As with most things the illustrations' themes go in trends and
vary from love and sex to home affairs and popular local issues.

In the past the most popular style was to have the portrait of
women in various stages of undress. This has changed as both
truck owners and drivers found the seductive paintings only
brought misfortune on their business and were blamed for causing
accidents.

"Only a few drivers still have their trucks painted with such
immoral drawings," said Iman, a senior driver plying the Sumatra-
Java route.

"Nowadays such drawings are confined to the mudguards."

The illustrations are usually of public figures, including
noted local artists, such as Deasy Ratnasari, Diana Pungky, the
late young singer Nike Ardilla and rock star Iwan Fals. Foreign
icons, such as Sylvester "Rambo" Stallone, Yasser Arafat and
Saddam Hussein, are also among the favorites.

"It's the drivers and the owners who decide the words to be
painted," said Suwarno, alias Buyung, 52, a truck painter at
Pasar Induk Cipinang food center market in East Jakarta.

Mood

"In many cases, the phrases are composed by the drivers based
on their mood and the problems they are facing that particular
day," said Buyung, who has painted thousands of trucks at the
market since 1970.

As with scantily clad women, according to Buyung, many drivers
believe certain phrases cause tragedies.

"Sometimes, young drivers never want to hear or see certain
phrases as they hear their colleagues, who insisted on having
them on their trucks, died in an accident," he said.

Buyung described the deaths of two truck drivers who were
killed in different accidents a few years ago.

The first died instantly after his truck, adorned with Maut
Diambang Senja (Death at Dusk), hit a tree in Bekasi, near
Jakarta, at dusk. The second driver was killed in an accident in
West Java. His truck, bearing the phrase Mpu Gandring, the name
of a famous kris maker in the Majapahit kingdom who was killed by
one of his own weapons.

"I'd told the drivers not to use the phrases because of
similar incidents in the past but none of them obeyed me," Buyung
said. He finally complied with the drivers' wish just to satisfy
them.

"This is not a myth," said Buyung, who draws at least two
trucks per day.

Today, his paintings always include, in small letters, the
words Semoga Selamat (Have a Save Trip).

"All motorists passing the trucks should read them, which
means they will pray for the safety of the drivers," he said.