KAMPONG KID MAKES GOOD IN BONDI © 2007 Duncan Graham
It seems to be a particular Western hang-up, this need to label, compartmentise, catalogue.
However slippery the concept Europeans think creativity needs to separated, trapped and stuffed in a box: This is ART, over there is MUSIC and somewhere under the pile is DANCE. All under the rubric of CULTURE.
For those ineradicably infected by this disease the work of East Java artist Jumaadi fits nicely into the slot marked NAÏVE. But for this kampong kid there's no such pigeonhole. Only reluctantly does he offer INNOCENT.
Hardly. SURREALISM looks more appropriate, but we'll let his version stand before this story gets too esoteric and indigestible.
"This is my sub-conscious - the place I can visit only in my paintings," he said after launching an exhibition of his work at the French consulate in Surabaya called Alam Buatan (artificial nature). Around the walls were ghostly cows, two-dimensional figures with both eyes on the same side, phantom angels breathing spirit into mortals and checkerboard collages.
"Others need alcohol and drugs to find that space. I do it through art. At times I achieve bliss."
In his homeland there's no great appreciation of Jumaadi's work. If you buy paintings by the square meter and like horses in the surf and perky-bosomed maidens shouldering earthenware, Jumaadi is not your man.
Followers of contemporary art will see he's working at the edge of the medium, teetering sometimes as the cliff crumbles and the onlooker loses her or his hold on the artist's complex emotion-charged ideas.
But back in Sydney where he lives with his Aussie wife Siobhan Campbell the lad from Sidoarjo seems to be a discovery of the decade. He's been winning substantial prizes, selling through the galleries where patrons who ask 'how much?' soon know they're in the wrong place, and generally being a one-man ambassador for the archipelago.
At a time when relations between the Lucky Country and the Islands of Awful Disasters are bouncing around the floor of the Arafura Sea, Jumaadi is giving any Okker who'll hearken another view of Indonesia.
When not exhibiting he tours backblock schools (80 last year) to yarn about activities in his village where the divisions at the top of this story don't exist, and beautiful objects like rice straw puppets can be woven as a pastime using commonplace materials.
He explains that in Java someone can be an artist and a farmer – creating because that's an expression of their soul, not necessarily to raise cash. They might craft alone or, more likely, with others, work all night or dip in and out. Myths and magics, history and the present, fantasy and fact all blend into life.
For his services to international understanding Jumaadi ought to be put on the payroll of some Indonesian government Department for Dispelling Nasty Thoughts about Neighbors – though that's impossible. He's just a bit too much of his own man – a bloke who has found his way so far in a hit-and-miss fashion - and he isn't going to let those precious discoveries be neutered by mealy-mouthed diplomacy.
Jumaadi was born in 1973, the son of a farmer with a bit of paddy and a few prawn ponds in the village of Pecantingan at the edge of Sidoarjo. He seems to have spent much of his youth looking for ways to express himself without having to winnow rice and clean crustaceans.
"I tried a lot of things, and I failed a lot of the time," he said. "I wasn't thinking of being an artist – I was more interested in words."
He liked to write poetry and short stories, wrapped his tongue around English and developed a gift for the gab. He headed for Yogya where he sold jewelry on the sidewalks and chatted to anyone who stopped to sample. Many were Westerners.
He also spent time with art mates at Seloliman, the East Java environmental education project near Mojokerto set up by visionary conservator Suryo Prawiroatmodjo where they planned an art center. The idea was stillborn at that location, but has been brought to life at Pecantingan on the family farm in a converted 19th century Javanese timber house.
Also in Yogya and at Gadjah Made University was Siobhan, one of the Australian Consortium for In-Country Indonesian Studies top students, later to become an accredited translator working for the United Nations in Timor Leste.
In the days before the Kuta killings and the explosion of distrust it wasn't too difficult for Jumaadi to move to Australia where he's been granted permanent residence. The couple have set up home in the Sydney seaside suburb of Bondi – and you can't get a more Australian address than that.
After a bit more knocking about with poetry, paintings, (including visiting the continent's Dead Center to look at Aboriginal desert art), plus working in a potato chip factory, Jumaadi got into Sydney's National Art School.
"I was really happy I did that," he said. "Suddenly I knew this was what it was about. Before it had all been dreams. Everything started to make sense."
He graduated with a fine arts degree and is now working on his master's thesis titled Mapping Memory. And painting. He gets back to Java for about two months every year for a creative refresher.
Jumaadi's work has the feel of Marc Chagall, the 20 th century Russian-Jewish painter famous for his airborne Eiffel Towers, flying cows and fiddlers on the roof. It's a connection the Javanese doesn't deny.
Like Chagall, Jumaadi turns to his religion (in this case Islam), the holy books, the lives of villagers, the cycle of rural life, the oral histories and natural things for inspiration and interpretation.
"A lot of my work is autobiographical and the search for identity, looking for my cultural roots," he said. "I think that everything in nature has a soul.
"Metaphors are important for me. I'm always searching for the perfect shape. I like to think of this as poetry. (His shapes tend to be a wavy-lined oblong, a sort of thought-bubble that might contain ethereal matter.)
"I paint small because that's a personal thing, like a wallet, something special, like a gift. I'm not interested in overwhelming people. You can see the power of God through the sublime."
(First published in The Jakarta Post 30 Jan 07)
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FAITH IN INDONESIA
The shape of the world a generation from now will be influenced far more by how we communicate the values of our society to others than by military or diplomatic superiority. William Fulbright, 1964
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Saturday, January 27, 2007
MOHAMMED KOESNAN
THERE'S MONEY IN MILK, BOUNTY IN BLOOMS © Duncan Graham 2007
Local and overseas investors should add rural interests to their portfolios to slow the urban drift, boost the economy of country towns and help educate and employ local people.
Plus get a decent return, and enjoy a better lifestyle, according to Mohammed Koesnan, head of one of Indonesia's most successful cooperatives.
"Too much money is going into city developments," he said. "Many have a blinkered view of rural Indonesia. They're overlooking the opportunities to be found in the hinterland.
"Farm produce is part of the chain of life. Quality food helps build our children's health and intellect so they can better cope with the future. That will benefit us all. I don't think money should be the number one motive."
For a man who hasn't been driven by profit Koesnan has done better than most who've made amassing cash their goal.
In 2005 he was given a presidential medal for his pioneering skills in making an East Java cooperative one of the most progressive in the Republic. Last year his work was recognized by the Indonesian Livestock Industry with a national award.
Appropriate, for in the past decade he's imported 5,000 dairy cattle from Western Australia (WA) and Victoria. The ambition has been to lift milk production and quality throughout Java, but particularly around Nongkojajar in East Java.
This is a village on the western slopes of Mount Bromo, 2,000 metres above sea level and about 80 kilometers southeast of Surabaya. It has long been a major dairy center and its dominant building is the milk factory. But till recently animal husbandry and processing systems have been primitive.
Now the Setia Kawan (loyal friend) Cooperative has an Ultra-High Treatment (UHT) plant producing packaged milk for the local market and export to South East Asian countries. It runs 24 hours a day and takes milk from five other cooperatives.
The Co-op has also built a model dairy using modern milking machines and an udder-to-vat piping system to avoid contamination. The idea is to encourage farmers to upgrade. Workshops on cattle feeding and hygiene are held most weekends.
The big changes started in 1992 when Koesnan was part of an Indonesian farmers' group that visited WA. On dairy properties he was astonished to learn that big-bodied Friesians were producing up to 40 litres of milk a day – more than four times the yield of Indonesian cows.
He bought a few pregnant Aussie heifers, but at first they didn't adjust well to the Indonesian way of doing things. With land scarce, cows in Nongkojajar are stabled and grass brought to them. The newcomers were used to broadacre grazing and ample exercise at lower altitudes.
An Australian vet was brought in; he advised supplementary dry foods. So a factory has been built to supply this need using waste products from wheat milling. The cattle are now thriving and producing around 30 litres a day.
Koesnan was also surprised on his WA visit to meet potato growers who budgeted for yields of up to 70 tonnes per hectare compared with an East Java average of 15 tonnes.
In 2000 he imported one container of Australian seed potatoes. Three years later he was bringing in ten containers, and although numbers have dropped as farmers have nurtured their own seeds, he is still buying from WA.
Together with local farmers he has 300 hectares under cultivation, with the potatoes mainly sold to factories producing chips and crisps.
"We have limited space in the mountains so it's important that we learn how to produce more using the resources that are available," he said.
"The Co-op has 12,000 dairy cattle. This year I hope we'll be able to increase numbers by 850. This area has the capacity to run 15,000 cows. We need a lot more milk."
Despite his honors Koesnan prefers to keep his head below the skyline – which is difficult when he is such a standout corporate success.
He doesn't speak English so has relied on his instincts to judge character when dealing with Australians. He likes to do business direct, farmer-to-farmer, stay on properties and meet families. Despite the vast cultural difference he says he's found few problems.
He's sent his sons to study agriculture in NZ so they'll be aware of modern trends and be fluent in the international language.
His office is modest and has none of the show-off trappings normally associated with big business. He is particularly keen to get mid-level investors into agriculture and claims opportunities lie in supplying local markets.
Fresh and UHT milk consumption in Indonesia is increasing by one or two per cent every year. Although this sounds small, the quantities are huge when measured against the population.
Before the UHT plant was built the Setia Kawan Co-op sold milk to other companies for powdered milk manufacture. Indonesians have long favored this product for kitchen use and baby formula, while in most other countries fresh milk is preferred.
The lack of refrigerated transport and domestic fridges has been a principal factor. Now more households are getting used to the benefits of liquid milk.
"Future prospects look good," said Koesnan. "This year I'll bring in apple trees from WA to improve local stocks and grow different varieties better suited to changing tastes. I'm also importing tropical vegetable seeds, including capsicums.
"There's a strong demand for cut flowers and plants, with the market seeking new blooms. We're now looking at varieties from South Africa and New Zealand which have a much longer shelf life.
"There are openings for agricultural tourism facilities. As the stress of city living increases more people want to savor country lifestyles. Homestays and retreats are becoming popular.
"I urge Indonesian business people to travel widely and see what other countries are doing. I'd like to see joint ventures between local people and foreigners. We welcome them."
(First published in The Jakarta Post 26 January 2007)
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Local and overseas investors should add rural interests to their portfolios to slow the urban drift, boost the economy of country towns and help educate and employ local people.
Plus get a decent return, and enjoy a better lifestyle, according to Mohammed Koesnan, head of one of Indonesia's most successful cooperatives.
"Too much money is going into city developments," he said. "Many have a blinkered view of rural Indonesia. They're overlooking the opportunities to be found in the hinterland.
"Farm produce is part of the chain of life. Quality food helps build our children's health and intellect so they can better cope with the future. That will benefit us all. I don't think money should be the number one motive."
For a man who hasn't been driven by profit Koesnan has done better than most who've made amassing cash their goal.
In 2005 he was given a presidential medal for his pioneering skills in making an East Java cooperative one of the most progressive in the Republic. Last year his work was recognized by the Indonesian Livestock Industry with a national award.
Appropriate, for in the past decade he's imported 5,000 dairy cattle from Western Australia (WA) and Victoria. The ambition has been to lift milk production and quality throughout Java, but particularly around Nongkojajar in East Java.
This is a village on the western slopes of Mount Bromo, 2,000 metres above sea level and about 80 kilometers southeast of Surabaya. It has long been a major dairy center and its dominant building is the milk factory. But till recently animal husbandry and processing systems have been primitive.
Now the Setia Kawan (loyal friend) Cooperative has an Ultra-High Treatment (UHT) plant producing packaged milk for the local market and export to South East Asian countries. It runs 24 hours a day and takes milk from five other cooperatives.
The Co-op has also built a model dairy using modern milking machines and an udder-to-vat piping system to avoid contamination. The idea is to encourage farmers to upgrade. Workshops on cattle feeding and hygiene are held most weekends.
The big changes started in 1992 when Koesnan was part of an Indonesian farmers' group that visited WA. On dairy properties he was astonished to learn that big-bodied Friesians were producing up to 40 litres of milk a day – more than four times the yield of Indonesian cows.
He bought a few pregnant Aussie heifers, but at first they didn't adjust well to the Indonesian way of doing things. With land scarce, cows in Nongkojajar are stabled and grass brought to them. The newcomers were used to broadacre grazing and ample exercise at lower altitudes.
An Australian vet was brought in; he advised supplementary dry foods. So a factory has been built to supply this need using waste products from wheat milling. The cattle are now thriving and producing around 30 litres a day.
Koesnan was also surprised on his WA visit to meet potato growers who budgeted for yields of up to 70 tonnes per hectare compared with an East Java average of 15 tonnes.
In 2000 he imported one container of Australian seed potatoes. Three years later he was bringing in ten containers, and although numbers have dropped as farmers have nurtured their own seeds, he is still buying from WA.
Together with local farmers he has 300 hectares under cultivation, with the potatoes mainly sold to factories producing chips and crisps.
"We have limited space in the mountains so it's important that we learn how to produce more using the resources that are available," he said.
"The Co-op has 12,000 dairy cattle. This year I hope we'll be able to increase numbers by 850. This area has the capacity to run 15,000 cows. We need a lot more milk."
Despite his honors Koesnan prefers to keep his head below the skyline – which is difficult when he is such a standout corporate success.
He doesn't speak English so has relied on his instincts to judge character when dealing with Australians. He likes to do business direct, farmer-to-farmer, stay on properties and meet families. Despite the vast cultural difference he says he's found few problems.
He's sent his sons to study agriculture in NZ so they'll be aware of modern trends and be fluent in the international language.
His office is modest and has none of the show-off trappings normally associated with big business. He is particularly keen to get mid-level investors into agriculture and claims opportunities lie in supplying local markets.
Fresh and UHT milk consumption in Indonesia is increasing by one or two per cent every year. Although this sounds small, the quantities are huge when measured against the population.
Before the UHT plant was built the Setia Kawan Co-op sold milk to other companies for powdered milk manufacture. Indonesians have long favored this product for kitchen use and baby formula, while in most other countries fresh milk is preferred.
The lack of refrigerated transport and domestic fridges has been a principal factor. Now more households are getting used to the benefits of liquid milk.
"Future prospects look good," said Koesnan. "This year I'll bring in apple trees from WA to improve local stocks and grow different varieties better suited to changing tastes. I'm also importing tropical vegetable seeds, including capsicums.
"There's a strong demand for cut flowers and plants, with the market seeking new blooms. We're now looking at varieties from South Africa and New Zealand which have a much longer shelf life.
"There are openings for agricultural tourism facilities. As the stress of city living increases more people want to savor country lifestyles. Homestays and retreats are becoming popular.
"I urge Indonesian business people to travel widely and see what other countries are doing. I'd like to see joint ventures between local people and foreigners. We welcome them."
(First published in The Jakarta Post 26 January 2007)
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JOHAN WAHYUDI
PLAYING FOR THE GLORY, NOT THE GAINS © Duncan Graham 2007
Is there a better way to deflect young people from drugs, idleness and dissolute lifestyles?
Johan Wahyudi reckons there's nothing quite like badminton for keeping the kids out of the discos and away from television. It would be good to add to those examples the standard cliché about 'keeping them off the streets'; but sadly that's the only place many can use to whack their shuttlecocks.
"There's a serious lack of facilities," said the badminton legend at his home in Malang. "There aren't enough clubs, funds and sponsors. The government doesn't have enough money."
In 1974 Wahyudi and his partner Tjuntjun won the All England Men's Doubles at London's Wembley Stadium, a feat they repeated in 1975 and again in 1977.
These were the golden years of Indonesian badminton, when a few dedicated youngsters were putting their homeland on the international sporting map.
A photograph at the time shows two strapping blokes holding their trophy and bottles of bubbly, looking just a little feral but quietly proud. No fist waving, no company logos, no tantrums.
They'd just shaken hands with Queen Elizabeth (whose geographical knowledge of Indonesia during the brief chat apparently ended with Bali) and they were the heroes of the Republic.
On their return they were summoned to the home of Adam Malik. The foreign minister later to become vice president commented that when he visited villages few locals knew who he was, while all were familiar with the badminton superstars.
There was a minor slump in trophy counts during the 1980s, but national pride got a boost in the early 1990s. Since then it has been mainly downhill – and the timing seems to match the economic crash.
Wahyudi now scratches his head and wonders where and why it has all gone so wrong. Is it lack of cash or will power?
Last year (06) Indonesia won only 14 titles from 11 of 22 tournaments run by the World Badminton Federation, well eclipsed by China at the All England – the most prestigious event on the shuttler's circuit.
In the Asian Games Indonesia won a gold, silver and two bronze medals. But overall things aren't looking too good for next year's Beijing Olympics, despite lots of rhetoric about planned hard work and new development programs.
Wahyudi was one of the players dubbed the Magnificent Seven by an awestruck media. Their skills on the world's courts during the 1970s gave them the stellar status now enjoyed by TV sinetron (soapie) stars.
They are all still alive: Tjuntjun, Wahyudi's partner for 11 years, Rudy Hartono, (an eight-times All England winner, now in Australia), Liem Swie King, Iie Sumirat, Christian Hadinata (now doubles coordinator for the Indonesian Badminton Association), and Ade Chandra.
"We played for the red and white (Indonesian flag), not for money," said Wahyudi. "The government made us very conscious of our national responsibilities. We were a former colonial country beating our old European masters!
"Yet we were all amateurs getting minimal sponsorship – no money, just clothing, travel, food and accommodation. I had to take time off from my business to compete.
"And we were also playing for the Chinese community in Indonesia which gave us a lot of support."
(Ethnic Chinese have long dominated Indonesian badminton. Scholars overseas have linked Chinese sporting success with improved treatment of the minority during the Soeharto era.)
After their first big wins Adam Malik gave Wahyudi and Tjuntjun Rp 2.5 million each. At the time this was equal to US $1200 – now it's worth less than a quarter of that sum.
Today top prize money for international events can reach US $200,000 (Rp 1.8 trillion).
"I've seen the way other countries nurture their sportspeople with scholarships, prize money and facilities," Wahyudi said. "We have nothing like that. We desperately need big sponsors.
"There was a different attitude back in the 70s. We were absolutely disciplined. There were no government guarantees – we only knew about the flag.
"Players today don't think about the nation. They're arrogant and only consider self. We were proud for our country, not for ourselves. What was the highlight win? All those years were highlights.
"At one stage I was offered US $5,000 (Rp 45 million) to train in Switzerland. On another occasion I could have gone to South Korea where I was promised everything.
"I refused. I wanted to stay in Indonesia and play for Indonesia."
Wahyudi, now a fit 54-year old, started playing badminton when he was six with the encouragement of his father. Though he retired from the international circuit in 1982 he's a regular on the badminton and tennis courts with friends. He has a timber business in Sulawesi.
"Let me give you an example of our determination," he said. "Just before the finals at one All England championship Tjuntjun became sick with back problems and a swollen foot. He was in such pain he wanted to pull out.
"I prayed for him and we met an Indian doctor who gave him an injection. I had to carry him on my back to the court. He found the strength to play and we won. Then he collapsed. He had to go through the airport in a wheelchair.
"The discipline has to be mental and physical. In a healthy body you have a healthy mind.
"Badminton is an intellectual and athletic exercise. You need talent and the ability to concentrate. I think people were fitter in the old days. We should be giving sport a high priority in schools. It's a great alternative to drugs."
(First published in The Jakarta Post 25 January 2007)
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Is there a better way to deflect young people from drugs, idleness and dissolute lifestyles?
Johan Wahyudi reckons there's nothing quite like badminton for keeping the kids out of the discos and away from television. It would be good to add to those examples the standard cliché about 'keeping them off the streets'; but sadly that's the only place many can use to whack their shuttlecocks.
"There's a serious lack of facilities," said the badminton legend at his home in Malang. "There aren't enough clubs, funds and sponsors. The government doesn't have enough money."
In 1974 Wahyudi and his partner Tjuntjun won the All England Men's Doubles at London's Wembley Stadium, a feat they repeated in 1975 and again in 1977.
These were the golden years of Indonesian badminton, when a few dedicated youngsters were putting their homeland on the international sporting map.
A photograph at the time shows two strapping blokes holding their trophy and bottles of bubbly, looking just a little feral but quietly proud. No fist waving, no company logos, no tantrums.
They'd just shaken hands with Queen Elizabeth (whose geographical knowledge of Indonesia during the brief chat apparently ended with Bali) and they were the heroes of the Republic.
On their return they were summoned to the home of Adam Malik. The foreign minister later to become vice president commented that when he visited villages few locals knew who he was, while all were familiar with the badminton superstars.
There was a minor slump in trophy counts during the 1980s, but national pride got a boost in the early 1990s. Since then it has been mainly downhill – and the timing seems to match the economic crash.
Wahyudi now scratches his head and wonders where and why it has all gone so wrong. Is it lack of cash or will power?
Last year (06) Indonesia won only 14 titles from 11 of 22 tournaments run by the World Badminton Federation, well eclipsed by China at the All England – the most prestigious event on the shuttler's circuit.
In the Asian Games Indonesia won a gold, silver and two bronze medals. But overall things aren't looking too good for next year's Beijing Olympics, despite lots of rhetoric about planned hard work and new development programs.
Wahyudi was one of the players dubbed the Magnificent Seven by an awestruck media. Their skills on the world's courts during the 1970s gave them the stellar status now enjoyed by TV sinetron (soapie) stars.
They are all still alive: Tjuntjun, Wahyudi's partner for 11 years, Rudy Hartono, (an eight-times All England winner, now in Australia), Liem Swie King, Iie Sumirat, Christian Hadinata (now doubles coordinator for the Indonesian Badminton Association), and Ade Chandra.
"We played for the red and white (Indonesian flag), not for money," said Wahyudi. "The government made us very conscious of our national responsibilities. We were a former colonial country beating our old European masters!
"Yet we were all amateurs getting minimal sponsorship – no money, just clothing, travel, food and accommodation. I had to take time off from my business to compete.
"And we were also playing for the Chinese community in Indonesia which gave us a lot of support."
(Ethnic Chinese have long dominated Indonesian badminton. Scholars overseas have linked Chinese sporting success with improved treatment of the minority during the Soeharto era.)
After their first big wins Adam Malik gave Wahyudi and Tjuntjun Rp 2.5 million each. At the time this was equal to US $1200 – now it's worth less than a quarter of that sum.
Today top prize money for international events can reach US $200,000 (Rp 1.8 trillion).
"I've seen the way other countries nurture their sportspeople with scholarships, prize money and facilities," Wahyudi said. "We have nothing like that. We desperately need big sponsors.
"There was a different attitude back in the 70s. We were absolutely disciplined. There were no government guarantees – we only knew about the flag.
"Players today don't think about the nation. They're arrogant and only consider self. We were proud for our country, not for ourselves. What was the highlight win? All those years were highlights.
"At one stage I was offered US $5,000 (Rp 45 million) to train in Switzerland. On another occasion I could have gone to South Korea where I was promised everything.
"I refused. I wanted to stay in Indonesia and play for Indonesia."
Wahyudi, now a fit 54-year old, started playing badminton when he was six with the encouragement of his father. Though he retired from the international circuit in 1982 he's a regular on the badminton and tennis courts with friends. He has a timber business in Sulawesi.
"Let me give you an example of our determination," he said. "Just before the finals at one All England championship Tjuntjun became sick with back problems and a swollen foot. He was in such pain he wanted to pull out.
"I prayed for him and we met an Indian doctor who gave him an injection. I had to carry him on my back to the court. He found the strength to play and we won. Then he collapsed. He had to go through the airport in a wheelchair.
"The discipline has to be mental and physical. In a healthy body you have a healthy mind.
"Badminton is an intellectual and athletic exercise. You need talent and the ability to concentrate. I think people were fitter in the old days. We should be giving sport a high priority in schools. It's a great alternative to drugs."
(First published in The Jakarta Post 25 January 2007)
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Sunday, January 21, 2007
MERLYN SOPJAN - MISS TRANSSEXUAL INDONESIA
Merlyn Sopjan
A SPORTING WAY TO FIGHT DISCRIMINATION © Duncan Graham 2007
Malang in East Java is a leafy university town that likes to present itself as a cool city in terms of climate and lifestyle. Now it has a new tag that’s far from welcome – HIV Central. Duncan Graham reports:
Most Monday afternoons in the heart of Malang a curious crowd gathers at the local stadium to watch volleyball.
The games are played in the open close by a major road, so it’s an easy event to access. Prop your wheels under the trees, sit down with your mates, light up and catch the action. Yet most onlookers seem indifferent to the fine points of the game.
Their interest is the 20 or so players and it’s not always admiration for athletic skill that’s the drawcard. Instead there’s much snickering and nudge-nudge winking among the watchers focusing on the players’ tight shorts, their hairy legs and bumping bosoms.
For these athletes are transsexuals and if they care a damn that the crowds are there as voyeurs then they’re not going to give anyone a rise through recognition. This is the game with no shame.
When the final whistle blows the tables are turned. The teams run to the fence and distribute brochures to the red-faced pseudo-fans before they can kick-start an escape. The pamphlets warn of the dangers of contracting Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS).
The players also hand out free condoms. Their particular targets are the middle-aged men who appear to be good family fellows and upright citizens, yet who somehow find time to gawk at a flesh-show on a working weekday.
“This tends to be the group that visits prostitutes but is reluctant to use condoms because they think it’s not manly, or it’s like wearing clothes while having sex,” said organizer Merlyn Sopjan. “They only think of condoms as contraceptives, not as prophylactics.
“They catch a disease and pass it on to their wife or partner who leads a monogamous life. This is the second major way that HIV is getting into the community. The first is through intravenous drug users shooting up with shared and dirty needles.
“East Java is now second only to Jakarta for the number of infected people. We’ve even overtaken Papua. Most victims are in Surabaya, but Malang is the next center.”
Merlyn is Indonesia’s current Putri Waria (Miss Transsexual) and her job till mid 2007 is to tour the country and spread the safe sex message. When she’s addressing a sophisticated and sympathetic audience that’s no great problem.
The difficulty comes in trying to reach the closed minds, those who think that sexually transmitted diseases are a Western affliction and have nothing to do with them. These are the walnut-hearts who condemn campaigners like Merlyn for allegedly encouraging promiscuity.
Critics beware; she may look demure, even delicate. She’s slim and pretty – there’s nothing butch about her figure - but this is one unfazed activist with a husky voice.
Merlyn handles criticism with straight-talk, eyeballing questioners, refusing to accept that keeping people ignorant is a proper way to cope with a serious public health issue. In one TV talk show she took audience questions without flinching, even the smutty ones about which public toilet she uses. (A woman’s, of course.)
Nor is she prepared to apologize for her situation or be coy. “God isn’t running a factory,” she said. “Humans can make mistakes, but God can’t.
“There’s a reason for people like me. If you say I’m not perfect you are criticizing God. Who’s normal? I don’t want to be treated as though I’ve got a handicap.
“I’m a Christian and I’ve never experienced discrimination in church. I’m not judged.
“Every human being has a function and purpose in life. I’m a happy transsexual – I never rebel against God.”
An Indonesian male transsexual (See sidebar) is faced with blunt choices; either she tries to hide her feelings and behave as a man – difficult in a society where close living is the norm and secrets hard to hide - or she comes out and flaunts her sexuality, staring down the tut-tutters, daring them to condemn.
Which is why so many chose to work as entertainers, as if to say: ‘If you want to leer then you can bloody well pay for it!’
“Transsexuals are better tolerated in Thailand than Indonesia where we’re still considered, like, ‘wow, look at that!‘ and sexually harassed,” said Merlyn.
“Apart from the safe-sex message I’m also pushing for transsexuals to be recognized as full Indonesian citizens, with a place in society equal to anyone else. We want the opportunity to work in ordinary jobs, to use our talents like other people.
“Public rejection is the reason so many turn to prostitution.”
Merlyn seems to have escaped some of the anguish experienced by so many transsexuals and which result in a high rate of suicide. She was born a boy in Kediri (East Java) in 1973 and no one suspected that her gender interests were different.
Instead her family attributed her feminine behavior to her status as the last child, pampered and spoilt by doting relatives.
When it later became clear she was a woman trapped in a male body she was backed by her family, even though she described her now deceased parents as “traditional, conservative Javanese.”
“I could not be doing my job as a public advocate if my family wasn’t behind me,” she said. “My father came from nothing and worked hard all his life to succeed as a businessman. I will do the same.
“I’ve learned how to become tough. There’s no role model for a person like me. I don’t want one. I have to make my own way.”
After school she studied civil engineering at the Malang National Institute of Technology expecting to be employed in the family contracting business, but instead turned to advocacy.
Three years ago in a bid to assert the rights of transsexuals she sought election as mayor of Malang. Her application was rejected by bureaucrats claiming her nomination was received too late, though Merlyn thinks there was another agenda.
Nonetheless she got the publicity, and most was positive. “I didn’t really want to be mayor,” she said. “I did this to show we're just as capable as anyone else in making a contribution to society.
“Many people have suggested I move to Jakarta and the big scene. But I’m happy here with all my networks. I wouldn’t want to have to start again.”
She’s the case manager in a Malang hospital, working on an internationally funded campaign to raise awareness of AIDS, and help keep those with the disease active in society. Retroviral drugs that control – but don’t cure – the disease are free, but the treatment isn’t.
The project is administered by the Health Department that chose to outsource the work through the local Association of Transsexuals which Merlyn chairs. There are at least 580 known HIV positive cases in the city of less than one million, with 15 part-time carers giving advice and encouraging the worried to get a blood test.
Apart from spreading information, another benefit of the public volleyball games is that men and women wracked with the problems of expressing their gender can meet others who face similar challenges.
In Jakarta and Surabaya most homosexuals, lesbians and transsexuals meet in hotel bars, usually up-market hangouts where the cost of a drink would buy a kampong family a week’s meals. There’s no discotheque in Malang for those with different sexual preferences.
There’s often great rivalry between gay men, transsexuals and lesbians and little cooperation in the campaign for pubic understanding and tolerance.
“Gays tend to see themselves as superior,” Merlyn said. “The Lesbians here are very private. I’m trying to get us to work more closely – we suffer the same problems of stigma and discrimination. We can make a better life for all if we’re together.
“We are leading in the public health campaign because AIDS was first identified in the homosexual community in Bali back in the 1980s. Others were in a state of denial, so the gays had to do their own research.
“Malang has such a big HIV problem because it’s a university city, drawing students from all across the country. There’s a lot of drug use, but the police are opposed to harm reduction programs operating overseas, like clean needle exchange and teaching users how to sterilize equipment.”
At last count there were at least 350 transsexuals in Malang, with many working in beauty salons. Only one is known to have had a sex-change operation, a procedure that has now fallen out of favor. Apart from the multiple operations and agonizing surgery involved (amputation of the penis and the fashioning of a vagina), the psychological impact can also be traumatic.
Hormone treatment can suppress male characteristics and enhance breasts, but bad side effects, including nausea, are often reported.
Being a man or woman doesn’t depend on reproductive organs – it’s also a state of mind. Merlyn’s first book was titled Don’t Look At My Genitals! a frank account of her feelings as a woman. Her second, just published is titled Woman Without V (as in vagina.) These are cathartic let-it-all-hangout diary notes of her life and emotions.
Merlyn said she’s been in relations with men, but these haven’t lasted, sometimes because her partners wanted children. She says she’d like to get married, and desires love from the opposite sex.
“I want people to know me for what I do, not who I am,” she said. “I want to dedicate my life for humanity. I feel I have a mission from God.
“I respect difference in others – I want them to do the same for me and all transsexuals. Don’t judge. Look at our capacity – at the good things that we can do in this world for everyone.”
(Sidebar one)
ONE WORD DOESN’T FIT ALL
The Indonesian word waria (an amalgam of wanita (woman) and pria (man) tends to be used for homosexuals, transsexuals and other minority sexual groups. However these are quite different.
A homosexual is attracted to members of his or her own sex. Most female homosexuals use the word Lesbian. This is a reference to the Greek island of Lesbos where the poet Sappho wrote about love between women. ‘Gay’ is the preferred Western term and can refer to both sexes, though it’s normally associated with men.
Homosexuality is not confined to any country or culture. About ten per cent of the population is naturally homosexual.
Bi-sexuals are people who enjoy sex with men and women.
Transsexuals are people with the physical traits of one sex and the psychological make-up of the opposite sex. The condition, medically called gender dysphoria (unease), is rare. One Dutch study claims the incidence is about one in 10,000 for males, one in 30,000 for females.
(Sidebar 2)
GOING UP
The latest World Health Organization figures (November 2006) claim somewhere between 169,000 and 216,000 Indonesians have HIV. If the current rate of infection continues the number will jump to one million by the end of this decade.
However activists say these figures are unreliable and grossly underestimate the problem.
Health Ministry data claims that more than half of the AIDS cases are found among drug injectors.
The incidence of HIV among transsexuals is reported to be high, with some estimates of up to 22 per cent.
(First published in The Sunday Post 21 January 2007)
##
">Link
A SPORTING WAY TO FIGHT DISCRIMINATION © Duncan Graham 2007
Malang in East Java is a leafy university town that likes to present itself as a cool city in terms of climate and lifestyle. Now it has a new tag that’s far from welcome – HIV Central. Duncan Graham reports:
Most Monday afternoons in the heart of Malang a curious crowd gathers at the local stadium to watch volleyball.
The games are played in the open close by a major road, so it’s an easy event to access. Prop your wheels under the trees, sit down with your mates, light up and catch the action. Yet most onlookers seem indifferent to the fine points of the game.
Their interest is the 20 or so players and it’s not always admiration for athletic skill that’s the drawcard. Instead there’s much snickering and nudge-nudge winking among the watchers focusing on the players’ tight shorts, their hairy legs and bumping bosoms.
For these athletes are transsexuals and if they care a damn that the crowds are there as voyeurs then they’re not going to give anyone a rise through recognition. This is the game with no shame.
When the final whistle blows the tables are turned. The teams run to the fence and distribute brochures to the red-faced pseudo-fans before they can kick-start an escape. The pamphlets warn of the dangers of contracting Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS).
The players also hand out free condoms. Their particular targets are the middle-aged men who appear to be good family fellows and upright citizens, yet who somehow find time to gawk at a flesh-show on a working weekday.
“This tends to be the group that visits prostitutes but is reluctant to use condoms because they think it’s not manly, or it’s like wearing clothes while having sex,” said organizer Merlyn Sopjan. “They only think of condoms as contraceptives, not as prophylactics.
“They catch a disease and pass it on to their wife or partner who leads a monogamous life. This is the second major way that HIV is getting into the community. The first is through intravenous drug users shooting up with shared and dirty needles.
“East Java is now second only to Jakarta for the number of infected people. We’ve even overtaken Papua. Most victims are in Surabaya, but Malang is the next center.”
Merlyn is Indonesia’s current Putri Waria (Miss Transsexual) and her job till mid 2007 is to tour the country and spread the safe sex message. When she’s addressing a sophisticated and sympathetic audience that’s no great problem.
The difficulty comes in trying to reach the closed minds, those who think that sexually transmitted diseases are a Western affliction and have nothing to do with them. These are the walnut-hearts who condemn campaigners like Merlyn for allegedly encouraging promiscuity.
Critics beware; she may look demure, even delicate. She’s slim and pretty – there’s nothing butch about her figure - but this is one unfazed activist with a husky voice.
Merlyn handles criticism with straight-talk, eyeballing questioners, refusing to accept that keeping people ignorant is a proper way to cope with a serious public health issue. In one TV talk show she took audience questions without flinching, even the smutty ones about which public toilet she uses. (A woman’s, of course.)
Nor is she prepared to apologize for her situation or be coy. “God isn’t running a factory,” she said. “Humans can make mistakes, but God can’t.
“There’s a reason for people like me. If you say I’m not perfect you are criticizing God. Who’s normal? I don’t want to be treated as though I’ve got a handicap.
“I’m a Christian and I’ve never experienced discrimination in church. I’m not judged.
“Every human being has a function and purpose in life. I’m a happy transsexual – I never rebel against God.”
An Indonesian male transsexual (See sidebar) is faced with blunt choices; either she tries to hide her feelings and behave as a man – difficult in a society where close living is the norm and secrets hard to hide - or she comes out and flaunts her sexuality, staring down the tut-tutters, daring them to condemn.
Which is why so many chose to work as entertainers, as if to say: ‘If you want to leer then you can bloody well pay for it!’
“Transsexuals are better tolerated in Thailand than Indonesia where we’re still considered, like, ‘wow, look at that!‘ and sexually harassed,” said Merlyn.
“Apart from the safe-sex message I’m also pushing for transsexuals to be recognized as full Indonesian citizens, with a place in society equal to anyone else. We want the opportunity to work in ordinary jobs, to use our talents like other people.
“Public rejection is the reason so many turn to prostitution.”
Merlyn seems to have escaped some of the anguish experienced by so many transsexuals and which result in a high rate of suicide. She was born a boy in Kediri (East Java) in 1973 and no one suspected that her gender interests were different.
Instead her family attributed her feminine behavior to her status as the last child, pampered and spoilt by doting relatives.
When it later became clear she was a woman trapped in a male body she was backed by her family, even though she described her now deceased parents as “traditional, conservative Javanese.”
“I could not be doing my job as a public advocate if my family wasn’t behind me,” she said. “My father came from nothing and worked hard all his life to succeed as a businessman. I will do the same.
“I’ve learned how to become tough. There’s no role model for a person like me. I don’t want one. I have to make my own way.”
After school she studied civil engineering at the Malang National Institute of Technology expecting to be employed in the family contracting business, but instead turned to advocacy.
Three years ago in a bid to assert the rights of transsexuals she sought election as mayor of Malang. Her application was rejected by bureaucrats claiming her nomination was received too late, though Merlyn thinks there was another agenda.
Nonetheless she got the publicity, and most was positive. “I didn’t really want to be mayor,” she said. “I did this to show we're just as capable as anyone else in making a contribution to society.
“Many people have suggested I move to Jakarta and the big scene. But I’m happy here with all my networks. I wouldn’t want to have to start again.”
She’s the case manager in a Malang hospital, working on an internationally funded campaign to raise awareness of AIDS, and help keep those with the disease active in society. Retroviral drugs that control – but don’t cure – the disease are free, but the treatment isn’t.
The project is administered by the Health Department that chose to outsource the work through the local Association of Transsexuals which Merlyn chairs. There are at least 580 known HIV positive cases in the city of less than one million, with 15 part-time carers giving advice and encouraging the worried to get a blood test.
Apart from spreading information, another benefit of the public volleyball games is that men and women wracked with the problems of expressing their gender can meet others who face similar challenges.
In Jakarta and Surabaya most homosexuals, lesbians and transsexuals meet in hotel bars, usually up-market hangouts where the cost of a drink would buy a kampong family a week’s meals. There’s no discotheque in Malang for those with different sexual preferences.
There’s often great rivalry between gay men, transsexuals and lesbians and little cooperation in the campaign for pubic understanding and tolerance.
“Gays tend to see themselves as superior,” Merlyn said. “The Lesbians here are very private. I’m trying to get us to work more closely – we suffer the same problems of stigma and discrimination. We can make a better life for all if we’re together.
“We are leading in the public health campaign because AIDS was first identified in the homosexual community in Bali back in the 1980s. Others were in a state of denial, so the gays had to do their own research.
“Malang has such a big HIV problem because it’s a university city, drawing students from all across the country. There’s a lot of drug use, but the police are opposed to harm reduction programs operating overseas, like clean needle exchange and teaching users how to sterilize equipment.”
At last count there were at least 350 transsexuals in Malang, with many working in beauty salons. Only one is known to have had a sex-change operation, a procedure that has now fallen out of favor. Apart from the multiple operations and agonizing surgery involved (amputation of the penis and the fashioning of a vagina), the psychological impact can also be traumatic.
Hormone treatment can suppress male characteristics and enhance breasts, but bad side effects, including nausea, are often reported.
Being a man or woman doesn’t depend on reproductive organs – it’s also a state of mind. Merlyn’s first book was titled Don’t Look At My Genitals! a frank account of her feelings as a woman. Her second, just published is titled Woman Without V (as in vagina.) These are cathartic let-it-all-hangout diary notes of her life and emotions.
Merlyn said she’s been in relations with men, but these haven’t lasted, sometimes because her partners wanted children. She says she’d like to get married, and desires love from the opposite sex.
“I want people to know me for what I do, not who I am,” she said. “I want to dedicate my life for humanity. I feel I have a mission from God.
“I respect difference in others – I want them to do the same for me and all transsexuals. Don’t judge. Look at our capacity – at the good things that we can do in this world for everyone.”
(Sidebar one)
ONE WORD DOESN’T FIT ALL
The Indonesian word waria (an amalgam of wanita (woman) and pria (man) tends to be used for homosexuals, transsexuals and other minority sexual groups. However these are quite different.
A homosexual is attracted to members of his or her own sex. Most female homosexuals use the word Lesbian. This is a reference to the Greek island of Lesbos where the poet Sappho wrote about love between women. ‘Gay’ is the preferred Western term and can refer to both sexes, though it’s normally associated with men.
Homosexuality is not confined to any country or culture. About ten per cent of the population is naturally homosexual.
Bi-sexuals are people who enjoy sex with men and women.
Transsexuals are people with the physical traits of one sex and the psychological make-up of the opposite sex. The condition, medically called gender dysphoria (unease), is rare. One Dutch study claims the incidence is about one in 10,000 for males, one in 30,000 for females.
(Sidebar 2)
GOING UP
The latest World Health Organization figures (November 2006) claim somewhere between 169,000 and 216,000 Indonesians have HIV. If the current rate of infection continues the number will jump to one million by the end of this decade.
However activists say these figures are unreliable and grossly underestimate the problem.
Health Ministry data claims that more than half of the AIDS cases are found among drug injectors.
The incidence of HIV among transsexuals is reported to be high, with some estimates of up to 22 per cent.
(First published in The Sunday Post 21 January 2007)
##
">Link
A NEW GUIDE TO JAVA'S GOLDEN AGE
UNPACKING THE MYSTERIES OF THE MAJAPAHIT © Duncan Graham 2007
Modern Indonesians have mixed feelings about the Majapahit Era, the so-called Golden Age of Java. This was the period about 700 years ago when much of the archipelago, and some nearby countries, were ruled by a Hindu-Buddhist kingdom based around Trowulan, East Java.
Why the ambiguous emotions? Some seem to think that centuries gone are countries best left unvisited. Religious fundamentalists fear ancient predictions forecasting the return of the Majapahit may yet come to pass. Let sleeping eras lie.
A few are proud that Java has such a rich and magnificent past, but most seem indifferent. Maybe because the teaching and presentation of history is so often pedestrian.
Those who’ve had the privilege of living in major cities overseas know museums don’t need to be forbidding and archaeology a bore. The non-profit Indonesian Heritage Society (IHS), a repository of such illuminati, is now doing its best to bring sunlight to the statuary, appreciation to the artifacts.
The Society’s latest venture together with the Japanese-Indonesian cultural organization Nihindo is Majapahit / Trowulan, a glossy well-presented A4 plus book in Indonesian and English bringing much of the known information up to date.
In his happy / sad foreword Jero Wacik, Minister of Culture and Tourism writes that the involvement of foreigners “stirs emotion because those not owning our culture still give it serious attention, sometimes more than we do as inheritors …”
This is no new event; interest in the history of Java started with Stamford Raffles during the 19th century British Interregnum. It continued with the Dutch once they tired of plunder and turned to scholarship.
The new book complements another accessible text – Memories of Majapahit - published by the East Java Government in 1993 and now hard to find. Since then more discoveries have added to our knowledge, particularly on the lifestyles of ordinary people.
Also new is thinking about the way the two Indian-sourced religions co-existed in Java. ‘Syncretism’ has yielded to ‘coalition’ and now ‘parallelism’. Ugly terms, but you can see how interpreting the past is a plastic art open to all.
Memories was written in English by one person. The new book is a collection of essays and updated research by Indonesian experts and well translated into English. A politically correct decision, but it doesn’t make for smooth reading. Academics everywhere, whatever their discipline, reckon they communicate with clarity; few can.
Some see the Majapahit story as a collection of dates, names and references. Wrong. This is a lusty tale of vile kings, scheming rogues, devilish plots, inventive artisans, clever courtesans, sinister omens, disasters natural and unnatural - all wrapped in myth and magic.
Unpacking this parcel of wonders requires the special skills of storytelling. Poets are needed, not pedants. Some contributors have the talent to touch the reader with their awe. Others are more concerned with fluffing up their own erudition.
The IHS members involved in this splendid project must have aged decades in getting it together, prodding laggards, soothing the affronted, placating the pompous. If entertainers strut their egos, archaeologists put theirs on pedestals and expect others to polish. (If you doubt this, check the academic brawls over the hobbits of Flores.)
Adding to the explorer’s delight is that there are few reliable records of this extraordinary period, leaving hectares of space to exercise the imagination. This book is not the last word - inscribed pots that may tip over long-held interpretations are probably being exposed by farmers’ ploughs, even as I write and you read.
The people of Majapahit were literate, creative and sexy; their water pots are sensuous and erotic, their ‘modesty shields’ appropriately enticing. They were frugal cashed-up traders who loved piggy banks. When they weren’t goldsmiths they were hydraulic engineers.
They built dams, dykes and drains that helped control floods and conserve water to keep crops growing in the dry. Their bricks were like a good marriage – they stuck together by being rubbed together – no cement needed. They were the masters of terracotta.
They were also skilled in the arts of war and administration – creating tax-free zones and a robust cash economy using coins, many from China. They did big business with Vietnam and were open to ideas from everywhere.
What brought these smarties down? Why did the survivors flee to Bali and the uplands of Mount Bromo? The arrival of Islam, internecine strife, natural disasters or something else? Pick a theory, gather the evidence. It’s all here in Majapahit / Trowulan.
So are photos (stylish, but too few), and maps. Sadly these don’t enhance the text. Some are blurred, others too small. Publishers should know that the same care and cash that’s put into words and pictures needs to be spent on cartography.
Like its topic this book is too complex to use as an instant guide to Trowulan; it needs to be read first and annotated (there’s a glossary, but no index), before exploration. This is best done by pedicab because some sites are distant. Fortunately the land is flat.
The staff at the Trowulan museum are helpful, but not all are knowledgeable. Many pieces on display lack provenance and other useful details. Nor is this the only place to see Majapahit relics as the site has been mercilessly plundered and the finds scattered to private and public collections here and overseas.
I hope this book will be available and on sale at the museum in Trowulan for foreign visitors. At Rp 200,000 (US $22) it’s a great buy and an ideal memento or gift for anyone who wants to know more about this astonishing archipelago.
But it’s too dear for the average local student so getting copies into school libraries will be an essential part of making history anything but bunkum – and help the next generation find pride in their heritage.
(Majapahit / Trowulan has been published as a ‘companion book’ to The Grandeur of Majapahit exhibition at the National Museum in Jakarta. For more details check www.heritagejkt.org )
(First published in The Sunday Post 21 January 2007)
##
">Link
Modern Indonesians have mixed feelings about the Majapahit Era, the so-called Golden Age of Java. This was the period about 700 years ago when much of the archipelago, and some nearby countries, were ruled by a Hindu-Buddhist kingdom based around Trowulan, East Java.
Why the ambiguous emotions? Some seem to think that centuries gone are countries best left unvisited. Religious fundamentalists fear ancient predictions forecasting the return of the Majapahit may yet come to pass. Let sleeping eras lie.
A few are proud that Java has such a rich and magnificent past, but most seem indifferent. Maybe because the teaching and presentation of history is so often pedestrian.
Those who’ve had the privilege of living in major cities overseas know museums don’t need to be forbidding and archaeology a bore. The non-profit Indonesian Heritage Society (IHS), a repository of such illuminati, is now doing its best to bring sunlight to the statuary, appreciation to the artifacts.
The Society’s latest venture together with the Japanese-Indonesian cultural organization Nihindo is Majapahit / Trowulan, a glossy well-presented A4 plus book in Indonesian and English bringing much of the known information up to date.
In his happy / sad foreword Jero Wacik, Minister of Culture and Tourism writes that the involvement of foreigners “stirs emotion because those not owning our culture still give it serious attention, sometimes more than we do as inheritors …”
This is no new event; interest in the history of Java started with Stamford Raffles during the 19th century British Interregnum. It continued with the Dutch once they tired of plunder and turned to scholarship.
The new book complements another accessible text – Memories of Majapahit - published by the East Java Government in 1993 and now hard to find. Since then more discoveries have added to our knowledge, particularly on the lifestyles of ordinary people.
Also new is thinking about the way the two Indian-sourced religions co-existed in Java. ‘Syncretism’ has yielded to ‘coalition’ and now ‘parallelism’. Ugly terms, but you can see how interpreting the past is a plastic art open to all.
Memories was written in English by one person. The new book is a collection of essays and updated research by Indonesian experts and well translated into English. A politically correct decision, but it doesn’t make for smooth reading. Academics everywhere, whatever their discipline, reckon they communicate with clarity; few can.
Some see the Majapahit story as a collection of dates, names and references. Wrong. This is a lusty tale of vile kings, scheming rogues, devilish plots, inventive artisans, clever courtesans, sinister omens, disasters natural and unnatural - all wrapped in myth and magic.
Unpacking this parcel of wonders requires the special skills of storytelling. Poets are needed, not pedants. Some contributors have the talent to touch the reader with their awe. Others are more concerned with fluffing up their own erudition.
The IHS members involved in this splendid project must have aged decades in getting it together, prodding laggards, soothing the affronted, placating the pompous. If entertainers strut their egos, archaeologists put theirs on pedestals and expect others to polish. (If you doubt this, check the academic brawls over the hobbits of Flores.)
Adding to the explorer’s delight is that there are few reliable records of this extraordinary period, leaving hectares of space to exercise the imagination. This book is not the last word - inscribed pots that may tip over long-held interpretations are probably being exposed by farmers’ ploughs, even as I write and you read.
The people of Majapahit were literate, creative and sexy; their water pots are sensuous and erotic, their ‘modesty shields’ appropriately enticing. They were frugal cashed-up traders who loved piggy banks. When they weren’t goldsmiths they were hydraulic engineers.
They built dams, dykes and drains that helped control floods and conserve water to keep crops growing in the dry. Their bricks were like a good marriage – they stuck together by being rubbed together – no cement needed. They were the masters of terracotta.
They were also skilled in the arts of war and administration – creating tax-free zones and a robust cash economy using coins, many from China. They did big business with Vietnam and were open to ideas from everywhere.
What brought these smarties down? Why did the survivors flee to Bali and the uplands of Mount Bromo? The arrival of Islam, internecine strife, natural disasters or something else? Pick a theory, gather the evidence. It’s all here in Majapahit / Trowulan.
So are photos (stylish, but too few), and maps. Sadly these don’t enhance the text. Some are blurred, others too small. Publishers should know that the same care and cash that’s put into words and pictures needs to be spent on cartography.
Like its topic this book is too complex to use as an instant guide to Trowulan; it needs to be read first and annotated (there’s a glossary, but no index), before exploration. This is best done by pedicab because some sites are distant. Fortunately the land is flat.
The staff at the Trowulan museum are helpful, but not all are knowledgeable. Many pieces on display lack provenance and other useful details. Nor is this the only place to see Majapahit relics as the site has been mercilessly plundered and the finds scattered to private and public collections here and overseas.
I hope this book will be available and on sale at the museum in Trowulan for foreign visitors. At Rp 200,000 (US $22) it’s a great buy and an ideal memento or gift for anyone who wants to know more about this astonishing archipelago.
But it’s too dear for the average local student so getting copies into school libraries will be an essential part of making history anything but bunkum – and help the next generation find pride in their heritage.
(Majapahit / Trowulan has been published as a ‘companion book’ to The Grandeur of Majapahit exhibition at the National Museum in Jakarta. For more details check www.heritagejkt.org )
(First published in The Sunday Post 21 January 2007)
##
">Link
Friday, January 19, 2007
NAILA-LAILA CONJOINED TWINS
TOGETHER FOR LIFE © Duncan Graham 2007
Towards the end of this month (Jan) a team of about 30 doctors and specialists in Malang, East Java, will meet to discuss an operation on a three-month old. If surgery goes ahead it could involve the amputation of two arms at the shoulder blades.
That sounds extreme, but the patient will still be left with two arms. Patient? Maybe that should be in the plural, for these are conjoined twins in a condition so rare only 25 cases have been recorded worldwide since 1684.
Naila-Laila was / were born by Caesarian section to Laseni, 28, last October when vaginal delivery became impossible. The mother and her unemployed farm worker husband Supriono, 32, already had one normal child, a boy.
The family lives in Tlekung-Gangsiran a village close to the hill town of Batu, northwest of Malang. Like many rural poor Laseni had no antenatal medical care.
The pregnancy was uneventful and ran full-term. Nothing unusual was anticipated. The birth weight was 3.35 kilos. There was only one placenta.
The babies have two heads, four arms, two chests (although externally it appears otherwise), two hearts, one vagina, one anus and two legs. Two of the arms are fused from the shoulders to the wrists and pinned behind the heads causing discomfort as the twins grow.
X ray photos show two spines coming from one pelvis. It's unclear from the images whether Naila-Laila share a stomach, spleen and liver. They have two kidneys. This is not a case of two separate bodies joined at only one place. Naila-Laila can never be divided.
Though less than three months old they already have different personalities and push and shove each other for comfort space with their free hands. When confronted by The Jakarta Post's camera Naila screwed up her face in disgust, but Laila looked curious. Nurses said one could be crying while the other is smiling.
"Most conjoined twins are stillborn," said surgeon Dr Respati Dradjat. "Of those who survive, 40 per cent die soon after. The chances aren't good. (See sidebar)
"But in this case the prognosis is optimistic. The babies are developing normally and have survived an early bout of pneumonia. All organs are functioning well.
"The girls are 4.4 kilos and in the normal weight range. There's a small defect in the left and right ventricles of one heart but it can work properly.
Dr Respati is head of the team caring for Naila-Laila at Malang's Saiful Anwar hospital, the largest government medical facility in central East Java. The twins were transferred there when two days old because the private hospital in Batu where they were born didn't have the appropriate intensive care facilities.
The parents have suffered greatly, though so far not financially. Public donations, including funds from the mayor of Batu, have kept them from having to pay bills of Rp 250,000 (US $27) a day for the twins' hospital care.
Supriono camps day and night on the veranda outside the intensive care unit to be by his daughters while Laseni is back in her village. Hospital staff said she is rejecting the babies and can't breastfeed.
"I hope they will be able to come home one day," said Supriono. "Everything is in God's hands. We must accept what He has given."
Although the medical facts behind the abnormality have been explained, the parents still believe they've been cursed by an angry Deity for sins they have committed. The family is Muslim.
Adding to their trauma are the mutterings of others. What the neighbors think and say is a major concern in small towns and villages.
"Supriono has discussed this with me," said Dr Respati. "We have psychologists and psychiatrists on the case and helping. If we operate and the babies survive then I hope they'll be able to go home and live with the family.
"Of course if this happens they may be seen as freaks. Who knows? The other problem could be if one develops at a faster rate than the other. It will be a step-by-step process.
"The functional amputation is simple. That's not the problem. We have to deliver the anesthetics to both bodies simultaneously. If surgery is undertaken, then the younger the better.
"We don't know about their level of immunity – it may be less than normal. There's a danger of organ failure. What happens if one dies and the other lives? There are no fixed decisions. This is very challenging."
Dr Respati said that although euthanasia is illegal in Indonesia a case could have been made out for basic care of the twins in the expectation that they'd die naturally. The hospital has limited resources, and money spent on Naila-Laila could have benefited 30 other children, he said.
"A similar case in Jakarta a few years ago died, but we decided that it was our duty to try and save these babies," he said. "This is a teaching hospital and maybe the experience we gain can be useful in other situations elsewhere in the world in the future. There is also a moral reason for continuing care."
(Sidebar)
RARE AND COMPLEX
Few conjoined twins (also known as Siamese twins) are born. Three have been recorded in Indonesia. The previous known case before Naila-Laila was in Nigeria in 2005.
However other conjoined twins may be naturally or artificially aborted, or their births and deaths kept quiet.
There are many differences in the cases, depending on where the bodies are joined and what organs are shared. The Malang case is known as dicephalus.
In the 19th century two men in a similar situation lived till they were 60. More recently there's a case of two girls in Minnesota called Abigail and Brittany Hensel. They were born in 1990 with dicephalus, similar to Naila-Laila and are still alive.
The US twins had one extra arm that was amputated. When they were 12 they also underwent operations to correct curvatures of their spines.
These young women appear to have adjusted well, and have openly discussed their situation on TV. Each twin controls her own arm and leg, but have learned to coordinate. They are reported to play sport, do other standard Western teenage activities and expect to graduate from high school this year.
Little is known about the condition or why it's caused. Genetic and environmental reasons have been suggested.
It is believed conjoined twins are created around the 13th day of pregnancy. There's incomplete separation of the fertilized ova that would otherwise naturally develop as separate twins.
(First published in The Jakarta Post 17 January 2007.)
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Towards the end of this month (Jan) a team of about 30 doctors and specialists in Malang, East Java, will meet to discuss an operation on a three-month old. If surgery goes ahead it could involve the amputation of two arms at the shoulder blades.
That sounds extreme, but the patient will still be left with two arms. Patient? Maybe that should be in the plural, for these are conjoined twins in a condition so rare only 25 cases have been recorded worldwide since 1684.
Naila-Laila was / were born by Caesarian section to Laseni, 28, last October when vaginal delivery became impossible. The mother and her unemployed farm worker husband Supriono, 32, already had one normal child, a boy.
The family lives in Tlekung-Gangsiran a village close to the hill town of Batu, northwest of Malang. Like many rural poor Laseni had no antenatal medical care.
The pregnancy was uneventful and ran full-term. Nothing unusual was anticipated. The birth weight was 3.35 kilos. There was only one placenta.
The babies have two heads, four arms, two chests (although externally it appears otherwise), two hearts, one vagina, one anus and two legs. Two of the arms are fused from the shoulders to the wrists and pinned behind the heads causing discomfort as the twins grow.
X ray photos show two spines coming from one pelvis. It's unclear from the images whether Naila-Laila share a stomach, spleen and liver. They have two kidneys. This is not a case of two separate bodies joined at only one place. Naila-Laila can never be divided.
Though less than three months old they already have different personalities and push and shove each other for comfort space with their free hands. When confronted by The Jakarta Post's camera Naila screwed up her face in disgust, but Laila looked curious. Nurses said one could be crying while the other is smiling.
"Most conjoined twins are stillborn," said surgeon Dr Respati Dradjat. "Of those who survive, 40 per cent die soon after. The chances aren't good. (See sidebar)
"But in this case the prognosis is optimistic. The babies are developing normally and have survived an early bout of pneumonia. All organs are functioning well.
"The girls are 4.4 kilos and in the normal weight range. There's a small defect in the left and right ventricles of one heart but it can work properly.
Dr Respati is head of the team caring for Naila-Laila at Malang's Saiful Anwar hospital, the largest government medical facility in central East Java. The twins were transferred there when two days old because the private hospital in Batu where they were born didn't have the appropriate intensive care facilities.
The parents have suffered greatly, though so far not financially. Public donations, including funds from the mayor of Batu, have kept them from having to pay bills of Rp 250,000 (US $27) a day for the twins' hospital care.
Supriono camps day and night on the veranda outside the intensive care unit to be by his daughters while Laseni is back in her village. Hospital staff said she is rejecting the babies and can't breastfeed.
"I hope they will be able to come home one day," said Supriono. "Everything is in God's hands. We must accept what He has given."
Although the medical facts behind the abnormality have been explained, the parents still believe they've been cursed by an angry Deity for sins they have committed. The family is Muslim.
Adding to their trauma are the mutterings of others. What the neighbors think and say is a major concern in small towns and villages.
"Supriono has discussed this with me," said Dr Respati. "We have psychologists and psychiatrists on the case and helping. If we operate and the babies survive then I hope they'll be able to go home and live with the family.
"Of course if this happens they may be seen as freaks. Who knows? The other problem could be if one develops at a faster rate than the other. It will be a step-by-step process.
"The functional amputation is simple. That's not the problem. We have to deliver the anesthetics to both bodies simultaneously. If surgery is undertaken, then the younger the better.
"We don't know about their level of immunity – it may be less than normal. There's a danger of organ failure. What happens if one dies and the other lives? There are no fixed decisions. This is very challenging."
Dr Respati said that although euthanasia is illegal in Indonesia a case could have been made out for basic care of the twins in the expectation that they'd die naturally. The hospital has limited resources, and money spent on Naila-Laila could have benefited 30 other children, he said.
"A similar case in Jakarta a few years ago died, but we decided that it was our duty to try and save these babies," he said. "This is a teaching hospital and maybe the experience we gain can be useful in other situations elsewhere in the world in the future. There is also a moral reason for continuing care."
(Sidebar)
RARE AND COMPLEX
Few conjoined twins (also known as Siamese twins) are born. Three have been recorded in Indonesia. The previous known case before Naila-Laila was in Nigeria in 2005.
However other conjoined twins may be naturally or artificially aborted, or their births and deaths kept quiet.
There are many differences in the cases, depending on where the bodies are joined and what organs are shared. The Malang case is known as dicephalus.
In the 19th century two men in a similar situation lived till they were 60. More recently there's a case of two girls in Minnesota called Abigail and Brittany Hensel. They were born in 1990 with dicephalus, similar to Naila-Laila and are still alive.
The US twins had one extra arm that was amputated. When they were 12 they also underwent operations to correct curvatures of their spines.
These young women appear to have adjusted well, and have openly discussed their situation on TV. Each twin controls her own arm and leg, but have learned to coordinate. They are reported to play sport, do other standard Western teenage activities and expect to graduate from high school this year.
Little is known about the condition or why it's caused. Genetic and environmental reasons have been suggested.
It is believed conjoined twins are created around the 13th day of pregnancy. There's incomplete separation of the fertilized ova that would otherwise naturally develop as separate twins.
(First published in The Jakarta Post 17 January 2007.)
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