tolerance

Seeing the sad condition of this country lately when a relatively minor religious issues are potentially triggering bloody conflicts has sicken me. I am, as I've always stated, not a religious person. However as a human, seeing other people killed for choosing or even simply being something that is not the same as popular commons makes me really wonder, and finally relate to this elementary school thing which always repeated on and on every year as we can find in the Civics subject: Inter-religious tolerance.

I recently feel there is something wrong with the phrase. Something has lost in translation while fully understanding the meaning of the word 'tolerate'. It has the sense that something or someone is the normal and the truest of all things, and s/he lets the other who is outside her/his normal do things by her/his authority. At one point when s/he can not tolerate anymore, bad things will follow.

Here are the definitions of the word 'tolerate' I found in my computer's dictionary:

tolerate |ˈtäləˌrāt|

verb [ trans. ]

allow the existence, occurrence, or practice of (something that one does not necessarily like or agree with) without interference : a regime unwilling to tolerate dissent.

• accept or endure (someone or something unpleasant or disliked) with forbearance : how was it that she could tolerate such noise?

• be capable of continued subjection to (a drug, toxin, or environmental condition) without adverse reaction : lichens grow in conditions that no other plants tolerate.

Let me give you a case of tolerance. Someday in school, you had a math lesson. This teacher gave you a task to do ten complicated questions to be solved in 30 minutes. Apparently, the task is too hard for you that you couldn't finish it on time. So your teacher gave you ten minutes tolerance, wishing her/his students would finish the task. Your teacher didn't mean to respect you when s/he gave you time tolerance. It was simply because you couldn't meet her/his standard when doing the given work. In other words, you were not 'the normal' of your teacher. What if the teacher couldn't tolerate you? S/he will be very angry about this.

Other example is when you say 'I will not tolerate erratic behavior.' It indicates that there are some acts that other people do, but those acts do not meet your custom or idealism, and in some way you can not deal with them. 'Erratic' itself means 'not even or regular in pattern or movement'. The word doesn't even mean a bad thing. Only something not regular.

It is clear for me now why some people will not just let their friends -fellow human- live peacefully with their own virtue. I guess we are miseducated, being told that we are the truest, while other people with other preferences are just within our tolerance. So what is wrong with people with other religious believes than you? As long as they don't scar your being and way of life, they shall not be merely tolerated. They shall be RESPECTED for whatever their believes are. If you can not respect other people's choice, whereas her/his choice is legal and clearly stated in this country's constitution, then how will you respect other aspect of life?

keroncong tenggara

Last Friday me and two friends, Galih and Lalitia went seeing 'Keroncong Tenggara' performed at Salihara.

And I have to say nothing else. Very beautiful.

the sexiness of female wayang

I've never paid attention to any detail of a wayang, until one day I need to work with a design that involved the figure of wayang. The first thing I did was searched the image of some female wayang[s] and re-sketched them using my personal judgments and interpretations. I was never aware of what they are wearing, which body parts resemble what, which lines are what, until I finished my sketches.

Guess what?
I found them sexy.

The issue that came across my mind was: why is it so skinny, why it has bright skin color, small eyes, sharp nose? I don't think the characteristics of these puppets match the common appearance of Javanese women. Was it the ideal shape? Was it the dream of any woman; even since hundred years ago? Was it because the raise of wayang was in the same time line when the Dutch colonized the country? Was it the picture of the beautiful mistress?

Anyway, if I keep talking about it then we may need to discuss it with some experts from the social-culture major. Let's just go back to the sexiness:


Forget Jessica Alba :p

wondering central java

*this sketch is a repro [well, not really a repro. hmm.. a re-interpretation maybe?] of a photograph*

centhini

I owe a friend, Galih, a book review. So this is it Gal, I fulfill my promise.

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Centhini - Kekasih yang Tersembunyi
A book review that contains my own perception haha.. This will be very subjective. Sorry.

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Centhini was a servant. A faithful and loyal servant of her beautiful Princess, Tambangraras. Some said it was a big shame that this book of songs and stories was named after her. Some believed this was an honor for the truth that, on her wedding night, Centhini disappeared and nobody could find her; not even the three poets who wrote this book of songs.

Centhini - Kekasih yang Tersembunyi starts with a book [or song; in Bahasa Indonesia: tembang. Starts from now, I’ll use the word ‘song’] of family tree [silsilah] which explains the connections, relationships and reincarnations between all of its characters, men and women. Then it continues with other twelve books of songs: Perang, Penggembaraan, Minggatnya Cebolang, Terjadilah asmara, Empat puluh malam dan satunya hujan, Ia yang memikul raganya, Buku Kesembilan, Alih rupa, Dendang awan mencari matahari, Pulau Besi, Termakan and Nafsu terakhir. Each book of songs contains numbers of songs; 152 songs in total.

The main frame that builds the book’s story is the war between Sultan Agung, the king of Mataram, Central Java, with Sunan Giri who didn’t want to bow to Sultan Agung; God was his reason. After Sultan Agung won, the three children of Sunan Giri ran away from his land separately. Jayengsari ran away with his younger sister, Rancangkapti and a servant named Buras. Meanwhile, the eldest son, Jayengresmi was always on the search of his two siblings. Later in the book, Sultan Agung in the appearance of a very humble priest said to Sunan Giri’s eldest son that his father died because “he desired the greatness [blessings] of God a lot more than to serve God”.

Another parallel story in this book that goes on together with this war tale is about Cebolang, a very handsome -as beautiful as a silk young girl in appearance- boy that would make anyone men and women seeing him turned on [mostly sexually], the only son of Syekh Akhadiyat and Siti Wuryan. The story, again, is about a fugitive. Cebolang consciously and secretly ran away from his parents for his intolerable mistakes, full of this boy’s young blood’s desire; that he thought his parents and everyone would not be able to forgive him. He took his four best friends with him: Nurwitri, Saloka, Kartipala and Palakarti. The last two friends with flipped names had made a speculation that both were twins, or else, lovers.

Although the two stories seemingly don’t have any relation at the beginning, as the stories flow, we find out that some characters finally met - almost like coincidences; and that would make a complete, well written story.

Apparently, religion is a very important thing in this book. It happens because the book’s era was when Wali Songo; the founding saints of Islam, their child and grandchild spread Islam across Java. Poems, quotes and the words of wisdom mostly taken from the Quran, their holy book. Religion was always mentioned when the adventurers introduced themselves once they met other people on their way, and so did the strangers. Often they met someone with different religion, yet they respect each other.

Other major discussion in this book is sexuality. While Indonesian people nowadays mostly [pretend to be] allergic to this topic, the fact is: it’s openly discussed in plenty traditional or ancient arts and literatures; including in Centhini – kekasih yang Tersembunyi. Description, dialogues and poems often included sexual things, both physically and mentally. Even when the songs are not about human and his desire. Free sex and homosexuality –man on man, women on women- are among the usual topics in this book. It is so blurred that we will find the contradiction between their faithfulness on God and their sexual behavior. After someone did a sexual intercourse with someone else, whether this person is someone else’s wife, another male, other person that he rape, a horse or everything else, he prayed to God and God seems easily forgive him. The blessings of God never stop to this person. Now this is another clash of what we believe. What we [as modern humans] called taboo are widely told even in very obvious descriptions. The power of women also stands out in this book. Some songs telling that women are strong creatures, able to do complicated things and smart; although sometimes in very minor cases, the issue of gender appears as unfair.

With these two provisions: religion and sex, and despite the characters’ physical aims of adventuring [finding each other, true love, shame, etc] there was one true spiritual thing that each character seek: the knowledge of perfectness. It is accumulated at the end of their journeys as they always find some wisdom through every single battle, every name changing, or every time they meet others be it a saint, priest, king, farmer, widow, angel, etc.d

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How bout that Gal? You are strongly reccomended to give comment hehe. Happy reading everyone! Hope you don't get bored hahaha.