tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-46252591308260971112024-02-08T09:31:37.096-08:00Emha Ainun Nadjib: "The Silent Pilgrimage"This blog tells the story of writer and international touring artist Emha Ainun Nadjib, of Indonesia. It is designed to gather materials on his life and work in English; much of which has been compiled for eventual inclusion in a book, "The Silent Pilgrimage". An Indonesian language version was published by Kompas Gramedia in 2006, Jalan Sunyi Emha”.
I hope you enjoy this blog. Please leave a comment! Thank you, Ian L. BettsIan L. Bettshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02965068474378146464noreply@blogger.comBlogger46125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4625259130826097111.post-68119807180040945922009-08-22T03:01:00.000-07:002009-08-22T03:03:59.600-07:00"The Sea of Veils"If you have enjoyed The Silent Pilgrimage, you might be interested to see the new blog, "The Sea of Veils", which is dedicated to the translation of Emha's works:<br /><br /><strong>Emha Ainun Nadjib: "The Sea of Veils"</strong><br />This blog deals with the work of Emha Ainun Nadjib and is a companion to The Silent Pilgrimage [http://thesilentpilgrimage.blogspot.com/]. Both tell the story of Indonesian writer and touring artist Emha Ainun Nadjib. The Silent Pilgrimage gathers materials on his life and work. This blog will carry translations of his work for readers all over the world and for the promotion of tours. "The Sea of Veils" is one of Emha's best known works in Indonesia. I hope you enjoy it! Thank you, Ian L. Betts.<br />http://theseaofveils.blogspot.com/Ian L. Bettshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02965068474378146464noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4625259130826097111.post-86998410272189376762009-05-22T06:20:00.000-07:002009-05-22T06:24:34.087-07:00An extremely creative teacher, friend and brother<div align="justify"><br />For me Cak Nun is a travelling library. He is an extremely creative teacher, friend and brother. His understanding of politics, social affairs, the economy and culture is as broad as his understanding of sport, especially football. And his grasp of diversity is unique and authentic. </div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">As well as being an intellectual and cultural expert, as a poet Cak Nun occupies a very special position. In the 70s people were shocked at his performance poetry, which was conducted with gamelan onstage. And then, the performances of “Syair Lautan Jilbab”<a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4625259130826097111#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1">[1]</a> in Makassar (Sulawesi, or the Celebes), attended by audiences of 15,000. </div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">And what makes me so respectful is his consistency in defending the marginalised and the poor. His loyalty and solidarity stand out. I was once stuck for words during a discussion in 1990 in Yogyakarta and Cak Nun helped me with his intelligent contribution, full of wisdom. </div><div align="justify"><br /><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4625259130826097111#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1">[1]</a> Verses from The Sea of Veils</div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">By Jose Rizal Manua, award-winning dramatist, cultural observer and writer.</div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">Translated by Ian L. Betts</div>Ian L. Bettshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02965068474378146464noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4625259130826097111.post-89000206284934942142009-05-22T06:08:00.000-07:002009-05-22T06:24:50.295-07:00As authentic today as when he first spoke<div align="justify"><br />This figure is one of only a few who have managed to engage my inner being. His courage to differ in a difficult and turbulent environment makes me sure that he has <em>something inside</em>.<br /><br />His empathy with the masses and his capacity for communication with them on abstract themes in their own language style amazes me, because he is also highly thought of by the elite. Cak Nun’s words are as authentic today as they were when he first spoke. This is the important thing to note in a ‘true’ leader. God willing, Cak Nun is included among them.<br /><br />For me, until this day, Cak Nun is identified with the song "Tombo Ati," which always soothes my heart and brings tears to my eyes.</div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">Tony B. Trihartanto</div><div align="justify">Head of the Perbanas College for Economics, Jakarta</div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"><u>Notes</u>:</div><div align="justify">Tony appeared and spoke at a <em>Kenduri Cinta</em> gathering late in 2005 at Taman Ismail Marzuki, Cikini, Jakarta, the night that we were joined by the whirling sufi dancers who, seated at random among the crowd, would rise whirling with the music . </div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">For "Tombo Ati", please see post entitled "<em>Poetry ...Tombo Ati, The Heart's Ease</em>" below.</div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">Translated by Ian L. Betts</div>Ian L. Bettshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02965068474378146464noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4625259130826097111.post-35842108931803556002009-05-21T09:10:00.000-07:002009-05-22T06:25:04.098-07:00A Voice of Accusation and an Icon of Cultural Creativity<div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">The existence of Cak Nun<a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4625259130826097111#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1">[1]</a> has given renewed hope to an appreciation of arts and culture in a dimension that liberates man from the schackles of various forms of oppression, ignorance and injustice. </div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">Cak Nun serves as the well-spring which frees people from the snares of fearfulness, allowing the development of a cultural stream which variosu aspects whereby socio-reality is raised to become transcendental, returning to earth in a form of artistic creativity encompassing the whole of humanity. </div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">Consequently, I believe that the struggle taken by Cak Nun involves not only the fundamentals of culture as a condition for the creation of an awareness that will free those who are marginalised, but also offers hope for the ascendance of creativity as a God-given gift, which only has meaning if a way can be found for the struggle to overcome all forms of ignorance, injustice and all that preys on the dignity of man, including a review of the cultural system of Indonesia. </div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">Seen from the political dimension, what Cak Nun does comprises the integration of “individualism in culture” as one aspect of the three-seats of power of Bung Karno<a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4625259130826097111#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2">[2]</a>, where religion is the fundament. </div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">I hope that Cak Nun, as a figure, will always grow, until he is not only an icon of artistic and cultural creativity, but becomes a voice of accusation arising from all forms of matters concerning this country. I am proud, because Cak Nun belongs not only to the Muslim community, but has symbiotically interpreted the meaning of the diversity of Indonesia in the frame of the Unitary Republic.</div><div align="justify"><br /></div><div align="justify"><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4625259130826097111#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1">[1]</a> As Emha is affectionately known</div><div align="justify"><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4625259130826097111#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3">[2] Affectionate term for </a>Indonesia’s first President, Soekarno. </div><div align="justify"><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4625259130826097111#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2"></a></div><div align="justify">By Choirul Sholeh Rasyid Member of the People’s Representative Assembly for the National Awakening Party (PKB) </div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">Translated by Ian L. Betts<br /><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4625259130826097111#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3"></a></div>Ian L. Bettshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02965068474378146464noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4625259130826097111.post-3391984594679010702009-05-21T09:01:00.000-07:002009-05-22T06:25:18.778-07:00An architect of the now...<div align="justify"><br />He is a Wali<a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4625259130826097111#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1">[1]</a> of Allah...an architect of "the now" with both a sense of history and a vision of the future of humanity. His informal "love" offers a solidity both courageous and ”thankful.”<br /><br /><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4625259130826097111#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1">[1]</a> Wali: Islamic religious term denoting a spiritual guide, guardian, holy person, saint, or one endowed with the highest spiritual values, most often associated also with leadership, such as the legendary Wali Songo of Java who are thought to have promulgated Islam throughout Indonesia. </div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">By Gus Mono, a respected Muslim cleric from Magelang, Java </div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">Translated by Ian L. Betts</div>Ian L. Bettshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02965068474378146464noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4625259130826097111.post-5004985210649999022009-05-21T08:55:00.000-07:002009-05-21T08:58:52.240-07:00Steps on the Journey<div align="justify"><br />Praise be to God for His mercy and guidance. All praise and greetings to our Prophet Muhammad PBUH, his companions, followers and descendants.<br /><br />One’s history, and the background to it, influences a person’s individuality. With one’s individuality, a person can make history.<br /><br />From what I know of Emha Ainun Nadjib, without any embellishment whatsoever, he is a figure who has carved out a role in the centre of the plural peoples, based on his strong individuality.<br /><br />Strong in his principles, he is able to endure facing the trials of life, however bitter they may be.<br /><br />Fearful only of Allah, and hopeful only of His grace, he is inclusive without exception, especially with regard to the poor, the marginalised and the disenfranchised.<br /><br />The development of his most important thought is in accord with his passion for leading the Qu’ran recitals at Pondokan Modern Daarussalam Gontor. He is sensitive towards all and dislikes the use of force by or against anyone.<br /><br />Everyone has an interest in self-promotion, but the degree and extent of this varies from one to another. I see that Emha’s interest in self-promotion and the process involved in gaining it is minimal, but he achieves maximum results.<br /><br />I predict that the contents of this book are among the steps in Emha’s journey towards positioning himself on the world's stage, with the blessing of his wisdom.<br /> </div><div align="justify"><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4625259130826097111#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1">[1]</a> A renowned Islamic Madrassah-style boarding school</div><div align="justify"> </div><div align="justify">By Hasan Abdullah Sahal</div><div align="justify">Leader of Pondok Modern “Darussalam” Gontor Ponorogo<a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4625259130826097111#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1">[1]</a></div><div align="justify">March 12th 2006</div><div align="justify"> </div><div align="justify">Translated by Ian L. Betts</div>Ian L. Bettshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02965068474378146464noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4625259130826097111.post-25876208819710579882009-05-21T08:44:00.000-07:002009-05-22T06:25:33.703-07:00Discourse flavoured with Islam, and a spirit at once local and global<div align="justify"><br />I love his poetic works, especially Muhammadkan Hamba, which causes the adrenalin to flow in the middle of the frozen socio-political situation at this time. The spirit of Cak Nun’s thought represents the "Awakening of Majapahit/Nusantara<a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4625259130826097111#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1">[1]</a>” with a discourse flavoured with Islam, and a spirit at once local and global, indicating the enthusiasm for Allah’s mercy on earth as well as unity in diversity. That’s unlike me, who represents Sunda<a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4625259130826097111#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2">[2]</a> with the language of a Liberal ’disbeliever’ (<em>kafir</em>). It’s clear that the audience at <em>Kenduri Cinta</em>, who share different religions and ideologies, also respect communities outside of the mainstream, such as Jakar (Jaringan Kafir Liberal – Liberal Kafir Network), and that these can be bridged by Cak Nun. It’s time for Cak Nun, via your Success Team, to go for National Leadership, because this country needs Alternative Leaders, Progressive, Artistic and Liberal, not the normative, standard, ignorant and permanently hypocritical. </div><div align="justify"><br /><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4625259130826097111#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1">[1]</a> Ancient maritime and archipelago-based empire based on the territory of what is now much of present-day Indonesia<br /><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4625259130826097111#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2">[2]</a> Sunda, a people, territory and language of West Java</div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">Note:</div><div align="justify"><em>Kenduri Cinta</em>: literally the feast of love; the name of the monthly gathering (or Maiyah) held since 2000 in Jakarta on the evening of the second Friday of each month at Taman Ismail Marzuki, Cikini, Central Jakarta</div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">By Dadang Ismawan, Painter and theologian, Jakar (Jaringan Kafir Liberal – Liberal Kafir Network)</div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">Translated by Ian L. Betts</div>Ian L. Bettshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02965068474378146464noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4625259130826097111.post-34622847467675772892009-05-21T08:34:00.000-07:002009-05-22T19:02:40.972-07:00A humanist with a sound vision of the nation<div align="justify"><br />I have known Emha Ainun Nadjib well for a long time. For sure, I want to say that Indonesia needs a figure, a character and an individual who understands culture like Cak Nun. He is able to smoothly express ideas and criticisms both religious and political. I also know him to be a humanist who quickly responds to the problems faced by people. I know him to possess a sound vision of the nation, a man who dares to state the truth with wisdom. I also know Cak Nun to be consistent and constant on behalf of the religious community. Cak Nun has a theory of mass leadership which every <em>bocah angon</em><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4625259130826097111#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1">[1]</a> of the nation would do well to study, as I have. Congratulations and success.</div><div align="justify"><br /><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4625259130826097111#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1">[1]</a> Reference to the lyrics of <em>Illir-ilir</em> (one of Emha's most well-known songs, written by Sunan Kailjaga, one of Java's legendary <em>Wali Songo</em> saints of Islam), <em>bocah angon</em>, a cattle-herd boy.</div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">By H. Ali Mocthar Ngabalin, MA (Defence Commission, People’s Representative Assembly and former leader of Indonesian Muslim Student Group <em>Pelajar Islam</em>-PII 1994-1996)<br /><br />Translated by Ian L. Betts</div>Ian L. Bettshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02965068474378146464noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4625259130826097111.post-14232030059955731432009-05-21T08:30:00.000-07:002009-05-22T06:26:13.191-07:00A man of the people<div align="justify"><br />Emha is a man of the people, and an original in his ideas and style. He is a free man who is able to pass all barriers unrestricted, expressing the hearts of the people in a spirit which respects the values of worshippers as they bow before the calls of the worldly. We embrace Emha as our spokesman for common sense in this collective confusion of a nation which results in poverty in the midst of an enormous wealth of resources, and unemployment that rises in proportion with growth in the economy and investment. May Emha always be a loyal guardian and spokesman for the heart of the nation. Salam.</div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">By Adi Sasono (Former Minister of Cooperatives, leading member of the Indonesian Association of Muslim Intellectuals, ICMI).</div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">Translated by Ian L. Betts</div>Ian L. Bettshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02965068474378146464noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4625259130826097111.post-10673781307528871722009-05-18T07:10:00.000-07:002009-05-22T06:26:30.790-07:00"Silence More Evident in the Commotion that he Makes"<div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"><strong>The Emha Ainun Najib That I Know</strong><br /><br /><em>Contributed by Hidayat Nur Wahid, Leader of the Indonesian People’s Consultative Assembly<br /></em><br />I have known this figure for a long time, since I was a <em>santri</em><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4625259130826097111#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1">[1]</a> student at the Pondok Modern Gontor Ponorogo, where Mas<a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4625259130826097111#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2">[2]</a> Emha Ainun Najib once studied. I am quite familiar with his writings in various influential media, such as Tempo magazine and others. He has long been considered to have a far-reaching outlook, a depth of knowledge, a commitment to arriving at a deep level of correction and improvement, but it seems that there is also something else; something that is not too common, in the context of that people often term a certain mischievousness of thought. Of course I can understand that in the context of the tradition that comprises his background, as a son of Jombang with all that accompanies that, and then growing up in Pesantren Gontor with all its dynamics, and then living outside of the pesantren and the communities that he met there, he continues to present various alternatives and a variety of other activities, which naturally indicate that this person, Emha Ainun Najib, is indeed embarked upon a journey that identifies ways in which we can achieve more; achievements that bring us to the light, that steers us away from all that which makes us resistant to change. His skill with holy verses is as well-developed as his ability to take flying leaps with accepted logic.<br /><br />I grew to know Mas Emha Ainun Najib more directly when we were alumni together at Pondok Pesantren Modern Gontor during the era of Gus Dur<a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4625259130826097111#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3">[3]</a>, another son of Jombang who became the President. We often met and debated in forums that were extremely limited. There was Mas Emha Ainun Najib, the late Cak Nur<a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4625259130826097111#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4">[4]</a>, Kiai Haji Hasyim Muzadi<a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4625259130826097111#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5">[5]</a>, Dien Syamsudin<a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4625259130826097111#_ftn6" name="_ftnref6">[6]</a>, Pak Kiai Syukri from Pondok Pesantren Gontor, Pak Kholil Ridwan, leader of the All-Indonesia Institute for Co-operation among Pondok Pesantren, and myself. The meetings illustrated the extent of Mas Emha Ainun Najib’s friendships, which while stemming from one pesantren, were actually very varied in their activities. As usual, Mas Emha Ainun Najib was in the midst of us all, creating the conditions for lightheartedness, but at the same time making a commitment whereby these communities worked towards a solution and did not worsen existing conditions, because we were all working within the framework of one great commitment, namely Ukhuwah Islamiyah, the brotherhood that brings peace, that brings a commitment to work towards something that will give rise to a solution; these are avlues that have long been sown in the lives of us that have studied at Pondok Modern Gontor Ponorogo.<br /><br />Since that time, Mas Emha Ainun Najib has made his own place in being mindful of the inner life, also in my understanding of how an activity should be managed, how an idea should be communicated, how a commitment can be struggled for together, and then, though we may not share his understanding, accepting that differences need not disturb our togetherness to work towards the good, with fresher criticisms and commitments.<br /><br />It has happened that, while not of one understanding, though still joined in the path of friendship, we maintained a dialogue via telephone from Jogja to Jakarta, during which we discussed the first round of the presidential elections (2004) and then later the second. Of course I respect the political choices of Mas Emha Ainun Najib, who is proof of where an artist does not have to make a taboo of plunging himself into the world of practical politics, and of course he also respects the political choices that I have made, and so we learn that those differences do not mean that we have to be ”enemies” or end our <em>silaturahim</em><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4625259130826097111#_ftn7" name="_ftnref7">[7]</a> and friendly communications, we have remained friends until now.<br /><br />And so, when I was asked to make some comments about him for this book that is to be published, I took it as a great honour, but I feel that what he has done is not a ”Silent Pilgrimage” as the title indicates, a pilgrim’s journey that gives rise to quietness or which is made quietly. As far as I know, the journey of Mas Emha Ainun Najib is a journey made in the true sense of the word ’Pilgrimage’, in journeying towards Allah, towards God in His Abode. In the House of God The Allmighty, what Mas Emha does in the the context of ”silent” is not apparent, but is rather more evident in the commotion that he makes. His journey in life is just as full of commotion. From the Pondok Pesantren Modern Gontor to <em>Padang Bulan</em> in Jakarta and other places, it has always been the commotion that causes us to return to the essence of ourselves as people who must think and be of good character, people who must continue to improve upon our commitments, people who do not merely enage in <em>Thowaf</em><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn8" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4625259130826097111#_ftn8" name="_ftnref8">[8]</a>, not just being present at Arafah<a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn9" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4625259130826097111#_ftn9" name="_ftnref9">[9]</a>, not merely stoning the <em>Jumroh</em><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn10" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4625259130826097111#_ftn10" name="_ftnref10">[10]</a>, but also to become that which is written in the traditions (of the Prophet Muhammad) of the Haj Pilgrimage, and that is <em>Mabrur</em><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn11" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4625259130826097111#_ftn11" name="_ftnref11">[11]</a>. To become <em>Mabrur</em> is of course not to become <em>Mablul</em>. <em>Mablul</em> means to become wet through perspiring in exhaustion, in fear, or by the crush of other pilgrims or even by having been doused in the waters of <em>Zamzam</em><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn12" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4625259130826097111#_ftn12" name="_ftnref12">[12]</a>. <em>Mabrur</em> is not about flying off in a plane<a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn13" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4625259130826097111#_ftn13" name="_ftnref13">[13]</a> far from Indonesia and one’s village for who knows where, only to fly home without any positive or constructive changes resulting from one’s long flight and contemplation in the Holy Land. <em>Mabrur</em> is a state whereby those who have made a long journey always ensure that the positive things they have achieved do not end when they end their pilgrimage to Mecca, but are held close and developed further upon returning home, whether home is Jombang, Jogja or Jakarta; wherever they go, their enthusiasm goes with them. And I hope that it is the enthusiasm that stems from Mabrur and not the mere wetness that stems from <em>Mablul</em> (and certainly not the mere act of taking the journey) that will always ensure that the journey of Mas Emha Ainun Najib will go on as if it were a Pilgrimage which will end in the company of the <em>Syuhada</em>, the <em>Shiddiqin</em>, the <em>Aulia</em><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn14" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4625259130826097111#_ftn14" name="_ftnref14">[14]</a>, and that this state of <em>Mabrur</em> will lead to brightness and happiness for himself and for others in this world and in the next.<br /><br />Amin Ya Rabbal Alamiin<a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn15" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4625259130826097111#_ftn15" name="_ftnref15">[15]</a>.<br /><br /><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4625259130826097111#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1">[1]</a> Santri; student at an Islamic boarding school (pesantren or madrassah)<br /><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4625259130826097111#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2">[2]</a> Mas; a Javanese term to denote a brother, someone perceived by the speaker to be of equal social status with the speaker.<br /><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4625259130826097111#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3">[3]</a> An affectionate name for Indonesia’s fourth president, and prominent NU figure, Abdurrahman Wahid.<br /><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4625259130826097111#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4">[4]</a> An affectionate name for Nurcholish Madjid, who founded the influential Paramadina Institute (and later a university). The ‘father’ of Islamic pluralism in Indonesia.<br /><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4625259130826097111#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5">[5]</a> Current leader of NU.<br /><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4625259130826097111#_ftnref6" name="_ftn6">[6]</a> Current leader of Muhammdiyah.<br /><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4625259130826097111#_ftnref7" name="_ftn7">[7]</a> An Islamic term for meetings among (esp. Muslim) friends.<br /><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn8" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4625259130826097111#_ftnref8" name="_ftn8">[8]</a> An Islamic term denoting the encircling of the Kaaba at the centre of Mecca; an element of the Haj.<br /><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn9" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4625259130826097111#_ftnref9" name="_ftn9">[9]</a> One element of the Haj Pilgrimage is to stand for many hours on the Plain of Arafah.<br /><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn10" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4625259130826097111#_ftnref10" name="_ftn10">[10]</a> Another element is to stone a number of pillars, which represent the devil.<br /><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn11" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4625259130826097111#_ftnref11" name="_ftn11">[11]</a> An Islamic term denoting a state whereby one’s pilgrimage is accepted by Allah, a state that every pilgrim obviously hopes to attain.<br /><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn12" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4625259130826097111#_ftnref12" name="_ftn12">[12]</a> Waters from a spring in Mecca thought to be imbued with special powers.<br /><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn13" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4625259130826097111#_ftnref13" name="_ftn13">[13]</a> In the original Indonesia this is a play on words whereby mabur, a term for flying, sounds similar to Mabrur.<br /><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn14" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4625259130826097111#_ftnref14" name="_ftn14">[14]</a> The Martyrs.<br /><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn15" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4625259130826097111#_ftnref15" name="_ftn15">[15]</a> An Islamic term used in closing an address or speech.</div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">Translated by Ian L. Betts</div>Ian L. Bettshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02965068474378146464noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4625259130826097111.post-18775230165219850662009-05-18T07:00:00.000-07:002009-05-22T06:26:55.632-07:00The Silent Pilgrim<div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"> </div><div align="justify">The Silent Pilgrim, Emha Ainun Nadjib, has travelled alone in full circle through tradition and modernity: Islamic ritualism, Western and Islamic rational philosophy, Javanese and Islamic spirituality. In the beginning of his journey he wrote an anthology of verse entitled “99 For My Lord”, referring to the 99 Names of Allah, the <em>Asma al-Husna</em>. At the end of his spiritually exhaustive, turbulent pilgrimage, this enigmatic Silent Pilgrim has come to understand the 100th Name of Allah: endless devotion to his fellow creatures, and his country.</div><div align="justify"> </div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">Contributed by Hasyim Wahid (known affectionately as as Gus Im, the younger brother of former Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid, or Gus Dur).</div><div align="justify"> </div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">Translated by Ian L. Betts </div>Ian L. Bettshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02965068474378146464noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4625259130826097111.post-55734671729688014852009-05-17T17:42:00.001-07:002009-05-17T17:46:38.187-07:00Poetry…Tombo Ati, The Heart’s Ease…<div align="justify"><br />One chapter of "The Silent Pilgrimage" is dedicated to Emha’s poetry. Following is an extract from the draft of that chapter. It concerns "Tombo Ati", the Heart's Ease, written hundreds of years ago by Sunan Bonang, one of Java’s nine Wali Songo, the early saints of Islam.<br /><br />…Finally, a word on the poem, or lyric, which for many people is the first of Emha’s works that they encounter, though it was not written by him. Tombo Ati…<br /><br /><strong><em>Tombo Ati<br /><br />Original Javanese version:</em></strong><br /><br />Tombo ati iku ono limang perkoro</div><div align="justify">Kaping pisan, moco Qur'an sa'maknane</div><div align="justify">Kaping pindo, sholat wengi lakononoKaping telu, wong kang sholeh kumpulono</div><div align="justify">Kaping papat, wetengiro ingkang luwe</div><div align="justify">Kaping limo, dzikir wengi ingkang suwe</div><div align="justify"> </div><div align="justify">Salah akwijine sopo biso ngelakoni</div><div align="justify">Insya Allah Gusti Pangeran ngijabahi<br /><br /><em><strong>Modern Bahasa Indonesia version:</strong></em><br /><br />Ada lima obat penentram jiwa</div><div align="justify">Cinta Qur'an dengan menyelami maknanya</div><div align="justify">Sujudkan jiwa raga di tengah sunyi malam</div><div align="justify">Kepada orang sholeh dirimu senantiasa dekatkan</div><div align="justify">Adapun terhadap rasa lapar upayakan bertahan</div><div align="justify">Dan atas keasyikan zhikir jangan pernah bosan</div><div align="justify"> </div><div align="justify">Salah satu saja engkau khusyu' melakukannya</div><div align="justify">Insya Allah nasibmu akan dirawat oleh Yang Maha Kuasa<br /><br /><strong>English translation:</strong><br /><br />There are five ways to ease the heart<br />Love the Qur’an by deepening your understanding of its meaning<br />Bow in prayer in the silent dead of night<br />Keep the company of good people<br />Learn to withstand the pangs of hunger<br />And never tire of the remembrance of Allah<br /><br />If you can achieve but one of these…<br />Surely, God Willing, your fate will be assured by the Allmighty.<br /><br />In recent times Emha has produced other translations of Tombo Ati in the Sunda, Mandar and other regional dialects. However, as other commercially popular artists and performers have begun to cover the song, it has slipped from Kiai Kanjeng’s repertoire. </div><div align="justify"> </div><div align="justify">In its best-known recorded form; a live version on the album "Kado Muhammad", the song has a lengthy spoken introduction and a large crowd are heard singing the <em>Shalawat Badr</em>. Then Emha, in a long spoken introduction, calls upon all present to free themselves from the pressures they may be facing at home, at work, at the office. He tells the assembled audience to ‘rileks’ (relax), as Kiai Kanjeng’s instruments are heard taking up the refrain to Tombo Ati. <br /> </div>Ian L. Bettshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02965068474378146464noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4625259130826097111.post-4326819755864257102009-05-17T17:12:00.001-07:002009-05-17T17:14:56.743-07:00The UK, Germany and Italy: Tolerance, Democracy and Creativity<div align="justify"><br /><em><strong>“Indonesia in Disorder” and “Islamophobia”<br /></strong></em><br />During the European and other tours, Kiai Kanjeng and Emha Ainun Nadjib have faced questions and even resistance with regard to their identity as Muslims. At times they felt challenged by what they described as two overriding “obstructions to communication,” namely the image of Indonesia as a “country in disorder” and the problem of “Islamophobia”, particularly as Kiai Kanjeng were very closely identified with Islam.<br /><br />However, when Kiai Kanjeng were in front of an audience, things were very different. When the Australian audiences were presented with contemporary western music plus one or two Australian popular songs arranged in “gamelan” style, they promptly asked: “where is the Islamic music?” In a show specifically for high school students at Saint Richi, Kiai Kanjeng gave a simple gamelan version of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. The students were openly demanding: “Give us the Islamic songs”, they cried. Kiai Kanjeng responded by playing a number of shalawat (songs in praise to the Prophet Muhammad), and the students spontaneously got up from their seats and danced. This event is captured on video and can be seen on the 2005 compilation release Kiai Kanjeng Greets UK.<br /><br />In Aberdeen Kiai Kanjeng played an extended number from Lebanon. This was a piece of traditional Arabic music which, at certain points, they would change suddenly, breaking into ‘western’ sounding music without altering the note or the instrumental accompaniment. Then the ensemble would faithfully return to the original Arabic style. In these cases, the Arabic lyrics would be sung by Kiai Kanjeng vocalist, Yuli, and the English language version by Novia.<br /><br />Amazing Grace had been played on the bagpipes by well-known Rowett Piper Duncan McPherson. He was given a background accompaniment on the saron and bonang (Javanese percussion instruments). The song was almost imperceptibly taken up by Kiai Kanjeng who introduced a medley of songs from Madura, Aceh and Timor with virtually no change in the melody. One observer wrote that “the melodies from various countries are connected to each other beautifully ‘in love’ even though the countries may be at odds with each other politically and economically and are “compartmentalised by walls.”<br /><br /><em><strong>Community Music, Cultural Group<br /></strong></em><br />The audiences for Kiai Kanjeng performances overseas may consist of any of four main categories. The first category comprises the indigenous population. The second is formed of people of various other nationalities residing in or visiting a particular town where a performance is taking place. The third category consists of Indonesians residing or visiting the town and the fourth, non-Indonesian Muslims.<br /><br />In Aberdeen the two shows at the Rowett Institute were largely attended by Scots. The Indonesians there were on the whole serving as members of the organising committee. On university campuses, such as that of School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London and those in Manchester, Birmingham and Leeds during the first tour of November 2004, the audiences had consisted of many different nationalities. The same had been true in Melbourne, while in Sydney and Canberra the audiences mainly comprised the children of junior and senior high schools, elementary schools and kindergartens, even playgroups. This is well-represented on the Kiai Kanjeng Greets UK (Video CD).<br /><br />On the two UK and European tours the set list prepared by Kiai Kanjeng remained largely constant. There were original songs by Kiai Kanjeng. There were reworkings of modern and contemporary selections that had been given an “ethnic slant” as well as traditional and other ethnic Indonesian songs and “gamelanised” Western pop songs. For Britain the repertoire included Cat Steven’s Wild World and Morning Has Broken, Rod Steward’s Sailing, Bryan Adam’s Everything I Do and The Beatles’ I Saw Her Standing There.<br /><br />Kiai Kanjeng’s tour of six Egyptian provinces in 2002 featured the “gamelanisation” of legendary Egyptian singer Ummi Kultsum’s songs. Since Egypt is familiar with French culture, particularly Alexandria, Kiai Kanjeng was ready with Alein, for example. For their tour of Germany and Italy, Kiai Kanjeng played in Berlin, Rome, Naples and Teramo, featuring gamelan versions of Eine Seefahrt, Grosser Gott, Guter Mond, Lucia, Sara and Solo Mio.<br /><br />All of this was conducted in the spirit of inter-cultural communication. Discussions with Emha will quickly reveal that Kiai Kanjeng does not consider itself primarily a musical group, nor an arts group, but rather, first and foremost, a cultural group.<br /><br />Though many recordings have been made over the years and cassettes and CDs made widely available in their native Indonesia, Emha and Kiai Kanjeng have made relatively few forays into the recording studio, considering the amount of time they spend performing as well as their vast musical output and repertoire. Instead they consider their music to be “community music”, to be presented at public performances, largely by invitation, to people of various ethnicities and nationalities, in various countries, to people of any religion, culture or of any identity.<br /><br />During the last few years a number of recordings have been made but they have not received commercial distribution and are therefore in extremely limited supply. Nevertheless they are often remarkably stunning examples of Indonesian and world music and deserve the attention of academics, world music enthusiasts and collectors.<br /><br />Kiai Kanjeng neither seek nor maintain links with the Indonesian government or business and industry. They perform generally only when invited by the public. Kiai Kanjeng believe that they are not considered particularly important by the Indonesian government. They also believe that the recording industry considers them a very poor prospect in terms of sales potential. Their success is based on the sheer numbers of people who enthusiastically buy cassettes and CDs, whenever they are available.<br /><br />Kiai Kanjeng are always busy nonetheless simply because they receive so many invitations to perform. In the last seven years Kiai Kanjeng have been invited to perform at more than 1,000 events for various groups (and sometimes two or three performances are necessary), literally criss-crossing the vast territory of Indonesia by road and plane and requiring an intricately-balanced schedule. A dedicated team is required to coordinate these activities and ensure that all runs smoothly. A core team of three or four people, assisted by regional representatives and volunteers provides for and arranges this crucial logistical support. <br /><br />For Kiai Kanjeng, music is just one element in cultural communications. Through music they say, many kinds of human communication can be explored including cultural dialogue, political discussion, spiritual enlightenment or simply giving oneself to the music in dance and spontaneous movement, free of any ties.<br /><br /><em><strong>“Do we look Like Terrorists?”<br /></strong></em><br />In recent years, due to the economic crisis, political unrest and the outbreak of terrorism that began with the Bali bombings of October 2002, Indonesia has suffered from a relatively bad press, and in general Islamophobia can be said to have increased. Kiai Kanjeng have to able to assess the mood and psychology of an audience, working to immediately eliminate any negativity. In many major cities of the world, they ask the audience: “Please look carefully at our faces. Do we look like terrorists?” The response was always a roar of laughter.<br /><br />Kiai Kanjeng’s view is that human and cultural openness can do away with political blocks between people. Any Islamophobia in their audience quickly became unimportant when they were greeted with Kiai Kanjeng’s faces, full of genuine smiles and laughter, and certainly not those associated with puritan or militant theologians. Kiai Kanjeng’s approach is one of universal friendship based on love between people and peoples, as reflected in the name given to the regular Jakarta event, Kenduri Cinta or Feast of Love, a theme to which Emha is constantly returning in his work.<br /><br />Indonesian diplomats in the countries visited by Kiai Kanjeng generally say that in the last several years they have had difficulties in maintaining a good image of the country because of various events that have served to stigmatise Indonesia. Kiai Kanjeng, they say, helps to convey to the world the friendly and creative qualities of Indonesians.<br /><br />What Kiai Kanjeng have done is most needed these days: cultural diplomacy. With just one or two hours on stage Kiai Kanjeng have succeeded in “touching” the communities and the media in the countries where they are performing. They are able to enter any segment of society - a feat that cannot be equalled via the formal functions of diplomats.<br /><br />Kiai Kanjeng and Emha Ainun Nadjib have an international language in their music that affords them the ability to communicate where political phraseology has no opportunity to compete.<br /><br /><em><strong>Berlin, Wednesday & Thursday, March 30th – 31st, 2005<br />Joking In Berlin, and National Leadership<br /></strong></em><br />Kiai Kanjeng had prepared 113 compositions for their second European tour. These spanned conventional pieces as well as karya-karya sapaan or popular local numbers presented in a gamelan style as a gesture of friendliness. Each show however, typically lasting 1.5 hours, afforded the opportunity to play only around ten numbers. In Indonesia a typical performance may last up to five hours.<br /><br />For the first day’s performance in Berlin Kiai Kanjeng adopted the same approach seen elsewhere – there were jokes and the theme shifted repeatedly from arts to politics and other topics, and vice versa.<br /><br />The performance would at times appear to be like any other musical performance, and then, as in Indonesia, it would be transformed into a platform for political and social oration, for spiritual contemplation and on to philosophical exposition before launching into biting satire.<br /><br />But the audience was not allowed to dwell on the satire for long. They might suddenly find themselves mid in a discussion of a key concept such as national leadership – such as in Berlin where Cak Nun suddenly broke into Gundul-gundul Pacul to open a discussion on national leadership.<br /><br />The next day, March 31st, saw the second Berlin performance, which one observer described as “orations interspersed with musical selections calculated to make the show accountable to the audience”. Again, the performance lasted approximately 1.5 hours and was “interrupted with roars of delight from the audience.”<br /><br />This performance, held at the German Foreign Ministry’s “World Hall” was attended by German high officials and members of parliament, and ambassadors of various countries. It was hosted by the Indonesian Embassy in Germany in cooperation with the German Foreign Ministry. For Kiai Kanjeng and the embassy it was a forum where “the image of Indonesia was at stake”.<br /><br />Kiai Kanjeng bore the mission of conveying the good image of Indonesia both politically and culturally. More precisely, they took it upon themselves to “submit a good account” of Indonesia and Islam in an international forum. Kiai Kanjeng were met with a roar of applause after each number and at the end of the show the audience gave them a standing ovation.<br /><br />The official press release from the embassy stated that the Ambassador and the Indonesian community in Germany were very satisfied with the manner in which Kiai Kanjeng had successfully elevated the ‘good name’ of Indonesia and presented an “Islam that is friendly” to the international community.<br /><br />Most of the audience for the first night of Kiai Kanjeng’s Berlin shows were Indonesians, while only a few were German. The second night’s show was a more formal event attended by 350 invited German government officials, ambassadors and 100 selected Indonesians.<br /><br />Approaching the performance as if it had been a Maiyah gathering in Indonesia, the first show presented a very cultural atmosphere, full of laughter and jokes. There was the popular Indonesian dangdut music and many comical references to Indonesia’s wayang stories and legends. While Kiai Kanjeng made several artistic gamelan demonstrations, the evening was given over largely to “cultural delights” that were quite typically Indonesia and there was much laughter.<br /><br />Topics covered on that first night included the earthquake in Nias, the havoc left by the tsunami in Aceh and fuel price increases. All were conveyed and understood with typical Indonesian wisdom. Many topical problems in Indonesia, the complications of which would appear to be almost unbearable, were made light of. There was a sense of optimism in Indonesian nationalism, in its “red-and-white” patriotism and the spirit and resolve to look forward and affirm that Indonesia could become the beacon of the world!<br /><br />Emha was able to allude to complex political affairs and make them the material of his commentary to revive Indonesia’s faith in its “historical potential.” Emha spoke of “the wings of historical power flying to the beauty of the future.” He spoke of the unshakable spirit of Indonesians, struck by devastating tsunami, earthquakes, a thousand other disasters and other terrible things, natural disasters, technological disasters as well as human disasters.<br /><br />Kiai Kanjeng had been very busy in Berlin. They had arrived from London in the morning and immediately had to prepare the equipment and the stage for that evening’s performance. The next morning they had a brief opportunity to go sightseeing but in the afternoon they had to prepare the stage at the Foreign Ministry building for that night’s performance. If the first night was an occasion for a light gathering, this second night would be one of cultural diplomacy.<br /><br />Kiai Kanjeng were firm in their resolve to use their music and poetry to do all they could to restore a positive image of Indonesia in the eyes of the international community; to show the world that Indonesia is rich in natural, human and cultural resources. Until this point it was felt that the world had viewed Indonesia from a very narrow perspective. Now, through Kiai Kanjeng, the world could view Indonesia from a broader perspective.<br /><br />Similarly, Kiai Kanjeng wished to encourage the world to find an Islam that would be synonymous with peace, an Islam that would contribute to feelings of greater safety among the peoples of the world. Novia would repeat in Berlin her recital of the same poems that she had read at The Moslem News Award of Islamic Excellence the previous week in London; poems that offered an interpretation of Islam as a religion of love and peace with a musical accompaniment arrangement by Kiai Kanjeng.<br /><br />Nia and Yuli, who on the last day in London had been interviewed by the BBC and whose Qur’anic recital was recorded for a programme on Siti Khadijah (the first wife of the Prophet Muhammad), were again on hand to support Novia’s recital.<br /><br />Indonesia’s Antara News Agency reported from Berlin that the strength of Novia did not lie merely in her mastery of language and management, but also in the very fact of her being a woman in the advanced stages of pregnancy. In the eyes of those who worked to promote gender equality and women’s emancipation, Novia’s leadership swept away any doubts about women’s capabilities and helped to dispel negative views of Islam and its treatment of women. Her prominence onstage and her leadership of the performance worked to confront the views of conservative clerics whose interpretation of Islam made the presence of women on stage taboo.<br /><br />Among the foreign ambassadors attending Kiai Kanjeng’s performance on March 31st were those of Afghanistan, Bolivia, Burundi and Jordan. The Indonesian diplomats attending the show included those from the consulates in both Hamburg and Frankfurt.<br /><br />The Kiai Kanjeng gamelan orchestra comprised 23 members in addition to Emha and Novia Kolopaking. Once again they treated audiences to Cat Stevens’ Wild World, Bryan Adams’ Everything I Do as well as Al-Athal and Hijrah Rasul by Egypt’s Ummi Kultsum and Kalimah by Majdah Rumi of Lebanon. Kiai Kanjeng worked to present a microcosm of Indonesia’s diversity by adopting a tonal system that created a fusion of atmospheres: Chinese, Western, Malay and Arabian music.<br /><br />In his comments in the embassy press release, Indonesian Ambassador to Germany, Makmur Widodo, talked highly of the Kiai Kanjeng Orchestra and its place in the arts, and that their appearance and that of Emha was the fruit of an effort of the Indonesian Embassy in Berlin to introduce to the German public the Islam of Indonesia; an Islam which is friendly, through an intercultural concert.<br /><br /><em><strong>Kiai Kanjeng in Rome, Friday, April 1st, 2005:<br />Tolerance, Democracy and Creativity<br /></strong></em><br />Kiai Kanjeng’s first show in Rome was a performance before the students of the University of La Sapienza, their teachers and rector, Prof. Renato Guarini, and the Indonesian community in Rome. Prior to the performance Emha had been plagued by doubts and a feeling that the timing was inappropriate. They had arrived just as Pope John Paul II had been taken seriously ill. It would be an affront if they were to perform in at atmosphere of levity. So, before the show Emha and Kiai Kanjeng held an internal meeting to analyse the situation and to prepare the right scenario for the performance. Fortunately their creativity allowed them to compose and arrange music appropriately adapted to the prevailing seriousness of the atmosphere.<br /><br /><em><strong>Workshop at Rome International School, Monday, April 4th, 2005</strong></em><br /><br />During the 2003 tour of Australia, universities and schools in Canberra and Melbourne had invited Kiai Kanjeng to conduct workshops with their students. In Rome too Kiai Kanjeng were invited to hold workshops at the International School. The school building is located in the Campus di Parioli, a residential district. The school teaches almost all cultures of the world including Java and the gamelan.<br /><br />Jijid, Joko Kamto, Bayu, Ardani, Joko SP and Kiai Kanjeng’s founder and leader Novi Budianto demonstrated how to play the saron, demung, boning, rebana and kendang. The 8th and 9th grade students were accustomed to exposure to various cultures and were very enthusiastic about the workshop, learning several Javanese children songs and playing the instruments. Just as in Australia, the young students danced and sung when Kiai Kanjeng played popular Italian children’s’ songs.<br /><br /><em><strong>Rome, Tuesday, April 5th, 2005<br />“Poesia Per Un Grande”: Kiai Kanjeng’s Arrangement for Il-Papa</strong></em><br /><br />Kiai Kanjeng had been given approval by the Commune di Roma – the Mayor of Rome - to perform at Teatro Dalmazia at Municippio Due. However, the group were requested to play primarily spiritual numbers as the Italians were by then mourning the death of Pope John Paul II. “Niente Sole Mio, please,” no Sole Mio, please, said the mayor.<br /><br />“Sole Mio”, My Sun, a love song, had been one of a number of well-known Italian songs that Kiai Kanjeng had prepared in gamelan arrangements for performances in several Italian cities. If it could not be played in Rome, could it be played in other cities like Teramo and Naples during this time of mourning? Emha waited for the development of the situation and the advice of the organizing committee.<br /><br />Kiai Kanjeng understood the situation very well and they tried therefore to compose two new numbers specifically for the occasion, namely Obituary and Adagio. The latter was played in the accompaniment of the recital the poem Heart of Gold that was translated into Italian.<br /><br />The initial publicity material for the April 5th show in Rome indicated that Kiai Kanjeng’s music is “known for its high dynamism, is very spirited and sometimes very wild”. But in the atmosphere of mourning in the wake of the passing of Pope John Paul II Emha and Kiai Kanjeng prepared a performance that focused more on the spiritual dimension, the human sadness experienced as a result of the death of the beloved Pope.<br /><br />Although all members of Kiai Kanjeng are Muslims they had a high respect for the commitment of Pope John Paul II to the development of the sacred values of humanity and world peace. They expected that the world would receive a new pope who would fight together with everyone in the world against anything destructive to human life.<br /><br />The Deputy Mayor of Rome, who had attended the show, was very enthusiastic about it and had enjoyed the performance immensely. The artistic setting for the concert, held in the Teatro Dalmazia, as well as the changes effected as a result of the mourning for the Pope meant that Emha and Kiai Kanjeng really had to exploit their talents to the utmost, arranging their musical numbers and presentation in a very different manner than that applied to earlier concerts in England and Scotland.<br /><br />Once again, Emha made only one appearance on stage, namely to sing a Minang (West Sumatran) song. Unlike the performance at the University of La Sapienza, Emha made no orations or speeches at the Dalmazia performance. The songs were presented one by one and conducted throughout with a strict discipline, as well as an Italian commentary.<br /><br />The nuns and churchgoers attending the show expressed their thanks and sincere appreciation. The performance had been very moving for the Catholics, mourning their Pope. The audience applauded the recital of Poem of Heart of Gold in Italian with a very long period of applause. The three first numbers, Obituary, Adagio and Duh Gusti (Oh, Lord), though “substantively” not Christian hymns, had been given “nuances and aesthetical formula” that could be perceived as having been intended to express condolences to the mourning hosts, the Italians. The choir of Imam Fatawi, Islamiyanto, Seteng, Nia and Yuli sounded as solemn as that of any church choir.<br /><br />Ihab Hashem, a senior journalist from Palestine, said “This kind of group is very much needed by Europe or any other Western community elsewhere. By witnessing the performance of Kiai Kanjeng they can begin to know that Muslims can do more than just live in tolerance and democracy, but that they are also capable of a “cultural creativity” that might not even be possible in the West.<br /><br /><em><strong>Teramo, Italy, Wednesday, April 6th, 2005<br />Sophisticated but Uncomplicated<br /></strong></em><br />The Teramo show was entitled “Grazie Italia” and was produced in cooperation with the organizing committee of “Festival Teramo Citta Apperta Almondo”. The programme commenced with an Italian band who played three Blues & Jazz numbers. Kiai Kanjeng followed with a performance lasting one and a half hours of their best songs. The audience applauded enthusiastically after each number and gave the group a standing ovation at the end of the performance.<br /><br />Many other groups from Argentine, Italy, the United States, Germany and several other countries were participating in the festival. Kiai Kanjeng was accorded special treatment. The company had been invited, and played free of charge. The other groups participating had to pay and to register themselves one year in advance.<br /><br />Furthermore, while Teramo and all other places throughout Italy had suspended many of their regional and national cultural and sports events out of respect for the deceased Pope John Paul II, Kiai Kanjeng was asked to perform in the festival. They played Pambuko I and II (Introduction), Recital of Emha Ainun Nadjib’s poems by Luluk, Gundul Pacul, Rampak Terbang, Tarian Rembulan (Moon Dance), O Sole Mio, Kalimah and Rampak Osing.<br /><br />The Mayor of Teramo admired the arrangement of Kalimah with its “tiers of creativity”; sophisticated but not complicated. “I really appreciate it very much. The music of Kiai Kanjeng is very different from any music I have known. This is new for the Italians,” he said, promising further “cooperation” between Kiai Kanjeng and Teramo.<br /><br /><em><strong>Naples, Thursday, April 7th, 2005<br />Flying the Red-And-White: From The Sumit of Imam Busyiri’s Shalawat to the “Mecca” of Classical Music</strong></em><br /><br />The concert at the Conservatorio Di Musica San Pietro A Majella, Naples, can be said to have been the “culmination of the achievement” of Kiai Kanjeng in their second tour of Europe. In London the company had successfully demonstrated their international values and cultural diplomacy.<br /><br />In Aberdeen they “served the purpose of human and cultural relationship between the Indonesians and the Scots”. In the “World Hall” of the German Foreign Ministry “they presented their music to be woven obediently in the interests of political and cultural diplomacy”. In Rome they “presented their creativity for the beauty of inter-religious tolerance, particularly to accommodate the solemnity and mourning following the death of Pope John Paul II.”<br /><br />Later, on April 9th, Emha would write in one of his frequent reports that in Naples he and Kiai Kanjeng had experienced a “great freedom” and had produced a “tremendous feast” establishing themselves as artists, creators, explorers of the aesthetic world, adventurers in melodies and lyrics, spiritual wanderers who could “fly” without the constraints of culture, politics or anything else.<br /><br />Kiai Kanjeng had staged their music where the great masters of the world’s classical music once staged their works: Guiseppe Verdi, Robert Wagner, Guiseppe Tartini and Antonio Vivaldi. After staging their concerts these great masters left their musical instruments to be made museum items and thereby immortalized. The complex contains a museum that keeps these precious historic musical instruments that so attest to the musical creativity experienced there. Kiai Kanjeng too left their own artistic souvenirs in the form of the manuscript notations of their two well-known works, Pambuko I and Pambuko II (Overtures I and II) and the Demung written in gold ink.<br /><br />Naples is one of the world’s centres of classical music. If you study classical music, wrote Emha in his report, you have to master the meanings of hundreds of Italian words and terms. Kiai Kanjeng have set their footprints on the summit of the highest peak in classical music, and flown the Red-and-White (the merah-putih or national flag of Indonesia) there.<br /><br />Among the audience in Naples were Italian generals, intellectuals and businessmen. They applauded Emha and Kiai Kanjeng with cries of ‘Complimente, Complimente Maestro, Grazia Maestro!’ Emha later conceded that actually he had been embarrassed at being called ‘Maestro’ as he could not play in fact play any of the instruments of the true, classical maestros.<br /><br />The concert in Naples was very formal, held in strict state protocol, as had been the performance in the Hall of the World at the German Foreign Ministry in Berlin. Neither Emha nor Kiai Kanjeng actually sang for this concert, performing instead a series of compositions especially composed and arranged for the occasion, of which the primary composition had never been played on the tour. The applause they received from this formal audience was the most enthusiastic of the entire tour. The generals appeared to lose all restraint, shouting, abandoning the etiquette of concert audiences.<br /><br />Emha had understood that to be called “Maestro” was indeed an accolade to be taken seriously, since it had been expressed by professional musicians and special guests with an expert knowledge of music. One senior pianist asked Emha to come back to Naples “to process the creation of a composition” and to hold a concert with the local musicians”.<br /><br />“Now I’m done for!” said Emha, acknowledging that the challenge was far beyond his capability.<br /><br />This tour experience has been beyond the wildest imaginations of Emha and Kiai Kanjeng. Only two years earlier, they had toured six provinces of Egypt and they reached there the Summit of Mount Shalawat, the Mosque of Imam Bushiri of Alexandria, the composer of shalawat Burdah, which is widely sung with lyrics known by many of the Muslims of Indonesia. There, Kiai Kanjeng succeeded in meeting the Sheikh of the Mosque of Imam Bushiri. Kiai Kanjeng’s shalawat were greeted by the shalawat sung by the Sheikh. Kiai Kanjeng and the Sheikh then conversed in shalawat, and then they sang together several more shalawat.<br /><br />The tours of Egypt, the UK and Europe had each culminated in their own particular peaks, be it the pinnacle of classical music, the heights of cultural diplomacy or the summit of Islamic shalawat. Each of the tours, in fact each of the individual performances, had each been different in terms of the composition of the audiences and their expectations. However, they all showed a common thread in that Emha Ainun Nadjib and Kiai Kanjeng have a universal appeal to all audiences.</div><div align="justify"> </div><div align="justify">A version of this text is due for inclusion in the book, "<em>The Silent Pilgrimage</em>", by Ian L Betts</div>Ian L. Bettshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02965068474378146464noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4625259130826097111.post-63693473789926264032009-05-15T09:43:00.001-07:002009-05-15T09:51:45.478-07:00Reflections on the UK Tours..."universal humanistic values"<div align="justify">Audiences outside Indonesia may not be aware of the wide variety of music performed by Emha and Kiai Kanjeng. On their recent UK and European tours they performed a range of traditional Javanese and Indonesian songs, Arabic songs of religious devotion as well as playful takes on Western hits including the Beatles. They also covered a number of Cat Stevens songs including Wild World and their own versions of traditional Muslim songs such as Shalawat Badr set to the tune of Silent Night and Rod Stewart’s Sailing. </div><div align="justify"><br /> </div><div align="justify"><em>Part of the following text was published in the Indonesian language version of the "The Silent Pilgrimage" in June 2006 by Kompas Gramedia. We are indebted to Aidinal Alrashid for his comments.</em></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"> </div><div align="justify">The covers of Cat Stevens’ songs were an important part of the repertoire for various reasons. Emha and Kiai Kanjeng have long maintained a respect for Yusuf Islam and their performances in 2004 often included a rendition of Wild World, sung by Ananto Wibowo, who was then Kiai Kanjeng’s lead vocalist. The group harboured hopes that Yusuf Islam would attend at least one of their performances in the UK. Emha himself, in one email report back to Indonesia from the tour, wrote “Oh Allah, please just bring me Yusuf Islam.”<br /></div><div align="justify">Their prayers were answered when during a key performance at SOAS<a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4625259130826097111#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1">[1]</a> in London Yusuf Islam and his wife were observed in the audience. After the performance, Yusuf and Emha met and quickly struck up a friendship. Aidinal Alrashid is Indonesian and an officer at the British Council, London. He is a supporter of Emha and Kiai Kanjeng and assisted with arrangements for the UK tours. Aidinal has particularly interesting insights into the concert at SOAS and Emha’s first meeting with Yusuf Islam. The respect between these two artists and Islamic figures was mutual. Following is an account of the evening that Aidinal sent to long after the event in December 2006:<br /><br />…Kyai Kanjeng and Cak Nun have surpassed expectations as usual, outstanding! I still remember on their two visits to the UK, how they were able to totally captivate the audience and mesmerised them into harmony with their enchanting music just as a snake-charmer would bewitch and totally hypnotise/entrance a snake to sway to his music. During their first tour in November 2004, their first concert was to a packed audience at SOAS, University of London. During the concert Yusuf Islam (formerly Cat Stevens), was so taken in by the charismatic performance of Kyai Kanjeng and Cak Nun that he was swaying and moving to the music, and asked me to take him backstage to meet Cak Nun during the interval, which I did. Yusuf Islam was totally enchanted and impressed by the performance that he was discussing so many points on music and Islam with Cak Nun during the interval and after the show. </div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"> </div><div align="justify">During the second tour of the UK in March 2005, Cak Nun and Kyai Kanjeng performed at the most prestigious event for Muslims in the UK, The Muslim News Awards of Excellence, which the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown, attended as a guest of honour and gave a speech. Cak Nun and Kyai Kanjeng totally enchanted the distinguished Muslim and non-Muslim audience, that you could see how they thoroughly enjoyed the show, which proved that Islamic music need not be as dry and boring as what is normally shown and understood amongst Muslims in the UK. There were the Qariah who beautifully recited the Holy Qur’an, followed by the group singing the salawat and also contemporary songs that harmoniously weaved its way into a very universal and spiritual sequence that gave messages on the greatness and compassion of Allah and universal humanistic values. </div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"> </div><div align="justify">It is important to note that Gordon Brown, Prime Minister in waiting, was so enchanted by the performance that he made a mention in his speech of how humbled he felt and how amazed he was at the outstanding performance by Kyai Kanjeng, especially as he did not realise before this that Islamic music could be so interesting, uplifting and enchanting, and that it was good to see women taking active part in the performance. Everywhere they went in the UK whether it was in England or Scotland, Cak Nun & Kyai Kanjeng captivated the hearts and soul of the audience, majority of whom were not Muslims, and whether they were singing Silent Night that wove into the Salawat, or contemporary songs that became universal and spiritual in theme, the audience were always involved, and in this inclusiveness they all became one in unity and in harmony, a testament to universal humanity and God’s love and compassion. Cak Nun and Kyai Kanjeng have achieved in one performance what would take the Indonesian Embassy years to achieve in terms of Indonesian public/cultural diplomacy. March on Cak Nun and Kyai Kanjeng, the de facto cultural Ambassador of Indonesia and Islam!<br />…<br /><br />Thanks very much.<br /><br />Wassalam<br /><br />Aidinal Alrashid<br /></div><div align="justify"><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4625259130826097111#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1">[1]</a> The School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.</div>Ian L. Bettshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02965068474378146464noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4625259130826097111.post-44558821640090312272009-05-15T09:33:00.000-07:002009-05-17T17:22:11.106-07:00The Second UK Tour & Europe…“Cultural Diplomacy”<div align="justify"><strong></strong> </div><div align="justify"><strong>March 21st – April 12th, 2005<br /></strong><br />This second visit of Emha Ainun Nadjib and Kiai Kanjeng to the United Kingdom was on the invitation of The Muslim News to lend a unique cultural performance to the presentation of awards to Muslim achievers of excellence in various fields that included medical science, sports, the sciences, economics and the arts in Europe.<br /><br /><strong>The Muslim News Awards for Islamic Excellence<br />London, Wednesday, March 23rd, 2005<br /></strong><br />The Muslim News Awards for Excellence 2005 were held before an audience of about 600 special invitees at the Ball Room of the Inter-continental Hotel London. In attendance were three leaders of Muslims of Europe, three British cabinet ministers, a number of ambassadors, the award winners themselves and Chancellor Gordon Brown. As Chancellor of the Exchequer, Brown is second in importance in the UK only to Prime Minister Tony Blair. Following opening comments, which were made by several speakers, and the presentation of the awards, Novia Kolopaking led a stunning performance by Kiai Kanjeng.<br /><br />Kiai Kanjeng had arranged their music specifically for the occasion. The Awards Committee had asked Kiai Kanjeng to present two Qur’anic recitalists to open the concert. Two of their vocalists, Nia Kurniawati and Yuli Astutik, complied with the request. Yuli recited a passage from Islam’s Holy Book prosaically in the murattal style, while Nia recited hers beautifully in the qiroah style, poetically, befitting her status as the Second National Champion.<br /><br />Immediately thereafter Kiai Kanjeng started their performance with a long musical composition entitled Tasbih Music. A tasbih is a set of prayer beads, much like a rosary, used by Muslims to count their repetitions of dzikir phrases, or utterances in remembrance of Allah. The music comprehensively explored various phenomena: musical elements from the east and the west, from both the traditional and the modern. There were also poetry readings in English by Novia Kolopaking, a number of wirid (chants), several shalawat (songs in praise of the Prophet Muhammad) and a section of terbang rancak (music with tambourine-like instruments). Kiai Kanjeng’s performance also included excerpts from the dynamic songs of legendary Egyptian songstress Ummi Kultsum, the adzan (or Islamic call to prayer) and other mucsical numbers. The vocalists for the performance consisted of Islamiyanto, Imam Fatawi, Nia Kurniawati and Yuli Astutik.<br /><br />Novia Kolopaking read the poems Bow to Allah, If a Stone is Laying on the Street and Prostrate Yourself and sang Heart Healing and Longing for Thou in a series of arrangements made specifically by Kiai Kanjeng for the occasion, the presentation of awards to sixteen Muslims for outstanding achievement in Europe. The awards were conferred to achievers in medical and other sciences, social service, even sports. Danny Williams, a Muslim boxer who knocked Mike Tyson out in round four was among award recipients that evening.<br /><br />The Indonesians in the audience probably remembered how Danny William had prostrated himself after having knocked out Tyson, approached him, hugged him and said, “I did not defeat you. It was you who handed me the victory.” It was a comment from a champion mixed with religious modesty. Danny did not feel himself to have won, so he did not suffer “big-headedness” as a result of the victory. When he received the award he made a short speech:<br /><br />“I am very amazed at receiving this award because when I defeated Tyson I was not very serious about my victory.”<br /><br />Reporting from the UK, the group wrote at the time that their performance had been ‘unusual’. They ascribed this to two key reasons. Firstly, they were concerned that they would be performing before an audience that included two groups potentially unfavourable towards Islamic music. On one hand there there were Muslims who consider music to be taboo in Islam and on the other, there were westerners whose opinions were informed by a mass media that often portrayed Islam as exclusive and who potentially may have been prejudiced against it.<br /><br />Secondly, their performance had been led by a woman; and a woman in the later stages of pregnancy. At the conclusion of the performance a number of Muslim women community leaders, including a number from Africa, hugged Novia, saying they were excited and very proud of her, calling her “a woman who exercised her leadership without conflict”. She received a rousing appreciation and applause from the audience.<br /><br />Unusual? Yes, perhaps. Controversial? Maybe. But groundbreaking? Definitely.<br /><br />The musical presentation of Kiai Kanjeng could be considered pioneering in many other respects. For example, there were Kiai Kanjeng’s global musical explorations, their unique and intelligent arrangements and the sheer artistic courage required to advance cultural creativity among Muslims. In a substantial sense, the efforts of Kiai Kanjeng were truly phenomenal.<br /><br />This was the first time, in five years of annual award presentations, that a musical group from Indonesia had been invited to this prestigious event. It was a historical event. The works of Kiai Kanjeng are not merely pioneering in advancing a ‘new culture’ in the Islamic world, but they have artistic qualities that can be placed on a par with other great musical works of the world. This is amply demonstrated by their concerts during tours of Europe as well as on their earlier tours of Egypt, Malaysia and Australia.<br /><br />Chancellor Gordon Brown spoke for about 40 minutes after the performance of Kiai Kanjeng and quoted three sayings of the Prophet Muhammad on social cohesion and the importance of tolerance. He said he was very fortunate to have had the opportunity to attend a performance of Indonesian music that promoted such freedom and diversity.<br /><br />Brown said that the musical expression of Kiai Kanjeng was an example of the “cohesion of a social power” referred to in the saying of the Prophet Muhammad “Almuslimu lilmuslimi kalbunyan yasyuddu ba’dhuhum ba’dla”, a Muslim and another, a man and his fellow man, one and the other are mutually strengthening factors. Furthermore, emphasised Brown “the true community is one where if some of its members are afflicted by illness, the other members feel the pain too”.<br /><br />He said the diversity of nuances and the cohesion of global pluralism reflected by the pattern of arrangements and the sound of the music of Kiai Kanjeng aptly picture the ideals we are fighting for and which we should achieve in the world of today and of tomorrow. “Islam,” said Brown, “contains principles of teaching and knowledge that inspire the development of humanity on the earth for the future.”<br /><br />In addition to Gordon Brown, a further two British cabinet ministers attended the performance and also made speeches prior to presenting the awards. The event was full of customary Islamic phrases such as Assalamu’alaikum (a greeting of peace) and Bismillah (a profession of believers in Allah’s name). There were Muslim leaders from throughout Europe, other British officials, ambassadors and prominent figures from various fields. From Kiai Kanjeng’s perspective, the evening was likened to a fisherman who casts his net wide and is rewarded with a large catch.<br /><br />Eddy Pratomo, representing the Indonesian Embassy and instrumental in arranging for Kiai Kanjeng to perform in London, said:<br /><br />“All in all this is not just art, it is more than that. This is a fight to for the red-and-white (the merah-putih or national flag of Indonesia)…that political diplomacy should be expanded to include cultural diplomacy as Emha Ainun Nadjib and Kiai Kanjeng have demonstrated…a diplomacy that has proven itself capable of attaining objectives and reaching an effectiveness that cannot be achieved by ordinary diplomacy.”<br /><br />Following the performance, Novia Kolopaking, the leader of the Kiai Kanjeng ensemble, was congratulated by leaders from various countries. Two organizations invited Kiai Kanjeng to visit Britain again.<br /><br />In addition to shows in Aberdeen, Kiai Kanjeng would also visit Berlin, Rome, Naples and Teramo with the theme:<br /><br /><strong>“Music is the way - smiles without pretence for warmth and friendship that never ends”</strong><br /><br />Emha wrote from the Italian tour that the last days of Pope John Paul II had been very touching. The congregation had witnessed how the Pope fought hard to entice even the fewest words from his throat and mouth. High on the balcony of the Vatican Palace he succeeded in moving both his hands as high as his head. Actually, wrote Emha, he moved his hands as if in an effort to speak to his congregation.<br /><br />The Pope struggled several times to say just one or two words. But not a single word came out. Finally he made the sign of the cross, a signal that went straight to the hearts of his people; and much more effectively than any words he could have said. Then, he was taken away to receive intensive care. That was the start of his long journey to the hereafter, the true, eternal life, free from the illusory material world.<br /><br />“I don’t want to go on discussing death, since almost everyone thinks that death is real, the way worldly life is. Now Pope John Paul II understands exactly which is more real: death, or life after death, or the worldly life. We have not reached the Pope’s state. We are still indulging ourselves, even deluding ourselves in speculation as to the nature of life and death. And, in our speculation, we do not forego the foolish acts of stealing, tackling others, hating others, envying the good fortune of others, and these foolish acts we persist in doing until the very last minutes of our lives when we enter the agony of death.”<br /><br />Emha wrote that the Pope was a figure of morality, not one of politics. The Papacy may be likened to the Council of Fatwa (Religious Council) in Islam. In the world of Shia, an Ulama or Muslim cleric may attain the rank of Mullah, then of Hujatul Islam and finally even, Ayatollah, the highest rank of leadership in Shia Islam, such as the Ayatollah Khomeini.<br /><br />Emha had been very impressed by the moral strength and personality of this Pope, who had once been Karol Wojtyla from Poland, a witness to the cold war in the Eastern Bloc, who in the few last decades expounded his views on universal humanitarian issues, international politics, the map of global conflicts and the crucial problems of the world, including those involving Islamic peoples.<br /><br />Millions of young people felt an affinity of the heart with this Pope. It seems that they are closer to Pope John Paul II than they are to their own religions. It was as if the Pope was able to give them greater enlightenment than that afforded by their own faiths. This closeness, this love, was demonstrated when millions of people flocked to Rome to attend his funeral.<br /><br />Emha would later write that in his opinion, the show at the Conservatorio Di Musica San Pietro A Majella, Naples, could be called the climax of all performances given by Kiai Kanjeng in this second tour of Europe.<br /><br />In London he wrote they had worked hard to ‘tame’ their creativity in order to properly address the international air of Islamophobia that they perceived to be a dominant cultural force. In Aberdeen they devoted their talents to building the human and cultural relationship between the Indonesian and the Scottish peoples. In the World Hall of the German Foreign Office they had adapted their music to afford a sense of political and cultural diplomacy. In Rome they offered their creativity to the beauty of religious tolerance, particularly to the solemn atmosphere following the death of Pope John Paul II.<br /><br />Just as Kiai Kanjeng arrived in Rome, the Pope fell ill. Prior to the Pope’s funeral Kiai Kanjeng had to leave Rome – after two shows – for the old town of Teramo, for a performance organized by the Mayor. Then, Kiai Kanjeng staged a show in Naples. This climactic show, Emha wrote, was very successful.<br /><br />“I am afraid nobody would believe it even if it was reported,” he said.<br /><br />Then, because Rome was closed for the funeral, Kiai Kanjeng had to go to Pescara in order to fly to London. In London the group were only able to stay one night. It was difficult to arrange a further performance as there were appointments arranged with Ahmad Versi from the Moslem News, with Yusuf Islam and with friends from the BBC. Kiai Kanjeng would then travel to Yogyakarta, while Emha was to travel to Aceh to commemorate the 100th day of the tsunami there.<br /><br />While in Germany, Emha sent an email report back to Indonesia from the computer of Mas Pipit Rukhiyat, “a close friend since our vagabond days in Berlin in 1984-1985”. There, Emha and Pipit discussed the workshop themes:<br /><br /><em>Eradication of corruption in Indonesia starting with the adaptation of Brazilian and Bolivian models.<br /><br />Dissemination of an idea of a constitution providing for separation of authority between the State and the Government.<br /></em><br />The previous evening, Kiai Kanjeng met the Indonesian community in Berlin in a in a get-together at the Museem Dahlem Theatre where they all exchanged banter, anecdotes and other amusing stories and laughs. Within a few days Kiai Kanjeng would stage a formal show at the auditorium of the Foreign Office where the audience was to include 350 German high officials, ambassadors, and 100 Indonesians.<br /><br /><strong>Strathcona Hall, The Rowett Institute Aberdeen, Scotland, Friday, March 26th, 2005<br />Cultural Diplomacy in Action<br /></strong><br />Earlier, Kiai Kanjeng and Emha had performed in Aberdeen, Scotland. This was the headline that opened press materials:<br /><br />World famous Indonesian Gamelan band performs at Aberdeen’s Rowett Institute to raise funds for the Indonesian Children’s Relief Appeal<br /><br />Publicity materials reported that the 15-strong Kiai Kanjeng Gamelan group were to perform two concerts at Aberdeen’s Rowett Research Institute on Saturday March 26th, 2005in aid of the Indonesian Children's Relief fund for the orphaned children of Aceh, Indonesia (recently struck by the Asian Tsunami).<br /><br />The concerts were performed in front of an audience of Aberdeen’s Indonesian community and associated members of the Scottish research community. Tickets were limited and very quickly sold out. According to the publicity materials:<br /><br />“…the group use traditional Javanese percussion to perform a range of songs and music including pop, blues, jazz and even Chinese music. The group also performs poetry and prayers. Kiai Kanjeng are on their second European tour which includes concerts in Berlin, Rome, Naples, Turin and London. Saturday’s concert at the Rowett Institute is being sponsored by the Indonesian Embassy in London.”<br /><br />Dr Rusmana Ningrat, who had organized the event, is a research scientist at the Rowett Research Institute. He said:<br /><br />“This concert is a very exciting event for Aberdeen’s Indonesian community and all our friends. I think that one of the reasons the Indonesian Embassy has supported it is in recognition of the large amount of aid which has already been raised by the people of Aberdeen to help the victims of the Tsunami. We are very grateful to the Rowett Institute for allowing us to hold the concert in Strathcona Hall, which was originally built to foster links between Rowett scientists and colleagues working overseas."<br /><br />Emha concluded this report by writing that there were “many lessons to learn” from the European tour, of the various ‘mysteries and unusual events’ experienced during the tour; the temperatures, the weather, and the necessity of transporting the large volumes of equipment required by Kiai Kanjeng; of the performance at the Conservatory, the Mecca of classical music, of Naples and of the situation following the death of Father Karol Wojtyla or Papa John Paul Secundo.<br /><br />In Aberdeen, Scotland, Europe’s oil capital, it could be clearly felt that the arrival of Kiai Kanjeng was not just a major arts event but a cultural and humanist event, and essentially a political event too in that it had substance, both implicit and explicit.<a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4625259130826097111#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1">[1]</a><br /><br />The presence of Kiai Kanjeng allowed those Scots who attended to immerse themselves in the enjoyment of inter-cultural exchange and humanity, which made all kinds of political sentiments about ‘Indonesia’ and the psychological issue of “Islamophobia” appear trivial and unimportant. The atmosphere in the forum demonstrated the ‘global intimacy’ that could be achieved among people without the barriers of nationality, politics, religion or anything else for that matter.<br /><br />“World politics is breaking up the global community,” said Emha. “Economic capitalism reduces people to fundamental ideologies and a range of mainstream values that drive divisions between them, estranging them behind artificial barriers. But in our music this evening we will discover the enjoyment of being together”.<br /><br />Emha gave the example of bagpipe music, an important component of traditional Scottish culture. Renowned piper Mr. Duncan McPherson had accompanied Kiai Kanjeng in their rendition of Amazing Grace. Kiai Kanjeng had seamlessly taken up the melody without altering the notation, pitch or key, and used it as the basis for a medly of traditional songs from Madura (East Java), Aceh and Timor.<br /><br />Aesthetically speaking, it was clear that the distance between the East and the West was, in musical terms, a minor one. Kiai Kanjeng were able to find connections between and unity among cultures from all over the world. It was very easy for Kiai Kanjeng to perform the traditional Scottish song Auld Lang Syne because the melody had already been adopted by the communities of Indonesia. The material prepared for Kiai Kanjeng’s performances for audiences in Germany and Italy, where they were due to travel next, was just as well prepared.<br /><br />The audience for Kiai Kanjeng’s performance in Aberdeen’s Rowett Institute Strathcona Hall was almost entirely Scottish, though there were a number of Indonesians present who were resident in Aberdeen. The performance was divided into afternoon and evening slots so that as many as possible would have the opportunity to attend. The Indonesians who were able to attend, aside from those on the organising Committee, included students or oil company employees. They were joined by friends, many of whom had made a special trip from Glasgow or Edinburgh in order to attend.</div><div align="justify"><br />The multispectrum values demonstrated by Kiai Kanjeng’s performance created a range of atmospheres for the possibility of dialogue, for the enhancement of purity in politics, for greater human warmth and the appreciation of one another’s culture, where everyone was dancing together to dangdut and Melayu (Malay) music.<br /><br />Professor Richard Lea, a world-class scientist and one of leaders of the Rowett Institute was one of the most enthusiastic dancers, immersing himself in the atmosphere of intercultural relationships. He said that: “It’s not possible that I’m not going to Indonesia now. I have to go there to feel the warmth of Indonesia myself…”<br /><br />The two shows in Aberdeen were examples of the effectiveness of ‘People to People’ relationships. A warm atmosphere was created between peoples of different nationalities, skin colours, backgrounds, cultures and religions. The variety of music presented by Kiai Kanjeng, the comprehensiveness of their approach through dialogue during performances and the informal meetings held outside the performance were very effective in serving as a spearhead for Indonesia’s Cultural Diplomacy. In Aberdeen, the oil capital of Europe, it was apparent that the visit of Kiai Kanjeng was primarily not an arts event, but rather a cultural one.<br /><br />The presence of Kiai Kanjeng afforded the Scottish audience the pleasure of cultural and human communications that served to sweep away any prejudices about Indonesia. The performances demonstrated the ‘global intimacy’ that can be achieved between peoples in the absence of national, political, religious and any other restrictions.<br /><br />The concerts were held to raise relief aid for the victims of the Asian tsunami. According to Rusmana Ningrat, chairman of the organizing committee, immediately after the news of the tsunami in Aceh reached Scotland, the Indonesian community there started activities to collect aid to relieve the sufferings of the victims. The goods collected amounted to two container-loads, which were sent to Indonesia to arrive in April 2005. The goods consisted of blankets, clothing, school equipment, medicines and other necessities.<br /><br />Julie Fraser, who with her husband Gary collected donations from donors in Aberdeen, said she was delighted to be able to help the Indonesian community in Aberdeen. “We visited supermarkets to solicit the aid,” she said, adding that when loading the goods to the containers, Aberdeen school students had helped.<br /><br />A mixed audience of Indonesians resident in Aberdeen as well as interested locals attended the afternoon performance, at 2.00pm. Professor Rusmana Ningrat of the organising committee announced to the audience that the performances were in support of Indonesian Children’s Relief in cooperation with the Indonesian Embassy in London. The proceeds were to go to victims of the recent tsunami in Aceh.<br /><br />The modus operandi during this first night of the show in Aberdeen was similar to that employed in the Maiyah gatherings in Indonesia, i.e., the deliberate integration of each number in the performance to balance the aesthetics, the practice of combining the gamelan with the discipline of western music and then “contextualising” the results with cultural and political themes based on the lyrics of the song being performed.<br /><br />Kiai Kanjeng invited the audience to interact with the performers both in dialogue and in the music. Novia Kolopaking frequently descended from the stage and invited the audience to sing. One church choir singer with an operatic voice began to sing Silent Night as soon as Kiai Kanjeng broke into the tune with their gamelan instruments, and was then joined by Kiai Kanjeng as they intoned their Arabic version in the form of a Shalawat, or song in praise of the Prophet Muhammad. Similar enthusiasm met Kiai Kanjeng when they played traditional Scottish folk songs.<br /><br />For the 7.00pm evening show, Duncan McPherson’s bagpipes opened the performance with Amazing Grace, accompanied by the saron and bonang instruments of Kiai Kanjeng as they merged seamlessly into the song. This combination served as a warm and familiar “hello” that succeeded in winning the attention of the audience.<br /><br />The show was all about breaking down borders. Every song was greeted with enthusiastic cheers and applause. This time, Emha was playing ‘himself’, wrote one observer, right from the opening moments and accompanied by the MC and his wife, Novia Kolopaking. His jokes, which were translated only with difficulty, served to warm up the audience. When a traditional Indonesia dangdut tune was played, sung by vocalists Yuli Astutikm, Imam Badawi and Imam Fatawi, the audience spontaneously gyrated along with it.<br /><br />Emha has said that “world politics fragment human beings…the capitalist economy divides people into strata and ideological discourse, while mainstream values serve to further divide people, alienating them from each other behind walls of difference. But in the musical performance this evening we find and enjoy how people can unite in love.”<br /><br />Emha was able to illustrate his point ably. After a rendition of “Amazing Grace” on the bagpies, performed by Duncan McPherson, Kiai Kanjeng picked up the tune without changing a note or key, performing a bridge into a rendition of Madurese, Acehnese and East Timorese songs. The medley was proof that aesthetically, there existed no serious “distance” between oriental and occidental music. Kiai Kanjeng have found the connection and unity possible between the cultural wealth of peoples in different parts of the world.<br /><br />For example, Kiai Kanjeng were able to play the traditional Scottish song Auld Lang Syne as the song is familiar to Indonesians of various backgrounds: the public, the “keraton’ (the royal courts of Yogyakarta and Solo in Java), the Muhammadiyah mass-Muslim movement etc. Numbers with similar adaptability were also prepared by Kiai Kanjeng for their subsequent shows in Germany and Italy. One member of the audience who attended the evening performance, Corrinne Lea, a French woman who lives in Aberdeen, remarked: “It’s incredible, fantastic.”<br /><br />In the show Emha also took the lead in singing Gundul-gundul Pacul, a traditional children’s song from rural East Java. He explained that the song, while light-hearted in mood, actually has a very deep and philosophical meaning:<br /><br />“Gundul-gundul pacul gembelengan, nyunggi-nyunggi wakul gembelengan, wakul nglimpang segane dadi sak latar, wakul ngglimpang segane dadi sak latar”.<br /><br />Freely interpreted, it reads:<br /><br />A bald-headed boy nicknamed Gundul Pacul is walking swaggeringly carrying a basket of cooked rice on his head. But his swaying gait causes the basket to fall and scatter the rice all over the ground.<br /><br />Emha Ainun Nadjib interpreted the song to mean that the boy carrying the basket of cooked rice is an allegory, where a man bears weighty responsibility, but rather than exercising his responsibilities he shows off the trappings of his office instead. Likening the story to the situation facing Indonesia and Indonesians today, and particularly with regard to those bearing heavy responsibilities, such as Presidents, the result is disaster: “the rice falls and scatters.”<br /><br />Novia Kolopaking also sang Wild World, originally by Cat Stevens, now Yusuf Islam. The gamelan version was very well received by the audience, many of who were fans of Cat Stevens. Then she sung Brian Adams’ Everything I do. Kiai Kanjeng also played their rock-style numbers, such as Fatamorgana, one of their most popular songs in Indonesia.<br /><br />Emha reminded the audience that Novia was not so much a member of Kiai Kanjeng as an assistant and vocalist for she was an established artist and film actress in her own right with many hit albums to her credit. Novia sang Bunga Mawar (Rose), a hit from her 1995 album.<br /><br />Emha himself seldom appeared in the show, remaining back stage most of the time. He appeared only for the presentation of certain works, such as Tombo Ati, a song whose title suggests a cure to what ails the heart, namely in prayer, reading the Qur’an and other devotions. It was dedicated to organiser Uda Oz, a fond, regionally-tinged name for Professor Rusmana Ningrat who was from the Padang area of West Sumatra. The song was accompanied by Minang (Padang-style) instruments.<br /><br />Tombo Ati was really a very significant breakthrough song for Emha back in the early 1990’s and was very important in bringing in a new and expanded audience for Kiai Kanjeng, including by way of numerous TV appearances on Indonesia’s many new private TV channels.<br /><br />Duncan McPherson was on hand to conduct children wearing Indonesian costumes. Their performance was followed by Kenduri Shalawat, or Feast of Shalawat: a medley of songs in praise to Prophet Muhammad, with the accompaniment of Acehnese instruments.<br /><br />Kiai Kanjeng’s profile as a ‘people’s’ orchestra started as a result of the Kedung Ombo Dam tragedy in the early 1990’s where the inhabitants of a number of villages West Java were refused their right to government resettlement when their area was to be flooded for the development of a new dam project, Kedung Ombo dam. Emha explained that it was as a result of this ‘protest’ that Kiai Kanjeng can more appropriately be called “cultural workers” than musicians, cultural workers who can identify themselves with any community, any university, with any people or the followers of any religion.<br /><br />Emha explained that the context of Kiai Kanjeng’s music is to reveal and build upon cultural relationships and relationships between people, where music is the spearhead of communication. The Kiai Kanjeng gamelan orchestra had been established “unintentionally.” Emha had been a writer who had become involved in the Kedung Ombo affair.<br /><br />“I helped the victims to a very high degree,” he said. It resulted in the writing of a drama entitled “Pak Kanjeng” which was to be performed with gamelan musical accompaniment by Novi Budianto’s company, who applied an unconventional notation. Later it would also be published as a novel.<br /><br />This unconventional notation was later extended to other performances, for example when accompanying Emha’s poetry readings. In this way the name Pak Kanjeng became synonymous with Novi Budianto’s gamelan company, and the name was changed to Kiai Kanjeng. In Javanese culture, anything venerated by the people is called “kiai”. The central character of Pak Kanjeng was in fact modelled on an actual person in Kedung Ombo, a man named Pak Jengot, or the Bearded Old Man.<br /><br />During the Soeharto years the staging of Pak Kanjeng was banned. Fortunately, this forced Emha and Kiai Kanjeng to become even more resourceful in their ideas. Emha took his artistic fight into the realms of poetry and musical performances. The strategy was successful, perhaps reaching greater numbers of people than would have been possible had the Pak Kanjeng ban not been applied. The poetry and musical performances were able to escape political restrictions and success was both assured and enduring. Since then, it has been the deliberate policy of Emha and Kiai Kanjeng to reach as many peoples and communities as possible with their music and poetry, accommodating all circles and interests. They have never been short of invitations.<br /><br />Their audiences in Indonesia are made up of various social groups and strata: from street-vendors, prostitutes and pedicab drivers to santri (people educated at Islamic boarding schools, or other institutions of Islamic higher learning etc), young executives and members of the upper class. The santri are attracted to the Islamic nuances in Kiai Kanjeng’s musical inventory and to Emha’s writings. The lower classes: to his sense of social justice and support for the wong cilik or little<br /><br />In order to accommodate the interests and demands of as many communities as possible, Emha makes a point of “talking in the language of the community where Kiai Kanjeng is performing”, be it a mass gathering in a car park or field attended by workers or farmers, a student group or a meeting with high-ranking government officials. According to Emha, the early impetus for Kiai Kanjeng was to protest and rebel against all that was wrong in politics in Indonesia. He once said:<br /><br />“Originally it was rebellion…the people cannot be enslaved forever.”<br /><br />But he went on to concede that rebellion must be conducted through the right channels, and “sanctioned” by the public. It cannot be done for their mere sake of rebellion. Kiai Kanjeng and Emha took it upon themselves to increase the level of political education to the entire public through their music. Now, long after those early statements of protest and rebellion, Emha and Kiai Kanjeng worked with the support of the Indonesian Embassy in London, and were particularly successful in their brand of cultural diplomacy as demonstrated at the Islamic Awards. Emha himself recognised that the cultural diplomacy there had been very effective.<br /><br />Observers have occasionally said that Emha and Kiai Kanjeng are engaged in a fusion of gamelan and western and other forms. For the UK tour and in Aberdeen Emha and Kiai Kanjeng had prepared a number of western and middle-eastern songs, such as one entitled Kalimah, originally sung by Majdah Rumi, a Lebanese Christian. In Kiai Kanjeng’s version the Arabic lyric was translated into English and sung as a duet by Yuli and Novia.<br /><br />The show in Aberdeen concluded with Rampak Osing, a combination of Javanese and Balinese styles that was performed dynamically by the members of Kiai Kanjeng Company. This was followed by Auld Lang Syne, the closing song.<br /><br />Professor Richard Lea from the Rowett Research Institute had been involved with the preparations for the performance. He described the difficulties in finding a venue sufficiently large for the occasion, commenting that the Strathcona Hall at the Institute had been the only one suitable. He stated that the hall was too small, only admitting an audience of around 100, and for that reason it had been decided to hold two shows.<br /><br />“We received many telephone calls from people who wanted to attend Kiai Kanjeng’s show,” he said, adding that the organisers had to be mindful of the strict requirements of UK health and safety regulations. After the show, Professor Lea said he had been so impressed that he was determined to travel to Indonesia in order to experience the country and its people for himself.<br /><br />Rusmana Ningrat spoke for the entire Indonesian community in Aberdeen when he thanked Emha, Novia and Kiai Kanjeng for their performance, which he said had been both interesting and unique. He applauded the participation of well-known Rowett piper Mr. Duncan McPherson and hoped that Emha, Novia and all the members of the Kiai Kanjeng gamelan orchestra were happy with their performance in Aberdeen.<br /><br />They were.</div><div align="justify"><br /><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4625259130826097111#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1">[1]</a> Source: One Page Report-III Kiai Kanjeng European Tour II 2005 and contributions by Zeynita Gibbons. MAIYAH DOMBA GUNUNG The Gathering of the Mountain Goat </div>Ian L. Bettshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02965068474378146464noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4625259130826097111.post-15175330433844963842009-05-15T09:23:00.000-07:002009-05-21T07:48:52.091-07:00The First UK Tour, November 2004…“Crossing the Borders…”<div align="justify"><em></em></div><div align="justify"><em>The schedule for Kiai Kanjeng’s first UK tour, November – December 2004, placed considerable demands on the group with its travel and accommodation arrangements, sightseeing and other logistical matters. Much assistance and facilitation was provided by the Indonesian Embassy in London, who also provided lodgings for the touring Indonesian nationals at Wisma Caraka and Wisma Merdeka. Video clips from this tour are available on the video CD release, Kiai Kanjeng Greet the UK, which has English language subtitles and was issued in Indonesia early in 2005. It includes material from the performances listed below as well as from the BBC sessions. A version of this text was published in the Indonesian language version of “The Silent Pilgrimage” in June 2006 by Kompas Gramedia.</em><br /><br /><strong>Preparing for the Tour</strong><br /><br />There was an atmosphere of excitement at Soekarno-Hatta Airport on Saturday afternoon, November 20th, 2004. Emha Ainun Nadjib, along with the Kiai Kanjeng gamelan ensemble were about to depart for England, and a few of us were there to see them off. We shared jokes over coffee; about how bitterly cold it was going to be; anecdotes about the UK and where to go during time off. We looked through the promotional materials for the UK Tour November 2004 and read Emha’s new book The Nation of the Laughing People from which he would draw thematically on the tour.<br /><br />Emha and Kiai Kanjeng were to perform at a number of UK venues during the following week, after which Emha and Novia Kolopaking would continue on to Europe for a lecture tour taking in Bern, Zurich, Geneva, Enschede, Den Haag, Amsterdam, Paris, Roma, The Vatican, Berlin and Frankfurt.<br /><br />They were to tour four UK cities, namely London, Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds, performing at the Lyttelton Lecture Theatre, Birmingham and the Midland Institute on Wednesday November 24th and then in Manchester at Club Underground, Barnes, The University of Manchester on November 26th, and finally at Parkinson Court, M Hall University of Leeds on the 27th.<br /><br />According to witnesses, UK audiences were astounded by the performances. They had not thought that there could be music so exotic yet so universal. It was far from their expectations of what traditional and religious Islamic music would be like. Kiai Kanjeng said that they were pleased that their music could alter the previously-held perceptions of the audience.<br /><br />The tour was partly arranged by KIBAR (Keluarga Islam Britania Raya or the Indonesian Muslim Families in Britain Association) for their Autumn Gathering, and the KBRI London.<a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4625259130826097111#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1">[1]</a><br /><br /><strong>Kiai Kanjeng</strong><br /><br />Apart from Emha himself and Novia Kolopaking, the Kiai Kanjeng ensemble consisted of founder Novi Budianto, Bobit Santoso on keyboards and drums, Ardian on saron and rebana, Ari Sumarsono on violin and Bayu Kuncoro also played rebana.<br /><br />Giyanti also played saron, kendang and rebana. Setyadi Dewanto was on drums and percussion, Setyanto Prajoko on bonang and electric guitar, Ismarwanto on bamboo flute, Yoyok Prasetyo on bass guitar and Joko Supriyanto on saron. Islamiyanto, Ananto, M. Zainul Arifin and Novia Kolopaking provided vocals. They were supported by four of the Kiai Kanjeng crew, namely Rahmat Mulyono, Sakurun Muzaki, Erfan Muchlis and Nadiroh As Sariroh.<br /><br />Kiai Kanjeng had prepared many songs from their extensive repertoire for the UK performances, including Manungso, Man on The Land, Fatamorgana, There is A Time, Rampak Osing, Rabbi, Asyku Battsi, Kelahiran, Engkau Menjelang, Terbit Rembulan, Thibbil Qulub, a Potpourri of Shalawat (or Kenduri Shalawat) and Gangsaran. They also prepared gamelan adaptations of a number of Western songs such as Bach’s Minuet, Sailing by Rod Stewart, the soul classic Stand By Me, Victory (popularised by Bond) and the evergreen hits Summer Time and Love Story. Unfortunately, they were only able to play a limited selection at each performance.<br /><br /><strong>UK Promotion<br /></strong><br />In London, SOAS (The School of Oriental and African Studies) released promotional material noting that:<br /><br />“Kiai Kanjeng play gamelan, western and electronic instruments in a unique blend of eastern and western, traditional and modern styles. The group is led by Emha Ainun Nadjib, also known as Cak Nun who is a well-known Indonesian poet and musician.”<a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4625259130826097111#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2">[2]</a><br /><br />Kiai Kanjeng were scheduled to perform at the Brunei Gallery, SOAS, on Thursday 25th November 2004 at 7.00 pm, and would then travel on to Kingston University, Manchester and Leeds. Leeds University wrote in their publicity materials concerning the concert scheduled there for November 27th that Emha Ainun Nadjib is the leader of the ‘Kiai Kanjeng’ gamelan music group.<br /><br />“Cak Nun is a performing artist. He reads his own poems and performs them in collaboration with the Kiai Kanjeng gamelan music group.”<br /><br />In other promotional materials it was noted that Emha is a ‘prolific poet’ and that his writing covers a wide range of subjects, including personal contemplation, social comment, criticism of the ruling government and social development. His views on a variety of subjects, they wrote, are based on Islamic teachings. As a writer and a columnist, his writings can be found in various national media in Indonesia and he has become a highly respected commentator on social and cultural matters in his country.’<br /><br />“Cak Nun is also a Moslem intellectual and in this capacity he is frequently invited to contribute to seminars, open discussions, university meetings and many other events. He is a humanist and a guru who has travelled widely in his home country, Indonesia, especially in the rural areas. He educates people and talks with them about their problems. He holds a regular public forum in seven different cities every month; people use this forum to express their feelings and ideas on anything they want. He has the credibility and influence to gather people from all components of society and persuade them to sit down and discuss issues together.”<br /><br />Materials reported that the Kiai Kanjeng gamelan ensemble consisted of fifteen members who would perform a range of songs and music, but all with their traditional gamelan instruments. Led by Emha Ainun Nadjib:<br /><br />“Kiai Kanjeng plays music in many genres, from blues to Chinese music. In this visit, the group will perform gamelan music that shows the creative and friendly face of Islam, combined with a talk about Indonesia and Islam.”<a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4625259130826097111#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3">[3]</a><br /><br /><strong>The BBC<br /></strong><br />Soon after arriving in the UK, the British Broadcasting Corporation or BBC asked Kiai Kanjeng to record two sets, each consisting of ten songs. The first set consisted of original songs by Kiai Kanjeng, which explored the gamelan, bringing it a global music perspective in which contemporary motifs were combined with ethnic nuances. The second set consisted of newer arrangements by Kiai Kanjeng of popular songs that had been given the gamelan ‘treatment’, such as songs by the Beatles, Rod Stewart and Cat Stevens.<a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4625259130826097111#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4">[4]</a> Before appearing live at the BBC, Kiai Kanjeng were given a very limited sound-system, but as soon as the BBC technicians heard Kiai Kanjeng rehearse one number, they provided them with upgraded facilities.<a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4625259130826097111#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5">[5]</a> Clips from the sessions are included in the VCD release Kiai Kanjeng Greets England.<br /><br /><strong>SOAS</strong><br /><br />One high point of the tour came on Thursday November 25th, when Kiai Kanjeng performed at the Brunei Gallery, SOAS, University of London, in Russell Square, London. Ananto Wibowo and Novia Kolopaking were on vocal duties for an adaptation of the Cat Stevens song Wild World, accompanied by gamelan, saron, gendang and flute, all lending an original flavour to the musical mix.<br /><br />The theme for the evening was “Crossing The Borders of Traditional Gamelan" and Cat Stevens, or Yusuf Islam himself, was present. Emha commented from the stage that prior to travelling to the UK “One of our prayers, Ya Allah, bring me Cat Stevens."<br /><br /><strong>Yusuf Islam</strong><br /><br />The audience were unaware that Yusuf Islam was among them. He had entered after most people had taken their seats, after the performance had started, and the lights dimmed. At one point, Emha announced from the stage how happy Kiai Kanjeng were that Kiai Kanjeng’s performance was being observed by Yusuf "Cat Stevens" Islam, who sat in the third row with his wife.<br /><br />Then, Kiai Kanjeng performed another song of Cat Stevens, from the 1970 album Tea for the Tillerman. This song has also been covered by Jimmy Cliff, Mr Big, and Jose Feliciano. The song was dedicated to Stevens, who was born as Demetri Georgiou in London, of Greek and Swedish parents.<br /><br />Later in the performance, Emha began to sing Shalawat Badr to the melody of Rod Stewart’s Sailing, inviting the audience to join in, which they did. After the concert and applause were over, Yusuf Islam told Emha how much he had enjoyed the performance.<br /><br />“This is a great way to get the message across of Islam, and I hope it continues”, he said.<br /><br />Yusuf Islam said he had really enjoyed the performance. Yusuf Islam had recently performed with a number of other artists in Cape Town for AIDS relief, and met Nelson Mandela. He said he hoped himself that he might learn to play music like Kiai Kanjeng.<br /><br />"I’d like to be able to play like that. I heard music like that in Egypt and Morocco.”<br /><br /><strong>The Performance</strong><br /><br />The audience had begun arriving at 5.00pm at the Brunei Gallery, ground floor of SOAS, a building donated by the Sultan of Brunei Darussalam. With a capacity of 300, all seats were full by 7.00pm. Kiai Kanjeng began with songs of Shalawat (praise) to the Prophet Muhammad, sounding much like their desert origins, despite the presence of gamelan and flute.<br />All at once, Kiai Kanjeng would change course and style, seamlessly sequencing into the traditional Indonesian song Gundul Pacul dominated by gamelan and violin. Vocalist Ananto also demonstrated that they could "rock" with a popular Ricky Martin number, Shake Your Bon-Bon.<br /><br />Emha himself commented that music could not be separated from mosque and market. "We come from Indonesia. Our music comes from the mosque and the marketplace,” he intoned in fluent English, but with a heavy Javanese accent. When he said to the audience in English “allow me to tell you something about my country,” he was greeted with applause.<br /><br />After that, Emha sang some more ‘Shalawat’ accompanied by Kiai Kanjeng, and the audience were transported to the ambience of the mosque. The audience were also treated to a version of the music from Victory popularised by the group Bond. Then there was a ten- minute recess.<br /><br />The interaction between performers and audience was excellent, with many of the audience joining in where they could, many dancing when Ananto and Novia sang the dangdut number Haram by Rhoma Irama.<br /><br />Sabrang, who graduated from Alberta University, Canada, is Emha’s son from his first marriage. He was on stage as MC, and he mentioned that the icons of the UK best known in Indonesia were Lady Diana, Robin Hood and Mr Bean. This was met by laughter from the audience. Then Kiai Kanjeng performed the Bryan Adams theme song from the film Robin Hood, Everything I do, I do it for you, with gamelan and flute and with Ari Sumarsono on violin.<br /><br />When Sabrang again took the stage at 9.00pm to announce that the concert was over, there were protests from the audience who demanded more. "All right, I don’t know what you call this, Arabic, blues or whatever, you decide,” said Sabrang in fluent English.<br /><br />So Kiai Kanjeng performed Da-Uni, evoking the desert once more with violin, percussion and flute. “More, more” shouted the audience, as Sabrang glanced at the clock on the wall. But Emha came up and led a prayer, leading into Shalawat Badr to the melody of Silent Night.<br /><br />"Shalatullah Salamullah, Alla Toha Rasulillah, Shalatullah Salamullah. Alla Yasin Habibillah," the song intoned. "I’m the Indonesian Pavarotti,” joked Emha afterwards.<br /><br />As for the imminent city tour marathon in Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds, Emha admitted that Kiai Kanjeng were used to performing from one stage to the next and to travelling from city to city. He said they were always on the road, having had a full schedule for the last five months.<br /><br />“We only had a day off just recently for the Idul Fitri festival” (marking the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadhan). He added that Kiai Kanjeng performed largely based on invitations from the public. “We only respond to requests from the people” Emha noted.<br /><br /><strong>The Response</strong><br /><br />The Indonesians resident in the four UK cities toured by Emha and Kiai Kanjeng, having been starved of their traditional entertainment, received them warmly in this wintry month. The performances also served to enhance international relations with the attendance of a number of diplomats from Central Asia as well as the Ambassador of Bosnia.<br /><br />Emha, a recipient of the prestigious Adam Malik award, commented that the UK audiences were quite surprised by the performances and the music of Kiai Kanjeng. When they toured Egypt, audiences there felt their music was being returned to them in songs performed by Kiai Kanjeng originally by Ummi Kultsum such as El-Athlal. Emha said that primarily Kiai Kanjeng were less a music group than a promoter of brotherhood, and that one of Kiai Kanjeng’s activities was to help resolve problems in communities, be they economic, social or political.<br /><br />Emha has also released music critical of the Indonesian government, such as his album Perahu Retak or Cracked Boat. It was based on themes of social justice and the impact of government policy on the weak.<br /><br />Director of South East Asian Studies at SOAS, Dr. Jenkin Wilkins ‘protested’ to Indonesian Cultural Attaché Bambang Warsito that he had not been told beforehand that the performance would be so good, both from an artistic point of view and in terms of the communication of culture. Warsito answered: “How could I tell you? I only found out myself this evening!”<br /><br />A number of ambassadors met Emha afterwards to thank him for the “super performance and the very, very rich cultural and spiritual experience.” Professor Ulrich Kraaft embraced Emha saying “you from Kiai Kanjeng must come more often to our campus” and another senior visiting artist said it was “first class world music.”<a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4625259130826097111#_ftn6" name="_ftnref6">[6]</a><br /><br />One lady, originally from Central Java, who was attending the UK graduation of her son, was very happy to be in the audience for Kiai Kanjeng’s performance, but was disappointed they had not played her favourite - Tombo Ati, a classic song evoking Islamic themes of piety and redemption. There simply had not been enough time.<br /><br />One lecturer in the Indonesian language at SOAS, Bern Malton, said that the performance was amazing. “Fantastic, amazing,” said the man who had made several trips to Indonesia. He was sure UK audiences would appreciate the group’s performances.<br /><br />Head of the Indonesian mission to the UK, Eddy Pratomo, also agreed that the performance had been tremendous, and that it helped promote a more brotherly sense of Islam, extolling its universal values and reinterpreting Western songs with nuances of Islam.<br /><br />Eddy, who has been in an acting-ambassador capacity since Ambassador Juwono Sudarsono was appointed Minister of Defence, said that there was no need for conflict, that it was part of Indonesia’s diplomatic mission to introduce people who might not otherwise know of it to Indonesia’s rich culture. He praised Kiai Kanjeng and noted his pride in Emha’s ability to inspire simultaneously an attitude of religiosity, nationalism, unity and togetherness.<br /><br />Others said it was important to criticise; that critics were necessary. Nizma Agustjik, a long-term resident in the UK active in social affairs said how much she had enjoyed the performance, commenting on how ‘witty’ Emha had been.<br />Leeds<br /><br />We move on to Leeds. From the physical perspective with the spacious Main University Hall, and from the technical perspective with a better sound system than that used before, and with a larger, more international audience, the performance at Leeds University arguably represented the climax of the tour. Here the concert exceeded its allotted time by over an hour.<a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4625259130826097111#_ftn7" name="_ftnref7">[7]</a><br /><br />The atmosphere in Leeds was intense yet harmonious, with a terrific rapport established between Kiai Kanjeng and the audience. The audience were of various ethnicities, and some of them danced on stage to the rhythms. To avoid the sense that Kiai Kanjeng were merely one-dimensional performers, they held a workshop as they had in Manchester as many in the audience were music students. </div><div align="justify"><br />Here they explained thoroughly the traditional Javanese musical structures and use of the gamelan in various musical styles. It was a very communicative workshop with many concrete examples. Among the audience were students, Indonesians resident in the UK, and a number of other fans who knew of the performance through the mail list or web site.<br /><br />The tour demonstrated very well the universal appeal of Kiai Kanjeng’s music and the contribution it makes to harmonious understanding among peoples. During the tour Emha commented that Kiai Kanjeng’s music was not ‘puritan’ and there was no problem in adapting Western music. He said that they only adapted music with the intention of demonstrating the musical styles that the group could play, predominantly on gamelan, which could be used for both Arabic and western songs.<br /><br />While preparing for the tour, Emha and Kiai Kanjeng put together a package of publicity materials. A pamphlet was included with texts based on comments made by observers and audiences at previous international performances. Set against dramatic pictures, the text came alive when it described, from Australia for example, the “cacophony of sound”, which when all the instruments were combined with vocals, “created a dynamic percussive sound…highlighting and connecting the old with the new.” The following extract tells its own story:<br /><br />“Kiai Kanjeng used the repetitious sarons<a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn8" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4625259130826097111#_ftn8" name="_ftnref8">[8]</a> to maximum effect, often providing the percussive rhythm as a backdrop to a melodic suling<a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn9" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4625259130826097111#_ftn9" name="_ftnref9">[9]</a>, violin or synthesizer. Some songs, like the poetry-music Pacul Segoro had a rock anthem sound, whereas jazz sensibility pervaded the audience favourite Fatamorgana, with an enthusiastic crowd joining in to clap the rhythm. The tambourine, drum and chant-like singing of Jaman Wis Akhir<a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn10" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4625259130826097111#_ftn10" name="_ftnref10">[10]</a> had a more Arabic influence, whereas Ruang Rindu’s offbeat, almost reggae overtones complimented a song all about love and being happy…”<a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn11" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4625259130826097111#_ftn11" name="_ftnref11">[11]</a><br /><br />The comments included from observers in Malaysia were no less enthusiastic. One contributor said that in Indonesia, the concerts were more ‘spontaneous’ that there were more people, that a Kiai Kanjeng performance was ‘sometimes more like a public meeting.’ He said that the audience liked the performers to ‘interact with the people onstage.’ As a result, one would often witness officers dancing together with labourers.<br /><br />Another commented that Kiai Kanjeng’s music was ‘pretty egalitarian, even against the current popular culture in Indonesia.’ At the same time, the musicians were complimented on their ‘fine musical and lyrical structure musically’ and for their composing songs ‘without boundaries.’ Observers mentioned that Kiai Kanjeng ‘represent an oppressed people’, and that ‘they also play the blues.’ Kiai Kanjeng were said to be very flexible in the genres that they can play.<a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn12" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4625259130826097111#_ftn12" name="_ftnref12">[12]</a><br /><br />Egypt has a special place in the hearts of Emha and Kiai Kanjeng. They toured Egypt with a repertoire of songs by the Egyptian star, Ummi Kultsum. A video was released of the tour and more recently a collection of the songs on CD and cassette. The responses to the group’s performances in Egypt were startling in their passion and warmth. One person, having watched a performance of the groups, commented:<br /><br />“…these are the lost Andalusia. I can see the light of Prophet Muhammad in your face. I can only hear praise to the Prophet coming from your throats.”<br /><br />The Governor of Thanta said to the audience and to Kiai Kanjeng “I will die if you leave Thanta without first receiving our love, the people of Thanta, for you.” The response from the Egyptian authorities was just as passionate. Reports on the tour noted that “for the first time in history, Indonesia has a two hour slot of airtime on NEIL (Middle East regional television) in Egypt. Kiai Kanjeng shows that Indonesians, using only “terbang”, “seruling”<a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn13" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4625259130826097111#_ftn13" name="_ftnref13">[13]</a> and violin, have captivated audiences. The show and some interviews even had a rerun in Ismalia and Alexandria.”<a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn14" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4625259130826097111#_ftn14" name="_ftnref14">[14]</a><br /><br />Ustadz Jamal, a member of the staff from the Department of Culture accompanied Kiai Kanjeng throughout their tour Egypt. He explained that:<br /><br />“My job is to accompany many groups from around the world. But I have never felt this connected; we interact without distance. I keep on seeing Egyptians cry and cry to meet their Moslem brothers and sisters, who love the Prophet Muhammad dearly. There has never been a group visit our country who have reached this level of success. More than anything, Kiai Kanjeng have awakened our pride in Ummi Kultsum…”<br /><br />Observers from Indonesia noted that Kiai Kanjeng were ‘a seemingly impossible group of people. Among the eleven people who play the instruments, only one has a formal degree? Can this be explained by statistics?’ Another stated that the music of Kiai Kanjeng encompasses many parts of world music. Not only can they play all styles, it was said, but they can also make a composition that nicely puts the different kinds of music into one adventurous blend. An innocent blues can suddenly morph into a melodious Arabic. A Javanese taste can suddenly turn into a danceable salsa. “Quite frankly”, said the observer, ‘I have never found anyone or any group that has ever tried this kind of exploration.’<br /><br />One of the group’s main instruments is the gamelan, a traditional musical instrument from Java. However, the gamelan played by Kiai Kanjeng is no ordinary gamelan. It has been modified so that it can accommodate the group’s thirst for exploration. With this gamelan, they can play original Javanese tunes, Arabic songs, blues or jazz quite comfortably. In addition to the gamelan set, there are more modern instruments like bass guitar, keyboards and violins in their arsenal. Another unique characteristic of the group is the players themselves. One band member is not tied to just one instrument. Many of them are able to switch mid-song to a different instrument.<br /><br />“I believe music is a gift come from gifted people. And this group is certainly a bunch of gifted people. Maybe I do not know much about music. However, I know a jewel when there is one.”<a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn15" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4625259130826097111#_ftn15" name="_ftnref15">[15]</a><br /><br />It is clear that Emha is received very well abroad, and that the recent UK and European tours were particularly successful. It is somewhat surprising therefore that he has not met with more commercial and critical success in Indonesia. However, when one analyses the context of Emha’s career and his confrontations with the Soeharto government, it is perhaps not so surprising. Notwithstanding that, one might ask why he has not seen greater success during the period of the reformist governments that followed Soeharto. Emha himself would answer that having struggled for democratic emancipation in one era, he has been discarded as simply old-fashioned by the next.<br /><br /><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4625259130826097111#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1">[1]</a> Some foregoing information and quotes taken from KIBAR mailing list material posted on <a href="http://www.padhangmbulan.com/">http://www.padhangmbulan.com/</a><br /><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4625259130826097111#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2">[2]</a> Source: <a href="http://www.indonesianperformingarts.org/Events.html">http://www.indonesianperformingarts.org/Events.html</a><br /><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4625259130826097111#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3">[3]</a> Source: <a href="http://www.leeds.ac.uk/international/news.htm#indonesian">http://www.leeds.ac.uk/international/news.htm#indonesian</a><br /><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4625259130826097111#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4">[4]</a> December 1st 2004 report in Indonesian daily newspaper Suara Merdeka<br /><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4625259130826097111#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5">[5]</a> Some information from Laporan Perjalanan KK di SOAS London, Inggris, 2004, by Zaki/kk<br /><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4625259130826097111#_ftnref6" name="_ftn6">[6]</a> Some information from Laporan Perjalanan KK di SOAS London, Inggris, 2004, by zaki/kk <a href="http://www.padhangmbulan.com/">http://www.padhangmbulan.com/</a><br /><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4625259130826097111#_ftnref7" name="_ftn7">[7]</a> Source: Final Leeds vs. KK: //maiyah/kk/doc/04 <a href="http://www.padhangmbulan.com/">http://www.padhangmbulan.com/</a><br /><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn8" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4625259130826097111#_ftnref8" name="_ftn8">[8]</a> A type of gamelan.<br /><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn9" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4625259130826097111#_ftnref9" name="_ftn9">[9]</a> Flute.<br /><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn10" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4625259130826097111#_ftnref10" name="_ftn10">[10]</a> May be translated as The End of Time, or The Last Days.<br /><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn11" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4625259130826097111#_ftnref11" name="_ftn11">[11]</a> Suara Bendhe, No.3 March 2004, Melbourne Community Gamelan Inc. Australia<br /><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn12" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4625259130826097111#_ftnref12" name="_ftn12">[12]</a> Comments edited from remarks made by Nizam Zakaria, Malaysia<br /><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn13" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4625259130826097111#_ftnref13" name="_ftn13">[13]</a> Flute.<br /><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn14" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4625259130826097111#_ftnref14" name="_ftn14">[14]</a> Journal Maiyah/VII/03<br /><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn15" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4625259130826097111#_ftnref15" name="_ftn15">[15]</a> Comments from Indonesia based on remarks made by Sabrang, Emha’s son. </div>Ian L. Bettshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02965068474378146464noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4625259130826097111.post-31376341673451799292009-05-15T08:08:00.000-07:002009-05-17T17:29:16.283-07:00Islamic Award of Excellence: Poems 1 and 2<div align="justify"><em>On the 23rd of March, 2005, in London, while on Kiai Kanjeng's second UK tour, Emha was awarded the Islamic Award of Excellence by The Muslim News in a ceremony attended by then-Chancellor Gordon Brown, who addressed the gathering. Following are two </em><em>poems that were recited on that occasion.<br /></em><br /><br /><strong>Poem 1</strong></div><div align="justify"> </div><div align="justify">If a stone is laying on the street,<br />And it is a danger to passersby,<br />You pick it up, and find someone to discuss,<br />What can be done to make that stone useful.<br /><br />That is Islam<br /><br />Islam is to keep the fertility of every corner of the land,<br />To admire the mountain and the vast sea, or just watering plants,<br />To swim on the water with gratitude to Allah,<br />Or to breath the air with longing to Allah.<br /><br />Islam is when someone is starving,<br />Even if it is only a dog,<br />You feel uneasy for being full yourself,<br />So then you learn to be hungry yourself,<br />before you can feel deserved to be called brother by those who are hungry.<br /><br />Islam is when someone is thirsty,<br />Even the one who is going to kill you,<br />You feel his thirst,<br />And share your water with him.<br /><br />Islam is<br />when you see someone marginalized and lonely,<br />You come by and greet him.<br /><br />Islam is<br />to love even those who hate you,<br />and to praise with wisdom,<br />the one who takes you to be his enemy.<br /><br />Islam is a community at peace with nature,<br />river and forest, water and land, mountain and sea,<br />Which they love like their own wives,<br />Nurturing its fertility with nothing but love.<br /><br />Islam is<br />A government who take their people as a wife,<br />To care for each other, to co-operate with a balance power to each other,<br />Islam is the strong party that understands the importance of the weak party,<br />and the weak party doesn’t enjoy its weakness and dependence.<br /><br />Salam means peace.<br />Islam means to find, to build and to create peace.<br />Islamic humanity means an understanding to humanize one anothe.<br />Islamic culture is Peace of mind and heart.<br />Islamic economics means no one is malnourished and no one is over-nourished.<br />Islamic politics means a true and honest democracy.<br />Islamic Philosophy is a balance of human rights and human obligations.<br /><br />Salam means peace.<br />Islam means liberation towards peace.<br />Islam means an emancipation working towards the peaceful existence of all mankind.<br /><br /><strong>Poem 2<br /></strong><br />When even all the trees bow to Allah,<br />Why then do not men, with all their hearts and brains,<br />Bow to Him?<br /><br />When even the sky and the earth bow to Allah,<br />Why then does not mankind, with all its power and organisation,<br />Bow to Him?<br /><br />When even the seas and all their waves bow to Allah,<br />Why then do not men, with their knowledge and ideology,<br />Bow to Him?<br /><br />When even the mountains and the birds bow to Allah,<br />Why then does not mankind, with all it civilisation and technology,<br />Bow to Him?</div><div align="justify"><br />London 23rd of March 2005<br />Emha Ainun Nadjib</div>Ian L. Bettshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02965068474378146464noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4625259130826097111.post-9373098671551902672009-05-13T17:11:00.000-07:002009-05-13T17:12:44.435-07:00Looking back on Voices & Visions<div align="justify">It all started with Nelly van Doorn - Harder having the idea of inviting Emha Ainun Nadjib to the Netherlands and organizing a symposium on art and religion. Being based in the US she asked me to be her extra pair of hands and eyes on the spot (as we were already working together on an interreligious dialogue project together). Soon after this I learned the idea had been dropped elsewhere, too, and I was happy to join Aart Verburg as co-organizer of what would become a real tour.<br /><br />When, eleven months later, the symposium really took place, as one in a series of events we had managed to plan, it still felt like the central thing to me. Looking back on the whole tour it is one of a few things that really stand out for me.<br /><br /><strong>Visionary Art<br /></strong>A symposium on the relationship between religion and art, that’s what Nelly had wanted it to be, and that’s what it was. She had invited a singer, Rajae El Mouhandiz, a young North-African/Dutch woman (her parents were from Morocco and Algeria and she grew up in the Netherlands) and two Dutch artists, Tom America, a composer and creator of video-Gesammtkunstwerke and Tijn Touber, former pop musician, writer and meditation teacher.<br /><br />Rajae sang her songs accompanied by keyboard and guitar. She explained what had brought her to write songs like ‘Subhanallah’, ‘The hand of Fatima’ and ‘I want peace in the Middle-East’. It was wonderful to see such a beautiful self-assured young woman standing on stage, making explicit the religious aspects of her very modern, bluesy, jazzy, ballad-like songs.<br /><br />Tom gave a presentation about his development as an artist, that had recently led to a video project on a multi-ethnic part of his native city Tilburg, ‘Noord’ (north). He showed the audience how he had turned interviews with people from all over the world, that had come to this part of the city mostly as refugees, into impressive, sometimes slightly disturbing art.<br /><br />Tijn sketched his spiritual development along with developments in society. He quoted a friend who had said: ‘As uninspired structures collapse, inspiration gets more and more structured.’ and he suggested that people stand up and start living as if they were already enlightened. ‘Focus on what is actually present in yourself, tune in on that.’ He and his partner Kristia finished his contribution with a song: ‘Here comes the light’.<br /><br />Professor Wessel Stoker (aesthetics and theology, Free University of Amsterdam) responded to these three performances in a lecture in which he compared art to the Eucharist. He contended that art can touch people as does this celebration, on a deeper level that is, and for that reason it can reach more results than argued policies.<br /><br />The symposium was closed with another song by Rajae, a cappella this time, for her accompanying musicians had already left. And Emha answered to that by singing a prayer in Javanese, which Novia then sang in an English translation. Maybe, Emha concluded, artists know more about religion than Ulama do.<br /><br /><strong>High and low culture<br /></strong>Kiai Kanjeng had suggested they’d sing one or two songs in Dutch. The group had exchanged e-mail messages with Heri Sasmito on the choice of the songs. One was ‘Als de orchideeën bloeien’ [Bunga anggrek / When the orchids bloom], a classic from colonial times if I am not mistaken. The other ‘Heb je even voor mij?’ [Can you spare me a moment?], a very popular song by a Dutch singer called Frans Bauer. I have to admit I hadn’t been happy when I heard it had been proposed as the representative of today’s Dutch popular music culture. But okay… I swallowed my snobbism when Novia asked me to help her and the other singers of the band to get the pronunciation of both songs right. There we were, sitting around a small table in the embassy’s guesthouse, rehearsing unfamiliar sounds. This was good, no matter the song, we were together. Done with snobbism, once and for all. The more so, when I saw how the song functioned during the concerts, and how enthusiastically people responded to it, joined in, sang along.<br /><br /><strong>Soul</strong><br />After the Rotterdam concert at the Islam and Dialogue Foundation, I left without having said good-bye to Emha. He seemed to have suddenly disappeared. Ah no, there was a simple explanation, I saw a small group out on the pavement, smoking. But before I could join it, I heard my name being called behind me. It was Emha. While I wanted to thank him for the concert, he started thanking me for the Visionary Art symposium. He took my hands in his and said: ‘It was such a good symposium, really. We can only do what we think is right, and we continue to do so, as we feel we’re all part of a larger design, you and I and all of us, we may not understand its scope, but we contribute to it, with our art, and so did you with your symposium on art and religion.’ I was rather embarrassed, stammered that I had just helped Nelly, but Emha made me understand, not so much with his words, but rather with his hands and his eyes, that his words were meant for me, and that I could receive their meaning just like that, no need to be afraid to look arrogant, nor was any undue modesty needed.<br /><br /><strong>Unexpected perspective<br /></strong>On the second Friday Amsterdam was on the program again and I was asked to taxi Emha from the guest house to the capital. It was a sunny day and we listened to tango music during the ride – music of the heart, too.<br /><br />Emha was received cordially at the Al Fatih Mosque and after Friday’s Prayers met with representatives of CMO, a platform for official contact between Dutch Muslims and the Dutch government. I was particularly impressed by the way the CMO president, Mr. Driss El Boujoufi, sketched the history of immigration and explained how religion is interwoven in this history, and in Dutch society as a whole. Emha was not the only one learning about the Dutch situation. I found out that the introduction given to someone much less familiar with that situation than I was, was unexpectedly enlightening for me too, offering a perspective I had never taken before.<br /><br />It was good to see how Emha and Mr. Boujoufi, in the hour and a half that the meeting lasted had become acquainted, learned from each other and said good-bye as brothers.<br /><br /><strong>Gerardus Majella</strong><br />On that second Friday evening a concert was scheduled in a church again, a Roman-Catholic church this time – let’s not forget the ecumenical perspective while focussing on interreligiosity and interculturallity.<br /><br />The hall of the modern building was slowly filled with people, again with all different backgrounds and origins, from the parish, from the neighbourhood, Indonesian, Moroccan, Dutch. The parish priest had warned me with a smile, there would be ‘some scum’ too, by which he meant the homeless men coming to his church every Thursday, to prepare a meal and have dinner together.<br /><br />People were singing along and Emha explained how he and his band want to bridge differences by means of music – no accident that there are many songs about love, from Indonesia, but also from Lebanon, China and Europe: Frans Bauers song again and, more international, Imagine, L-o-v-e, Stand by me and Where do I begin.<br /><br />A wonderful detail: Emha recited from the Quran, with the appropriate ‘melody’. Two Moroccan boys joined in. Then he told the audience that ‘back home’ the text is sung to a Javanese melody, and he showed them how. The boys joined in again.<br /><br /><strong>Workshop in Amsterdam<br /></strong>The last public event of the tour was a musical workshop. We had found a venue in a cultural centre, a former church, called Podium Mozaiek, in a part of Amsterdam that has not always been ‘media-genic’, for reasons of social unrest caused by angry young Moroccans.<br /><br />On an early Saturday morning the group installed their instruments in a large room that looked a bit like a ballet studio.<br /><br />As time passed by I got more and more nervous as less than 10 people turned up. I looked for Emha and what he said was such a lesson for me, perfectionist: ‘We are honored to be invited, to be here, we perform with love, no matter how many or how little people come, think of the larger design.’ I was touched by his… not acceptance (that would imply that deep down inside he would have preferred otherwise), rather ‘his vision’: it’s okay the way it turns out to be, however it turns out to be. It was so … gentle.<br /><br />And as the workshop advanced, more people did come in, and we ended up with a nice group of very interested people. Unfortunately no one brought an instrument, but there was a young woman who had brought her voice, and a wonderful voice it was. She was of Surinam origin, and told Emha that ever since she was a little girl she had wanted to sing Javanese songs. ‘No, I didn’t know what I was singing, but I felt it!’ She joined in with the band and really a star was born!<br /><br />Emha told the audience about the gamelan (partly present, partly imitated by keyboard), its geographic origin, and the kinds of music that can be played with it, all the while illustrating his words with fragments of music and singing. And he explained how the original ‘tonality’ of the instrument had been ‘extended’ to be able ‘to play across borders’. While commenting on the songs the band was playing, he linked up, smilingly, horizontal and vertical love, that is love between people and love between heaven and earth respectively.<br /><br />After the workshop audience and musicians had lunch together (and a cigarette) in a very informal way. Novia and I came back to ‘Heb je even voor mij? / Can you spare me a moment?’ I learned that dangdut was as popular a style as this Frans Bauer song. Why had I liked the dangdut songs on first hearing them and did I dislike the Dutch song? We just smiled to each other for an answer.<br /><br />The event was concluded with almost all participants sitting in a circle. ‘Music is a language that reaches your emotions directly though your ears, that’s why it is so apt for building bridges and bridging gaps.’<br /><br />Nelleke de Jong – van den Berg<br />December 14th, 2008<br /><br /><br />Nelleke de Jong - van den Berg, married, son of 16, daughter of 14 years old. Studied French Linguistics and Literature and then Translation Studies. Phd in Translation Studies. Collaborated in a project of (ecumenical) bible translation. Part-time staff member of the Centre for Reflection of the Protestant Church in the Netherlands, focussing on interreligious dialogue. With Aart Verburg co-coordinator of Voices & Visions project. In her spare time, dances the Argentinean tango and loves reading novels and poetry.<br /> </div>Ian L. Bettshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02965068474378146464noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4625259130826097111.post-17045124803206548642009-05-12T23:45:00.000-07:002009-05-12T23:48:13.987-07:00What’s In A Name?<div align="justify"><strong>Interfaith Dialogue, Language and the Definition of Terms<br /></strong><br />Gamelan fusion orchestra Kiai Kanjeng and prominent Indonesian artist and activist Emha Ainun Nadjib have been touring the Netherlands on a program of concerts and seminars. They embarked on Monday 6 0ctober and are scheduled to return to Indonesia two weeks later on Monday 20 October. The group are no strangers to touring European countries, having played extensively in the UK on two tours, including Scotland, as well as Germany, Finland and Italy. <br /><br />The tour was entitled Voices & Visions: An Indonesian Muslim Poet Sings a Multifaceted Society and described in promotional materials as an intercultural and inter-religious project, fostered by the Protestant Church in The Netherlands and executed by the Centre for Reflection of the Protestant Church and its <a href="http://www.pkn.nl/hki" target="_blank">Hendrik Kraemer Institute</a>, in close cooperation with <a href="http://www.java-enterprise.com/" target="_blank">Java Enterprise</a> (Indonesia in Events, Music, Food, Dance & Culture).<br /><br />In March the Jakarta Post wrote that the invitation was intended to help deal with possible negative impacts resulting from the screening of the controversial film on Islam by Geert Wilders, “Fitna”, which was due for screening nationwide in the Netherlands on 24 March. Emha said at the time that the group were invited to “bridge the parties that may be dragged into conflicts due to the screening of the film." He said it would not be the first time he and his group had been invited to calm tensions between conflicting communities through music and cultural performances.<br /><br />It was perhaps no surprise that Kiai Kenjeng were selected to make the trip. Academics and community leaders in the Netherlands have long been aware of Emha’s work in the field of interfaith relations. Behind the initiative were Prof. Nelly Van Doren of the Valparaiso University, Indiana, dan Aart Verbug of the Centre for Reflection of the Protestant Church and the <a href="http://www.pkn.nl/hki" target="_blank">Hendrik Kraemer Institute</a>. Emha’s career in Indonesia has not been without controversy. He has long defended minority groups such as the Ahmadiyah sect, who have been persecuted by larger, more mainstream Islamic organisations seeking to force the government to issue a ban on Ahmadiyah’s teachings and activities.<br /><br />Few people may know however that while Emha has worked the interests of minority groups, he has also provided guidance and advice to more hardline groups, working to moderate some of their more extreme intentions and plans. He is as comfortable in meetings with the Islamic Defenders’ Front (FPI) as he is with the Jaringan Islam Liberal (Liberal Islam Network) and has defended the positions of both, chastising each for the extremity of their positions. Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia, known for their demonstrations in Jakarta and Surabaya including those held outside the Netherlands Embassy in protest at the film “Fitna”, have visited his complex in Yogyakarta to seek his counsel. In 2006, Ismail Yusanto, Spokesman for Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia (HTI) wrote that Emha:<br /><br />“...speaks of politics, but without politicising; of the dilapidated buraucracy, but not as a bureaucrat: of deceitful business, but neither is he a businessman, of Islam and caring, yet he is not an Ulama.” Emha works to raise awareness, he wrote, speaking to our very conciousness itself. As examples Yusanto referred to Emha’s art and writing, whch he termed a matter of conciousness-raising, citing Emha’s poetry, the epic drama, Lautan Jilbab (The Sea Of Veils), and his short broadcasts on Jakarta’s Radio Delta FM. <br /><br />Emha was also asked to assist in calming the supporters of Abu Bakr Ba’asyir prior to Ba’asyir’s imprisonment for charges relating to the 2002 Bali Bombing. Ba’asyir’s followers had threatened retaliation for the imprisonment of their leader but were pacified by Emha who was able to overcome their anger and frustration.<br /><br />Taking no sides, while defending the rights of every group to a voice, Emha has become a trusted peacemaker and moderator. The nature and substance of Kiai Kanjeng’s performances support interfaith dialogue. The gamelan orchestra has earned a reputation for dynamic concerts filled with the sounds and voices of different cultures and countries. During their first concerts in the Netherlands they played in churches to large audiences composed of a multitude of people from a wide variety national groupings resident in the Netherlands, from Turkey, Pakistan, Morocco, Iraq and Iran, and of course from the Netherlands. Their repertoire included songs in Dutch, Arabic and English, from both Christian and Muslim cultures. They included versions of universal western classics such as Imagine, Stand By Me, Everything I do and Love Story; all given the Kiai Kanjeng gamelan treatment. A highpoint of each concert was a climactic rendition of a song with lyrics by the Lebanese singer, Majdah Rumi, adapted by Kiai Kanjeng and delivered in Arabic and English by Novia Kolapaking, Emha’s wife; an artist in her own right and at the peak of her powers. A moving love song, “Khalimah” moves and shifts through more than six minutes of pounding gamelan, percussion, electric guitars and strings, a perfect conclusion to a powerful concert.<br /><br />In 2005 KiaiKanjeng were touring in Italy when news of the death of Pope John Paul II broke. A festival at which the group were scheduled to perform was cancelled but Kiai Kanjeng were asked to play on the occasion of the pope’s funeral. They wrote an original piece in his honour entitled “O Papa” and, when Emha recounted the story at concerts in the Netherlands, Kiai Kanjeng would play it, invoking a deep response from multicultural audiences. <br /><br />In late 2005 and early 2006 Emha also commented on the growing controversy surrounding the Danish caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad. He wrote of the great tolerance practised and encouraged by the Prophet Muhammad, who was persecuted and abused for many of the early years of his mission. Emha noted that Denmark, as a part of Scandinavia, sets great store by the maturity of the democracy that it has achieved. One of the ‘sacred verses’ of democracy is freedom of expression. The freedom of the press is held in particularly high regard. Emha wrote that Allah in the Holy Koran provides a clear moral response to a person insulted or abused. The person has a judicial right to retaliate to the same degree, but this “right” is sheathed in the Koranic phrase: “if you can forgive, it would be better in My eyes."<br /><br />Emha wrote that a number of his companions had asked him whether he was not upset or angry at the caricatures. He replied that:<br /><br />“With all insults and abuses I love the Prophet of Allah, Muhammad. He was the man most beloved of Allah. How could there be one molecule of my living being that is not filled with love for him? The extent of the capacity of my love for him brings me to a state of intoxication, experiencing giddier heights than ever reached before, hunched up in corners so tight I could not possibly be more restricted, love that is greater than life or death itself. All insults, irritations, abuses and faults, as brutal as they can possibly be, could not decrease the extent of my capacity for love even 1 cc. Love for the Prophet fills my soul and my life, and my love for family, friends, country and nation, for the entire community: becomes more beautiful, more filled with brightness and filled with peace, in the womb of my love for him. Whatever the potency of any insult, it cannot compare to the absolute certainty of death, while my love for him rises above life and death. And if the prophet was never angry, if he was kind and always forgave those who insulted him: how could a person who loves the Prophet of Allah dare to offer anything but kindness and forgiveness?”<br /><br />Insults, he wrote, serve to raise Muhammad higher in his heaven. He wrote of the great insight, clarity of thought, strength and calm which he had gained from the example of the Prophet’s life – none of which could be reduced by any insult. He concluded by asking whether those angered by the caricatures had studied the history of the Danes; their ways of thought and experiences, and if so, were they still shocked by their modes of expression? Based on what expression of ‘Danish-ness’ and with what perspective on reality would you expect anything but caricatures like those?<br /><br />Emha referred to those Muslims who had been angry, enraged or even riotous in reaction to the caricatures. He questioned why anyone would be surprised at their reaction or expect that they would behave in any other way. Would you expect them to demonstrate the forbearance of the Prophet? Based on what tradition of Islamic teaching or on the religious culture of what group of Muslims, or on what state of maturity, wisdom, and humanity, he asked, do you regard their rage?<br /><br />It is perhaps no surprise therefore that based on this background of inter-faith and intercultural comment and engagement, the Centre for Reflection of the Protestant Church and its <a href="http://www.pkn.nl/hki" target="_blank">Hendrik Kraemer Institute</a> made their invitation to Emha and KiaiKanjeng.<br /><br />On Thursday 9 October, with a number of successful concerts behind him, Emha and Novia were invited to meet with Mr. Edwin Keijzer, Advisor for Relations with the Islamic World, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The meeting was held at the Indonesian embassy and hosted there by Mr. Siswo Pramono, Minister Counsellor for Political Affairs. A number of key issues emerged during the meeting which had to do with the terms and language used to describe interfaith dialogue, but which may impact on its very success.<br /><br />The main point focused on whether dialogue should be labelled interfaith or equipped with other language which would not refer explicitly to religion. Instead such dialogue would refer to factors of class, age, culture or gender. By removing the term faith, Mr. Keijzer proposed to facilitate an engagement on grounds other than religion, thereby affording access to dialogue with communities and individuals who do not, or prefer not to, define themselves in terms of a religious affiliation. This, argued Mr. Keijzer, would be a more fitting approach for the Dutch context, where, though many people would define themselves as Christian, many would not choose to represent that affiliation in a dialogue.<br /><br />Mr. Keijzer argued that the use of the term interfaith dialogue would lead people to infer that faiths were somehow at odds, and therefore required dialogue to overcome the apparent difficulties between them, thereby perpetuating an oppositional juxtaposition of faiths and hindering the inference of a sense of harmony. This, argued Mr. Keijzer, could be the manner in which the visit of Emha and Kiai Kanjeng could be viewed if it was presented as an inter-religious project. He argued that Dutch people, despite owning to a religious affiliation, would not identify themselves primarily in terms of that identity, and neither would they seek to use a religious framework in engaging with other groups. <br /><br />Emha countered that his visit had been made in response to an invitation from a faith-based organisation for which the program was already formed and fixed. He said that ordinarily he would prefer not to appear overtly as a Muslim artist, and indeed works hard not to do so, favouring instead a fully humanist approach in which one’s religious identification, if any, would not determine how one was perceived. He also said that the notion that one could ignore people’s religious identity would be difficult in some cultures. In the major Islamic societies of the Middle East and Asia people attach great importance to their identities as Muslims over and above notions of nationality or other social affiliations. In engaging the peoples of the Islamic world it would be very difficult to label them in any way that did not first and foremost identify them as Muslims. <br /><br />Indonesia’s state ideology of Pancasila lends itself very well to the promotion of interfaith dialogue in a vast country which recognises five major religions and which still requires its citizens by law to adopt and be identified in terms of a religion. Indonesia has also hosted a number of important interfaith dialogues including the Global Trialogue in 2000, which is a regular conference of representatives of the three monotheistic faiths of Judaism, Christianity and Islam organised by the Temple University and Prof. Leonard Swidler. However, this conference and many other interfaith dialogues are based on the religious affiliations of delegates and the interests of the followers of the religion that delegates represent. To follow Mr. Keijzer’s line of thinking, these people would be required to identify themselves in ways other than religious affiliation. <br /><br />Emha and all present were extremely pleased to have had the opportunity of this discussion. While it is clear that faith communities seeking to engage with each other across cultures would identify themselves primarily in terms of a religious identity, it is by no means certain that governments would seek to do so. Both approaches however are important and useful in human interaction. What is in a name after all? Dialogue across cultures is vital and meaningful, whatever terms are used to describe it, but those wishing to make progress in inter-faith dialogue may find faith communities resistant to that approach. <br /><br />By Ian L. Betts, the author of a book on the work of Emha and Kiai Kanjeng entitled “Jalan Sunyi Emha” (The Silent Path). He accompanied Emha Ainun Nadjib and Kiai Kanjeng on this tour.</div>Ian L. Bettshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02965068474378146464noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4625259130826097111.post-86610080567568543292009-05-12T23:43:00.001-07:002009-05-12T23:43:59.353-07:00The Secret Miracle<div align="justify"><strong>Emha Ainun Nadjib Kiai Kanjeng Tour the Netherlands<br /></strong></div><div align="justify"><strong>Concerts of Magic and Hope<br /></strong><br />For the two weeks from 6 – 20 October 2008 Indonesian artist Emha Ainun Nadjib and the gamelan fusion orchestra that he leads, Kiai Kanjeng, have been touring the Netherlands at the invitation of the Hendrik Kraemer Institute and the Bezinningscentrum Protestantse Kerk in the Netherlands. The program was filled with concert performances, seminars, interviews and dialogues with a range of groups and audiences. The program was entitled VOICES & VISIONS: Indonesian Muslim Poet Emha Ainun Nadjib Sings a Multifaceted Society<br /><br />No stranger to travelling to foreign shores, the group have already toured the UK, Germany, Italy, Australia, Malaysia and other countries. However, this tour was something different. These concerts were filled with magic and hope. Consequently the tour was nothing short of miraculous in terms of what it was able to achieve in the field of human relations. These relations can be said to be inter-faith or inter-cultural or any similar designation but most importantly they were truly humanist. This tour built bridges among communities whose members had been suspicious of one another. It showed the promise of what could be attained when communities work to engage each other, as we saw in the town of Deventer. It provided evidence of the potential for communities to live in harmony, acceptance and tolerance along side each other; different, separate, but one. <br /><br />For almost a year the management of Kiai Kanjeng had worked to respond to the invitation to visit the Netherlands. There were to be a number of appearances in various cities and towns. Among those behind the invitation were Nelly Van Doren, Ph.D from the Valparaiso University, Indiana, USA and Aart Verbug, a priest and director of the Bezinningscentrum Protestantse Kerk in the Netherlands. Both had spent time in Indonesia and were aware of the work of Emha Ainun Nadjib and KiaiKanjeng in the fields of grass roots activism and the building of inter-faith tolerance. Both could speak bahasa Indonesia. Supporting Emha and Kiai Kanjeng was Ian L. Betts, author of the book Jalan Sunyi Emha (The Silent Path) and a frequent partner in their activities who had previously accompanied the group to Australia and Malaysia as well as its engagements in Indonesia.<br /><br />On Monday 6 October, 22 members of Kiai Kanjeng including Emha, his wife Novia Kolapaking and Ian L. Betts boarded a KLM flight to Amsterdam, arriving at Schiphol Airport early on Tuesday 7 October. They were met by Aart Verbug and the entire group bussed to its accommodation at Wisma Tamu in Wassenaar, near The Hague. Settling in, a small delegation would soon be ready to meet with H.E. Yusuf Effendi Habibie, Indonesia’s ambassador to the Netherlands. The ambassador fully supported the program and spoke with Emha and the delegation for an hour before they retired to relax before the following day’s full program of engagements. <br /><br />On Wednesday 8 October Kiai Kanjeng were due to hold a press conference at the Indonesian embassy. This was to be followed by the group’s first performance by the group on Dutch soil. As it turned out, Kiai Kanjeng played first for almost an hour with a powerful medley of Indonesian, Arabic and western songs, accompanied by Emha. The group were note-perfect and the members of the media present appeared dumbstruck by their synchronicity. At one point, during a medley of Indonesian folk songs from Sulawesi, Papua, Sumatra and Java the group rocked seamlessly into John Lennon’s Imagine and Emha, who had been sitting far at the back behind the audience, as if not part of events, was suddenly there at the front and in charge and his rich, strong voice boomed out the song’s verses, causing the audience offer surprised and delighted applause. Clearly something unusual was happening here.<br /><br />Following the performance Emha was asked to join a panel with Aart Verbug and Dr. Siswo Pramono, LLM, Minister Counsellor for Political Affairs at the embassy. After an introduction by Aart, Emha spoke about the roles he had played in politics during the Indonesian reform era. He spoke about the events that led to the resignation of Suharto, the formation of the fifty-strong reform committee, the meeting of the “eminent nine”. He spoke of Nurcholish Madjid, Amien Rais and many others, of history in the making. Beyond Suharto there was Abdurrahman Wahid and Emha’s work to raise his candidacy as president as well as his work to ease his exit from power. There was his work to achieve the acceptance of presidency of Megawati Soekarnoputri and his work to support the victims of the Sidoarjo mudflow disaster during the current term of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. Emha had been behind all of these political developments, providing important facilitation, mediation and advice.<br /><br />Finally there was his role in bridging the multitude of Islamic groups in Indonesia. Though well-versed in the Muhammadiyah and Nahdlatul Ulama traditions, Emha has also been instrumental in assisting groups such as Hizbut Tahrir, the Justice and Welfare Party, the Liberal Islam Network (JIL) and even the supporters of Abu Bakr Ba’asyir. This was partly achieved through the Maiyah or gatherings that Emha conducts regularly every month in at least five major cities, and partly through private interface. Most importantly of all, there was a discussion of Emha’s work in the field of inter-faith dialogue, his active and deliberate engagements with Christian groups in Indonesia and his championing on the Ahmadiyah sect. Emha put forward a concept of the Madania society, referring to an idyllic society envisaged in Medina by the Prophet Muhammad in the seventh century, in which all groups are guaranteed their rights. Inter-faith dialogue was to be a key component of this tour. Dr. Siswo Pramono then addressed the audience, describing previous attempts by the embassy to conduct inter-faith activities. He said that Emha’s remarks had been the most important comments he had heard in five years. The audience, largely press, were then invited to put their questions. There was a further discussion of Emha’s work in response to the questions and a number of journalists said that they would be attending the events and concerts that had been arranged. <br /><br />As soon as the press conference was over the group had to pack in order to move on to the next performance, which was to be at the Triumfaret Church in The Hague. The church is open daily and attracts many visitors to its art exhibitions and cultural events. The audience was not a large one but it was a large stage and Kiai Kanjeng had the space to stretch out and allow their music to fill the hall. The performance was a great success. Again, the group played with musical forms, swinging from playful renditions of Sinatra’s “love” to “Kalimah”, a song originally by the Lebanese artist Majdah Rumi. Though Emha led many of the more epic numbers, Novia Kolapaking really stood out this afternoon. Her performance of Kalimah, as it swept dramatically though several changes in mood, emotion and tempo, was tremendous and brought shocked sighs and gasps from the audience. One man found himself spontaneously in tears, yet breathlessly elated. The group also played a couple of Dutch songs, teasing the audience playfully, while between songs Emha offered dialogue and anecdotes, translated into Dutch by Aart Verbug. He talked about love and relationships, using simple analogies from Indonesian cultural contexts such as the process from “padi” to “un-husked rice” to “rice” and then “cooked rice”, ready to eat. He talked about relations between peoples of different faiths and different countries. He described Islam as the “kitchen” in which the rice was cooked rather than the rice itself. He talked of Islam as the “input” and of the good that can be achieved among people as the “output.” The entire venue took on a human warmth and Emha told the audience that they had “become part of a special place in my heart. That is the way we say I love you”, and that the objective of Kiai Kanjeng’s tour was to “put the whole world in our heart.”<br /><br />To be continued…</div>Ian L. Bettshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02965068474378146464noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4625259130826097111.post-46721658339932012352009-05-11T20:15:00.000-07:002009-05-21T08:52:21.015-07:00Anand Krisna, on Emha Ainun Nadjib<div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"><em></em> </div><div align="justify"><em>Cak Nun</em><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4625259130826097111#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1"><em>[1]</em></a><em> doesn’t just talk about love, he becomes love, he sings love. His soul has been burned by the fire of love. Consequently, he assumes the form of love in Kenduri Cinta.</em><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4625259130826097111#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2"><em>[2]</em></a><em> For me he is the shadow of the supreme love of the Almighty.</em></div><div align="justify"><br /><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4625259130826097111#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1">[1]</a> An affectionate name for Emha Ainun Nadjib (<em>Cak</em> = Javanese, older brother)<br /><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4625259130826097111#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2">[2]</a> <em>Kenduri Cinta</em>: literally <em>the feast of love</em>; the name of the monthly gathering (or <em>Maiyah</em>) held since 2000 in Jakarta on the evening of the second Friday of each month at Taman Ismail Marzuki, Cikini, Central Jakarta, attended and addressed by Anand Krisna in October 2004.</div><div align="justify"> </div><div align="justify">By Anand Krisna, spiritual leader, teacher, writer and philosopher, 2006 </div><div align="justify"> </div><div align="justify">Translated by Ian L. Betts</div>Ian L. Bettshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02965068474378146464noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4625259130826097111.post-460377892623481782009-05-11T20:14:00.001-07:002009-05-21T08:53:32.123-07:00Rendra, On Emha Ainun Nadjib<div align="justify"><br />The Emha Ainun Nadjib that I know is a Muslim leader (Kiai) who has greatly helped me understand the Holy Book of Allah. I do not know the Arabic languaage. Through Emha I have come to enjoy the beauty and wonder of the Holy Book.<br /><br />Emha always uses contemporary and universal language to explain the contents of these enlightening and sacred verses. The journey of my life has been much altered by the advice of Emha, who is as smooth as he is subversive. He is an authority on the richness of language and commands a wealth of metaphor.<br /><br />For me, he is a selfless and creative guide, who has led me to states of inner awareness and piety. He is a true friend, whom I love. </div><div align="justify"> </div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">By Wahyu Sulaiman Rendra Writer, poet, artist, Cipayung Jaya </div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">Translated by Ian L. Betts</div>Ian L. Bettshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02965068474378146464noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4625259130826097111.post-41935669698630791852009-05-11T20:11:00.000-07:002009-05-21T08:54:07.406-07:00A Few Words For The Silent Pilgrimage<div align="justify"><br />This book speaks about life. Not so unique, perhaps. Life, and how we live it, however that may be, must be understood as a journey. On that journey, we make names, stories, and create meaning. Names have stories and stories contain names. And, at every stop, we receive and take meaning from the journey, in part or in whole, to fill that space we call ‘understanding’. The scope and depth of our understanding depends upon each person’s individual capacity to understand. </div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"> </div><div align="justify">The unique thing about the choices made by Cak Nun and Kiai Kanjeng in embarking upon their long journey is the exploration they make of the far corners of the world (fantasyiru fil-ardl) in the interests of <em>silaturahmi</em><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4625259130826097111#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1">[1]</a> and communication. Away from the noise, hustle and bustle of the media’s glare. Quiet, yet with a message that is real and clear. From this journey we learn that to escape from the crises that affect this nation we must be prepared to stand up and work for it. Work is also a form of our love for Allah The Almighty. May Can Nun and Kiai Kanjeng continue their journey and in so doing, give their best for the nation.....<br /><br /><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4625259130826097111#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1">[1]</a> An Islamic term for goodwill and gathering among Muslims </div><div align="justify"> </div><div align="justify">By Burhanuddin Abdullah, Governor of Bank Indonesia, 2006 </div><div align="justify"> </div><div align="justify">Translated by Ian L. Betts</div>Ian L. Bettshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02965068474378146464noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4625259130826097111.post-52832774882176070322009-05-11T20:06:00.000-07:002009-05-22T06:27:17.111-07:00Bringing Light to a Multidimensional Picture<div align="justify"><br />WHO IS EMHA AINUN NADJIB? Born in the village of Jombang, East Java, his name is in fact Muhammad Ainun Nadjib, and though he is more often referred to on his book jackets as Emha Ainun Nadjib, he is better-known as “Cak Nun” to the people, he is an enigma.<br /><br />If you mention the name Cak Nun to the thousands of Indonesian students and workers in Malaysia now, you would doubtless provoke a very positive reaction, one of wonder and respect, though they may never have encountered him face to face.<br /><br />Is he a poet, an essayist, a dramatist, a kiai? Is he a singer and a musician? Yes, but he is also a social critic, a speaker on TV and a writer in the print media, and furthermore he has become an articulator who gives voice to the injustices suffered by the people in gatherings of thousands as well as directly to the powers that be. If he first emerged as a poet (the poet I knew at the University of Iowa in autumn 1981), Emha has now become quite well-known, far more famous than if he had remained only a poet, due to the manifestation of art, religion and intellect demonstrated by him time after time in the face of thousands of onlookers as well as in the pages of more than 12 books of poetry and 37 books of prose, to the extent that he has now become an Indonesian cultural phenomenon who has ignited our perceptions and of course, reactions. His name has now reached beyond Indonesia to neighbouring countries and even to the United Kingdom, Europe and Korea as the Ambassador of Culture from his country, the Republic of Indonesia. Creativity, thought, prolific writing, articulation, and artistic performance are all the trademarks of Emha. One is curious to know more about him and how he is strengthened by the presence of Novia Kolapaking, known in her own right as an actress and singer, who is now his wife and the mother of his three children. The gamelan music group, Kiai Kanjeng, who often accompany Emha in performance are no small part of the impact of the sound of Salawat, the humour and the dakwah <a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4625259130826097111#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1">[1]</a>of Emha in the centre of the people; always responsive, while feeling entertained.<br /><br />So! It really is the time for a book to be published about the artist, thinker and cultural observer named Emha Ainun Nadjib or Cak Nun; a book to reach his audience, the general reader, those involved in the arts and culture and even the political leaderships of developing countries so that they may understand the the important role and function of social culture in the development of national welfare as they face the currents and shifts represented by globalisation.<br /><br />The efforts of Ian L. Betts in writing this book “The Silent Pilgrimage: Emha Ainun Nadjib, A Lifelong Journey of Faith” in English are of real meaning and worthy of note because he has made a considerable study of documents as well as personally taking part closely in the activities of Emha himself. As a result, his views and writing in the book are no mere personal, subjective, account, but rather comprise a book based on both primary and secondary sources, offering an image of this cultural phenomenon that is both fair and balanced. The importance of this book is also in that because it is in English it will reach readers overseas, particularly those in the West, who really understand very little of the lives of those in the East, who, though plagued by problems, are rich in the colourful variety of their dynamic cultures and socio-economic potential. What is written in this book does not concern merely the life of one man, Emha Ainun Nadjib, but there is also a connection to the problems of life: economic poverty; social justice; the abuse of power; the discouraging effects of globalisation; Islam as a certainty and an answer; and also the story of how a struggle that must always remain consistent in holding to its principles and to its voice, both in times of normalcy and in times of crisis.<br /><br />This book is perhaps not a unique story in Asia or in any country that is constantly shaken by the problems of social and economic development, power politics, the threat of hegemonistic America and the tension felt between the pull of tradition and that of modernisation, as well as the rise of Islam (as in Indonesia, which has been referred to as The Sleeping Giant of Southeast Asia). The brave social commitment upheld by cultural figures such as Emha can also be found in other developing countries, but they number a mere few, of which Emha is one; one among a small number persevering in their work and going from village to village, city to city; that is how it is in this world, faced with crisis after crisis with different languages and faces in this busy world where we owe so much to so few.<br /><br />Thanks then to author Ian L. Betts, for having taken the trouble to prepare this valuable account which I believe will attract a busy readership in Indonesia, Malaysia and other countries. To Emha, Novia and Kiai Kanjeng, you have our admiration. And especially to my brother Emha, his family and loved ones, may you always be ready to receive Allah and may His blessings, mercy and strength always be with you so that He may open a window into the heart of our nation for the sake of the welfare of the world in the here and now and in the hereafter.<br /><br />This book bears witness to good works that have been done, and I hope that it may become a source of inspiration and critical-creative evaluation for the young generation, the Muslim community and to the artists who are yet to come.<br /><br />Peace be upon you.</div><div align="justify"><br /><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4625259130826097111#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1">[1]</a> Islamic term for proselytising or Islamic propagation. </div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">By Datuk Baha Zain (Malaysian writer and cultural observer) KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA Dusun Permai, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 2006</div>Ian L. Bettshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02965068474378146464noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4625259130826097111.post-23469621585836307502009-05-10T03:46:00.000-07:002009-05-10T03:53:47.663-07:00Emha Ainun Nadjib…and Iggy Pop<div align="justify"><em>This text was written following the Melbourne Writer’s Festival in 2006.</em><br /><br />During a couple of hours of spare time, Emha and I idly visited one of Melbourne’s CD shops. There was a selection of cut price CDs and when I showed Emha a compilation of Cat Stevens songs he bought it. Kiai Kanjeng had often played his ‘Wild World’ and Emha was enthusiastic about Yusuf Islam in general, perhaps seeing in him a kindred spirt with regard to Islam and music.<br /><br />Perhaps you would not expect Emha to consider veteran American punk singer Iggy Pop a ‘kindred spiirt’, but if you were to learn anything from working with Emha Ainun Nadjib it would be that he will always surprise you. I have been a big fan of Iggy Pop for decades and in the CD shop they had a couple of DVDs on offer at sale prices. One of them was a live performance DVD recorded in Europe, August 2005 entitled “Iggy and the Stooges – Live at the Lokerse Festival”. The Stooges had been Iggy’s legendary band in the 1960s. They all had a reputation for wild living and excess. Iggy often appeared semi-nude on stage and acted violently. His concerts were generally considered excessive. Would this be compatible at all with the work and thought of Emha Ainun Nadjib? If so how?<br /><br />I could not resist adding this DVD to my collection, though I did not at the time expect that Emha would be very interested. Back at the hotel, with a little time to spare, I explained to him the background to punk, its roots and development, about Iggy Pop and his life, about the Stooges and their music. I said that in my opinion it was not easy to reconcile the sound of Iggy Pop’s music, the values he espoused and the life he had led with Islamic values. Emha asked me to play the DVD on the hotel room DVD player. We watched and listened to Iggy and the newly reformed Stooges playing their old songs. There was Loose, Down on the Street, I969, Dirt, Real Cool Time, 1970, No Fun and many more.<br /><br />Emha liked it. Not only did he like it; he almost instantly appreciated the sound and energy of the music and the performance. I had talked about the seminal 1973 Stooges album Raw Power, and we discussed how that could be translated, interpreted and applied to an Indonesian, and to an Islamic, context. Raw Power became a common phrase for Emha in the months to come. Emha particularly liked the song which closed the Live at the Lokerse Festival DVD and which was often used to close Iggy’s concerts, “I Wanna Be Your Dog”. From that point on, the idea of animals, wildness and raw power became persistent, provocative and powerful themes. We returned to the CD shop and bought another Iggy Pop DVD, this time for Emha, “Jesus, This Is Iggy” a French production compiling interviews, performance clips, biographical material and a narration by the Grand Old Man of Punk himself, Iggy Pop.<br /><br />Upon return to Indonesia Emha almost immediately gathered Kiai Kanjeng and told them about the exciting new sound and energy he had discovered. They all watched the “Jesus, This Is Iggy” DVD. Then, a generous dose of Raw Power was injected into Kiai Kanjeng’s rehearsals and performances. I went to Yogyakarta with a presentation I had put together in bahasa Indonesia about Iggy and the Stooges. It took Kiai Kanjeng through Iggy’s life and career: The Stooges years, working with David Bowie, reviewing the troughs and peaks of Iggy’s long career, listening to excerpts and then having a long discussion about it. Soon after, back in Jakarta, I began to receive reports of wild punk-style performances by Kiai Kanjeng. I couldn’t believe it. But one night, at Padhang mBulan, I was there to witness it myself as Kiai Kanjeng <em>rocked</em> Iggy style and Islamiyanto, the vocalist, needed no second prompting from Emha to get up and do his <em>Iggy shuffle</em>.<br /><br />From then on, the essence of Raw Power became a staple component of dialogues at Maiyah gatherings around Indonesia. On September 17th, following a Mocopat Syafaat gathering in Yogyakarta just two weeks after Emha had returned to Indonesia from Melbourne, there was a write-up on the padhangmbulan.com website entiited “<em>It’s Fuckin’ Punk</em>” in which Emha was quoted as telling the gathered audience to “<em>release the animal inside of you – let the wildness out!</em>” Kiai Kanjeng had also composed a punk-style song that they were performing with lyrics attacking corruption.<br /><br />Emha explained that the spirit and energy of Iggy work was not inconsistent with Islamic values; that Raw Power, seemingly wild and untamed, was not something to shy away from; that it could and should energise what we do. For months to come, Emha would constantly refer to the concept of wildness and its intrinsic value at gatherings and events. Another important ingredient had been added to the Kiai Kanjeng fusion mix.<br /><br />Emha is now listening to Lou Reed and the Velvet Underground. Where, I wonder, will that take us…? </div>Ian L. Bettshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02965068474378146464noreply@blogger.com1