Emha Ainun Nadjib: "The Silent Pilgrimage"

"The Sea of Veils"

2009-08-22T03:01:00.000-07:00

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:

Emha Ainun Nadjib: "The Sea of Veils"
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.
http://theseaofveils.blogspot.com/

An extremely creative teacher, friend and brother

2009-05-22T06:20:00.000-07:00

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.

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”[1] in Makassar (Sulawesi, or the Celebes), attended by audiences of 15,000.

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.

[1] Verses from The Sea of Veils

By Jose Rizal Manua, award-winning dramatist, cultural observer and writer.

Translated by Ian L. Betts

As authentic today as when he first spoke

2009-05-22T06:08:00.000-07:00

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 something inside.

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.

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.

Tony B. Trihartanto

Head of the Perbanas College for Economics, Jakarta

Notes:

Tony appeared and spoke at a Kenduri Cinta 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 .

For "Tombo Ati", please see post entitled "Poetry ...Tombo Ati, The Heart's Ease" below.

Translated by Ian L. Betts

A Voice of Accusation and an Icon of Cultural Creativity

2009-05-21T09:10:00.000-07:00

The existence of Cak Nun[1] 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.

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.

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.

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[2], where religion is the fundament.

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.

[1] As Emha is affectionately known

[2] Affectionate term for Indonesia’s first President, Soekarno.

By Choirul Sholeh Rasyid Member of the People’s Representative Assembly for the National Awakening Party (PKB)

Translated by Ian L. Betts

An architect of the now...

2009-05-21T09:01:00.000-07:00

He is a Wali[1] 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.”

[1] 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.

By Gus Mono, a respected Muslim cleric from Magelang, Java

Translated by Ian L. Betts

Steps on the Journey

2009-05-21T08:55:00.000-07:00

Praise be to God for His mercy and guidance. All praise and greetings to our Prophet Muhammad PBUH, his companions, followers and descendants.

One’s history, and the background to it, influences a person’s individuality. With one’s individuality, a person can make history.

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.

Strong in his principles, he is able to endure facing the trials of life, however bitter they may be.

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.

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.

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.

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.

[1] A renowned Islamic Madrassah-style boarding school

By Hasan Abdullah Sahal

Leader of Pondok Modern “Darussalam” Gontor Ponorogo[1]

March 12th 2006

Translated by Ian L. Betts

Discourse flavoured with Islam, and a spirit at once local and global

2009-05-21T08:44:00.000-07:00

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[1]” 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[2] with the language of a Liberal ’disbeliever’ (kafir). It’s clear that the audience at Kenduri Cinta, 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.

[1] Ancient maritime and archipelago-based empire based on the territory of what is now much of present-day Indonesia
[2] Sunda, a people, territory and language of West Java

Note:

Kenduri Cinta: 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

By Dadang Ismawan, Painter and theologian, Jakar (Jaringan Kafir Liberal – Liberal Kafir Network)

Translated by Ian L. Betts

A humanist with a sound vision of the nation

2009-05-21T08:34:00.000-07:00

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 bocah angon[1] of the nation would do well to study, as I have. Congratulations and success.

[1] Reference to the lyrics of Illir-ilir (one of Emha's most well-known songs, written by Sunan Kailjaga, one of Java's legendary Wali Songo saints of Islam), bocah angon, a cattle-herd boy.

By H. Ali Mocthar Ngabalin, MA (Defence Commission, People’s Representative Assembly and former leader of Indonesian Muslim Student Group Pelajar Islam-PII 1994-1996)

Translated by Ian L. Betts

A man of the people

2009-05-21T08:30:00.000-07:00

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.

By Adi Sasono (Former Minister of Cooperatives, leading member of the Indonesian Association of Muslim Intellectuals, ICMI).

Translated by Ian L. Betts

"Silence More Evident in the Commotion that he Makes"

2009-05-18T07:10:00.000-07:00

The Emha Ainun Najib That I Know

Contributed by Hidayat Nur Wahid, Leader of the Indonesian People’s Consultative Assembly

I have known this figure for a long time, since I was a santri[1] student at the Pondok Modern Gontor Ponorogo, where Mas[2] 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.

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[3], 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[4], Kiai Haji Hasyim Muzadi[5], Dien Syamsudin[6], 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.

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.

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 silaturahim[7] and friendly communications, we have remained friends until now.

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 Padang Bulan 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 Thowaf[8], not just being present at Arafah[9], not merely stoning the Jumroh[10], but also to become that which is written in the traditions (of the Prophet Muhammad) of the Haj Pilgrimage, and that is Mabrur[11]. To become Mabrur is of course not to become Mablul. Mablul 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 Zamzam[12]. Mabrur is not about flying off in a plane[13] 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. Mabrur 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 Mablul (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 Syuhada, the Shiddiqin, the Aulia[14], and that this state of Mabrur will lead to brightness and happiness for himself and for others in this world and in the next.

Amin Ya Rabbal Alamiin[15].

[1] Santri; student at an Islamic boarding school (pesantren or madrassah)
[2] Mas; a Javanese term to denote a brother, someone perceived by the speaker to be of equal social status with the speaker.
[3] An affectionate name for Indonesia’s fourth president, and prominent NU figure, Abdurrahman Wahid.
[4] An affectionate name for Nurcholish Madjid, who founded the influential Paramadina Institute (and later a university). The ‘father’ of Islamic pluralism in Indonesia.
[5] Current leader of NU.
[6] Current leader of Muhammdiyah.
[7] An Islamic term for meetings among (esp. Muslim) friends.
[8] An Islamic term denoting the encircling of the Kaaba at the centre of Mecca; an element of the Haj.
[9] One element of the Haj Pilgrimage is to stand for many hours on the Plain of Arafah.
[10] Another element is to stone a number of pillars, which represent the devil.
[11] An Islamic term denoting a state whereby one’s pilgrimage is accepted by Allah, a state that every pilgrim obviously hopes to attain.
[12] Waters from a spring in Mecca thought to be imbued with special powers.
[13] In the original Indonesia this is a play on words whereby mabur, a term for flying, sounds similar to Mabrur.
[14] The Martyrs.
[15] An Islamic term used in closing an address or speech.

Translated by Ian L. Betts

The Silent Pilgrim

2009-05-18T07:00:00.000-07:00

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 Asma al-Husna. 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.

Contributed by Hasyim Wahid (known affectionately as as Gus Im, the younger brother of former Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid, or Gus Dur).

Translated by Ian L. Betts

Poetry…Tombo Ati, The Heart’s Ease…

2009-05-17T17:42:00.001-07:00

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.

…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…

Tombo Ati

Original Javanese version:

Tombo ati iku ono limang perkoro

Kaping pisan, moco Qur'an sa'maknane

Kaping pindo, sholat wengi lakononoKaping telu, wong kang sholeh kumpulono

Kaping papat, wetengiro ingkang luwe

Kaping limo, dzikir wengi ingkang suwe

Salah akwijine sopo biso ngelakoni

Insya Allah Gusti Pangeran ngijabahi

Modern Bahasa Indonesia version:

Ada lima obat penentram jiwa

Cinta Qur'an dengan menyelami maknanya

Sujudkan jiwa raga di tengah sunyi malam

Kepada orang sholeh dirimu senantiasa dekatkan

Adapun terhadap rasa lapar upayakan bertahan

Dan atas keasyikan zhikir jangan pernah bosan

Salah satu saja engkau khusyu' melakukannya

Insya Allah nasibmu akan dirawat oleh Yang Maha Kuasa

English translation:

There are five ways to ease the heart
Love the Qur’an by deepening your understanding of its meaning
Bow in prayer in the silent dead of night
Keep the company of good people
Learn to withstand the pangs of hunger
And never tire of the remembrance of Allah

If you can achieve but one of these…
Surely, God Willing, your fate will be assured by the Allmighty.

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.

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 Shalawat Badr. 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.

The UK, Germany and Italy: Tolerance, Democracy and Creativity

2009-05-17T17:12:00.001-07:00

“Indonesia in Disorder” and “Islamophobia”

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.

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.

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.

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.”

Community Music, Cultural Group

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.

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).

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

“Do we look Like Terrorists?”

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Berlin, Wednesday & Thursday, March 30th – 31st, 2005
Joking In Berlin, and National Leadership

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.”

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”.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Kiai Kanjeng in Rome, Friday, April 1st, 2005:
Tolerance, Democracy and Creativity

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.

Workshop at Rome International School, Monday, April 4th, 2005

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.

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.

Rome, Tuesday, April 5th, 2005
“Poesia Per Un Grande”: Kiai Kanjeng’s Arrangement for Il-Papa

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.

“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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Teramo, Italy, Wednesday, April 6th, 2005
Sophisticated but Uncomplicated

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.

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.

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.

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.

Naples, Thursday, April 7th, 2005
Flying the Red-And-White: From The Sumit of Imam Busyiri’s Shalawat to the “Mecca” of Classical Music

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.

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.”

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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”.

“Now I’m done for!” said Emha, acknowledging that the challenge was far beyond his capability.

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.

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.

A version of this text is due for inclusion in the book, "The Silent Pilgrimage", by Ian L Betts

Reflections on the UK Tours..."universal humanistic values"

2009-05-15T09:43:00.001-07:00

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.

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.

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.”

Their prayers were answered when during a key performance at SOAS[1] 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:

…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.

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.

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!
…

Thanks very much.

Wassalam

Aidinal Alrashid

[1] The School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.

The Second UK Tour & Europe…“Cultural Diplomacy”

2009-05-15T09:33:00.000-07:00

March 21st – April 12th, 2005

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.

The Muslim News Awards for Islamic Excellence
London, Wednesday, March 23rd, 2005

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.

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.

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.

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.

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:

“I am very amazed at receiving this award because when I defeated Tyson I was not very serious about my victory.”

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.

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.

Unusual? Yes, perhaps. Controversial? Maybe. But groundbreaking? Definitely.

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.

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.

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.

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”.

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.”

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.

Eddy Pratomo, representing the Indonesian Embassy and instrumental in arranging for Kiai Kanjeng to perform in London, said:

“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.”

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.

In addition to shows in Aberdeen, Kiai Kanjeng would also visit Berlin, Rome, Naples and Teramo with the theme:

“Music is the way - smiles without pretence for warmth and friendship that never ends”

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.

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.

“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.”

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

“I am afraid nobody would believe it even if it was reported,” he said.

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.

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:

Eradication of corruption in Indonesia starting with the adaptation of Brazilian and Bolivian models.

Dissemination of an idea of a constitution providing for separation of authority between the State and the Government.

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.

Strathcona Hall, The Rowett Institute Aberdeen, Scotland, Friday, March 26th, 2005
Cultural Diplomacy in Action

Earlier, Kiai Kanjeng and Emha had performed in Aberdeen, Scotland. This was the headline that opened press materials:

World famous Indonesian Gamelan band performs at Aberdeen’s Rowett Institute to raise funds for the Indonesian Children’s Relief Appeal

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).

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:

“…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.”

Dr Rusmana Ningrat, who had organized the event, is a research scientist at the Rowett Research Institute. He said:

“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."

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.

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.[1]

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.

“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”.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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…”

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.”

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.

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.”

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:

“Gundul-gundul pacul gembelengan, nyunggi-nyunggi wakul gembelengan, wakul nglimpang segane dadi sak latar, wakul ngglimpang segane dadi sak latar”.

Freely interpreted, it reads:

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.

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.”

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

“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.

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.

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.

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

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:

“Originally it was rebellion…the people cannot be enslaved forever.”

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.

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.

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.

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.

“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.

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.

They were.

[1] 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

The First UK Tour, November 2004…“Crossing the Borders…”

2009-05-15T09:23:00.000-07:00

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.

Preparing for the Tour

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.[1]

Kiai Kanjeng

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.

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.

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.

UK Promotion

In London, SOAS (The School of Oriental and African Studies) released promotional material noting that:

“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.”[2]

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.

“Cak Nun is a performing artist. He reads his own poems and performs them in collaboration with the Kiai Kanjeng gamelan music group.”

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.’

“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.”

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:

“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.”[3]

The BBC

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.[4] 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.[5] Clips from the sessions are included in the VCD release Kiai Kanjeng Greets England.

SOAS

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.

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."

Yusuf Islam

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.

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.

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.

“This is a great way to get the message across of Islam, and I hope it continues”, he said.

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.

"I’d like to be able to play like that. I heard music like that in Egypt and Morocco.”

The Performance

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.
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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

"Shalatullah Salamullah, Alla Toha Rasulillah, Shalatullah Salamullah. Alla Yasin Habibillah," the song intoned. "I’m the Indonesian Pavarotti,” joked Emha afterwards.

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.

“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.

The Response

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.

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.

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.

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!”

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.”[6]

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.
Leeds

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.[7]

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.

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.

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.

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:

“Kiai Kanjeng used the repetitious sarons[8] to maximum effect, often providing the percussive rhythm as a backdrop to a melodic suling[9], 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[10] had a more Arabic influence, whereas Ruang Rindu’s offbeat, almost reggae overtones complimented a song all about love and being happy…”[11]

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.

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.[12]

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:

“…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.”

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”[13] and violin, have captivated audiences. The show and some interviews even had a rerun in Ismalia and Alexandria.”[14]

Ustadz Jamal, a member of the staff from the Department of Culture accompanied Kiai Kanjeng throughout their tour Egypt. He explained that:

“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…”

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.’

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.

“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.”[15]

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.

[1] Some foregoing information and quotes taken from KIBAR mailing list material posted on http://www.padhangmbulan.com/
[2] Source: http://www.indonesianperformingarts.org/Events.html
[3] Source: http://www.leeds.ac.uk/international/news.htm#indonesian
[4] December 1st 2004 report in Indonesian daily newspaper Suara Merdeka
[5] Some information from Laporan Perjalanan KK di SOAS London, Inggris, 2004, by Zaki/kk
[6] Some information from Laporan Perjalanan KK di SOAS London, Inggris, 2004, by zaki/kk http://www.padhangmbulan.com/
[7] Source: Final Leeds vs. KK: //maiyah/kk/doc/04 http://www.padhangmbulan.com/
[8] A type of gamelan.
[9] Flute.
[10] May be translated as The End of Time, or The Last Days.
[11] Suara Bendhe, No.3 March 2004, Melbourne Community Gamelan Inc. Australia
[12] Comments edited from remarks made by Nizam Zakaria, Malaysia
[13] Flute.
[14] Journal Maiyah/VII/03
[15] Comments from Indonesia based on remarks made by Sabrang, Emha’s son.

Islamic Award of Excellence: Poems 1 and 2

2009-05-15T08:08:00.000-07:00

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 poems that were recited on that occasion.

Poem 1

If a stone is laying on the street,
And it is a danger to passersby,
You pick it up, and find someone to discuss,
What can be done to make that stone useful.

That is Islam

Islam is to keep the fertility of every corner of the land,
To admire the mountain and the vast sea, or just watering plants,
To swim on the water with gratitude to Allah,
Or to breath the air with longing to Allah.

Islam is when someone is starving,
Even if it is only a dog,
You feel uneasy for being full yourself,
So then you learn to be hungry yourself,
before you can feel deserved to be called brother by those who are hungry.

Islam is when someone is thirsty,
Even the one who is going to kill you,
You feel his thirst,
And share your water with him.

Islam is
when you see someone marginalized and lonely,
You come by and greet him.

Islam is
to love even those who hate you,
and to praise with wisdom,
the one who takes you to be his enemy.

Islam is a community at peace with nature,
river and forest, water and land, mountain and sea,
Which they love like their own wives,
Nurturing its fertility with nothing but love.

Islam is
A government who take their people as a wife,
To care for each other, to co-operate with a balance power to each other,
Islam is the strong party that understands the importance of the weak party,
and the weak party doesn’t enjoy its weakness and dependence.

Salam means peace.
Islam means to find, to build and to create peace.
Islamic humanity means an understanding to humanize one anothe.
Islamic culture is Peace of mind and heart.
Islamic economics means no one is malnourished and no one is over-nourished.
Islamic politics means a true and honest democracy.
Islamic Philosophy is a balance of human rights and human obligations.

Salam means peace.
Islam means liberation towards peace.
Islam means an emancipation working towards the peaceful existence of all mankind.

Poem 2

When even all the trees bow to Allah,
Why then do not men, with all their hearts and brains,
Bow to Him?

When even the sky and the earth bow to Allah,
Why then does not mankind, with all its power and organisation,
Bow to Him?

When even the seas and all their waves bow to Allah,
Why then do not men, with their knowledge and ideology,
Bow to Him?

When even the mountains and the birds bow to Allah,
Why then does not mankind, with all it civilisation and technology,
Bow to Him?

London 23rd of March 2005
Emha Ainun Nadjib

Looking back on Voices & Visions

2009-05-13T17:11:00.000-07:00

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.

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.

Visionary Art
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.

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.

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.

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’.

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.

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.

High and low culture
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.

Soul
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.

Unexpected perspective
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.

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.

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.

Gerardus Majella
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.

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.

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.

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.

Workshop in Amsterdam
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.

On an early Saturday morning the group installed their instruments in a large room that looked a bit like a ballet studio.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.’

Nelleke de Jong – van den Berg
December 14th, 2008

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.

What’s In A Name?

2009-05-12T23:45:00.000-07:00

Interfaith Dialogue, Language and the Definition of Terms

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.

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 Hendrik Kraemer Institute, in close cooperation with Java Enterprise (Indonesia in Events, Music, Food, Dance & Culture).

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.

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 Hendrik Kraemer Institute. 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.

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:

“...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.

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.

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.

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.

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."

Emha wrote that a number of his companions had asked him whether he was not upset or angry at the caricatures. He replied that:

“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?”

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?

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?

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 Hendrik Kraemer Institute made their invitation to Emha and KiaiKanjeng.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The Secret Miracle

2009-05-12T23:43:00.001-07:00

Emha Ainun Nadjib Kiai Kanjeng Tour the Netherlands

Concerts of Magic and Hope

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.”

To be continued…

Anand Krisna, on Emha Ainun Nadjib

2009-05-11T20:15:00.000-07:00

Cak Nun[1] 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.[2] For me he is the shadow of the supreme love of the Almighty.

[1] An affectionate name for Emha Ainun Nadjib (Cak = Javanese, older brother)
[2] Kenduri Cinta: 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, attended and addressed by Anand Krisna in October 2004.

By Anand Krisna, spiritual leader, teacher, writer and philosopher, 2006

Translated by Ian L. Betts

Rendra, On Emha Ainun Nadjib

2009-05-11T20:14:00.001-07:00

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.

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.

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.

By Wahyu Sulaiman Rendra Writer, poet, artist, Cipayung Jaya

Translated by Ian L. Betts

A Few Words For The Silent Pilgrimage

2009-05-11T20:11:00.000-07:00

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.

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 silaturahmi[1] 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.....

[1] An Islamic term for goodwill and gathering among Muslims

By Burhanuddin Abdullah, Governor of Bank Indonesia, 2006

Translated by Ian L. Betts

Bringing Light to a Multidimensional Picture

2009-05-11T20:06:00.000-07:00

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.

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.

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 [1]of Emha in the centre of the people; always responsive, while feeling entertained.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Peace be upon you.

[1] Islamic term for proselytising or Islamic propagation.

By Datuk Baha Zain (Malaysian writer and cultural observer) KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA Dusun Permai, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 2006

Emha Ainun Nadjib…and Iggy Pop

2009-05-10T03:46:00.000-07:00

This text was written following the Melbourne Writer’s Festival in 2006.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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 rocked Iggy style and Islamiyanto, the vocalist, needed no second prompting from Emha to get up and do his Iggy shuffle.

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 “It’s Fuckin’ Punk” in which Emha was quoted as telling the gathered audience to “release the animal inside of you – let the wildness out!” Kiai Kanjeng had also composed a punk-style song that they were performing with lyrics attacking corruption.

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.

Emha is now listening to Lou Reed and the Velvet Underground. Where, I wonder, will that take us…?

Emha Ainun Nadjib in Berlin…A Rare Warmth

2009-05-10T03:40:00.000-07:00

On December 4th 2006, Kiai Kanjeng began their journey home to Indonesia. Emha and Novia however had other plans. They were due to attend a forum in Berlin arranged by the Indonesian embassy. Andrianto Handojo, a senior lecturer at Bandung’s prestigious Institute of Technology (ITB), currently residing in Berlin, wrote an interesting piece on the visit. Following is a translation.

On Mining the Potential of the Nation and Sustaining Love in Indonesia
Wednesday, 13th December 2006

Germany is now in the throes of winter. The sky is now more often clouded over and grey. Doors and windows are tightly shut and everyone is wearing thick clothes, but still, the shivering cold penetrates. Those Indonesians who are resident here or on short trips miss the sunshine, and they are happy when they meet one of their fellows who can tell them what’s been going on in Indonesia.

The wintry atmosphere cleared however as soon as Cak Nun addressed students, the Indonesian community and the leadership and staff of the Indonesian embassy in Berlin on 3 December 2006, in an event arranged by the Indonesian Students’ Association (PPI or Perhimpunan Pelajar Indonesia) in cooperation with the embassy.

From the perspective of personae before the public, those who have reached a half century or so in age will remember Indonesia’s great orator and proclaimer of the nation, Soekarno. Cak Nun caught the attention of the audience, sweeping those present along in his stream with a number of languages, songs and actions. At times they found themselves simply astonished, astounded. At others they were rolling up in guffaws of laughter at Cak Nun’s remarks and sharp analysis; so unexpected and unusual. The audience were nailed to their seats, though three hours flew by as no time. It was only the eventual lateness of the hour that brought proceedings to a halt, but even after the event was over people were doubtful; unsure whether they should really be going home now. They had been having such an experience it seemed a shame to allow things to break up.

It is somehow not sufficient to say that Cak Nun is an orator. Perhaps it would be more fitting to say that he is an actor who stages himself before an audience; one who has mastered the art of showmanship and performance. This is even more the case when the topics are as uniform as they were on that day. They ranged from the reaction of those who had suffered the Sidoarjo mud flow disaster, the increasing trend towards polygamy which is a newsworthy item at present and the humor of Gus Dur (or former president Abdurrahman Wahid), who received complaints about the controversial “drilling” dance moves of Inul (Daratista) and who, far from condemning her, proclaimed her actions as “experimental”.

So what was it about the occasion that lent it such an entertaining mood of satisfied enjoyment, in that warm room protected fom the temperatures outside which was not inclined to move much from 10 degrees or so? Was it enough for people to feel the warmth of laughter, good cheer and camaraderie?

Around a year before Cak Nun had also been in Berlin on a visit. One of the things he said at that time sounded something like:

"I’m Javanese. To my neighbours, I act and behave like a Javanese. But when I analyse, consider and act upon issues in Indonesia, I cannot merely act and behave like a Javanese. I must act and nehave like an Indonesian. And by extension, when I hear the complaints and problems of people from other countries, and when I think about their lives and problems there, I cannot merely act and behave like an Indonesian. I must become a citizen of the earth, a resident of the world.”

Contrast these words with what Cak Nun said on this occasion, which was something like:

"The issue is not whether we protest, demonstrate or make a move to oust SBY (President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono). It’s something more than that; and among other things it’s about mining the potential that is within us, and improving our lives together.”

Cak Nun was real and consistent. There is an effort to avoid continually seeing things from the point of view of our own narrow perspectives, whether it is the interests of our village, the success of our group or similar. ‘Let us break through these limiations and restrictions’…that was somehow the message that came across. And it was not merely the physical borders that were targeted here, but also limitations and restrictions in thought. Cak Nun repeatedly emphasised the need for us to use our minds, including in challenging that which we had taken as given, as automatically correct, or that which we blindly accepted as if it were dogma. This we should do not only in our daily lives, or in greater situations where we meet with disaster for example, but also in our religious lives and in our religious behaviour.

Of course, that Cak Nun, with his pesantren background and rich and interpretive understanding of religion could discover a way of thought so wide-ranging and universal is a phenomenon in itself. It is this that can sometimes shock us – as if we were suddenly woken from sleep, surprised at the extent of our previous misconception.

The event with Cak Nun was enrisched with the presence of Pipit Kartawidjaja, the author of a number of books, who is resident in Berlin. He spoke about the central focus of one of his books entitled "The Government is not the Nation", which discusses the importance of the separation of services and administration by the state (based on rules and laws) and activities conducted by the government (as determined by the prevailing power of the day). The point is, that public services and the activities of public servants must continue uninterrupted without dependence upon of interference from the executive. This is not yet the case in Indonesia.

Pipit also recounted how he was sometimes asked to join in forums and activities conducted by Cak Nun in a number of location sin Java. Cak Nun then explained what these activities comprised. It might be to help those who were marginalized and disenfranchised, such as rich people for example, who had fallen on hard times, and others who had been well-employed and then been suddenly and unexpectedly terminated. They were given the optimism to rise up from their depression and goon with their lives, and all this is done by Cak Nun in the language of warmth and friendship, which he believes finds fertile soil in Indonesia.

A rare warmth…one of the multicultural treasures of Indonesia as represented by Cak Nun and consistently presented by him during the events of this afternoon and evening. Many were the fruits of discussion that could be plucked from the day’s discourse. One of them was to truly employ the language, the ways and the customs that are the basis of the culture of Indonesia; or with the capacities and surroundings that each of us has, to continually try to rectify that which requires improvement; without apathy. And, should we require inspiration, Cak Nun brings us all back to the ultimate inspirational source, Almighty God.

And when the meeting really was finally over, it felt that more than merely another event had come to a close. The audience, heading home, appeared not to notice the penetrating cold, because they were sustained by the warmth of what they had heard and experienced and they had encountered new thoughts. A number of them were still smiling at the memory of some of the humourous comments they’d heard.

Andrianto Handojo wished to thank and send greetings and prayers to Dr. Lienda Aliwarga, Education and Cultural Attaché, Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia, Berlin.

Translated by Ian L. Betts

“Bangbang Wetan”: A New Gathering Rises in Surabaya

2009-05-10T03:32:00.000-07:00

The pages of The Silent Pilgrimage have already discussed the gatherings of Padhang mBulan, Mocopat Syafaat, Gambang Syafatt and Kenduri Cinta. This year in September saw the establishment of the latest gathering, at Surabaya, “Bangbang Wetan” Gatra magazine carried a report on the event from Surabaya on September 7th, 2006. They quoted Emha who said that the nation no longer displayed a clear attitude, and that Indonesians could no longer tell apart pride from shame.

"We often don’t know the difference between when we should be proud and when we should be ashamed. Often, when we should be ashamed, we’re proud. We can’t tell our faces from our backsides," he said at the inaugural “BangbangWetan” gathering at Balai Pemuda Surabaya, beginning on Wednesday evening and stretching into Thursday morning.

Emha noted that not only do we demonstrate this ‘inability’ not only in the context of our social lives, but also in the context of our religious lives.

"You don’t know whether you’re Sunni or Shia. Sometimes you act as if you’re socialists, sometimes not. The Muslims among you sometimes act as if they’re Christians, sometimes as if they’re Catholics. On the other hand, some Catholics sometimes seem to be more like the NU (Nahdlatul Ulama, the Muslim mass movement based in East Java)," said Emha, to roars of laughter from the assembled crowd.

Because of this, Emha encouraged the audience to make a reassessment of their plans for the future of the nation. Through this gathering, which would take place every month, Emha invited them to ponder this matter.

"Come on, let’s think about it together. If you were the President’s nephew or the Governor’s brother, you wouldn’t have to think. No-one thinks about my people, or you,” he said. At the same time he called on the people of Surabaya and East Java to rise up for the sake of the future of the nation; to realise that their hopes and aspirations as conveyed to and managed by Jakarta as the seat of power were largely devoid of meaning.

"What can you expect from Jakarta? Nothing. So, let’s get ourselves ready. Now it’s the turn of the East,” he said, referring to the twists and turns of history from the time of the kingdoms to the fall of Soeharto.

Emha revealed that the gathering, which would in principle be informal in nature and would not merely focus passively on the knowledge presented by invited speakers, was to be held once a month. However, he asked the people to correct him.

“I give you one year, in accordance with the schedule that we have outlined together. But if you think that next month we don’t need to meet, then fine, it will have been enough with this ‘first edition’. If you want six months, that’s fine too. This is YOUR forum,” he said.

Emha also revealed that there were no sponsors for the events, aside from the contributions that those in the audience who cared and wished to see the gatherings contune, would themselves like to make. The “Bangbang Wetan” gathering was also addressed by social analyst Prof Dr. Hotman M. Siahaan, the Surabaya-based comedian Kartolo and Priyo Aljabar.

“Bangbang Wetan” is derived from “Abang-abang teko Wetan”, which is Javanese and means “the red from the east. The title indicates that there is a red light from the east and from which will emerge clarity.

Rakyat Merdeka’s Birthday, May 2006

2009-05-10T03:29:00.000-07:00

In May 2006, Emha and Kiai Kanjeng were invited to headline proceedings for the birthday celebrations of Indonesian national newspaper Rakyat Merdeka, which means ‘the free people’. The main event, a concert led by Kiai Kanjeng, was to be held in the ballroom of Jakarta’s Mulia Hotel on Friday, 28th April.

Cabinet ministers in attendance included Minister of Communications and Information Sofyan Djalil and Minister for Social Affairs Syaifullah Yusuf. Other prominent national figures included head of the Constitutional Court Jimly Asshiddiqie, Governor of the National Resilience Institute Muladi, Chairman of the National Consultative Assembly (MPR) Hidayat Nur Wahid as well as Chairman of the People’s Representative Assemply (DPR) Agung Laksono.

Media figures present included head of Kompas Gramedia Jacob Oetama, head of Transtivi Ishadi SK as well as former head of the National Press Agency (Antara) and now chief representative of the UNDP in Indonesia Mohammad Sobary, a firm friend of Emha and the Kenduri Cinta movement. Other notables present included members of parliament Theo L Sambuaga, Permadi and Ade Daud Nasution, as well as the Deputy Governor of Jakarta Fauzi Bowo. Seated close to former head of the Armed Forces Gen. (retired) Wiranto were senior lawyers Adnan Buyung Nasution and Ruhut Sitompul, as well as number of academics and other figures such as Effendy Ghazali, the paranormal Suhu Acai and TV soap opera czar Raam Punjabii. Writer Ian L. Betts sat with a number of representatives from foreign embassies who had been especially invited.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, though in the middle of his umroh or minor pilgrimage to Mecca (an act of worship similar to the Haj but conducted outside the Haj season), managed to send an address via video link to the Rakyat Merdeka celebrations. In his congratulatory remarks, the President encouraged Rakyat Merdeka to continue to make its contribution to the democracy of the nation of Indonesia. "Express the voice of the people and protect their interests above all else," said the President.

On the conclusion of the President’s address, Kiai Kanjeng began their performance, including a number of surprise guest appearances, none more surprising than Gen. Wiranto himself who was invited on o the stage and not only sang one number in Javanese but managed a faultless segue into the song originally made famous by The Righteous Brothers but which found greater fame still when it was adopted as the theme to the hit film, Ghost, starring Demi Moore, “Unchained Melody.”

The newspaper ran an article on the event on May 1st entitled ‘Cak Nun Mengkritik, Wiranto Menyanyi, Kalla Tersenyum’ which means Cak Nun (Emha) Criticises, (General [ret.]) Wiranto Sings and (Vice President) Jusuf Kalla Smiles: Kiai Kanjeng and Emha Ainun Nadjib Entertain the people and the Nation’s Highest Officials.

But the highlight of the evening was the appearance of Emha Ainun Najib. Aside from singing, this writer, known for his rich understanding of culture, is clearly also an excellent comedian who can launch fresh jokes, casuing some in the audience to wince but most to laugh aloud. At one point Emha invited Muhammad Sobari on to the stage to conduct a dialogue with a guest from South Korea who was involved in helping Indonesian migrant workers who had gotten into difficulties there. "This is just to prick the conscience of those in power so that attend to the problems of the people like these, problems which can actually be overcome quite easily with a will,” said Emha.

The article described how no-one really seemed to be sure how the high officials in attendance would react to Emha’s provocative comments. Would they be angry, or would they laugh? It depends on the context of course, and how the remarks are taken. Vice President Jusuf Kalla, a number of cabinet ministers as well as other high officals simply laughed on hearing Emha’s remarks. No-one was upset; all were entertained.

Emha had been talking about an occasion when an airplane on which he had been scheduled to travel was diverted at the last minute fore use by the Vice President, who was due to return from a trip to China. The audience were in stitches; The Vice President himself was all smiles.

It was a warm and lively event on the theme “The leadership Works and the People Watch”. Emha was on top form and his customary monolgue contained a combination of razor-sharp wit and criticism. Despite the potential for embarrassment, the officials present took it well. The Vice President was laughing, as did too retired General and former Commander of the Armed Forces, Wiranto.

Emha launched his monolgue, full of caricatures, jokes and pointed criticism, for the invited audience of 1,000. It was a true example of critical delivery. Emha noted a number of world records held by Indonesia. On the positive side, there was the record for the greatest act of democratic choice, which led to the election of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Jusuf Kalla. On the other hand, there were records for the worst natural disasters in the world. Others still, Emha said, “I’d better not mention”.

It was all proportionality. Emha’s barbs were precisely measured. While critical, no-one was left to feel unduly embarrassed. The reactions of the elite in the audience, including Jusuf Kalla, were proportional too. Retired General Wiranto is generally known as a ‘hard’ man. On this evening however he became an artist in his own right, joining with Kiai Kanjeng in renditions of several songs. There was no sign of the ‘hard as nails’ general in his performance and his warm greetings to the invited audience and Jusuf Kalla (Wiranto had been a presidential candate, beaten in October 2004 by Kalla and his running mate, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono). Wiranto sang not as a presidential candidate, but as a friend who wished to entertain his friends.

Jusf Kalla himself seemed to be enjoying Wiranto’s voice and his favourity songs, though he may not have understood one of them, as it was sung in Javanese. What came across though was Wiranto’s goodness of heart and friendly warmth. Wiranto sang two songs and received gracious applause and praise from the audience, including from Jusuf Kalla.

Kiai Kanjeng were joined in an outstanding and rousing performance by Novia Kolopaking, singer Bertha, Wiranto himself, street singer, entertainer and Kenduri Cinta regular Mbah Surip and a performer from The Philipines. It was a tremendous blend of the ethnic and the modern, the east and west, criticism and entertainment. Kiai Kanjeng were truly a musical breath of fresh air. Emha’s monologue only added to the versatility of the group.

Emha explained the philosophy behind the song “Gundul-gundul Pacul”. This song, he said, is a message from the Guardians of Islam (the nine wali who brought Islam to Jave centuries ago) to their children but meant for their leaders.

'In this song the leaders are tasked with carrying the basket of rice as a symbol of their taking care of the welfare of the people. They must share its contents with the people. If the basket falls, the contents will be lost, explained Emha to the audience. However, he continued, bringing laughter from the audience, there are leaders who enjoy the contents of the basket while they are still carrying it.

In his address, Vice President Kalla said that those who wished to criticise the government were welcome to do so, but don’t resort to insults. ''We have to understand one another and not resort to insults,'' he said. The head of Rakyat Merdeka, Margiono, said that what the newspaper does is nothing less than raising the national spirit. ''We will continue to strive to remain within the framework of the interests of this nation and state”, said Margiono in his address.

Kiai Kanjeng’s impressive performance ended at 10pm. When it was over, the audience looked as though they had just finished watching a good film at the cinema. There were points to discuss and there was “something” that would be taken home.

Emha Anun Nadjib and Religious Pluralism: Ramadhan 2006

2009-05-10T03:24:00.000-07:00

During the fasting month of Ramadhan each year, Emha and Kiai Kanjeng are usually busy with engagements and performances. Sometimes there are two in one day. The group are on tour, moving on to a new town and a new venue daily, travelling in tour buses, spending hours at a time on the road. At the same time, they are fasting during the long daylight hours, and away from their families, while Ramadhan is generally a month when Muslims would be with their families. There is one special night during Ramadhan, the night of Nuzulul Qu’ran, the 17th night of Ramadhan, which is celebrated as the night that the first verses of the Holy Koran were revealed to the Prophet Muhammad, via the intercession of the angel Gabriel.

In recent years Emha and Kiai Kanjeng have been invited to perform at the Cut Meutia mosque on that evening. This year, 2006, it fell on a Saturday evening, October 14th. Cut Meutia, a large and popular, progressive mosque in the Menteng area of central Jakarta was buzzing with crowds of young people when I arrived at around 6.00pm. I had driven into town and taken a wrong turn so I was delayed and arrived slightly later than I had expected. People of all kinds were milling about. There was an amazing atmosphere as they enjoyed snacks and drinks on sale and stood around browsing at the many impromptu bookstalls and other offerings on display for sale. Cut Meutia has large open areas and the central courtyard was laid out with a ground covering for the crowds who were expected for the all-night performances. Many were already seated. As the proceedings began, at around 8.00pm, it really did appear from the stage as if there were a ‘sea of veils’.

I had gone backstage and was talking with the members of Kiai Kanjeng prior to their performance. They had just eaten and were relaxed and in good spirits, joking and teasing one another, assured and confidence as only musicians and artists who have been playing together literally for years can be. Band leader, composer and arranger Novi Budianto was going over the detials of the set list and making some last minute adjustments to some of the songs. Kiai Kanjeng immediately set them to memory. Emha was there but he was busy in a corner talking with a number of prominent persons who had come to see him and consult with him on various matters. Mbah Surip, the beloved street singer and Kenduri Cinta regular was there. Stick-thin, with a beaten-up guitar and matted dreadlocks, he resembled a sort of anime version of Bob Marley from hell. He really does have to be seen to be believed. He lights up Kenduri Cinta performances with his simple guitar tunes and simpler lyrics, and his familiar catch phrase – “I love you fulllll!!”

Bertha, the vocalist, who had recently begun to accompany Kiai Kanjeng at Kenduri Cinta and other performances, was also there. She joined Kiai Kanjeng on their trip to Finland in November and December 2006 and would take part in this evening’s proceedings too. Her signature tune is a rousing song entitled Subhanallah. Also present and engaged in discussion were the members of the Kenduri Cinta team; a core group of dedicated young men and women, some with families, some without, who work tirelessly to support Emha in Jakarta, making arrangements for Kenduri Cinta and other events. Several people from Paramadina were including Indah Dahlan, a familiar face at Kenduri Cinta and a key facilitator of Paramadina’s Paramasuara events with Emha and Kiai Kanjeng. Novia Kolopaking, Emha’s wife, who would also perform, was there too.

The stage was winged with large screens and a very good sound system so that the audience could catch all the action, wherever they were seated. Drinking water and snacks were being passed around by committee members and mosque activists and small children were wandering around between people. Others slept on the matting or on their mothers’ laps. Seated at the front were members of the Jakarta political elite as well as a number of celebrities. There was a hum of conversation which could be heard over the sound of the addresses that were being made by the event’s organisers.

By 8.00pm the seating area was packed and proceedings began. Later on, after a number of addresses had been made, Kiai Kanjeng were announced and the assembled crowd found themselves listening to the strains of Silent Night. Only this time, the familiar lyrics had been substituted with the lyrics for the Shalawat Badr, the popular Islamic song in praise of the Prophet Muhammad and his early victory at the Battle of Badr.

"Sholatullah salamullah
'Ala thoha Rasulillah
Sholatullah salamullah
Ala yaasin Habibillah..."

It is always a beautiful experience to hear this song performed in this way. I have described its use on a number of occasions in these pages, including during the account of the first UK tour. However, it is provocative, because it clearly a Christian song, and Cut Meutia is a prominent mosque. But to hear the melody being used as the backdrop for the deeply spiritual lyrics, always moving for Muslims, is really the essence of Emha’s thought and work in the field of religious tolerance and pluralism.

Kompas later reported on Thursday, October 19th that the song was performed beautifully by Emha and Kiai Kanjeng. They wrote a piece entitled “Ada Apa dengan Pluralisme?” It was a play on words. Emha had recently held a Kenduri Cinta gathering with the title “Ada Apa dengan Pluralisme atau Apa Ada Pluralisme?” This means, loosely translated, “What’s Up with Pluralism or Do We Even Have it?” Pluralism has been a central theme in Emha’s thought for some years. It is at the very centre of his work in the field; the core of what he does in his gatherings and forums.

There he was, dressed in white as all Kiai kanjeng were, delivering what at first hearing would seem to be a popular Gospel number, but which on closer hearing turned out to be a prime example of what Kompas called Kiai kanjeng’s contemporary gamelan. Whatever it was, the applause, shouts and enthusiastic cheers from the crowd seemed to go on longer than the song.

"There are no Christian songs, there are no Islamic songs. I’m not a singer, I am praising the Prophet” said Emha.

This, wrote Kompas, is one way in which Emha turns back the waves of popular thought in the understanding of religion. Kompas wrote that Emha was controversial that night. He was breaking down familiar patterns of thought, assumptions and accepted ideas. It was deconstruction all over again, perhaps the perfect example. “New concepts were emerging, being shaped in this oasis of thought, refreshing hearts and minds.”

One of the common themes discussed in Emha’s discussion forums and communities is pluralism. "What’s up with pluralism; does it really exist?” According to Emha, Indonesia has not had a problem with pluralism since the times of the Majapahit Empire, which covered most of the territory of present-day Indonesia and was centred on East Java.

"Since the days of our ancestors this nation has been plural and all have been able to live together. Perhaps now there is intervention from outside,” suggested Emha, whose eyes appeared to defy resistance as he spoke with conviction and assuredness.

Confidently, he declared that he was a supporter of pluralism. Emha was willing to accept differences in religion and culture. However, what he often saw were errors in the understanding of what pluralism actually was.

“Pluralism does not mean that we consider all religions to be the same. Islam is different from Christianity, from Buddhism, from Catholicism, from Hinduism. They cannot be made the same. Let what is different be different. We all have to respect that,” said Emha.

Kompas noted that in many forums where Emha and Kiai Kanjeng appeared, pluralism would often be a topic. Emha has used a great deal of time in attempting to establish an enhanced understanding of the concept. He always works to improve the understanding and use of terms, their meanings and etymologies, as well as their wider context. One such term is ‘dakwah’ whch means religious propagation, and which he considers to have become contaminated.

“There are no longer any parameters as who is qualified or not to conduct ‘dakwah’. The primary form of ‘dakwah’ is not so much about what we say, but rather a question of what we do. Those who do god are already conducting ‘dakwah’, he said.

And that was the reason he gave for being happier to appear with his wife and Kiai Kanjeng at cultural events, mosques and in the community, where his work would not be considered to be direct ‘dakwah.’

“That is only a form of service, and service is a form of worship which should be conducted not only vertically but also horizontally," said Emha as he took the stage to serve the assembled crowds at Cut Meutia.

It was a long night.

Review: "Ian L. Betts - Supporter of Cak Nun from England"

2009-05-10T03:20:00.001-07:00

Gatra Magazine, August 21st, 2006

Expert on cultural affairs, Emha Ainun Najib (Cak Nun) is not only admired in his home country. This is evident in the work of Ian L Betts, the writer of the book “Jalan Sunyi Emha”, who is originally from London, England.

The writer, who first came to Indonesia in 1992, admits that he is attracted to this Indonesian’s work, with his many activities in literature, poetry, essays, spirituality and grassroots social work.

"This person is Emha Ainun Nadjib," he said during a discussion of the book “Jalan Sunyi Emha” held by the Badan Eksekutif Mahasiswa (BEM, or Students’ Exectutive Body) of the Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember (ITS), Surabaya.

This convert to Islam, who studied Islam at the Paramadina Institute, Jakarta, and who was taught by Cak Nur (the late Professor Dr. H. Nurcholish Madjid) in 1993-1994, says he first met Cak Nun in 1998.

In their meeting in May 1998, Ian, who became a Muslim in 1994, promised to help make Cak Nun more well-known outside Indonesia.

"The nature of the silence to which I am referring is found in the lack of recognition afforded Cak Nun, even while the cultural diplomacy that he conducts has important implications internationally, via the music of the Kiai Kanjeng Gamelan Group," he said.

However, Cak Nun himself when speaking at the book discussion commented that “Jalan Sunyi Emha” is not a biography, but an account of music group Kiai Kanjeng’s tour of 25 major cities around the world. "Because of that, don’t stop at Emha, as the most important thing is what Emha does, not Emha himself. The Silent Pilgrimage is also the path of Ian L Betts”, he said.

Emha’s continuing career has been a spiritual pilgrimage; a pilgrimage conducted away from the clamour of politics or the jostling for favour or position yet a true pilgrimage in that it has been defined and shaped by deeply spiritual and highly pluralistic Islamic symbols. Though Emha’s work is neither unspoken nor unseen, it is also not declared, announced or rewarded. His work in community affairs, in religious thought and in the arts has remained unrecognised and unsung for the true value that it represents in the country of his birth. Because Emha seeks neither to proclaim his work nor to profit from it, we chose to deem his life and career a Silent Pilgrimage – a lifelong journey of faith.

Review: "Cak Nun on The Silent Path", Jawa Pos, Sunday September 3rd, 2006

2009-05-10T03:02:00.000-07:00

Book Title: “ Jalan Sunyi Emha”
Author: Ian Leonard Betts
Publsiher: Gramedia Pustaka Utama Jakarta
Printed: June 1st, 2006
Number of pagers: 114

Kenduri Cinta is routinely held in the car park of Taman Ismail Marzuki (TIM) Jakarta every month. I sometimes wonder what is it that draws participants, causes them to yearn for it and makes them willing to stay for an event that generally goes on until 2.00am? Once, a participant gave me a very clear answer.

"I know there are all kinds of spiritual events that are held in public. Some of them are broadcast on TV. But usually I only attend once, or just for a while, because often the claims to the truth made by the preacher of speaker are very limited, and give no space for the possibility of other truths, and I end up feeling frustrated. It’s different with Kenduri Cinta."

This is an answer that I could have given myself. It’s true: where else could a person feel accepted ‘as is’, respected, whatever one’s background, given a wide space in which to enrich one’s faith, whatever one’s faith or religion, given the opportunity to express onself, whatever one’s choice, to love and to be loved in turn, to respect and to be respected?

Kenduri Cinta has all of that. There, pluralism and tolerance and made real, without illusion. Kenduri Cinta usually opens with a musical performance or demonstration of other arts. It might be religious music, melayu (ethnic Malay music), pop, dangdut, Jazz, even rock. There might be dancing, clowns, poetry or other performances.

The performers themselves are ordinary people. They might be street performers, a student band or artists of international renown. Everyone has the same space and earns the same applause.

At the end or in the middle of the event an interactive discussion is held among a number of invited speakers with the audience (or to be more precise, the congregation) on the given theme. The speakers and participants can be anybody, from any background. They can be members of the public whose names and faces become known to us just at the time of their introduction; they can be public figures who we often see on TV. All are heard; all are appreciated.

Kenduri Cinta, which has an “older brother” in "Padhang mBulan" in Jombang, East Java, is open to anyone, and no payment is required. Soon, the Surabaya version of Kenduri Cinta is due to begin: "Bangbang Wetan" will be held for the first time at the Balai Pemuda Surabaya on 6th September 2006.
Who is it that makes this event so "alive" with verse, shalawat, even advice? He is Muhammad Ainun Nadjib, better known as Emha Ainun Nadjib, whose story is told by Ian Leonard Betts – a ‘white-skinned jamaah[1] who sits with Emha at every Kenduri Cinta event – in this book.

Ian met Cak Nun, as Emha is more popularly known, on 27th May eight years ago. It was Cak Nun’s birthday. Ian had met Cak Nun with the intention of getting closer to him in order to offer him his services in translating his works, which he greatly admired, into English, as far as he was able. (page vii).

Jalan Sunyi Emha comprises a translation of the English language work, “The Silent Pilgrimage: Emha Ainun Nadjib, A Lifelong Journey of Faith”. The book describes the life, work and achievements of Cak Nun. There are also a number of poems and a list of his works.

The perceptions of a number of figures concerning Cak Nun are included by Ian, in which they express their admiration for this man of culture who now lives in Jogjakarta. Besides this, there is a full “gallery” of pictures and notes from Kyai Kanjeng’s performances as led by this, the husband of Novia Kolopaking, in a number of venues around the world.

In this book Ian once again reminds us of the pivotal role played by Cak Nun in furthering the nation. This is done by Ian at the very least to correct the statements of those who have questioned the “positioning” of Cak Nun. Even so, according to Ian, Cak Nun "…has made a unique contribution to the modern cultural landscape of Indonesia, though he has largely gone unrecognised in his own country".[2]

When Ian asked why Cak Nun felt that he had not been recognised by the Indonesian mainstream, Cak Nun himself answered:

“The Fretilin troops in East Timor survived in the forests for thirty years in their struggle for the freedom of Timor-Timor. They were hungry and suffered the effects of asthma, and their bodies were destroyed. After Timor-Timor won its freedom they were not only refused entry into the regular army but also shunned by the people because they were thought to be trash, rotten and old-fashioned.” (Page 3).

In fact, if he wished, Cak Nun could choose to walk a more celebrated path strewn with flowers and acoldaes. But, cherishing his own independence and that of the nation that he loves, he is willing to walk a silent path. Silence is an important theme for this Jombang-born figure, defining his relationship with his work in religion, the arts and music. It also defines how a large proportion of the people of Indoensia relate to his work. See for example this verse from "The Silent Path":

At last, I find the silent path
I hear the mute song in my heart
Poetry I shield from words
Love whose form I’ll never know

It would appear that he is using sufism, albeit not in a romatric sense – and is clearly not apathetic towards the lives and dynamics of the people. Cak Nun is seeking love, but has not yet fround its form. This si clearly not a ordinary path for this man who has been a popular figure in Indonesia from the 1980s until now. With Kyai Kanjeng, he visits every corner of the archipelago to meet with the people, to engender and celebrate love, a lust for life and to offer some solutions for the problems it brings.

Aside from that he treads a transcontinental path from Australia to The Vatican in order to spread his humanitarian vision through the gamelan and through shalawat (a tradition among Muslims in Indonesia maintained by many, particuarly from Nahdlatul Ulama). With his tradition of shalawat and wirid, Cak Nun has been described as “‘leading figure in Indonesia's revival of the Sufi mystical devotional tradition.”

If you are seeking to know which figure can show you the value and importance of shalawat for spiritual health, Cak Nun and Kyai Kanjeng should rank first in your list. Not Hadad Alwi or Opick, who only came after the fact..

This writer, originally from London, has succeeded well in portraying the person and works of Cak Nun, as well as Kiai Kanjeng. Cak Nun was chosen because Ian was impressed by the activities of Cak Nun, whch demonstrated his full commitment to pluralism and tolerance in these islands.

Ah, if only independence, pluralism, tolerance, and ‘friendship’ were not only felt when we are close to Cak Nun and Kenduri Cinta but could be felt when we were close to anybody at all, wherever we happened to be, in this country that has been independent for 61 years; how wonderful that would be…[]

Eka Kurnia Hikmat

A lover of Sufism with a bachelor's degree in psychology from Padjadjaran University, Eka works at the Cikal School in South Jakarta.
[1] Jemaah or Jamaah, a Muslim who participates in an Islamic event, such as prayer or other ritual.
[2] See “Jalan Sunyi Emha”, page vi

Emha Ainun Nadjib: An Incomplete Curriculum Vitae

2009-05-09T07:27:00.001-07:00

Extracted from materials included in the forthcoming publication “The Silent Pilgrimage: Emha Ainun Nadjib, A Lifelong Journey Of Faith” (Jalan Sunyi Emha) by Ian L. Betts

Emha’s body of work includes plays, essays and poetry and music albums with the Kiai Kanjeng ensemble. His books of poetry include Sesobek Buku Harian Indonesia and Lautan Jilbab, and at the time of writing his latest collections were Trilogi Doa Mencabut Kutukan, Tarian Rembulan and Kenduri Cinta.[1]

Aside from numerous plays, many essays have also been published including Sastra Yang Membebaskan (1985), Indonesia Bagian Dari Desa Saya (1994) and Mati Ketawa Cara Reformasi (1998).[2]

Emha Ainun Nadjib, according to Australian publicity materials, has undertaken projects in the arts, social development and educational activities in a great many countries, including the Philippines, Malaysia, Japan, Greece, Holland, Germany and the US.

Over the last 30 years Emha Ainun Nadjib has produced 25 anthologies of 800 poems of several genres including social (protest), socio-religious and Sufistic. Much scholarly research conducted in literature for the purpose of thesis writing has concluded that Emha’s poetry has both socio-religious and socio-mystical dimensions.

1953
Muhammad Ainun Nadjib was born in Jombang, East Java on May 27th, 1953, the fourth of fifteen children. ‘Muhammad’ became shortened to ‘M.H.’ and eventually simply ‘Emha’. He is also known as ‘Cak Nun’, ‘Cak’ being a familiar but respectful term for older brother.

1969
Emha published his poems for the first time in 1968 or, more exactly, in 1969 in the Pelopor Yogya daily.

After roaming the streets of Yogyakarta day and night, struggling with the problems of earning a livelihood, holding many discussions with all kinds of people, particularly with the members of Persada Study Club, Emha finally published his first anthology of poetry in 1975 in stencil print titled “M” Frustasi (the Frustration of “M”). In the same year, together with several friends, he established Teater Dinasti, a theatre company. By then he had established himself as a leading figure in Yogyakarta’s avant-garde poetry scene

1970-75
Emha spent these five years living on Jalan Malioboro, Yogyakarta, while studying literature with a teacher he revered, Umbu Landu Paranggi, a Sufi who led a mysterious life and who had a major influence on Emha. Yogyakarta is now home for Emha and a base for Kiai Kanjeng.

Emha then began to work in Yogyakarta’s multi-media arts scene with fellow activist Halim MD.

Worked with Sanggarbambu, was active in the Dinasti Theatre group and produced and performed in a substantial repertoire of works. These included Geger Wong Ngoyak Macan (1989, which dealt with the government of ‘King Soeharto’), Patung Kekasih (1989, on the development of personality cults), Keajaiban Lik Par (1980, about the exploitation of the people by various modern institutions) and Mas Dukun (1982, concerning the failure of modern leadership institutions).

1980s

In 1980 he introduced the term “contextual literature” which worked to reject the standardisation (universalisation) of, and elitism in, the arts.

While the debate over contextual literature had not been settled, Emha went on to incite another controversy in 1984 by introducing the concept of ‘Literature of Liberation’. Essays on the Literature of Liberation were collected in a book in 1984 and the debates over it continued until 1989.

Became known for as his sharp political comment, which earned him a certain degree of notoriety during the later Soeharto years, and for his dynamic live performances.

Emha also participated in multi-cultural theatre in the Philippines (1980), the International Writing Program at the University of Iowa, USA (1984), The International Songwriters Festival, Rotterdam (1984) and the Festival Horizonte III in West Berlin, Germany (1985).

In terms of poetry the period from the late 1970s to the late 1980s was one of the most creative and productive of Emha’s career. During this period Emha published several anthologies of poems. They included Sajak-sajak Sepanjang Jalan (Poems Along the Road) 1977, Tak Mati-Mati (The Immortal) 1978, Tuhan Aku Berguru Pada-Mu (O Lord, I am Your Disciple) 1980, Kanvas (Canvas) 1980, Tidur Yang Panjang (undated) (Long Sleep), Nyanyian Gelandangan (Song of The Homeless) 1982, 99 Untuk Tuhanku (99 For My Lord) 1984, Iman Perubahan (Faith in Change) 1985-1986, Isra’ Mi’raj Yang Asyik (Fascinating Ascension) 1986, Cahaya Maha Cahaya (Light from Super Light) 1988, Syair Lautan Jilbab (Verses from the Sea of Veils) 1989, Syair-Syair Asmaul Husna (Poems Celebrating the Finest Names, the 99 names of God) 1984-1990, Syair Lembu (Poem about a Cow) undated, Minuman Keras Nasibku (Strong Drink is My Lot) 1987-1989, Seribu Masjid Satu Jumlahnya (One Thousand Mosques, One in Number) 1990, Suluk Pesisiran (Chant of the Coastal Area) 1990 and others.

1989
Padhang mBulan or Full Moon movement established. Padhang mBulan is a monthly gathering that takes place in Jombang, East Java, attended by thousands of grassroots supporters eager to be present for the music, the poetry, the Islamic devotional aspects and the socio-political discourse.

Later, a similar gathering, Mocopat Syaafaat would be established for Yogyakatra and others at Semarang, Malang etc.

1990
With the Salahudin Theatre Group produced Santri-Santri Khidhir in 1990, which was performed on the field of the Gontor Pesantren with the participation of all the santri or students as well as an audience of around 35,000.

Produced Lautan Jilbab or the Sea of Veils, which was performed widely in Yogyakarta, Surabaya and the Sulawesi capital, Makassar (then still named Ujung Pandang). It is one of his best-known works.

Frequently on TV for special concert events, his own talkshow Gardu and daily programmes during the Ramadhan fasting month. Issued a great number of CDs and cassettes.

1992
In 1992 came Perahu Retak or The Cracked Boat This dealt with the situation of Indonesia’s New Order Soeharto government, but set amid the conflicts of the period prior to the rising of the empire of Mataram.[3] In 1993 came Kiai Sableng dan Baginda Faruq. Many books were also published including Sidang Para Setan, Pak Kanjeng, Duta Dari Masa Depan and others. Of these books were sixteen volumes of poetry as well as at least thirty collections of essays.

1994
Recipient of the prestigious Adam Malik Award

1996-97
Fully engaged in the reform movement and by now a leading intellectual force, Emha goes on TV for his Gardu shows, a format later widely copied.

1998
Emha is among nine Muslim leaders invited to meet with President Soeharto prior to his resignation. Emha’s role in facilitating Soeharto’s smooth exit is widely misunderstood and he is reviled in many quarters.

2000
Emha established the monthly gathering known as the ‘Kenduri Cinta’ gathering or the Feast of Love designed to engender love among people affected by dispute, poverty, displacement or other social pressure through a gathering accompanied by music, Shalawat, poetry and discourse.

2002
During recent years Emha has travelled abroad, particularly to Australia, to give readings of his poetry at ‘Poetry & Politics: Voices of Indonesia’ (“Indonesia's foremost modern poet”)

Participated in the Australia Indonesia Poetry Exchange. The committee wrote that Emha Ainun Nadjib had had many years of involvement in Indonesian literary circles. His body of work includes music, poetry and social service with community organisations and the education arenas of Indonesia.

Sydney Writers' Festival. Emha was ‘known as a mystical poet and political activist.’ Similarly it was stated that in Java, Emha was a celebrated television talk-show host, essayist and playwright

2003
Emha was described as a ‘renaissance figure of Indonesian culture’. Performed with the Kiai Kanjeng ensemble Adelaide’s Elder Hall on December 13th.

2004
Emha has made a determined effort to bring those ethnic rhythms and traditions to further shores, visiting the UK and Europe in 2004 and 2005.

October
Led a candle-lit gathering at the Hotel Indonesia roundabout right in the centre of Jakarta.

November
First UK tour, with performances at SOAS, Leeds, Manchester and Birmingham.

2005

March – April
The second UK Tour and Europe.

World famous Indonesian Gamelan band performs at Aberdeen’s Rowett Institute to raise funds for the Indonesian Children’s Relief Appeal. Saturday 26th March, 13:00h, Strathcona Hall, Greenburn Road, Rowett Institute.

Recipient of The Muslim News Awards of Islamic Excellence
London, Wednesday, March 23, 2005

Aberdeen, Scotland
Cultural Diplomacy in Action
Strathcona Hall, Rowett Institute, Friday, March 26th, 2005

Germany:
Joking In Berlin and National Leadership
Berlin, Wednesday and Thursday, March 30th – 31st, 2005

Kiai Kanjeng in Rome:
Tolerance, Democracy and Creativity
Friday, April 1st, 2005

Workshop at Rome International School
Monday, April 4th, 2005

Poesia Per Un Grande
Kiai Kanjeng’s Arrangement for Il-Papa
Rome, Tuesday, April 5th, 2005

Teramo, Italy
Sophisticated but Uncomplicated
Wednesday, April 6th, 2005

Naples, Italy
Flying the Red-And-White
From The Sumit of Imam Busyiri’s Shalawat to the “Mecca” of Classical Music
Thursday, April 7th, 2005

2006

June
Kompas publishes ‘Jalan Sunyi Emha’ by Ian L. Betts, an account of Emha’s life and work. A A number of events are held to promote the book.

August
Melbourne Writers’ Festival, with Ian L. Betts. Appeared in three panel discussions as well as other sessions and held two interfaith gatherings in Melbourne.

November
Tour of Finland – International Cultural Forum & Amazing Asia Festival

[1] WHAT'S ON, June - July 2002, Poetry & Politics: Voices of Indonesia, with Emha Ainun Nadjib et al, Hosted by Harry Aveling
[2] Australia Indonesia Poetry Exchange 2002
[3] For the history of this and other empires that once held sway over the territory now known as Indonesia, see Mochtar Lubis “The Land Under the Rainbow.”

Liner Notes for Kiai Kanjeng's Album "Terus Berjalan" (Journeying On), November 2008

2009-05-09T07:21:00.000-07:00

The name Kiai Kanjeng brings firstly to mind Cak Nun, and secondly, the music of the gamelan. Cak Nun? Yes, because he is Kiai Kanjeng’s chief composer. Together, Cak Nun and Kiai Kanjeng comprise a collaboration both dynamic and phenomenal. These compositions introduce the essence of the Kiai Kanjeng-Cak Nun collaboration which has successfully penetrated those dimensions of cultural values and life never before managed by other musical groups. These compositions are what make Kiai Kanjeng more than just a music group. That is because the music of Kiai Kanjeng is not merely heard, so much as felt and experienced.

In 1996, with Cak Nun, Kiai Kanjeng released the album Kado Muhammad. It was very well-received. Hits included Tombo Ati, which was supplemented with a poetic introduction by Cak Nun. Shalawat () songs in praise of the Prophet Muhammad) and Islamic poetic verse fro mall over the Indonesian archipelago won the acclaim of the nation. Tombo Ati was performed at all manner of forums. Kiai Kanjeng achieved an enhanced level of respect in the world of cultural Islam. Perhaps as a result of this, but then again perhaps not, Kado Muhammad ushered in a host of religiously-inspired albums, complete with shalawat and Islamic verse, which became popular with a wide and varied audience. In short, Kiai Kanjeng are a musical group who perform, respect and invigorate the richness of Islamic culture in Indonesia.

Kiai Kanjeng have performed as far away as Naples (7 April 2005), and were presented there with an international music award in appreciation of their performance. They were even asked to leave behind their notation to two of their world, Pembuko I and II, as well as a Demung instrument for the Museum of Classical Music, where Guiseppe Verdi, Robert Wagner, Guiseppe Tartini and Antonio Vivaldi once performed their works and left mementoes of their own art for posterity. What makes Kiai Kanjeng doubly unique is that they have been afforded accolades from the world of classical music yet receive precious little respect or attention in their homeland of Indonesia. .

Kiai Kanjeng appeared in the Pugeran Church in Yogyakarta, Central Java, collaborating with the Catholic congregation there in a number of musical works while guarding the corridors of creed of each faith community. Cak Nun expressed his belief in tolerance among faith communities, using the opportunity to explain the concept of jihad, which is often misconstrued. Furthermore, Cak Nun also clarified other points of ideology and Islamic practice such as the use of the phrase assalamualaikum, helping the Catholic congregation to appreciate and understand the context of its use. The performance was a beautiful one, filled with signs of mutual respect. Again, Kiai Kanjeng are more than a musical group because they use their performances to achieve mutual respect among communities of faith and work to create interfaith harmony.

Kiai Kanjeng’s tour of Europe served to enhance a positive view of Islam, in a world where Islam has tended to be much maligned. On 23 March 2005 Kiai Kanjeng performed on the occasion of The Muslim News Award of Islamic Excellence 2005 in London; and event attended by then-Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown, who used his speech to express his enthusiasm at witnessing the performance. Once more, Kiai Kanjeng are more than a musical group because they work to represent the best of Indonesia in their brand of cultural diplomacy.

More recently Kiai Kanjeng have performed in a number of areas of Indonesia, during which they have arranged a medley of traditional and regional songs entitled, among others, Indonesia Pusaka. These serve to enhance the spirit of nationalism and a rich national culture. Cak Nun’s work serves also to raise the potential of the Indonesian nation psychologically, historically, anthropologically and eco-genetically, awakening a sense of pride among Indonesians in their country, the image of which has experienced a decline in the eyes of the world. To some audiences Cak Nun has espoused that the Indonesian people could the future leaders of the world! And so, Kiai Kanjeng are more than a musical group because they reignite an awareness of Indonesian pride.

Even though all musical instruments are employed, it is the gamelan that is the essence of Kiai Kanjeng’s music. The name Kiai Kanjeng itself originally stemmed from the gamelan that was used by the group’s arranger Novi Budianto, which was neither pentatonic nor diatonic. While the form of Kiai Kanjeng’s gamelan was originally born of the Javanese variety. Kiai Kanjeng’s gamelan is not Javanese. Instead Kiai Kanjeng have embarked upon a broad musical exploration, which has complemented their work in composing and performing for such a wide variety of audiences. These audiences begin with the ordinary people but range to the professional classes, taking in rickshaw (becak) drivers, the poor and marginalised and extending to state officials and foreign dignitaries. Kiai Kanjeng’s music begins in the Javanese tradition but ranges to Arabic, pop, jazz and extending to other styles. And this is why Kiai Kanjeng are more than a musical group, because they embrace their musical freedom and refuse to be cornered by any one stylistic form.

Translated by Ian L. Betts

Kiai Kanjeng, From Yogyakarta, Indonesia: Humanism and Togetherness

2009-05-09T07:12:00.000-07:00

This text was prepared for use during the November-December 2006 tour of Finland.

KIAI KANJENG
MUSIC OF THE PEOPLE
MAIYAH - HUMANISM AND TOGETHERNESS

Counting from the 6th year since the founding of Kiai Kanjeng — that is, from June 1998 until October 2006, our Maiyah gatherings have been held in more than 21 provinces, 376 regencies, 930 sub-districts and 1300 villages throughout Indonesia. To this point Kiai Kanjeng have also been invited to perform in many countries including a 6-city tour of Egypt, 4 cities in Malaysia, 4 cities in Australia, 4 cities in England, 1 city in Germany, 1 in Scotland and 3 in Italy.

Kiai Kanjeng are the only group in Indonesia whose performances are not dependent on government funding or private / corporate sponsorship (the capitalist commercial music industry and TV). Kiai Kanjeng only perform when requested to do so by the people; from among their various social strata, in cities as well as rural areas.

Kiai Kanjeng’s relentless touring comprises one aspect of the social work of Emha Ainun Nadjib, who works directly with the people, primarily with the grassroots and lower classes. This work is multi-contextual: it includes culture, religion, spirituality, social problem solving, political education and capacity building and more. In this way Emha and Kiai Kanjeng appear as “friends of the people” with a fully independent position.

These activities are not restricted to certain political lines of thought, a particular religion, tribe, ethnic or social grouping. People often require that Kiai Kanjeng and Emha provide a form of informal education and leadership training in a variety of contexts which have to do with social problem solving:

Build and construct traditions for improved local popular thought.

Provide a clear form of informal political training and capacity-building, awareness of rights and obligations as people and citizens.

At each event there are people present of all groups and backgrounds, adherents of various religions, ethnic groups, representatives of political parties and people from all segments and activities from wherever the gathering is being held.

Discuss local problems, and national ones, as well as the background to global-internasionalism, and initiating dialogue on possible solutions.

Attracting local government officials, military and civil, where they can take part in a moderated dialogue directly with their people, engage in song together where for example a local military commander can laugh with local small traders and high-ranking regent dance to music with poor local farmers.

On many occasions even the most extremely marginalized, the mentally-ill, the depressed, the stressed, the confused and unhappy will find a place at our gatherings, free from the risk they would normally run of being beaten or chased away by security officials or even the crowds who might irrationally fear them. Here they are invited on stage with Kiai Kanjeng to join the dialogue in humanistic togetherness.

Kiai Kanjeng work directly in prostitution districts, areas where timber thieves operate, or where farmers tend the land and labourers strive every day. We open a forum for them to discuss their fates and their futures.

We invite all to be part of building a new independent way of life, to respect the richness of ones own cultural identity, to sing the traditional songs of ones own village. But we do not encourage them to be puritanical towards the directions in which the world is turning. All aspects of the 1000 doors to globalisation are given a response which promotes independence and not mere refusal, avoidance or hiding from the impacts of these movements, and not swallowing them whole either.

Because the segments of society served by Kiai Kanjeng are so diverse, we prepare many kinds of music ranging from the ethnic and traditional to the modern, using a variety of instruments. If the Gamelan ‘Kiai Kanjeng’ is unable to offer the appropriate musical response in notation or key, then we can be creative in identifying another instrument, or combination of instruments.
It so happens however that the majority of Indonesians are adherents of Islam, therefore, like it or not, the musical ‘bank’ of Kiai Kanjeng is particularly rich in music which is appropriate from Muslim communities. Nonetheless, we have found that, as in our 6-city tour of Egypt where we performed the songs of the legendary Egyptian singer Ummi Kultsum, from village to village and from country to country, the music of Kiai Kanjeng is equally attractive to people of any background of any local cultural flavour, without detracting from the responsibility each has to his or her own artistic creativity.

THE VISION OF THE MAIYAH

Kiai Kanjeng appear for the people, and always to help to unite them: people with people, people with nature, people with God; to appreciate the differences between people, to strive to penetrate to the hearts of people, appealing to their hearts and minds for compromise together in happiness and beauty.

That is what is know as Maiyah: where people are encouraged to respect each other, to avoid what divides them, to persist in advocating and healing with love, warning against every symptom of injustice, discrimination and marginalisation of every kind among people, and also to help to guard against instances where people raise above themselves things that are rightly the place of God.

RELIGION AND RELIGION

Kiai Kanjeng regard religion just as highly as one might regard ones own flesh and blood, as a many might regard his own wife and a wife here husband. Every person need not reveal to others his or her blood type, and it may not be important to ask, because relationships between people are based on the products and results of what we do: whether we create or destroy, bring joy or sorrow, help or hinder. And that has nothing to do with blood type. Our blood types are only important when we need to help another who requires a transfusion.

A wife need not consider another woman’s husband, and certainly should not debate which husband of the two might be the better one. Similarly, a husband has no business comparing his wife with those of others, because our lives comprise things that should be exposed and things that are to remain hidden. Every woman is free to choose her husband and every man free to choose his wife, without it being a social problem. The important thing is what we each do in our lives and in our relationships, whether we are of benefit to others or not.

And so, in traditional ways Kiai Kanjeng are able to demonstrate that relations between the adherents of different religions need not lead conflict, such as was the case in Indonesia for centuries. If there have emerged a number of conflicts in recent years which are packaged in religious overtones, Kiai Kanjeng are confident that these conflicts are in fact rooted in the competition of interests or other factors and not in religion per se. These factors might be economic, based on competition for natural resources or the struggle for local political primacy.

ART AND RELIGION

The values that are enshrined in religious teachings cannot always be understood solely through thought. Art therefore is a strong communication medium that can bridge the divide between thought and feeling. Art plays an important role in reinstating our human sensitivities, often scarred by the abrasive effects or our material lives. In this way Emha & Kiai Kanjeng use art not art’s sake but as a means to transforming and transferring the values of religious teachings in our hearts and minds for all our sakes.

KIAI KANJENG & POLITICS

Emha & Kiai Kanjeng deliberately choose to avoid selecting one political path or party, not because we believe that politics is ‘dirty’ but the reverse. Emha & Kiai Kanjeng conduct politics as part of their awareness-raising and capacity-building among the people. What is ‘dirty’ is the game of politics that is played among the power-hungry which results in suffering and passivity among people in all aspects of their lives. Emha & Kiai Kanjeng are convinced that there cannot be true ‘freedom’ if the people are sufficiently independent as to determine their own lives themselves.

Translated by Ian L. Betts

Voices & Visions Press Release, October 2008

2009-05-09T07:06:00.000-07:00

Emha tours The Netherlands

Voices & Visions

An Indonesian Muslim Poet Sings a Multifaceted Society

The Indonesian Muslim singer and poet Emha Ainun Nadjib and his gamelan-fusion band Kiai Kanjengwill be touring The Netherlands between October 6th and 20th 2008.

This intercultural and inter-religious project, fostered by the Protestant Church in The Netherlands, is executed by the Centre for Reflection of the Protestant Church and its Hendrik Kraemer Institute, in close cooperation with Java Enterprise (Indonesia in Event, Music, Food, Dance & Culture).

The Golden Experience Of Java Enterprise, November 2008

2009-05-09T07:02:00.000-07:00

In October 2008 Emha Ainun Nadjib and Kiai Kanjeng toured The Netherlands. Following is a text by tour organiser Heri Sasmito of Java Enterprises.

On my way to a music rehearsal somewhere in the Business area in Amsterdam, I received a phone call from a Utrecht number. Obviously an unknown number, otherwise it would have appeared with the name on my cell phone. We greeted each other and started the conversation in Dutch, until he caught me in the act that I was suffering trying to speak Dutch. Before I embarrass myself too far, I immediately offered to speak English to build a better understanding in the conversation. What a surprise that he actually said, “Bahasa Indonesia juga boleh lho kalau lebih gampang…” (“Indonesian is also okay if it makes it easier…”) What??!! This “Bule” (“white person”) spoke Indonesian with Javanese accent, while I am suffering to speak his language…

Furthermore, the conversation goes that he with a group of friends from PCN (Protestant Church in the Netherlands) has an idea of inviting Emha Ainun Nadjib to The Netherlands, and he asked whether or not I knew this person. That was my first conversation with Mr. Aart Verburg (Principal of the Hendrik Kraemer Institute) of the PCN. My immediate answer was that indeed I had heard about Emha (Cak Nun) but I did not know him in person. I did not mention that in some artistic way, his point of view fits very well with my journey of life.

Later on he mentioned that he had read an article in a Dutch National Newspaper about an event that I recently organized with JAVA ENTERPRISE, called “Indonesia Underground” providing a platform at a well-known venue in Amsterdam for talents in The Netherlands with Indonesian background that were not being recognized, in order for them to expose them self and come out from underground.

At that time, I asked Aart to meet up the week after to have a better discussion about the idea and the concept. So I finally went to his office in Utrecht, where he was already waiting together with a lady, Mrs. Nelleke de Jong – van den Berg (from the Centre for Reflection of the Protestant Church in the Netherlands). We had a nice conversation, sharing some ideas, and at the end of the meeting, I expressed my interest to join the team, although I made it clear to them that Java Enterprise would focus more on the cultural aspect. I did not mention that I was very happy, proud, and honored, not only because I was being approached, but more because of the fact that Protestant Church in the Netherlands was asking an Indonesian Moslem Poet/Activist with his group, to show another perspective of ISLAM in society. This is a great respect to the Indonesian nation from western society, and to me it was not just a regular concert that I normally organize. It is more sublime, and it goes hand in hand with the objective of Java Enterprise that has been adapted from the motto of Indonesia, “Bhinneka Tunggal Ika” (Unity through diversity).

Days after days become weeks and months, time was ticking away while it was not quite certain in all aspects whether or not this project would be realized. Meanwhile, Cak Nun & Kiai Kanjeng through their Progress management was very supportive and let us know that they were as excited as we (the organizers) were, to realize the planning. That has given us the strength to speculate and take the risk to decide that we would go further with the planning of the project.

At the same time, I was in contact with Mr. Ian Betts, Mr. Muzakky (Management Progress, Yogyakarta) as well as Mr. Yoyok Prasetyo (Sound Engineer Kiai Kanjeng) about the technical planning prior to their arrival in The Netherlands. It was a little frightening to see Kiai Kanjeng’s technical rider at first. Going to different venues, one by one, it was quite challenging to convince the venue about Kiai Kanjeng’s technical specification. Their hesitation was based on numerous arguments, least of which was: the number of members in the group is too large for the stage, technical rider looks like a gigantic concert, some even suggested to hire a football stadium to hold the concert. However, later on, after some adjustment had been made by Kiai Kanjeng, and some pictures had been sent, as well as the sample of the music, it was then a lot smoother to describe the planning with a better impression.

The day the group arrived at Schiphol Airport, there were quite many Indonesian faces at the airport that created a little confusion to recognize the members of the group, as I only know the look of Cak Nun & Mbak Novia Kolopaking (Cak Nun’s wife). Suddenly, I saw a big man with long hair coming out and for some reason I had an immediate feeling that he must be one of the member of the group, and I approached him and introduced myself to him. That happened to be Mr. Setyadji Dewanta (Mas Jijid), the drummer of the group. Shortly after, more of them came out with boxes of instruments and luggage. My first impression was indeed like what I mentioned earlier. I cannot tell the difference between Kiai Kanjeng and regular passengers from Indonesia, no sign of glamorous or arrogance at all coming from the group. That made it easier and such a pleasure for me to approach them, and talk to every single one of them with no boundaries and distance at all.

We finally left the airport with a big touring bus that took us to the Indonesian Embassy’s guest house in Wassenaar, where they would stay temporarily. It took us some time to get there, due to traffic difficulties that guided the bus even to very small and narrow villages.

Jetlag?? Rest?? Sleep?? NO!! The first thing they needed the minutes they arrived at the guest house is….Kretek Cigarettes!!! (Indonesian clove cigarettes). During this kretek break, I was told an incredible story about their traveling experience. Due to a very high season during the Iedul Fitri celebration after the Ramadhan month, it was practically impossible to book a flight for a group of 22 people from Yogyakarta to Jakarta, and traveling with a bus was also not an option, due to major traffic congestion especially from and to Jakarta. So, how did they manage to travel to Jakarta?? Concorde?? Speed boat?? NO!! It’s a helicopter of Indonesian Military Forces that was being used to bring Kiai Kanjeng from Yogyakarta to Jakarta.

The light and very familiar meeting was continued with a proper introduction between each member of the group and the organizing committee, followed by a short explanation about the total itinerary for the coming 2 weeks. Mr. Siswo Pramono (Minister Counselor of Political Affairs of Indonesian Embassy for the Netherlands) was also in the meeting together with his secretary, Mr. Alfiano Tamala.

There was a little difficulty to define a concert, mini concert, and micro concert. This is in relation to the use of Kiai Kanjeng’s instruments in the limited space of some venues. With limited transportation facilities, tight schedules, and different locations, it makes it impossible for the technical team of Kiai Kanjeng to do some survey to the venues prior to their performance.

However, Kiai Kanjeng was very determined. Cak Nun as the leader kept reminding all of the purity of the mission they have committed themselves to for this occasion, and it was very special for me to see how the group worked together as a team. It seemed like the word “tired” did not exist in their minds, and in the end, they managed to perform with the full group all the way through the touring period.

Day after day went by, it was the purpose that the group would not only perform in front of an audience, but that they also experience the real life in the Netherlands. Therefore, during their visit to the Northern part of the Netherlands, the group was separated and they stayed with ordinary Dutch people in their house. I was worried that it would be a disaster, knowing that some members do not really speak English or Dutch. However, it was very pleasant to see them the next morning being brought by their “host parents” with a big smile coming from both parties. Finally the group gathered again, and they shared their experience using the language that we call “Tarzan language” (body gestures) with laughter and joy. It seems like both Kiai Kanjeng & the hosts had picked up a good memory from this experience.

Another highlighted experience is indeed when the group had the opportunity to visit a Synagogue in Zwolle. Jewish religion is not common in Indonesia, and receiving Moslem, especially quite a large group is indeed not very common in a Synagogue. At that day it was all possible and happened, the group listened to the explanation about Jewish history and also has taken this opportunity to share knowledge between the two religions. Everyone must wear a “yamulka” (Jewish hat), unless their head is already covered.

During this whole period of the project, I did try my very best to be with the group as much as possible and assist them with what was necessary, and we built such a close relationship. It was in fact an honor to me to be called as their ‘gate’ to the Dutch culture. Physically, this whole experience was consuming quite some masses of energy, but when there was the time when the group had to go back home to their family and to move on in their next journey of life, I felt something was missing and I wished that this was not the ending of it. This short experience has indeed taught me to become a better person, think positive, and to live a better life by seeing others through their output and not the input.

Hopefully this golden experience will become one Holy step to bring people together, to bring war among religions to an end, to appreciate the differences in cultures, and to understand the essence of being human being as one tiny creature of THE CREATOR, and our VOICES will make a great impact to the VISIONS of living in one peaceful world. Amen.

W. H. Sasmito
November ‘08

Kiai Kanjeng Song Commentary

2009-05-09T06:47:00.000-07:00

2006 had seen a number of international events for Emha and Kiai Kanjeng; a year that was punctuated by a number of disasters in Indonesia. These included the May 27th earthquake in Yogyakarta, a further earthquake on Java’s southern coast and the vast outpouring of mud resulting from a drilling exploration rig in East Java. Emha and Kiai Kanjeng would be involved, directly or indirectly with relief efforts for people affected by these disasters.

On June 21st the Nahdlatul Ulama mass Muslim organisation were due to hold a major international conference at Jakarta’s Borobudur Hotel, the venue for the post-tsunami concert at which Yusuf Islam played with Kiai Kanjeng almost eighteen months before. There were delegates from Muslim countries and all over the world, representing the full spectrum of Islamic cultures. I was to be the English language MC for the event, and Emha's elder brother, Cak Fuad, was to be the Arabic language MC. We had all met that morning to plan the set list in detail. The songs were plotted out and I had drafted a commentary in English that we could use, song by song. We sat and had coffee while ironing out the fine points. Following is the commentary that was used on that occasion. It provides a brief description of some of the songs that might be played in a typical Kiai Kanjeng performance, and the background to them.

Intro - Music Iftihah…

My name is Ian L. Betts and I’m a member of the Kiai Kanjeng community. I help Kiai Kanjeng by making their work more accessible by a wider international audience. Kiai Kanjeng are a gamelan orchestra formed over 20 years ago and led by Novi Budianto. The gamelan is the traditional instrument of Java. Kiai Kanjeng specialise in music particular to Indonesia, often giving traditional songs modern and dynamic treatments, in a fusion style. They are often described as ambassadors of cultural diplomacy and gamelan dakwah. Kiai Kanjeng use all the cultural tools at their disposal to pursue their own form of gamelan dakwah with a characteristic Indonesian sound. This song, Kanjeng Rasul, is based on the life and stories of the Prophet Muhammad, who is revered in shalawat, or songs in praise of the Prophet. This is a traditional song, popular in Indonesia’s madrassh or pesantren schools. Kiai Kanjeng have taken this Javanese shalawat and rearranged it in a modern way, accompanied by traditional instruments. Ladies and gentlemen, Kanjeng Rasul…

The next song is a shalawat made popular by Imam Busyiri of Alexandria. It concerns love for Allah, the wish and hope for his blessings by those who truly fear him, who seek his softness in the face of unpredictable nature and suffering. However, the sufferings of man are as nothing, mere drops compared to the oceans of love conveyed to man by Allah and his blessings. Ladies and gentlemen, An Nabi Shollu Alaih

The next song is an example of the socialisation of the appreciation of santri or madrassah students for the Prophet Muhammad, conveyed in Arabic. It concerns the love for Allah and the Prophet. This song featured very successfully during performances of Kiai Kanjeng on their 25 city tour of the UK and Europe in early 2005, during which Emha Ainun Nadjib was awarded the Islamic Award of Excellence by the Muslim News in London. On the tour they also played at performances to honour Pope John Paul II who had recently passed away in Italy. Ladies and gentlemen, Ayyu Harrojun, Nurul Mustafa…

This song, Gundul Pacul, deals with largely social themes in a typically Indonesian context. It’s a playful and ironic, satirical piece which warns national leaders to never ignore the realities of the lives of the poor. All Javanese people will be able to sing along to this song which refers to a young boy, asked to carry a basket of rice on his head, only to suffer a lapse in concentration, causing the basket to fall to the ground and the rice to be spoilt. Again, it was performed to great effect on the 25 city tour of the UK and Europe. The story of the tour can be found in the new book “Jalan Sunyi Emha” – The Silent Pilgrimage – Emha Ainun Nadjib and his lifelong journey of faith. Ladies and gentlemen, Gundul Pacul…

The next song is a musical exploration of the many cultures of the world, in this case focusing on Egypt and the legendary Ummi Kultsum. When Kiai Kanjeng toured Egypt in 2002 they performed a repertoire of Ummi Kultsum songs, delighting their host audiences in live and televised performances. The song takes as its central motif the triangle formed by the three mosques of Al Haram, Nabawi and Al Aqsa. The triangle is also a familiar symbol for Kiai Kanjeng, forming the symbol for the Kendui Cinta or Feast of Love gatherings in Jakarta, denoting the relationship between Allah, the Prophet Muhammad and man. Ladies and gentlemen, At Tulat Siyah Al Muqadatsah

This song, Engkau Menjelang, is a song rooted in Tasawuf, or Sufism. It deals with Sufi themes of disappointment with and withdrawal from the world and the spiritual journey back to Allah. It is about approaching Allah. Ladies and gentlemen, Engkau Menjelang

This song, Kalimah, is a further example of Kiai Kanjeng’s proficiency in cultural diplomacy. This is a well-known in the Middle East, popularised by Majdah Rumi, which has been rearranged by Kiai Kanjeng, though retaining the original lyrics. Ladies and gentlemen, Kalimah…

And now it is our very great pleasure to introduce our very special guest, who will perform a song with Kiai Kanjeng – a very special song featuring utterances in praise of Allah and the Prophet Muhammad which has been given a dynamic new treatment by Kiai Kanjeng. Ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce one of Indonesia’s foremost vocalists, Bertha, and Subhanallah…

Ladies and gentlemen, Idris Sardi needs no introduction in Indonesia, where his name is synonymous with the violin. He has been Indonesia’s leading violin maestro for decades, a man who can evoke truly beautiful sounds from his instrument in any manner of styles. Idris Sardi and Kiai Kanjeng will perform a shalawat focusing on the people of Madura, East Java, as well as a traditional Islamic song. Ladies and gentlemen, Idris Sardi with Shalawat Madura and La Tahzanu…

And now ladies and gentlemen we’d like to invite you to join us on a brief musical tour of shalawat throughout Indonesia and beyond. We’ll be visiting shalawat an ethnic round up of Indonesia, in Banyuwangi, East Java, in West Java’s Sunda, in Central Java and on to China. Ladies and gentlemen, Kenduri Shalawat – A Feast of Shalawat…

Ladies and gentlemen, this, the last song form Kiai Kanjeng this evening, is one that most truly represents the tradition of gamelan dakwah. Lir Ilir concerns a seemingly simply tale of a small boy in a rural setting asked to climb a belimbing or starfruit tree and to pick its fruit in the moonlight. The moon is a constant theme in Kiai Kanjng’s work, reflected in the name given to the monthly gatherings in East Java held at the full moon, padhang mbulan. We leave you with the sound of Lir Ilir, with its secret of a shalawat concealed within: Tombo Ati, a shalawat composed by the great Sunan Ampel, one of the nine saints of Islam who are credited with bringing Islam to Java centuries ago. Tombo Ati is a song of piety and reverence, listing five ways to ease the heart. Ladies and gentlemen, Kiai Kanjeng and I leave you with Lir Ilir and Tombo Ati.

Kiai Kanjeng: Sound & Vision, The Netherlands, October 2008

2009-05-09T06:44:00.000-07:00

In October 2008 Emha Ainun Nadjib and Kiai Kanjeng toured seven cities of The Netherlands. Following is a text written by Emha for use during the tour.

The music of Kiai Kanjeng is born of very simple things, which are perhaps not indicative of a number of key cultural dimensions in music, such as quality, creativity, career, professionalism, stardom, etc.

Kiai Kanjeng’s instruments, their artistic material, arrangements, the areas where they enact their social interface: all are born of the consciences of the people who are gathered in the group, and enjoyment of the warmth of brotherhood and humanity on a scale beginning with the minute and ending in the infinite.

Kiai Kanjeng’s Gamelan are modified from Javanese Gamelan with a notation created in such a way as to accommodate all musical possibilities around the world. This is driven by the urge and the will not just to recognise humanity everywhere (in every nation, group and religion) but also to respect and love all humanity, wherever it exists.

The Javanese language contains an idiom “nguwongke wong”, to make a man of a man, to humanise. With this idiom we recognise people as people, respect and understand them and love them. Kiai Kanjeng’s musical arrangements and all their journey of socialisation begin with an awareness that in every everyday situation there is always someone who wishes to connect in brotherhood with them. There are our brothers and sisters in Asia, in Africa, in Latin America, in the Middle Eats, in the West, wherever and whoever, and Kiai Kanjeng is forever burdened by the fear of losing contact with their brotherhood and love. In their everyday lives, Kiai Kanjeng share a concern that this brotherhood and love can be eroded over time, distorted, lessened, reduced or even lost due to a number of cultural mechanisms which are, to a too great extent, controlled by the apparatus of the state, industry and religion. (This point clearly requires discussion and time).

However, this very simple vision is, one way or another, something that we must simplify yet more until we can truly identify what it is that we are. For example, we are Muslims, but in fact it might be nicer if no-one need know that we were Muslims, because that which is important is not who we are, our place of origin and our identity, but rather whether what we do benefits and brings joy to the people we meet or not. If we had to choose whether Kiai Kanjeng is a group of musicians, artists, ideologists, religious thinkers or anything you care to name, perhaps we are most comfortable with the label “activists for humanity”. Even better, just call us “people”, because to maintain the human in humanity is the prime struggle for each and every person.

Even God, in the Islamic perspective, on the Day of Judgement, will not ask our identities, but he will identify and sort our social and personal acts. Islam is just the “input”; and that which has to do with other people and God is our “output”, socially, as people.

If simple social interaction does not permit us to conceal our religious identities, then perhaps we might agree that these be positioned in the same way as are husband or wife. Each person has the right to choose his or here husband or wife, complete with the freedom to argue and all reasons of history. And no-one has the right to question and has no reason to debate why this man or this woman would choose this or that spouse, nor is there any need to compare for any reason whether one man’s wife is more attractive than another’s or one woman’s husband more handsome than her friend’s.

Clearly, in religion, just as in the selection of a husband or wife, there are specifics and positions that can not all be the same.

We come to the Netherlands and wherever we may travel to in Indonesia and the world not primarily as a group of musicians or artists. Yes, there are musical arrangements and other indications of art but these are not what Indonesia sees in us and they are not our prime concern.

Perhaps there are a number of thoughts pronounced on a number of issues, but it is not as thinkers or intellectuals (and certainly not scholars) that Indonesia defines us or we define ourselves. And maybe there are things said and done in the name of religion but these in no way lead Indonesia to view us or us to view ourselves as religious practitioners or activists. If it is clear that the religion we indicate is Islam, even that in no way means that we differentiate, question or debate other religions embraced and practised by people all over the world, and certainly neither do we make our religion, your religion or their religion the domain of us, you, or them.

We are a group of simple people, who fill their days with the aim of enjoying togetherness, love and unity among people bot hat the small scale and the big. We call this togetherness the “Maiyah Movement”, with communal networks all over Indonesia, aiming to enhance education, cultural creativity, the economy and the arts.

With every musical arrangement, sound and note it is our sincere intent to enjoy the brotherhood of all people all over the world. And so it is in every other form of our artistic expression, and so it is in every gathering we hold each month in the five major cities of Indonesia, and in every school that we establish in every location that we work, in every book or article that we write and distribute, in every communication in which we are engaged, in every micro-economic contribution we make to the grassroots people of our nation.

Every contact we make and every involvement we have with anyone, in any field, at its beginning and at its end, is, I say again, “just” an expression of that drive to enjoy the brotherhood of humanity. And if ever we come into contact with those “other” domains of this worldly world: the domains of politics, Presidents, big industry, competing global ideologies or whatever it could be – still do we not dare to lose the primacy of brotherhood and humanity.

We are a group of weak people; we fear the loss of the intimacy of humanity, and we pay for this fear with the courage to lose other things: success and recognition, position and power, career and greatness. In other words: We are a group of people who cannot achieve success and recognition, position and power, career and greatness – and so we strive so as not to lose the simplest things in life: brotherhood, family and the intimacy of humanity in this short life of ours.

Translated by Ian L. Betts

Emha Ainun Nadjib & Kiai Kanjeng: Malaysian Tour, October 2003

2009-05-09T06:38:00.000-07:00

A limited release in both Indonesian and English by the committee organising the Kiai Kanjeng tour of October 2003. It comprises a thoughtful on the work of Emha and Kiai Kanjeng. It consists of three pieces: Our Neighbours and Us, Who Is Emha Ainun Nadjib and Kiai Kanjeng and Post-Globalism. They are reproduced in full here:

Our Neighbours and Us

The Malaysian literary scene is well familiar with names like Taufiq Ismail, Rendra, Goenawan Mohamad and Abdul Hadi W.M. who are active in Jakarta. The global village that is Jakarta is the sparring arena where artists work, engage in experimentation and lash out at the establishment or status quo with an outpouring of words onto paper or a roaring reading thick in the midst of millions of lives populating the city.

Central Java and Jogjakarta on the other hand holds a different kind of life. The sultan's palaces, history, tradition and social norms are deeply rooted here. Art is still a part of enduring social expression. In a milieu such as this, it is difficult for the avantgardist and the creative rebellion to project an individualism that flies boldly in the face of others. The creative artist is forced to think sensitively in giving meaning to his work so as not to be immediately dismissed. This is where Emha Ainun Nadjib or Cak Nun (and whatever other moniker he goes under) has proven to be adept at accommodating without sacrificing artistic and social visions-deep in the heart of a society that is impoverished and deeply religious while facing under-development and daily hardship.

Emha has taken an unusual cultural stance. His success at inspiring the imagination of the masses in surviving their strife and further taking efforts to enlighten his people, has made Emha's existence a phenomenon in Indonesian culture-a fresh alternative for us to understand the character of our neighbours from Jogjakarta.

A week before the arrival of Ramadhan (18 to 24 October 2003), Emha and his musical entourage Kiai Kanjeng will be visiting us. Ahlan Wa Sahlan-we bid our friends from Kiai Kanjeng a warm welcome.

Organising Committee
PENAKuala Lumpur
October 2003/Syaaban 1424 H

Who Is Emha Ainun Nadjib?

The name 'Cak Nun' is well known among the many Indonesian labourers seeking their fortunes in Malaysia. The Indonesian students in this country are also familiar with that moniker and know it belongs to the poet, essayist and culturalist Emha Ainun Nadjib. His writings are circulated among writers, culturalists and the peoples of Indonesia.

Emha Ainun Nadjib in his younger days was already noted as a poet. Upon returning from his sojourn abroad in the 1980s, he quickly rose in prominence as a columnist in the mass media. His observations (often critical and protesting) on the social, political and economic spheres of his country displayed the kind of intellectual courage that Indonesia had always been famed for.

At the same time, he had gathered a following through the newspapers, television, books and a monthly dialogue event that gathers thousands of people in Jombang, East Java. Known as 'Padang Bulan', the event is also an occasion for mass prayer and incantation.

He now resides in Jogjakarta (the Indonesian City of Culture and History) organising programmes like JAMAAH MAIYAH (JM) "Together with the People" and the performances of Kiai Kanjeng Musical Group which with their gamelan sets, drums, violins, gongs and other instruments, tour the remote villages and districts of Indonesia.

In the week of October 18-24, 2003, with an entourage of 22 poets and musicians, this group will be performing songs, poetry and prayers forming a unique spiritualistic expression.

Emha Ainun Nadjib does not just make poetry or write in the spaces of offices, homes or by the streets. He plunges into the heart of society's turmoils-people displaced from their villages, those suffering emotionally and physically; listening to their grievances and defending their rights till word of it reaches the ears of leaders.

A true artist, Emha does not write to praise the President, the Deputy President or any minister, but he keeps their company so as to convey the question of what can be done to overcome the hardship and difficulties suffered by the people and the nation's culture.

At times this results in him being at odds with authority and on one occasion caused him to resign from his previous post of Head of Cultural Division for the Central Leadership of ICMI (Indonesia Muslim Intellectual Alliance) at the height of Habibie's power.

Fighting for peace and the people's rights, he was one of the few who set foot in the Presidential Palace to convince the failing leadership to relinquish power.

As an independent cultural and intellectual icon, Emha fights through his art to defend lives that suffer under the regimes of Suharto and Habibie to Gus Dur and Megawati.

Yet, can poetry and music-art and songs-protect lives and solve the human crises of the Nusantara? If Rendra and Goenawan Muhamad (each have drawn risks on themselves) are examples of a phenomenon in modern Indonesian culture and literature, Emha represents a different strain of the same phenomenon-with his own style and approach-an artist who has become intimate with the masses.

This moving performance (unique in its ways) will resound in the halls of Dewan Bahasa & Pustaka, in Shah Alam and Ipoh.

Kiai Kanjeng and Post-Globalism

The Kiai Kanjeng Gamelan was initiated by Novi Budianto. It is based on a set of traditional musical instruments and well recognised as a group or community of musicians.

The touring activities of Kiai Kanjeng (KK) is part of Emha Ainun Nadjib's (EAN) social work that takes place in the working classes of his society. The activities are multi-contextual: among others covering culture, religion, spiritualism, social-problem solving and political education. Emha and Kiai Kanjeng exist as a friendly 'community partner' and is fully independent

There are two prime motivations for EAN/KK conducting its activities:

A direct request from communities residing in almost all the districts of Indonesia, regardless of political alignment, religion, sect and race;
The routine programmes of the Jamaah Maiyah (JM) network that gathers each month in six different cities, driven also by the needs of JM segments in the districts.

The former category is administered by the community while the latter is funded by JM itself. All activities of EAN/KK are fully independent, with no sponsorship from any agency or foundation.

Since Gamelan Kiai Kanjeng was established four years ago- that is the period between June 1998 till July 2003, the group has visited more than 21 provinces, 360 regencies, 830 districts and 1200 villages throughout the entire breadth of Indonesia.

Using his own finances, Emha also builds schools in East Java and Jogjakarta. While travelling with KK and JM, Emha is often hailed on the road by people from all walks of life and asked for his assistance: those evicted out of their homes, those outlawed, street urchins, boxers who have been discriminated and many others who seek his counsel and help in their personal or familial matters. Among other requests that come to him from parents include giving names to their newborn babies, and by this, thousands of children today owe their names to him.

EAN/KK tours Indonesia to directly engage with communities living in valleys, fields, holding forums at deadened alleys, in villages-just establishing some modest ways to:

1. Commonly seek in group discussions-values and reasons to remain spirited no matter what the circumstances;
2. Study the current situation in a knowledgeable manner so as to not lose hope in an uncertain nation;
3. Entertain for spiritual wellbeing, consciously seeking a form of entertainment that does not destroy life.
4. Other objectives of the initiative may seem rather unusual:
5. To develop and culturalise within the society an enlightened way of thinking
6. To disseminate a healthy political education, awareness of rights and responsibilities as a human being and a citizen;
7. To ensure that every event is attended to by members of all levels of society, faiths, races, political parties and segments that divide the locality;
8. To identify local issues and national problems and discuss possible solutions;
9. To bring local administration, bureaucrats or even the military into direct dialogue with the people; and to sing together where a military Commander may duet with a trader, a labourer or a Regent can dance with a farmer;
10. On several occasions, mentally unstable individuals, those who suffer from stress, the depressed (some of whom have come near to be beaten up by security forces)-are brought by Kiai Kanjeng onto the stage where they participate in dialogue and by this process are humanised to the audience;
11. Kiai Kanjeng also seeks to make itself present within the circles of prostitution, timber thieves, farmers, labourers and others similarly. A discussion is raised as to their situation and fate;
12. To encourage self sustenance, respect for one's own cultural heritage to the extent of even pride in one's own traditional songs. Yet, not to influence them to have a puritanical view of world developments. All elements coming from thousands of sources of globalisation is to be tackled with a spirit of independence-not spurned or hidden from but yet not to be taken without question;
13. Because the communities faced by Kiai Kanjeng is multifaceted, it is prepared to undertake all manner of musical forms, from ethnic to modern. If the Kiai Kanjeng gamelan cannot reach a certain note or key, it will strive to perform with whatever else is left, and at the most minimal, the combo will be used;
14. Because the majority of Indonesians are Muslims, the music trove of Kiai Kanjeng is largely made up of songs persuasive towards an Islamic culture. Yet, as can be seen from a previous 6-city tour of Egypt where Kiai Kanjeng adopted a performance based on the songs of the legendary Egyptian singer Ummi Kalsum, the ensemble remained persuasive of local cultures without abandoning their creative artistic responsibilities. The same approach is extended to any village or province that they tour in.

The musical exploration of Kiai Kanjeng does not restrict itself to types and forms of music. Since the instruments of Kiai Kanjeng possess numerous possibilities, their creative explorations take on many shades: from exploring traditional Javanese, Sunda, Malay and Chinese music to unearthing ethnic forms like Madura, Mandra, Bugis and many others. Kiai Kanjeng has many times performed at international gamelan festivals and does not shut itself from modern Western numbers: pop, blues, jazz (and even invited to perform at the Jak-Jazz Festival). Certainly, their repertoire does not forget the all-popular Indonesian dangdut.

During the 6-city tour of Egypt, KK took it upon itself a rearrangement of the songs of Ummi Kalsum (famed as 'The Eastern Star") and this effort was well received by the Egyptian audience.

Yet Kiai Kanjeng is not a group similar to other musical outfits. This is largely due to its mission of not primarily for music and the arts, but as a comprehensive social communication and process. This phenomenon is uncommon, and its fame is spread by word of mouth-though it is relatively unspoken about in the Indonesian music constellation especially in its modern music industry.

Emha Ainun Nadjib speaks of KK's global exploration as a stance of 'post-globalism' which it imprints in different spheres of human and social life.

To remain conservative in a traditional culture renders humans extinct from history, but to prepare oneself to be swept by a culture of globalisation renders a person to become merely a cultural servant marshaled by capitalistic industry. Resisting globalisation does not have to be by way of traditional-local puritanism, but by firmly planting one's feet in the traditional ground while offers of globalisation are to be received and considered with an independent personality.

EAN/KK does not oppose traditional music, and neither does it resist modern world music-but is not prepared to be subservient to both. To remain conservative in a traditional culture renders humans extinct from history, but to prepare oneself to be swept by a culture of globalisation renders a person to become merely a cultural servant marshaled by capitalistic industry. Resisting globalisation does not have to be by way of local-traditional puritanism, but by firmly planting one's feet in the traditional ground while offers of globalisation are to be received and considered with an independent personality.

It is not just in music that EAN/KK takes a post-globalist stance, but also in other fields. EAN/KK is in constant touch with various segments of society in the context of culture, religion, technology and bureaucracy - yet is not overwhelmed by such segments. To constantly engage with different regions of politics, yet preserving the independence, honourable nationalism and true spirit of humanity.

Organising Committee, PENA, Kuala Lumpur, October 2003, Limited Edition

Translated by Rosihan Zain

Indonesia’s Best Kept Secret

2009-05-08T09:52:00.000-07:00

Emha Ainun Nadjib, Kiai Kanjeng and the Dynasty Theatre at Jakarta’s Gedung Kesenian, April 2009

On the evening of Friday April 3, at the Gedung Kesenian in Central Jakarta’s Pasar Baru, a remarkable performance was held. Emha Ainun Nadjib, a leading poet, writer and social activist took the stage with long-term collaborators gamelan fusion orchestra Kiai Kanjeng and the newly-reformed Dynasty Theatre. What followed was a dynamic three-hour blend of music, drama, poetry and dialogue.

Entitled “Jangan Cintai Ibu Pertiwi”, the evening focused on topical affairs and current events. The curtains rose on a ten-strong gamelan troupe accompanied with a classically-trained violinist, guitar, bass and keyboard, and vocalists. One of the two female vocalists was Novia Kolopaking, an musical artist and actress in her own right and married to Nadjib.

The music commenced slowly, building into a piece know as “Bambang Wetan”; the rising of the east. On stage, a number of sleeping forms were roused one by one by a couple of actors, as the mournful song progressed. That set the scene for a dramatic sketch concerning Indonesia’s “Ibu Pertiwi” (mother earth or mother land) by the Dynasty Theatre players. On a large screen the picture was constantly changing; the graphics were very good.

The music shifted focus and a new song began. It was a variation on Kiai Kanjeng’s “Sayang Padaku” with Novia Kolopaking on lead vocals. It’s the title track of one of her recent album releases. The screen provided a backdrop of the recent Situ Gintung lake disaster as the song played out. Between songs Emha himself would take the stage and recite, and the Dynasty Theatre players continued to act out sketches and dramatic dialogue on the theme of the desecration of mother earth; hence the focus on Situ Gintung.

After an interval, the mood changed and Emha returned to the stage and sat down, ready to engage the audience directly. The theatre is not, at least in Indonesia, the typical setting for the group. They are more likely to be found performing in the provinces in a sports field or other large open space. Touring constantly, they perform up to fifteen times a month across Indonesia. Each month there are scheduled gatherings know as “Maiyah” in Jakarta, Semarang, Yogyakarta, Malang, Surabaya and Jombang (East Java – Emha’s birthplace). They are more likely to see the inside of a theatre abroad, having toured extensively in Europe, Asia and Australia.

Emha is a natural comedian and he immediately set to work on current affairs, poking fun at political parties and their election campaigns, challenging the religiously over-pious and taking good-natured though humorous pot shots at national figures, of whom there are usually a few at such performances. The dialogue was interspersed with more songs, including a cover of Nat King Cole’s Love by the two female vocalists. This was given the classic jazz treatment but half way through this morphed into a hard rock version.

The main substance of the commentary concerned interfaith and inter-communal relations, with Emha referring to the group’s recently acclaimed tour of the Netherlands. There they played theatres, churches and mosques in seven cities, engaging in dialogue with politicians, priests and rabbis, appearing on TV in a host of other forums. The tour included discussions at a progressive synagogue and Emha referred to an agreement that had been signed by national representatives of the Jewish, Christian and Muslim faiths to good relations among each other. It has been rare for Indonesian Muslim leaders to actively engage with their Jewish counterparts. It is an active part of Kiai Kanjeng’s cultural diplomacy that they do so.

Emha said that we would have to finish at 10.00 pm but that they would probably be able to stretch it a little and the evening wound up just before half past. The climax came in the form of two songs. One; a version of Letto’s recent hit “Sebelum Cahaya” and finally, a classic Islamic song of praise, accelerating and peaking in the repetition of “Allahu”, until an exhausted Emha, with a broken voice, said goodnight and thanked the audience.

Such performances really are Indonesia’s best kept secret. Interested readers may like to view http://padhangmbulan.com/ for Emha’s recent writings and scheduled events. He appears monthly (generally the evening of the second Friday of the month) at Cikini’s Taman Ismail Marzuki in Central Jakarta.

Ian L. Betts is the author of “Jalan Sunyi Emha” on the life and work of Emha Ainun Nadjib. He works with Emha Ainun Nadjib and Kiai Kanjeng, frequently accompanying them overseas.

"The Warmth of Music", Finland, December 2006

2009-05-08T09:50:00.000-07:00

Emha Ainun Nadjib and Kiai Kanjeng at Espoo City Theatre

Indonesia's gamelan fusion orchestra, Kiai Kanjeng, on stage at various venues in Finland, are like no other musical group. The dynamic is the same - i.e., a performance - those watching and those being watched, but with a KiaiKanjeng performance there is something more for both parties. The themes raised by Kiai Kanjeng during their performance allow the audience to be more than mere passive observers; they are encouraged to think, discuss and participate.

Quite often, members of the audience will spontaneously come up on to the stage. They abandon their roles as audience and take on a role as people engaged in a cultural interaction - humanism - spontaneous singing, a part of a people or a nation, makers of culture, economic actors, political commentators and other roles - freely and openly. Kiai Kanjeng always request the lights on full at venues where they play.

"You are not our audience and we are not your performers. We are brothers in humanity. Among the ties that bind us are all the key themes in global relations" the family, arts and culture, suffering, politics and much more. Our music has always been arranged to reflect that."

These words are almost always said by one person or another at every performance of Kiai Kanjeng. Just as in their performances in tens of cities in England, Germany, Scotland, and Italy, their presence in Finland was astounding in almost every way, touching upon every dimension of human experience. This they achieved without relinquishing any of their artistic responsibility towards the musical arrangements that they used.

Heikki Sarmanto, one of Finland’s elite pianists, said: “Their music opens a thousand windows. Their sounds truly force us to fly across various horizons. I bought five of their cds and I’m listening to them every day one after the other. I can’t help myself. I am going to bring Kiai Kanjeng’s music to the studio and I am going to incorporate my piano into it. Then, I’m going to send the results to Indonesia and I’m sure we’ll work together in the future.”

At the last concert of their Finnish tour at the main Espoo Theatre, Heikki Sarmanto came up on the stage with tens of other members of the audience dan danced enthusiastically to the last number - ”Rampak Osing”. One French drummer who had made a creative exploration of music from Cuba and Senegal, choosing them for their original musical forms, met with Kiai Kanjeng after the show. “You’re all crazy,” he said. “I saw you bringing in all those old instruments. I have studied all forms of music and I thought I could imagine what your music would sound like but I would never have imagined that your arrangements would sound like that. I could not have predicted even one of the musical momentums from among the arrangements you played. You’re all crazy!”

Kiai Kanjeng’s music takes in and makes reference to all musical forms from across the globe. They also really like to tease the audience with a song that sounds as if it emanates from Java, or from some other age, only then to fade in to a jazz number. Or, a shalawat (song in praise of the prophet Muhammad) which segues into the blues, without any change in notation or rhythm, even switching from Arabic to English mid-song.

Then they’ll introduce an ethnic Sulawesi Bugis number, going into “You Raise Me Up” for a few bars before crossing over to Sunda with a version of “Imagine”, continuing on to Madura and closing on “Blowing in the Wind”. Perhaps’ they’ll begin with a country song, swing into a classic Ummi Kultsum song in Arabic, then fall back into Indonesia’s popular ‘keroncong’. A number of their explorations truly evoke all parts of the world, both shaken and stirred in a dynamic arrangement and maximum warmth.

One member of the audience felt particularly enthused by this combination. But what made the greatest impression on the audience were the Javanese songs and those from the Middle East. These had the greatest attraction because they could have come from just anywhere. Some of the audience commented that songs originating from the west were nowhere near as interesting.

”Perhaps it’s because those songs belong in genres like ‘pop’, while other songs are deeper and more sensitive.” Certainly it was the first time a Finnish audience had been treated to an Indonesian group who could compile such a musical mosaic with such genius, taking in all nuances of music.

One of the audience suggested the performance be titled “Kiai Kanjeng: Bringing Warmth to a Cold Finland”. Everyone knows the Finnish character, they are known as introverts, shy, to the extent that they do not even applause easily. But with Kiai Kanjeng they would spontaneously break into applause, cry out, stand and shout “we want more…we want more…”, even after the third standing ovation.

And in the last performance at the Espoo theatre, they came up on stage and danced. This is perhaps the challenge of Kiai Kanjeng; how to, with sensitivity, encourage a sense of enthusiasm among the Finnish people, or indeed among other peoples, with all their different characteristics compared to the people of Java, and their different forms of expression.

The worshippers in the Munkkiniemi Church, Helsinki, just as the Muslim worshippers in their mosque earlier, had hesitated to applaud during a performance in the church. They also looked right and left for assurance before they would commit themselves to clapping. But as soon as one
applauded, all would join in and it became ‘acceptable’.

That was a beautiful evening. Kiai Kanjeng brought their Islamic shalawat songs to the church, surrounded by statues of Christ on the Cross. The Protestant congregation actually requested Islamic songs. 90% of Finns are Protestant, but many people are secular in their daily lives and religion has a different meaning for them. Perhaps because of that, and experiencing the enthusiasm and spirituality of Kiai Kanjeng’s music, the Finns present also felt the importance of spirituality that night.

Are Muslims allowed to bring shalawat into a church? Emha answered: “The Prophet Muhammad (may blessings be upon him) said that wherever we > worship, that is a mosque. So wherever we express our love for the Prophet, that is a fitting place for shalawat.. If Muslims may not perform shalawat for Christians, then much less may they perform for devils and demons. That’s why we need a technology that will prevent devils and demons from hearing our voices. Because they can hear the silent voices of our hearts and they can hear the voices of our spirits even when we do not speak, so what is the solution?”

Kiai Kanjeng performed a number of song arrangements that many might consider to be church music. But if you listened to the lyrics you would hear the words of spiritual Islam in the form of shalawat verse. Emha said: “The music is just the fork and spoon. In every restaurant the forks and spoons are used by people of every religion, regardless, and in some small street stalls in Indonesia they’re probably used by ghosts too. It doesn’t mean that Muslims have to recite the Christian creed, anymore than it means that Christians should recite the Muslim profession of faith or sing the Shalawat Badar (a well-known and popular shalawat commemorating a successful early Muslim battle victory)”

Kiai Kanjeng also conducted a number of workshops with kindergarten and infant school children. They adapted a number of their songs and arrangements for the Finnish children, encouraged them to sing, brought them onto the stage and gave them a taste of playing their traditional Indonesian instruments.

On one occasion Kiai Kanjeng made a performance with Muslim children in the Islamic community of Helsinki. This was an important occasion for the community as many were of immigrant origin and many of their parents were of Somali, the Middle East or other extraction. For them it was important to experience and witness the plurality that is possible in life.

Following the concert in Caisa, the cultural heart of Helsinki, a performance in the Munkkiniemi Church, in WeeGee, the centre of modern culture of Espoo, and after the performance of the song that closed the dialogue on religion and culture at the Cultural Forum, we watched Kiai Kanjeng at the Espoo theatre.

For the Finns in the audience it was something entirely different from what they were used to. In the music there were messages of love, of poverty, of environmental destruction, of injustice and other themes which emerged form the music, so professionally conveyed. But there was also a great deal of spontaneity and improvisation and the building of a great sense of enthusiasm which, for the people of Finland, was like a dream in music amid the cold and gloom of the Finnish December.

ANU LOUNELA
Candidate PhD, Social Studies and Anthopology,
University of Helsinki, Finland.

Edited and translated by Ian L. Betts, author of “Jalan Sunyi Emha” on the life and work of Emha Ainun Nadjib (Gramedia June 2006). An abbreviated version of this text was published in the Indonesian daily Koran Sindo on Sunday December 10th 2006.

Proposed contents for "The Silent Pilgrimage"

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CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

FOREWORD

Walk On, In Silence

By Jakob Oetama

FOREWORD

The “Nobody” Who Walks The Silent Path

By Franciscus Welirang

PROLOGUE
A Friend To All
By Toto Rahardjo

CHAPTER 1
Introduction
One May Evening, 1998

CHAPTER 2
Perceptions
Who Is Emha Ainun Nadjib?

CHAPTER 3
His Life and Career
A Common Man

CHAPTER 4
The Writings of Emha Ainun Nadjib
“I am Not a Poet”

CHAPTER 5
Islam, Faith & Society
A Circle of Sincerity…A Triangle of Love

CHAPTER 6
Emha Ainun Nadjib & Kiai Kanjeng
Music Is the Way…

CHAPTER 7
The First UK Tour 2004
Crossing The Borders…

CHAPTER 8
The Second UK Tour & Europe 2005
Cultural Diplomacy

CHAPTER 9
Australia, Finland, The Netherlands and Beyond
New Horizons

CHAPTER 10
Conclusion
In Silence Lies The Way Of Truth

EPILOGUE
The Way of Silence
By Mohammad Sobary

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS

Tributes & Praise for Emha Ainun Nadjib

A Selective Guide To Published Works

Kiai Kanjeng Album Guide

APPENDICES

1. “The Nation of The Laughing People”
By Emha Ainun Nadjib, November 2004

2. “The Phenomenon of Emha”
By Halim HD, Solo, August 5th, 1994

3. “Emha Ainun Nadjib & Kiai Kanjeng”
(Organising Committee, PENA, Kuala Lumpur, October 2003)
Our Neighbours and Us
Who Is Emha Ainun Nadjib?
Kiai Kanjeng and Post-Globalism

4. “Learning the Lessons of Aceh”
By Emha Ainun Nadjib, Hong Kong, February 6th, 2005
Towards a Post-Tsunami Rights Coalition for the People of Aceh
Symptoms of an Epidemic

5. “He is a Person Who…”
By Emha Ainun Nadjib, June 2005

6. The Members of Kiai Kanjeng
As featured in ‘Caricatures of Love’, February 2006,

GLOSSARY OF TERMS

REFERENCES

INDEX

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

“The Silent Pilgrimage” - Extracts from Reviews

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...Curiously, it was a culturally and universally perceptive British expatriate, Ian L. Betts, who, having recognized Emha’s qualities, wrote his recently-released biography, The Silent Pilgrimage: Emha Ainun Nadjib, A Lifelong Journey of Faith. It has been translated in Indonesian, Jalan Sunyi Emha, and it is a compelling read by all accounts.

Dewi Anggraeni – The Jakarta Post

...Who is it that makes this event so "alive" with verse, shalawat, even advice? He is Muhammad Ainun Nadjib, better known as Emha Ainun Nadjib, whose story is told by Ian Leonard Betts – a ‘white-skinned jamaah’ who sits with Emha at every Kenduri Cinta event – in this book…This writer, originally from London, has succeeded well in portraying the person and works of Cak Nun, as well as Kiai Kanjeng…Ian was impressed by the activities of Cak Nun, which demonstrated his full commitment to pluralism and tolerance in these islands.

Eka Kurnia Hikmat – Jawa Pos

...By this point, perhaps we are starting to feel what this book means by the “Silent Pilgrimage.” But Hidayat Nur Wahid, Chairman of the MPR-RI (parliamentary upper house, Republic of Indonesia) when this book was published, does not feel that what this person is experiencing is a silent journey. “This man’s journey is, rather, one of tumult and uproar…” Hidayat may be right. This person, for those who see him: for decades he has always been going here and there, coming and goig, back and forth, traveling and touring, at home or abroad; he has visited hundreds of districts and thousands of subdistricts, all corners of the nation, alone or with KiaiKanjeng. He can be found in nearly all themes in the life of the general public. But, once more, he is not popular. Perhaps that is why this book is entitled “The Silent Pilgrimage.”

Toto Rahardjo – Jalan Sunyi Emha

...The efforts of Ian L. Betts in writing this book…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…rich in the colourful variety of their dynamic cultures and socio-economic potential.

Datuk Baha Zain (Writer - Malaysia)

Translated by Ian L. Betts

Media and Projecting a Self-image

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Opinion and Editorial - September 25, 2006
The Jakarta Post

Dewi Anggraeni, Melbourne

Recently at a Melbourne Writers' Festival session sponsored by the Melbourne chapter of PEN, panelist Emha Ainun Najib, spotting Indonesian Consul General Wahid Supriyadi in the audience, asked him out of the blue, "In a market place in Central Java, if you ask people who is Abu Bakar Ba'asyir, will they know?" Wahid, taken off-guard, replied nonetheless, "No. But if you ask who is Emha Ainun Najib or Cak Nun, they will."

It was not a set-up and Emha wanted, it appears, to point out to the Australian audience, that the impression they receive from the media is not necessarily the whole truth. It is a fact that in Australia, Abu Bakar Ba'asyir is much more widely known than Emha Ainun Najib, and unfortunately, not for a very good reason. Thanks to Ba'asyir -- as he has been reported in the media -- Indonesia is known among many Australians, as a country where an increasing number of its Muslim majority are subscribing to radical and militant practices, and are hostile to anyone who does not share their ideology. Seeing that a recent survey pointed in that direction, we have to be prepared for this phenomenon. However, that is only one side of the story, and the other side, unfortunately, is rarely publicized. Thus Indonesians and Indonesianists are gradually driven into a defensive mode, where saying that most Indonesians are not followers of Ba'asyir is regarded as just mouthing meaningless platitudes.

Is Australia's media bent on painting a negative image of Indonesia?

Let us look inward first. Have we seen coverage on the activities of Emha's musical group Kiai Kanjeng and his wider cultural group, Jaringan Padhang mBulan, in the local media in the last five years? You would have to look hard to find any. Is it therefore realistic to expect other countries' media to learn about them and to then dedicate space and time to them?

Why do we have to pay attention to Emha, Kiai Kanjeng and Jaringan Padhang mBulan? You ask.

The immediate answer is, because they are fantastic performers and discussion fora, and extremely accessible. And maybe just as important, Emha and his entourage show how being an Indonesian of any religion and creed, a person does not have to repel anyone who is different from him/herself.

Emha has prayed in unconventional kinds of locations -- for example in churches in the Netherlands, and cathedrals in Italy -- has shared his space with people of an incredibly wide spectrum, including petty criminals, while remaining a staunch Muslim and unwavering in his belief in God.

His essays and short stories prove he possesses a fine intellect and is endowed with a rare compassion. Most importantly, ordinary people understand him, trust him and feel comfortable telling him their stories. He has a gift of empathy which reaches out to people from any level and any sector of society. Despite being "ignored" by the media in general, the Padhang mBulan network conducts monthly fora in different parts of the country, drawing a huge crowd each time.

When Kiai Kanjeng played a tribute to the passing of Pope John Paul II in the Vatican in April last year, they touched all those present.

Curiously, it was a culturally and universally perceptive British expatriate, Ian L Betts, who, having recognized Emha's qualities, wrote his recently-released biography, The Silent Pilgrimage: Emha Ainun Nadjib, A Lifelong Journey of Faith. It has been translated in Indonesian, Jalan Sunyi Emha, and it is a compelling read by all accounts.

In the meantime, Ba'asyir receives a disproportionately large segment of headline news in Indonesia, which unsurprisingly is mirrored in the neighboring countries' media.

This disproportion has created two layers of collective consciousness. In Indonesia, outside Ba'asyir's immediate circle, people gain the impression that he and his influence are bigger than they actually are. This in turn adds a color of harshness to the overall image of Indonesia. And everything which happens in Indonesia is then set against this background, thus creating a very distorted picture.

In the meantime regardless of the enormity of Emha's influence and popularity in the areas he affects, those outside the reach of the echo, do not hear about him and his entourage, hence are mainly unaware of what they are doing or representing.

We have great thinkers, such as Azyumardi Azra, Goenawan Mohamad, the late Nurcholish Madjid, to name a few, but their reaches need to be augmented by people like Emha, whose wide appeal is an invaluable asset which has so far been wasted by the mass media. And who knows, there may be numerous budding Emhas who are missing out on the necessary encouragement and recognition, whose potential is unnoticed and will be subsequently buried. Do we have to wait for expatriates or experts from other countries to bring them to our notice?

We keep saying we want a more balanced portrayal from international media. What have we done to project a balanced picture of ourselves?

The writer is a journalist.

Scholar Emha Speaks out at Melbourne Fest

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The Jakarta Post
Sunday, September 24, 2006

Ian L. Betts, Contributor, Melbourne

Muslim intellectual and artist Emha Ainun Nadjib is a prolific and powerful writer of poems, essays, plays and lyrics. He is also the leader of renowned gamelan-fusion ensemble Kiai Kanjeng, which has toured a number of countries including the UK and Australia.

In May 2006 he received an invitation to attend the Melbourne Writers' Festival held annually at the end of August. Festival director Rosemary Cameron noted in her invitation that supporters of Emha's work had brought him to her attention and that the festival would like to invite him as one of its principal guests.

Cameron wrote that the Melbourne audience would be very interested to engage with Emha's work and that Emha himself would find an appreciative audience, keen to hear his thoughts and ideas.

Over 200 writers were expected to participate, and visitor attendance in 2005 reached almost 40,000 over the 10-day event.

Emha agreed, and would attend the festival for its second weekend, arriving Aug. 31 and returning to Indonesia on Sept. 4.

Islamic scholar

Since the early 1980s Emha has participated in a number of international literary festivals and writing programs in Holland, Australia and the United States. These have often been long-term engagements in association with teaching posts at universities. He is therefore no stranger to the world of books, and his own work has attracted a small army of devoted fans.

Those who can read Bahasa Indonesia devour his work voraciously wherever they can, while those who cannot are forced to rely on opportunities such as these festivals, where they can engage with him in a meet-the-author dialogue.

We took many books and other materials to Melbourne for the trip, and a number of Kiai Kanjeng's CDs and VCDs, which were all to be given out during the trip.

One of Emha's principal short-term aims is to release more of his work in the English language, and efforts to achieve this are seriously under way.

In addition to international literary festivals, Emha has also toured with Kiai Kanjeng to the UK and Europe in 2004 and 2005.

During the second tour of the UK in March 2005, Emha was awarded the Islamic Award of Excellence by the Muslim News in London, at a ceremony presided over
by Chancellor Gordon Brown.

Emha's wife, Novia Kolopaking, an artist in her own right and then seven months pregnant with their fourth child, recited a number of poems at the occasion, which highlighted the spiritual and devotional aspects of Islam.

Ironically, though doubtless well-known in his native Indonesia, Emha has gone largely unrecognized for his contribution to literature and Islamic thought. He often finds more appreciative audiences abroad, where his Sufi-style poetry and provocative prose find avid readers.

It is ironic because for thousands upon thousands of Indonesians, Emha is considered a spiritual giant, a devotional guru, to some a modern saint of Islam, or wali.

For over a decade, he and his family have facilitated the Padang Bulan ("full moon") gathering at his hometown of Jombang, East Java. Similar monthly gatherings are held in Yogyakarta, Jakarta, Semarang and Surabaya. Emha also frequently travels to Makassar, South Sulawesi, and other regions of Indonesia, not to mention Malaysia.

In Jakarta, the Kenduri Cinta ("feast of love") gathering attracts thousands of urban dwellers, student and workers, eager to hear Emha's poetry and to listen to the guest speakers on politics, the arts and social issues. In Yogyakarta, a more homogeneous audience engages in dikir (repeated chant as confession of faith), prayer and music.

In Surabaya, the Bangbang Wetan ("light from the east") gathering has only recently started, aiming to galvanize a Surabaya audience in arts and discourse.

The guest speakers at these events tell a story of their own, and their presence serves to press home the irony of the lack of recognition afforded to Emha by the mainstream. They include speakers as diverse as former president and Islamic scholar Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid, Gen. (ret.) Wiranto, politician Amien Rais, former minister Adi Sasono, legislator Permadi, expert commentators such as Faisal Basri and Eep Saefullah Fatah., transsexual entertainer Dorce, Hindu guru Anand Krishna and pop stars Ari Lasso and Achmad Dani.

Also appearing with Emha have been poets Taufik Ismail and W.S. Rendra, legislator Effendi Choiri, former minister Agum Gumelar, businessman Franky Welirang, former legislator Ichsanurdin Noorsy, conductor Idris Sardi, physician Jose Rizal Manua and literally hundreds more.

On the passing a year ago of Muslim intellectual and Paramadina University founder Prof. Dr. Nurcholish Madjid, Emha led the ritual prayer ceremonies for his friend.

If Madjid was known as the great theoretical architect of pluralism and tolerance among religions in Indonesia, then Emha Ainun Nadjib is its greatest living practitioner; and it is this that shines through his monthly gatherings and all his writings.

Since then, Emha and Kiai Kanjeng have collaborated with Paramadina in a tri-monthly event known as Paramasuara, during which a diverse range of speakers and artists join a primarily campus audience for an evening of discourse and music.

To Melbourne

It is something of this that was transmitted to Rosemary Cameron and which prompted her invitation. Arriving on Aug. 31, we spent the afternoon speaking with Indonesians working in the radio and other media in Melbourne, arranging for interviews to be held over the weekend. That evening, we attended the writers' dinner at Melbourne's North Fitzroy Star restaurant, where we sat with writers from all over the world engaged in discussing and promoting their work.

It was clear that little, if anything, was known of Indonesia. All were interested in Emha's work and we handed out short texts in English.

The following day, we were due to appear on our first panel at the Merlyn Theatre in the Malthouse. It was entitled "Neighbours", and a festival description introduced: "...all the shades of Islam, from fundamentalist to secularist, appear in the culture of Indonesia. John Martinkus, Emha Ainun Nadjib and Ian L. Betts discuss the internal struggle for the soul of the archipelago and the political implications for the nation and Australia."

The session was chaired by Ph.D. candidate Kirsten Steiner, while veteran journalist John Martinkus brought his wealth of experience reporting in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam to bear on the discussion, and it was an effective debate.

Emha painted a picture of the truly diverse range of Islamic cultures and attitudes in Indonesia, working to emphasize the nature of the threat posed by fundamentalists -- which he characterized as one essentially driven by a very tiny minority.

That evening we had arranged to take part in an interfaith dialog with Melbourne's Indonesian Catholic Families Association (Keluarga Katolik Indonesia, www.kki-mel.org) as part of its anniversary in August.

We took the opportunity to show films of Emha's work in the provinces and Kiai Kanjeng performances that reflected his commitment to pluralism and interfaith tolerance.

In one film, Anand Krishna was shown describing Emha as a living Islamic saint, or wali; in another, Pastor Nathan Setybudi, a former head of the Protestant church in Indonesia, was shown addressing a predominantly Muslim crowd and leading prayers. Along with our hosts, who included an expatriate British priest with over 30 years' experience in Indonesia, Father John Prior, we enjoyed a lively discussion and a good late-night Chinese meal to finish off.

On the morning of Sept. 2 we expected to address a panel at the Beckett Theatre to be chaired by Ivor Indyk. We were enthusiastic, as it was on the theme of "New Puritans". According to the introduction, "the rise of fundamentalism and conservatism is an aspect of most major religions today. Ivor Indyk leads a discussion with Muriel Porter and Emha Ainun Nadjib on the fierce battle for the hearts and minds of the faithful".

Unfortunately, writer Muriel Porter, who recently published a book called The New Puritans focusing on the church, was ill and unable to attend. The session was canceled.

With little time to waste, we requested permission to use the vacant slot for a session in which I would lead an exposition of Emha's life and work through film clips, a screened presentation and discussion on my forthcoming book in English, The Silent Pilgrimage: Emha Ainun Nadjib and His Lifelong Journey of Faith, and a chance for a dialogue with Emha himself.

As a result, a small but dedicated audience enjoyed an hour of music and discourse. More importantly, as we mingled outside afterwards, we made many new contacts with new readers and interested participants.

Speaking out

That evening, we were due to participate in our last formal festival panel. Again, it was the Merlyn Theatre, and it was to be chaired by writer Arnold Zable. The session was entitled "Speaking out, shutting up" and focused on the moves to stifle debate and limit free speech that seemed to be increasingly popular with democratic governments playing the "terrorist threat" card.

Worldwide writers association PEN would present a forum about public discourse and freedom of expression from an international panel: Emha Ainun Nadjib and George Szirtes, an English writer of Hungarian heritage.

Zable was a fitting chair, with his writings on his family's experience of the Holocaust, described ironically by readers as ultimately uplifting.

As exciting as the dialogue would prove to be, just as exciting in my view was the hour or so we spent beforehand getting to know each other and each other's work and position on issues. He was able to give an admirable introduction to Emha based on what we could tell him and show him in the time we had.

Szirtes told the story of post-World War Two Hungary through uprising, reprisals and repression, and recited a range of evocative, emotive poems.

My role on the panel was as interpreter for Emha, who, faced with the seriousness of the subject, preferred to use Bahasa Indonesia.

What the audience -- and Zable and Szirtes -- did not know was that Emha had decided to depart wholly from the comments we had discussed beforehand and to go on an entirely new tack. (I myself knew only when he whispered it to me during Szirtes' recitation.)

I have been in this situation before with Emha, when a flash of inspiration -- or outrage -- has caused him to veer away from a prepared script, but this was an international audience, and there was little room for error on my part.

When it came to Emha's turn to speak he remained at his chair, rather than take the microphone and lectern used by Zable and Szirtes.

He then proceeded to tell the story of his upbringing in Jombang, East Java -- which is also the hometown of Abdurrahman Wahid, Nurcholish Madjid and the leader of the Indonesian Mujahidin Council (MMI) and alleged spiritual guru of Jamaah Islamiyah, Abu Bakar Ba'asyir, the man thought to have been behind the Bali bombings and the co-founder of the Ngruki Islamic boarding school near Solo.

Emha noticed Mr. Wahid, Indonesia's consul to Melbourne in the second row of the audience. Playfully, provocatively, he cajoled Wahid, asking him whether traders in the rural market two kilometers from Jombang would know the name of Abu Bakar Ba'asyir if asked.

Unable to answer, the consul was asked whether the same market-goers would recognize the name Emha Ainun Nadjib. This, he admitted readily, they would.

Emha proceeded to define how the Australian media had focused over-heavily on figures with an extreme -- and minority -- view, and had failed to pay attention to artists and writers who represented a far more moderate perspective on Islam.

By concentrating only on names associated with Islamic terror, however traumatized Australia was as a nation by its violence and loss of life, he said, Australians were prevented from recognizing those who were engaged in the cause of pluralism, and from supporting them and working with them to encourage yet greater tolerance between the followers of different faiths, beliefs and nations.

Emha also made the point that the media had more of a role to play in censorship than the government did in Indonesia.

The country's media, including television, he explained, was now freer than any other in Asia, yet it continued to insist on producing poor-quality drama and focused on only the most sensationally lurid news stories.

Often, "real" news stories appear to be reported little differently from the scandalous contents of the myriad gossip and infotainment shows that are broadcast throughout the day in Indonesia.

Emha noted that mass Muslim organization Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) had recently issued an edict forbidding school-aged children from appearing in sinetron, or soap operas. He questioned what real value this would have in face of the media's successful process of "dumbing down".

Emha's comments were received very well and there were some well-thought responses from the packed audience.

Wrapping up

Our final event, on Sunday evening, was to be our second interfaith dialogue. On this occasion it was with the Victorian Council of Churches.

We met with representatives of Melbourne's Interfaith Centre and the Centre for Social Inquiry, Religion & Interfaith Dialogue.

It was a very useful discussion over dinner and there is much to build on, particularly if Melbourne is selected as the venue for the Parliament of the World's Religion, for which we were led to believe it is a candidate.

We left Melbourne on Sept. 4, confident that we had done as much as we could in the time available to discuss pluralism in Indonesia and Emha's contribution to it through his writings and work with Kiai Kanjeng.

November will see Emha and Kiai Kanjeng on the other side of the world, where they will participate in the International Cultural Forum at Espoo, near Helsinki, Finland.

A constant traveler, Emha has a great deal to offer to those attracted to Indonesian culture and literary themes, as well as its music, poetry and religious thought.

The writer is author of Jalan Sunyi Emha, a study of the life and work of Emha Ainun Nadjib published by Kompas Gramedia and soon to be published in English as The Silent Pilgrimage: Emha Ainun Nadjib and His Lifelong Journey of Faith. He frequently collaborates with Emha and accompanied him to the Melbourne Writers' Festival 2006.

Background to "The Silent Pilgrimage"

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Emha Ainun Nadjib was born in Jombang, East Java on May 27th, 1953, the fourth of fifteen children. His formal education ended at semester one of the Faculty of Economics at the Gadja Mada University, Yogyakarta. Prior to that he had been ‘expelled’ from the Madrassah-style Islamic boarding school of ‘Pondok Modern Gontor Ponorogo’ near Solo as a result of a ‘demonstration’ he led against the school’s security department during the third year of his studies there. He then moved to Yogyakarta where he graduated from the SMA Muhammadiyah High School.

Emha spent the five years between 1970 – 1975 living on Malioboro, Yogyakarta, while studying literature with a teacher he revered, Umbu Landu Paranggi, a Sufi who led a mysterious life and who had a major influence on Emha’s thought and career.

He then began to work in Yogyakarta’s multi-media arts scene where he worked with a number of theatre groups including Dinasti, and performed in a substantial repertoire. His plays focused on political issues such as the development of personality cults, the exploitation of the people by various modern institutions as well as the failure of such institutions. All were dealt with allegorically.

Then, with the Salahudin Theatre Group, he produced a play in 1990 which was performed outside at the renowned Gontor Madrassh with the participation of all the santri (students) and an audience of some 35,000. Again in 1990 he produced Lautan Jilbab or the Sea of Veils, which was performed widely across Indonesia.

In 1992 came Perahu Retak or The Cracked Boat, which dealt allegorically with Indonesia’s New Order government, set amid the conflicts of the period prior to the rising of the empire of Mataram. In the years that followed some twenty volumes of poetry have been published as well as at least forty collections of essays.

Emha has also participated in multi-cultural theatre in the Philippines (1980), the International Writing Program at the University of Iowa, USA (1984), The International Songwriters Festival, Rotterdam (1984) and the Festival Horizonte III in West Berlin, Germany (1985).

Considering the above, it would be surprising if Emha were not lauded as an exemplary Indonesian writer and a contributor to many other fields of culture, the arts, religious and social thought. However, despite the prolific nature and consistent quality of his work, his name is rarely heard in the same context as, for example, the name of Goenawan Muhammad, Rendra or the late Pramoedya Ananta Toer. This is perhaps due to the simply plurality of areas in which Emha is active. He is a writer, a performer, a social activist and a religious philosopher.

Emha works directly with the people and conducts a wide range of arts activities. He is active in religious thought (Islamic and interfaith), political education, economic synergy and capacity building, all designed to stimulate the optimum potential of the people, both rural and urban. He has a range of monthly events in cities and areas across Indonesia where he is requested directly to perform by local communities.

In this way, Emha generally performs (though that is not the best term to describe his appearances) at around ten to fifteen events per month, often accompanied by the music of the Kiai Kanjeng gamelan orchestra. Emha also makes numerous personal appearances, which are often outdoors, with all levels and strata of the population. At these events, Emha gathers all groups, streams of thought and religious communities to enjoy simple human solidarity, dialogue and togetherness.

Emha responded to the reform period of the last ten years in Indonesia with a movement known as Kenduri Cinta or Feast of Love. Kenduri Cinta is the Jakarta-based version of Padhang mBulan, which means ‘the full moon’. Kenduri Cinta is arguably less an event and more a state of mind. It is a vehicle for engendering love and humanism among people who may be affected by disputes, poverty, displacement or other social pressures, through a gathering accompanied by music, shalawat (musical chants in praise of the Prophet Muhammad), poetry and discourse. In this way Emha has helped to heal social rifts all over Indonesia, solving acute problems wherever he and the Kiai Kanjeng gamelan orchestra are invited to perform.

In Yogyakarta the movement is know as Mocopat Syafaat; in Semarang Gambang Syafaat. A new gathering began in Surabaya in August 2006 known as Bambang Wetan, indicating the rise of the East.

Older still than the Kenduri Cinta movement is the Padang Mbulan or Full Moon movement itself. Padang mbulan is a monthly gathering that takes place in Jombang, East Java, attended by thousands of grassroots supporters eager to attend for the music, the poetry, the Islamic devotional aspects or the discourse.

Within Indonesia Emha’s enormous impact on social discourse over the last two to three decades is either overlooked or under-rated. Despite the volume of material produced by Emha in various fields, his work is not part of the Indonesian literary mainstream. This is ironic, given that Emha, or Cak Nun as he is more popularly known, is very well known in his native Indonesia.

Emha has written numerous books and plays such as the controversial Lautan Jilbab. Throughout the 1990s he was frequently on TV for special concert events. He had his own talkshow; Gardu and daily programmes during the Ramadhan fasting month. His comments on life and faith are broadcast throughout the day on Delta FM radio and he has issued a considerable number of CDs and cassettes. Among the best known of these is the album Kado Muhammad or the Gift of Muhammad, which includes the song Tombo Ati, a soulful reflection on piety and ways to ease the heart through faith.

Emha is also well known for as his sharp political comment, which earned him a certain degree of notoriety during the later Suharto years, and for his dynamic live performances. While Islamic themes and motifs certainly permeate his music, it remains soundly based on the ethnic rhythms and traditions of the Indonesian archipelago. In fact he is able to temper his performance to locality in which he is performing, blending local folk songs, instrumentation and dialects with Western and other musical forms.

In response to growing interest from overseas, Emha has made a determined effort to bring those ethnic rhythms and traditions to far shores. The group have toured internationally, visiting Korea, Egypt, Malaysia and Australia, and building a strong reputation for highly charged, dynamic and emotional performances. In November 2004 they embarked on the first of two tours of the UK and Europe, playing to audiences in 25 cities.

During the second tour in February and March, Emha was awarded the Islamic Medal of Excellence by the Muslim News. Britain’s Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown was present at the ceremony on March 23rd and hailed Emha’s contribution to Islamic understanding. It would seem that the UK is more aware of Emha’s work and more willing to recognise it than are many of his compatriots in his native Indonesia.

In September 2006, accompanied by Ian L. Betts, Emha spoke at a series of keynote panels at the Melbourne Writers’ Festival, focusing on Islam, and relations between Indonesia and Australia. The key success of the event was his reiteration that Islam in Indonesia is in fact represented more by his own work in the areas of inter-faith dialogue etc, than it is is by the radicals and extremists who were behind the Bali bombings and other terrorist acts. In November 2006 Emha and Kiai Kanjeng toured Finland, opening a major international cultural fesitival.

Emha once wrote a song entitled Jalan Sunyi; the Silent Path, and though his own path may initially appear to have been a silent one, his work has spoken volumes to an audience of inspired listeners and readers. A book written on the work of Emha and Kiai Kanjeng has been written by Ian L. Betts and was published by Indonesia’s Kompas Gramedia in June 2006. Entitiled Jalan Sunyi Emha, it tells of his life and work over the last three decades. An English language version is expected soon, to be entited The Silent Pilgrimage: Emha Ainun Nadjib and His Lifelong Journey of Faith.