JBR Bali _ Java Part 5
The Excursion - The Tanjung/Yogyakarta bit
Friday (Jumat) 11th January
Once the morning lectures and lunch were over the group, consisting of all students, PIBBI friends and admin except Johanna, who was left holding the fort, gathered outside the LTC and were allocated the vehicles vehicle which would take us on the excursion. We were off to Desa Tanjung in the province of Slemen (north of Yogyakarta) and then on Saturday (Sabtu) afternoon to Yogyakarta. The village (Desa) is 5 KM from Yogya and consists of 3 settlements namely, Tanjung, Panasan and Bantarjo. We stayed in Tanjung.
The drive took us through some hilly terrain around Mt Merbahu, through a couple of little villages to Magelang, (a town somewhat larger than Salatiga) and then on to Tanjung where we would stay the night. We were to be billeted to a family and became a part of their household for the day.
On arrival at Tanjung there was a welcoming drink of Ginger tea (Teh) and an address by a village elder. He described the village, gave us an idea of what we would be doing in our short stay and then allocated us to our host family. Selfianus (Self) and I were to stay in the house of Bapak Marianos, Ibu Marianos, his 2 daughters and their only grandchild.
Soon we took off, under the guidance of Bapak Marianos and after a good walk found ourselves at our homestay where we met Ibu and the rest of the family. In the kitchen there is a well (Sumur) from which all daily needs are drawn, an open fire. Pots and pans hung on the wall. No fridge, no Microwave or elaborate cooker. The right hand side of the house is for guests, had a small lounge room, TV, and down the corridor the 2 bedrooms we were to occupy and further down to the Bathroom (Kamar Bak Mandi) and toilet (Squat). My worry with the latter was having got down to the business would I ever get up again!!!!!!!
Our hosts were marvellous, they made us feel very welcome and Bapak Mariano even gave us a solo rendition of his 'Suling' on an instrument akin to a recorder. His 2 daughters were very nice and challenged us to a game of Badminton (Bulu Tangkis) later which we did. Ibu Mariano took Self and I round the village to the area where cattle were housed, mainly Cows (Sapi) and Goats (Kambing) together with the odd Bulllock/Ox (Kerbau). We were to encounter one such 'Kerbau next morning.
At 6.00 pm it was off to a ritual dinner (Kenduri) in Tanjung's large house. All the food was laid out on carpets on the floor and, as we found later, laid out in precise places. Sandals and shoes off, we entered to room and sat to listen to an Iman tell us all about the way the food was presented. For example, there was a Cone of rice and we were told it represented ones journey through life, with the peak meaning the end, literally, so on and so forth. The cone was ceremonially cut and the feasting began. It was absolutely magnificent, enak, lezat, bloody bagus or whatever adjective you want to use to describe it.
Once we had our fill we moved outside where the next item on the list of activities (Kegiatan) was to watch the Jathilan (Horse Dance). This dance is performed in an open setting with the audience (Us & Villagers) standing around the musicians and players. The music began and at that stage I was very amused because, as the band started to play for an old traditional dance in an old traditional village, the lead drummer was chatting away on his 'mobile'
Folk lore has it that the Jathilan invokes magical powers and that is demonstrated when, later in the dance the players become entranced and actually eat glass and razor blades!! The 'tranced' players attempt to get the audience to participate however, our PIBBI friends didn't like this and literally ran away when approached. Towards the end of the performance a number of the players had to be held down as they went into a'Fit', a bit scary. After, a number of students and PIBBI friends were shown how to do the the dance.
It had been an exhilarating day but now most of were tiring and we drifted off to our homestay houses. I was really looking forward to a good nights sleep and I thought to myself as I drifted off, this is just the place to relax and get a good rest, or was it!!! At precisely 4.00am what sounded like a Harley Davidson roared into life. I was instantly awake fortunately I soon drifted off again but at 5 am the family Rooster made his opening comments and before I could drift off again Ibu Mariano was up and in the kitchen preparing breakfast.
Our schedule called for us to have makan Pagi at 7 am because we were due to start work at 8 am!!!! 'work', did I say work, indeed I did for we were off to the Ricefield (Sawah) to assist the farmer (Petani) prepare the field and sow the plants (Menanam). We also had the assistance of an Ox (Kerbau). Bamboo hats were provided and off we went gingerly picking our way through some fields before we came to a vacant field. On our way there w passed the ladies of the village washing clothes in the open river.
Some instruction of do's and don'ts came our way before we heard those fateful words. Sekarang kamu bisa masuk sawah dan bantuan Petani ini' 'Now you may enter the ricefield and help the farmer'. I took a few photographs of the activities, Vivian and Nick attempted the ploughing before the farmer hooked up the Ox. Priscilla and Zarah did the Oxen work perched behind the beast on a small tractor like seat and they had a ball. Toby was fastidiously taking pictures on his absolute beast of a camera
OK I had enough pictures and it was my turn to join the melee! I took off the sandals and went to get in but strange thing happened, I distinctly heard my mother (long since passed away) say in my ear 'Clive don't you dare get in that mud, or I'll clip your ear' I had regressed to an incident that happened in England some 60 years ago. Isn't it odd how your memory can suddenly bring back things long since forgotten. Nonetheless, on this occasion I ignored her and joined the throng. I was knee deep in mud and mucking around just like that 6 year old wanted to do all those years ago. Pak Mariano distributed some rice plants, showed us how to plant the stuff, off we went, by now like fully fledged farmers. Mark you I wouldn't have liked doing this for a living however, I'll now give rice and the farmers a lot more respect than I have in the past.
Back to Tanjung, for a final game of Badminton or basket ball before we went to 'Joglo' a 250 year old house where we would have lunch. Farewell to Ibu and her two lovely (Cantik) daughters and the granddaughter who, had lost he earlier inhibitions and was now the life and soul of the party. Pak Mariano, as an elder of Tanjung was to accompany us to Joglo and have makan siang.
The lunch was prepared by a number of the Ibu's of Tanjung so we knew we were in for another good feed and so it was. Before the meal we were given the talk about 'Joglo' and then the present owner told us the history of the place and took us on a tour of the property, from the main room, bedrooms, places to relax and the Gamelan house where a number of us, notably Robyn attempted to beat out a tune. After the tour the owner was interested to find out our views and asked for a male and female to give their impressions, Huang Lee (Singapore) gave a good speech in Indonesian but none of the girls could be persuaded to get up however, all of a sudden I was being stared at by all and sundry. The owner had suggested that in the absence of a girl perhaps the'Older' bapak would care to offer his thoughts. Now I know how a trapped rabbit feels however, as best I could, I gave apologies in Indonesian because my Bahasa Tidak Cukup' not sufficient and proceeded to give my impression in English. France, program co-ordinator then translated for me.
We gathered outside 'Joglo' for group photos, thanked every body for their hospitality and took our final farewell. We got into our vehicles and very soon we left theTanjung area for an afternoon and evening In Yogyakarta. Most of the group elected to go to the famed shopping district around Jl Malioboro while the rest went to Ambarukmo Plaza which is claimed to be the largest shopping centre in Central Java./ Malioboro was just one big outside shopping mall with Ramayana and Matahari prominent in the street. As you walked the footpath there were shops on one side while opposite the shops, row upon row of stall were situated and I have never seen so many T Shirts in my life. I was accompanied by Anisia, Kitri, Soroto and Cahyu. Needless to say the ladies went into every shop but time and time again emerged without a purchase. Only Kitri managed to get something, just a ring. It was good fun tho and I enjoyed their company. I was only in Yogykarta for a few hours and certainly not enough time to form an opinion of this very important city. Next time I'm in Bali I'll have to take a couple of days here and see things like Kraton,Beringharjo Markets and Borobodur
We made a couple of refreshment stops (No not Bintang) and it wasn't all that long before we regrouped and went off to for dinner before watching a performance of the 'Ramayana' dance at an auditorium attached to the restaurant. At the Ramayana the seats were backless however, due to my badminton activity the previous night I had a sore back and needed some support so I found a place at the rear and gratefully relaxed and gave my aching back some relief. The performance was excellent and the effects, fire, fights were quite realistic. I enjoyed the whole thing.
On the way back to Salatiga I was sure I would sleep and indeed all other occupants did manage to do so. For my part I was fascinated but just a little terrified by our driver who at one stage managed to overtake other vehicles on the inside of what was barely a single track at speed exceeding 130km. I did not sleep at all!!! Nonetheless, we did get home all in one piece at 1.00 am very tired and with the prospect of a days revision & homework (Pekerjaan Rumah) looming for Monday's Quiz even tho it was Sunday.
Clive M