Click here to view the embedded video.

If the clip is anything to go by, whatever plot this film contains is merely a flimsy excuse for a lengthy string of violent acts.  Although, as acts of violence go, they seem to be nicely choreographed.  The IMDb info is here.

Anyhow, the big news about The Raid (originally released in Indonesia as Serbuan Maut) is that it’s been picked up by Sony Pictures and slated for international release in late March.  From the internet buzz, I have a feeling this might become big.

The Eastern Islands of what is now Indonesia were once the only source in the world for nutmeg, cloves and mace.  Until the Portuguese arrived in 1511, these spices reached Europe by a mostly overland route, passing through the hands of numerous merchants of South Asia and the Middle East.  The Venetians had the monopoly over the last stage, from the Levant to Europe.  So it was not until the Portuguese built ships which could sail around the South coast of Africa that the spices began to arrive in Europe in such large quantities that people other than royalty could have access to them.

There were many surprises for me in this book.  One of them was the effect of supply on price.  In economics class, I was taught that low supply equals high prices.  But the bigger supply of spices caused demand to surge and drove prices through the roof.   I guess people didn’t know that they wanted the spices until they tried them.  The writer says that there was a big demand for nutmeg for use in medicine, too.

The English entered into the spice trade about a hundred years after the Portuguese, but a few years before the Dutch.  For some reason which is not stated in the book, the English were able to defeat Portuguese and Spanish ships with astonishing ease.  On some voyages, English captains were able to defeat multiple ships from those countries.  The Dutch were a different matter.  Although the started later, they poured much greater resources into the spice trade.  Where the English sent single ships, the Dutch sent fleets.  The English established ‘factories’ (trading houses) in native cities while the Dutch built forts.  The Dutch also sent thousands of soldiers, hired Japanese mercenaries and even tried to bring farmers to settle the islands.  The Dutch sought to monopolise the spice trade and were determined to drive the English out from the start.  In addition to their material advantage, they also worked as part of the company whereas the English tended to trade as individuals and frequently worked against each other.

The writer makes much of the fact that the native rulers and peoples much preferred to deal with the English merchants and hated the Portuguese and later the Dutch.  I think the reason for this is that the English never held much power there and circumstances forced them to get along with the locals instead of dominate them.  There are a few examples cited where an English captain bombarded native cities or where dozens of native Americans were shot for sport as a ship passed along the North American coast.

We don’t actually meet the Nathaniel from the title until more than half way through the book and he doesn’t reach the spice islands until two thirds through.  His actions ultimately had an effect on the course of world history, but he didn’t live to see it happen.

There is an uncomfortably long description of the brutal treatment meted out to a group of Japanese mercenaries and the innocent English inhabitants of Neira Island by a paranoid Dutch Governor.   The book relates many acts of brutality committed by Ottoman governors, Indian potentates, Javanese sultans, English captains and native tribesmen.  But the story of the torture and execution of these innocent men made my blood boil.  It’s a disturbing vision of what can happen when someone has much power and answers to nobody.  If that episode was typical of Dutch rule, I can now better understand why the people of Indonesia helped the Japanese during the Second World War and evicted all the Dutch as soon as they gained independence.

Another question raised in my mind by the book is why the Chinese or the Japanese never saw fit to control the Spice Islands for themselves.  There was opportunity for the Chinese under Cheng Ho, and even before that Chinese mercenaries were active in Java.  Even during the period covered by this book, there were Chinese merchants living in Bantam and Jakarta.  Japanese pirates and mercenaries were also active in the region and particularly feared by all.  Such valuable and easily defended islands would have been easy for an East Asian emperor to confiscate.

The main interest in the book for me was to learn more about how the people who lived in Indonesia at the time were. There are some mentions of the sultans, headhunters and the residents of the Spice Islands, but the book is mostly about the European experience.  On page 272 of the book, an English captain describes the people of Run as “peevish, perverse, diffident and perfidious people and apt to take disgust upon small occasions”.  I know some expats who still hold that view, but I’m sure they’re more complex than that.

Overall, the style is easy to read, but the bits about the torture were upsetting for me.

Joko’s selection of four contestants in a recent Dangdut sing-off somewhere in East Java.  Our first clip is Derby Florentina, from Pare, singing Pacar Temanku.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Our next contestant, #12, is Firda Asilvi, also from Pare.  Her song is ‘Keramat’.

Click here to view the embedded video.

We aren’t told the name of contestant 28, but the song is ‘Emang Dasar Bajingan’.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Our final contestant, #20 is Aulia Mustika, singing ‘Dik’.

I think all the contestants are very good, though I have a favourite.  Who do you think is the winner?

For your information, I have copied the lyrics for each of the above songs:

Here’s the lyrics for Pacar Temanku:

Aku diam-diam

Curi-curi waktu

Dengan si dia

Pacar temanku

Aku diam-diam

Menjalin hubungan

Dengan si dia

Selingkuhanku

Chorus:

Jangan,  Jangan Jangan

Sampai ketahuan

Kalau aku berkencan

Dengan pacar temanku

Cumbu-cumbu, gitu..

Jangan, Jangan Jangan..

Sampai ketahuan

Aku sekedar suka

Bermain-main cinta

Cumbu-cumbu, gitu..

Tapi ku tak peduli

Andainya dia tahu

Yang penting aku hepi

Dengan pacar temanku

Back to Chorus

Akhir sebuah cerita

Aku dipergokinya

Sedang asyik duaan

Dengan pacar temanku

Aku diam-diam

Curi-curi waktu

Dengan si dia

Pacar temanku

Dulu, diam-diam

Kau goda pacarku

Bercumbu rayu

Dibelakangku

Here’s the lyrics for Keramat:

Hai manusia, hormati ibumu

Yang melahirkan dan membesarkanmu

Darah dagingmu dari air susunya

Jiwa ragamu dari kasih-sayangnya

Dialah manusia satu-satunya

Yang menyayangimu tanpa ada batasnya

Doa ibumu dikabulkan Tuhan

Dan kutukannya jadi kenyataan

Ridla Ilahi karena ridlanya

Murka Ilahi karena murkanya

Bila kau sayang pada kekasih

Lebih sayanglah pada ibumu

Bila kau patuh pada rajamu

Lebih patuhlah pada ibumu

Bukannya gunung tempat kau meminta

Bukan lautan tempat kau memuja

Bukan pula dukun tempat kau menghiba

Bukan kuburan tempat memohon doa

Tiada keramat yang ampuh di dunia

Selain dari doa ibumu jua

Here are the lyrics for Emang Dasar Bajingan:

Aku tahu kamu

Kamu seorang bajingan

Aku tahu kamu

Kau banyak jurus andalan

Matamu stereo

Lihat kekiri kekanan

Apalagi menawan

Pasti bakal kebobolan

Tapi ada Satu

Hal yang harus kamu tahu

Wanita juga tak mau

Bila terus terus kau tipu

Satu pasangan tak cukup

Dua simpanan juga tak cukup

(emang dasar ah emang dasar)

Eh dasar kamu bajingan

Kamu mau apalagi

Kamu mau yang gimana lagi

(ah emang dasar emang dasar)

Eh dasar kamu bajingan

Tapi ada Satu

Hal yang harusnya kamu tahu

Wanita juga tak mau

Bila terus terus kau tipu

Satu pasangan tak cukup

Dua simpanan juga tak cukup

(emang dasar emang dasar)

Eh dasar kamu bajingan

Kamu mau apalagi

Kamu mau yang gimana lagi

(emang dasar emang dasar)

Eh dasar kamu bajingan

Satu pasangan tak cukup

Dua simpanan juga tak cukup

emang dasar emang dasar

Eh dasar kamu bajingan

Lyrics for Dik follow:

Dik, aku pinta kau akan s’lalu setia

Dik, aku mohon kau s’lalu menemani

Saat ku tengah terluka

Kala ku tengah gundah

Chorus:

Ku akan menjagamu

Di bangun dan tidurmu

Di semua mimpi dan nyatamu

Ku akan menjagamu

Tuk hidup dan matiku

Tak ingin, tak ingin kau rapuh

Dik, jangan engkau pergi tinggalkan aku oh…

Dik, ingin aku cinta dan cinta s’lalu

Saat kau tengah terluka

Kala kau tengah gundah

Back to Chorus:

Kau akan menjagaku

Di bangun dan tidurku

Di semua mimpi dan nyataku

Kau akan menjagaku

Tuk hidup dan matiku

Tak ingin, tak ingin kau rapuh

After making his escape, Jaka Sembung leads the resistance against the Dutch.  Unable to catch him, they post a 100 guider reward.

This clip opens with Kobar arriving at the alun alun (town square) in style.  Jaka’s wife, played by Eva Arnaz, bumps into him as he takes a closer look at the ‘wanted’ poster.  Making a friendly visit to the Governor’s fort, Kobar laughs off all attempts to stop him as knives and bullets fail to penetrate his skin.  He makes a personal request for the bounty to be raised to 300 guilder.  Van Shramm agrees, but first he must prove himself by fighting a bull!

Kobar makes a meal of bull fighting, but eventually subdues the tame-looking animal.  The Dutch are suitably impressed and show their appreciation in the usual way.

Reny has quite a following, this is one of the more popular dangdut clips I have posted so far.  She has a solid performance style, but it doesn’t strike me as being unique. Whether it’s the key to her popularity or not, having an unusual appearance can only help to make her stand out from the many other dangdut singers in East Java.   To my mind, there is something in her expressive eyebrows, combined with that cute snub nose which stirs a kind of deja vu in me.

Click here to view the embedded video.

This song is more laid back, but still a good showcase for Reny.  You can see quite clearly here that the music isn’t live, they record it in a studio some time after the concert.  I have some live music vids from my latest trip to Java, but it will be a while before I get to publishing them, sad to say.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Life at the station can be boring unless you make your own entertainment.  From the look on the face of the first policeman, he knows exactly what entertainment his colleague is bringing.  I wonder how many times a day he does this?

The real surprise of this clip comes at the end – if you’re willing to sit through six and a half minutes of Chaiya-Chaiya to see it.

Here’s the original classic:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Thanks to Uny for the clips.

UPDATE:

I have just heard that the police officer, whose name is Norman, has been suspended because of the supposed damage he has done to the image of the Indonesian police as corrupt thugs.

As the video has gone viral in Indonesia, there’s been an outcry of support for Norman over the internet.  Support is being raised on Twitter under the hashtags #briptunorman and #welovebriptunorman.

UPDATE: 6 April

Perhaps embarassed by the wave of support for Norman, his superiors have given him a repremand and ‘punished’ him by making him perform in front of all his colleagues.  The alternative would have probably been dismissal. 

Naturally, someone was there to record this performance.  He began rather nervously with a reprisal of the lipsynch which got him into trouble in the first place.  But after he warmed up, he sang quite an accomplished version of another Bollywood song:

Click here to view the embedded video.

nana the culture warrior

I was curious to know what hidden knowledge the Javanese keep, so I asked Ana to translate a few of them.

The following is the correspondance I received from Ana, which contains the sayings in their original Javanese. Each saying is followed by a translation into Bahasa Indonesia, followed by a literal English translation. I have then added what I think is the nearest English equivalent and, in brackets, what I think is the most likely source. (n.b. If you think translating something into one language in order to translate it into the one you want is a roundabout way to get your result, you are obviously not Javanese enough. You’ll understand better when you read the translations):

Advices and wise words, a la Javanese

These kind words are meant as good advice for living in the right way (Javanese way). Some of them may contain Javanese signature life-style (nice, slow and easy) but also speak of universal moral values.

I tried to translate as literally as possible to get the feeling of a word by word translation. If you feel it is like going around the bush or so much redundancy, it reflects the Javanese preference for not addressing the issue straight to the point, because it may ‘hurt’ other people’s feeling. very gently and subtly spoken… and should never sound patronizing to others…

About equality of humanity

Javanese Language (JL)

Wiwit cilik mula anak-anak wis diparingi pangreten manawa jejering kamanungsane sakabehing wong iku padha wae, kang mangkono supadya ora nyewiyah marang sapadha-padha, kosokbaline malah tansah asih tresna marang sesami.

Bhs Indonesia (BI)

Sejak masih kecil, anak-anak sebaiknya sudah diberi pengertian bahwa semua manusia pada dasarnya adalah setara, sehingga kita sebaiknya tidak berbuat melukai sesama manusia, namun sebaliknya malah harus saling mengasihi antar sesama.

English (En)

From a young age, children should have been taught with understanding that all people have equal humanity; therefore we should not hurt others, in contrary should always love them.

Equivalent

Love thy neighbour. (Gospel)

About Procrastination

JL

Pagaweyan kang abot dhewe iku pagaweyan kang ora tau dilakoni nganti nglumpuk tumpuk undhung, wusana kesel atine ora bisa ngrampungi amarga awang-awangen. Sanadyan ta pagaweyan abot temenan, waton dilakoni suwening suwe dadi entheng

BI

Pekerjaan yang paling berat adalah pekerjaan yang dijalankan menunggu hingga bertumpuk-tumpuk, akhirnya membuat hati kesal dan tidak bisa diselesaikan karena merasa tidak mampu. Kalaupun memang berat betul, asal dilakukan terus lama-kelamaan menjadi ringan juga.

En

The heaviest work to be done is the work that is done without waiting until it is collected and becomes piles of work, thus feeling exhausted at heart because it seemed unworkable. Even if the work is heavy indeed, when you do it anyway, gradually it becomes light.

Equivalent

A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step. (Confucius?)

About ambition

JL

Kesel iku tambane mung leren, nanging yen ora kesel iya aja leren. Ngaya iku kembanging lara, becike ajeg tumindak sakadare linakonan kanthi senenging ati

BI

Keletihan hanya bisa diobati dengan istirahat, namun bila belum letih ya jangan beristirahat. Memaksakan diri adalah sumber dari penyakit, lebih baik senantiasa bertindak semampunya, dan melakukannya dengan senang hati.

En

Tiredness is healed only by resting, but if you are not tired do not stop. Forcing yourself is the source of sickness, it is better to be consistently doing one step at a time and doing it with happy heart.

Equivalent

Slow but steady wins the race. (Aesop)

About living in truth

JL

Linambaran pangati-ati, anggenipun ambyur ing madyaning bebrayan nindakaken darmaning gesang, tinuntun lampahipun ing margining bener saha becik.
Bener ateges boten kalentu, dene becik ateges pantes dados tepa tuladha, lampahipun kanthi pamawas, sing bener iku mesthine becik, dene sing bener apadene becik mesti benere.

BI

Dilandasi kehati-hatian, kita hidup di tengah masyarakat menjalani hakekat hidup, akan dituntun ke jalan yang lurus (bagus) dan benar. Benar artinya tidak salah, sedangkan bagus artinya pantas dijadikan contoh bagi orang lain, tindak-tanduknya selalu disertai dengan pikiran jernih (keyakinan) bahwa yang benar itu pasti bagus, sedangkan yang benar dan bagus, sudah pasti itu benar.
En

Founded by carefulness (awareness), we live among others to do the essence of life, our steps are guided to walk within the passage of truth and goodness.

True means not being wrong, and good means qualified to be an example, living by clear determination (faith) that the truth is good, and being true and good is definitely true.

Equivalent

Practice what you preach.

About patience and acceptance

JL

Yen arep sumurup lenggahing sabar, narima, lila legawa, iklas, sumarah, aja takon marang sapadha-padha, utawa kok othak-athik ing nalar, nanging rasakna lan rumangsoa.

BI

Jika ingin melihat dimana letak sikap sabar, menerima, rela hati, ikhlas, pasrah, janganlah bertanya pada sesama manusia maupun dipikir dengan akal logika, namun rasakanlah dan mengertilah dengan perasaan.

En

If you want to search and find patience, acceptance, sincerity, submission, do not look towards others, nor try to find them within our logic, but you have to feel it and have compassion.

Equivalent

Let your conscience be your guide. (Disney)

About envy

JL

Padha singkirana laku iri/ meri amarga lumrahe wong iri/ meri kuwi banjur tumindak kang ala klebu ngrasani lan ngala-ala, kamangka durung mesthi menawa dheweke sing kadunungan mulya bisa mapanake tumindak kang mulya.

BI

Hindarilah perasaan iri (terhadap kesuksesan orang lain) karena orang iri biasanya melakukan hal yang jelek misalnya membicarakan orang lain dan bergosip, padahal belum tentu jika dirinya diberikan kesuksesan bisa berlaku baik.

En

Avoid feeling jealous (of someone else’s success) because people with jealousy will be doing bad things including bad chatting and gossiping, in the other way around oneself might not be as good when he/she is granted with such success.

Equivalent

The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.

About the benefit of drinking water

JL

Manawi sampun ginanjar sakit ngantos kedah mondhok ing griya sakit mesthinipun lajeng sambat : “mbayare kok larang ya ?” . . nanging tetep dibayar . . . Mangga kita sami ngudi kasarasaning badan supados tinebihaken saking griya sakit, ing antawisipun ngunjuk toya pethak ingkang kathah.

BI

Apabila sudah dalam keadaan sakit hingga harus dirawat di rumah sakit pasti akan mengeluh : “biayanya kok mahal ya?”… namun tetap saja dibayar… Mari kita bersama mengusahakan kesehatan badan supaya dijauhkan dari rumah sakit, salah satu contohnya dengan meminum air yang banyak.

En

Only if we get sick and have no other choice but to spend our days in hospital, we would then yearn “Why do we have to pay the bill so expensive?” – but of course, we pay them eventually – So, together, let us put our effort to keep our body healthy so that we would be stay far away from hospital, for instance by drinking plenty of clear water.

Equivalent

Drink more water.

The credits of this film follow a lengthy prologue which introduces the situation and some of the main characters.  The setting is Java, some time during the Dutch Colonial period, though you would be excused for thinking it is somewhere in the Spanish wastelands.   Javanese hero Jaka Sembung (Barry Prima) is imprisoned along with a group of fellow tax evaders.  The military governor (Dicky Zulkarnaen) identifies him as a dangerous insurgent, dealing him a violent interrogation, but allows him the same level of security as the other prisoners.  This proves to be a mistake, as we shall see later.  The Governor’s daughter (Dana Christina) expresses sympathy for Jaka’s harsh treatment.

The prisoners are marched off to a (limestone?) quarry and the credits roll.  At this point we can enjoy the distinctive music of this film.  This music, by Gatot Sudarto, is a curious blend of spagetti western and Sundanese traditional.  In my opinion, it’s a highlight of this movie.

As you can see, the brutality of the colonial Dutch is shown once more as they try to suppress the prisoners’ riot.  Jaka is finally stirred to action and demonstrates his martial arts skills before escaping with the other prisoners.  Interestingly, the Dutch prove to be excellent riflemen, with each gunshot felling half a dozen prisoners.  Their fighting skills get worse as the film progresses.

If the film ended at this point, I would be quite satisfied.  But there is much more craziness to come.

Click here to view the embedded video.

We get to watch Evi (Evipus to her fans) collect an endless stream of cash from the audience as she sings.  I’ve often heard this song which while travelling in Java, so it must be popular, but I have no idea what it’s about. 

Compare with this version by the husky voiced Vivi Rosalita:

Click here to view the embedded video.

This song should really be classified as campursari, especially when I watch this version by the gorgeous Dini Aditama:

Click here to view the embedded video.

I can’t see how this will be of concern to Indonesian lawmakers, they already have a big local film industry to support and its not like people can’t already get access to foreign films through a thriving black market.  Prices are less than the equivalent of $1 per disk, quality is questionable, though.

UPDATE:

Indonesian cinema chains are opposed to the new tax, of course.  They say it will destroy them and the Indonesian film industry with them.  It’s true, government action often has unintended consequences.  Even if it’s cheaper to see an Indonesian film than a Hollywood one, I should think the markets are different.