GEBANG
SENI EMHA AINUN NADJIB SERTA KONSERT KIAI KANJENG
Emha
Ainun Nadjib ' Cak Nun '
Ramai
pekerja Indonesia yang mencari nafkah di Malaysia kenal nama "Cak Nun".
Para pelajar Indonesia di sini juga sangat kenal dengan panggilan itu untuk penyair-eseis-budayawan
Emha Ainun Nadjib. Tulisannya beredar dari tangan ke tangan di kalangan penulis,
budayawan serta rakyat Indonesia.
Emha
Ainun Nadjib pada awalnya penyair muda yang sangat berbakat. Sekembalinya dari
perjalanan ke luar negara pada dekad 80-an, beliau melonjak menjadi penulis ruangan
media massa; mengulas (mengkritik dan memprotes) kehidupan sosial-politik-ekonomi
di negaranya dengan keberanian intelektual yang memang cukup kaya di Indonesia.
Dalam
waktu yang sama, beliau mengumpul massa pengikut budaya melalui akhbar, televisyen,
buku dan dalam perhimpunan dialog bulanan yang dihadiri ribuan orang di Jombang,
Jawa Timur atas nama "Padang Bulan" - berselawat, berzikir, berdoa beramai-ramai.
Kini
menetap di Jogjakarta (Kota Kebudayaan dan Sejarah), beliau mewujudkan pertemuan-pertemuan
MAIYAH (kebersamaan rakyat) dan Kumpulan Musik Kiai Kanjeng dengan peralatan gamelan,
gendang, biola, gong dan lain-lain untuk menjelajahi daerah-daerah jauh dan pendesaan
Indonesia.
Pada
minggu 18-24 Oktober 2003, dalam rombongan dua puluh dua orang pendeklamator dan
pemain musik, rombongan akan mempersembahkan nyanyian, puisi, musik dan selawat
dalam pengucapan penuh kerohanian serta estetik yang unik.
Emha
Ainun Nadjib bukan sekadar berpuisi atau menulis dalam ruang-ruang pejabat, rumah
atau berkelana jalan-jalan. Beliau terjun langsung ke tengah-tengah masalah masyarakat-rakyat
jelata yang tersingkir dari kampung halamannya, terseksa perasaan dan anggotanya,
mendengar rintihan mereka dan membela nasib mereka hingga sampai kepada telinga
pemimpin besar.
Seorang
seniman yang autentik, Emha berkarya untuk memuji Presiden, Wakil Presiden atau
menteri, tetapi berdamping dengan mereka untuk menyampaikan pertanyaan apa yang
boleh menteri lakukan untuk mengatasi kesusahan rakyat dan kemelut budaya bangsanya.
Hal-hal
yang seperti inilah membuat beliau bergeseran dengan penguasa seperti meninggalkan
jawatannya sebagai Ketua Bidang Kebudayaan Pimpinan Pusat ICMI (Ikatan Cendiakawan
Muslim Indonesia) pada waktu Habibie sangat berpengaruh dahulu.
Sebagai
tokoh budaya dan intelektual yang independen, Emha terus berjuang melalui kesenian
bagi menyelamatkan jiwa raga rakyat yang bermasalah dari rejim Soeharto ke Habibie,
ke Gus Dur dan kini Megawati. Tetapi, dapatkah puisi, musikalisasi, kesenian dan
lagu membela rakyat dan krisis manusia Nusantara ? Kalau Rendra dan Goenawan Muhamad
telah menjadi satu fenomena dalam kesusasteraan moden dan kebudayaan Indonesia,
Emha membawa susuk lain daripada jenis fenomena yang sama-dengan stail dan pendekatannya
yang tersendiri-akrab dengan massa rakyat jelata.
Persembahan
syahdu itu (lain daripada yang lain) akan bergema di ruang Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka,
Kuala Lumpur, di Shah Alam dan Ipoh.
EMHA
AINUN NADJIB & KIAI KANJENG
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
PENA
Kuala 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.
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.
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...
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:
1. a direct request from communities residing in
almost all the districts of Indonesia, regardless of political alignment, religion,
sect and race;
2. 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.
Other
objectives of the initiative may seem rather unusual:
1. To develop and culturalise
within the society an enlightened way of thinking
2. To disseminate a healthy
political education, awareness of rights and responsibilities as a human being
and a citizen;
3. 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;
4. To identify local issues and national problems and discuss
possible solutions;
5. 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;
6. 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;
7. 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;
8. 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;
9. 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.;
10. 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.
Translated
by
Rosihan Zain
GEBANG
SENI DI RUMAHYKP
KONSERT
KIAI KANJENG
