Uncle Soma's intent was firm. Nobody could interfere. He said he would prove his supernatural powers. Initially, the neighbors whispered about him. Uncle Soma wanted to prove his powers next Sunday.
"This is me. The heir to Eyang Wirabuana's power. Don't call me his descendant if I cannot do this," Uncle Soma thumped his chest, putting the people in the neighborhood into a commotion.
Uncle Soma said he would bend a coconut tree as Eyang Wirabuana did during the time of Dutch colonization.
We didn't know whether that story was true or not. Old stories sometimes are hard to prove. It was more like a bedtime story.
People said, Uncle Soma would show his powers at the volleyball court near the Cidadap River. Uncle Soma wanted everybody to see his power.
Nobody could stop him, not even my grandmother, Uncle Soma's mother.
"This is not the time to show off, Ujang," Grandmother said.
Uncle Soma just gave her a wordless smile and left out the back of the house. Then we heard the sound of the door closing.
Two blocks from Grandma's house, there was a direct way to Cidadap, a small river ten meters wide. Across the river, there was a terraced rice field, although it wasn't very big.
Not so far from there, on an ascending road, there was a stretch of dry rice cultivation. Further up the road, the trees grew close and dense. A winding path climbed up to the shrine. This was the grave of Eyang Wirabuana.
Actually, it was not an ordinary shrine like the pile of bricks found in East Java. It was a simple grave surrounded by huge old trees hundreds of years old. Teak trees two arms wide soared to the sky, covering it with dense foliage.
Ordinary people would not feel brave enough to approach the grave of Eyang Wirabuana.
***
According to the story that had become legend in our village, Eyang Wirabuana was a soldier of Pangeran Diponegoro and fought against the Dutch around Yogyakarta since the age of 20 for about five years.
It was not known how Eyang Wirabuana came to join Pangeran Diponegoro, since his hometown was a village in Karawang, West Java, but apparently he wanted to fight in Mataram.
According to those who knew or pretended to know, Eyang Wirabuana was inspired by a dream to join in the fighting with the man in a turban. Most likely, the news had spread easily that in the east there was a brave man who fought valiantly against the cruel Dutch.
Even though it was not documented in history -- probably because he was not of royal birth -- Eyang Wirabuana was believed to be Pangeran Diponegoro's right-hand man. He was said to be as brave as Pangeran Diponegoro, and his powers were useful during the war. On many occasions, he had saved Pangeran Diponegoro from a Dutch attack.
When Pangeran Diponegoro was finally captured through the deceit of the Dutch, Eyang Wirabuana escaped, fleeing to the western part of Mataram. Along with other fighters from Karawang, he went up the mountain and down into the hills, crossed the rivers, and found a place to hide.
One day, in the distance, Eyang Wirabuana saw a unit of about ten Dutch soldiers approaching, armed with guns. Most definitely, it would not be a fair fight against ten soldiers. Golok against guns.
Eyang Wirabuana and his comrades hid near a bamboo forest, but were completely encircled by the ten soldiers. There was no escape. So Eyang Wirabuana crept to a coconut tree and climbed it, then stood atop it as he held on to two midribs of palm.
Eyang Wirabuana then displayed his supernatural powers.
Slowly but surely, the coconut tree bent just like a thin branch. He continued to bend the tree trunk until it touched the earth and stepped down. Then, he opened his hands and let go of the midribs fast, like a catapult. A great gust of wind rose with rush and noise, and dozens of coconuts shot out like cannonballs aimed straight for the Dutch soldiers. The coconut missiles shattered the faces of two of them. The rest fled and never came back.
Eyang Wirabuana continued his journey. Nights and days, mornings and afternoons, he did not even stop to rest. And finally, he found a place across the Cipamali River. At that time, the area was still a jungle and nobody owned any of the land. People could stay wherever they liked. And since that place was surrounded by dadap trees, the tributary that flowed through it was called the Cidadap River. There, near the Cidadap, he built a small hut.
Eyang Wirabuana and his two closest friends settled down there. The three of them lived off the forest. But the two friends decided to continue their journey to the west and returned to their homes in Karawang.
Day by day, more and more people cleared the forest and settled there. Most of them came from a village located not far away. Some of them also came from the east, from across the Cipamali. Because people from the east of the Cipamali spoke Javanese, most people spoke a mix of Javanese and Sundanese.
Eyang Wirabuana married a woman who came from east of the Cipamali. They settled near the Cidadap and he was a village chief for many years.
When guerrillas came and tried to destroy the village, Eyang Wirabuana was the one who faced them. Since it became known that he truly had supernatural powers, nobody had the slightest courage to attack that village anymore. The village became peaceful, and more people moved and settled there. The story of his powers became known everywhere.
Nobody knew how many children Eyang Wirabuana had. According to legend, he had three sons and three daughters. However, it was known that not one of them had inherited their father's supernatural powers.
But it was said that one of his grandsons had that power, Eyang Wirayuda. Then Eyang Wirayuda passed his powers on to his son, then to his grandson, Eyang Surajaya. This grandson was famous because he was one of the fighters who fought for to reclaim independence from the Dutch's plans to re-colonize the country.
In that village, the Indonesian army built a headquarters to fight against the Dutch. Even though Eyang Surajaya was not a soldier, he often bore arms and was famous for his courage.
It was told that once, he was surrounded by the Dutch soldiers four against one. He hid behind a copse of small trees, and where one or two bullets were shot from his gun, dozens were sprayed from his enemy's guns. The Dutch soldiers then left, assuming that he was dead. But suddenly, Eyang Surajaya rushed out and killed two of the four soldiers. The news spread quickly that Eyang Wirayuda was bulletproof.
***
I did not know how the power was transferred, but according to the story, it was just automatically transferred. No need to practice matigeni and such things.
But another version said that the power would transfer to those who had the talent. It could be transferred to any child or grandchild. It would not be transferred to the eldest, but only to a son or grandson, for sure. Those who inherited that power would get a divine inspiration how to hone and use it.
Strangely these days, not one of Eyang Wirabuana's descendants wanted that power -- probably because those with the power would have a different personality from the others. Even though they would not say so frankly, people had one term for them: CRAZY.
For example, Eyang Surajaya often spoke to himself as he aged.
We didn't know why, but according to those who understood about the matter, such men were not qualified to receive the divine inspiration.
And how could people not say that they were crazy when they didn't take a bath for weeks on end nor change their clothes, spent all their days in the temple, and returned home only in an emergency?
Even though the descendants of Eyang Wirabuana were said to be crazy, they used their powers to do good and to help others, and also to face the Dutch during the war. But after Eyang Surajaya, not one descendant had inherited the supernatural powers.
My grandmother was the second child of Eyang Suradireja, Eyang Surajaya's brother. Grandmother had four children. My mother was the eldest. She had two sisters and a brother. That was Uncle Somadikara. We called him Uncle Soma.
As for me, I was the second child. My big sister had married a doctor and settled in the city while my little brother went to a college in Yogyakarta. I had been teaching at a high school in a nearby village. Once a week I went home, usually over the weekend since the school was really not far.
I tried to return home, as I missed Mother (Father had passed away long ago), but mostly I missed Tati, a pretty girl in the village.
It had been over ten years since none of Eyang Wirabuana's descendants had the power. Some of them felt happy about that, since it was not the era for having such a power. The times had changed, and supernatural power was no longer needed.
What for? To be a hero? The most important thing, was that there were no more descendants who were insane.
And now, Uncle Soma confessed that he had the power and that he would reveal it in front of many people.
Actually, no one believed he had that power. He worked as a teacher then as a principal at an elementary school in the village, and his life was just as simple as the others'.
However, once, Uncle Soma complained that he had never been promoted because he never gave money to those in office.
"I don't believe that a bribe is needed to get promoted. It is supposed to work automatically," he said.
But it was incredulous to think his power was somehow connected to this. It was an exaggeration. Mother told me that when he was a child, Uncle Soma was brave. Even more so if he believed he was right.
***
On Sunday, when the sun rose behind Mount Slamet, people gathered at the volleyball field in our village, and some even came from other villages. The news spread easily.
I had decided not to go to the field because I felt embarrassed, knowing that my own uncle would be watched by many people. Most likely, people would even applaud him. It was just like watching a real mad man.
But then I felt curious about what Uncle Soma had said. Was he able to prove his words? When I asked Mother and Grandmother to go, they just shook their heads.
The sun had come up when Uncle Soma came in a hurry, walking along the rice field's bund. People were exited. They clapped their hands, even whistled. I was not really sure how many days Uncle Soma had stayed at the shrine of Eyang Wirabuana. His face was pale, but his eyes gazed out sharply like the eyes of a cat. It was unusual.
In the center of the volleyball field, Uncle Soma stood heroically. He looked down for a moment, then he touched the golok that hung around his waist. The golok was unsheathed and reflected the sunlight.
"I sharpened this golok all night long," he said.
Uncle Soma picked up a small branch from the ground. In a very short while it was all in small pieces.
"Don't worry, I will show you all how to bend the coconut tree. For now, let's play the game first," he said.
Still holding the golok, he rolled up his left sleeve and showed his strong muscles.
"I will try to stab this golok into my arm, my stomach, then my neck. Who still doesn't believe in this golok? Who wants to try?"
Nobody moved from their spot.
That's right, the golok didn't hurt him at all, even when he tried to stab his stomach. The crowd cheered loudly.
But when he stuck the golok in his neck, his neck started bleeding. Uncle Soma's face became pale. Blood flowed through his fingers. His right hand still held the golok.
Without a second thought, I jumped into the field. But I was careless. I slipped. The crowd screamed. I didn't see that my head was falling toward the golok, but then I noticed, and tried to move away from it. I saved my head but ... ouch! The golok pierced my shoulder.
Silence.
My shirt was slit open, but there was no blood. I touched my shoulder to make sure it was okay, and it was not hurt. My shoulder was not wounded at all. I was surprised and bewildered.
***
Since then, I have often heard the strange voice coming from nowhere.
It says, "Now it is your obligation to continue the struggle of our ancestors."
I shook my head. I did not agree. I said, "This time? In this era? What kind of struggle? Who are our enemies?"
The voice answered, "There are so many enemies, Grandson! You can see people ruining and destroying the country, robbing the people's money, selling the wealth of the country overseas."
I was speechless. My goodness, now it's is my turn to be cursed to become a crazy guy.
"Who said crazy? Actually, the crazy guys are those who say that others are crazy."
I could only keep shaking my head, still speechless. My God!
-- Bandung, Oct. 11, 2005
Translated by Senny Suzanna Alwasilah
* Eyang: a term of address for a grandfather, elder/elderly, or an ancestor * golok: machete * Ujang: a term of address for a young boy * Pangeran Diponegoro: a national hero who fought against the Dutch from 1825-1830 in Java * matigeni: a certain form of asceticism consisting of fasting and not using fire or light for about 7-40 days, preferably in a forest, cave, or a room
Born in Brebes, Central Java, the writer is an editor at the Tribun Jabar daily and has published several books, including the short story anthology Sang Jelata (December 2004) and the novel Dyah Pitaloka, Senja di Langit Majapahit (December 2005).
http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailfea ... 01&irec=15
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
