Sea
Monday, June 3, 2024
The coast is an anathema. Up until the 20th century, the language of coastal people was not considered worthy of being ‘true’ Javanese.
AN Indonesian children’s song, written by musician Ibu Sud, begins with this:
Nenek moyangku seorang pelaut (My ancestor was a sailor)
gemar mengarung samudra luas (who loved to sail the open seas
And yet the sea is a silent part of the traditional narrative of some Indonesians.
Wayang shadow puppet performances do not begin and end with the sea, but with a mountain, or gunungan: two-dimensional cones adorned with images of trees and fo
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