Batavia Centrum | Batavia Centrum

By and | 4 November 2012
Batavia Centrum


1933:

Chinese women, young and old

Totter beneath

Buckets of sweat

Treading narrow lanes

between shops in Pintoe Ketjil


1942:

The Japanese arrive

Stupid bastard, they say

To the Chinese man in calico

Miserable from having

his godown plundered

No New Years this year

Moon cakes stuffed with coconut pulp


1954:

Chinese girls and boys

Unlatch their doors

And wait for coins

To fill donation baskets


1963:

Chinese men and women

Prop open their doors

To let the smoke of incense

Waft into their homes

Quietly, they calculate

Bad days on an abacus


1979:

Tapeikong cooks are envious

To see the god of gambling

Offered incense every day

The Tans and Lies control the chiefen

Some of them visit the temple

Others kneel before Mother Mary


1992:

Elderly Chinese women and men

Walk unsteadily hand in hand

To the square for tai-chi

As their grandchildren in Singapore

Remain soundly asleep


1998:

As the iron curtain crumbles

Jade statues of the goddess Kwan Im

And the tiger Pa Kua shatter

And are scattered with ancestors’ ashes




Batavia Centrum


1933:

Beberapa encek dan encim

Tergopoh-gopoh memikul

Keranjang keringat

Menyusuri lorong sempit

Pertokoan Pintoe Ketjil


1942:

Jepun datang

Bagero, katanya

Kepada babah berbaju blacu

Yang memelas saat gudangnya

Dikuras

Tahun ini tanpa Sin Chia

Kue Pia hanya berisi ampas kelapa


1954:

Beberapa amoy dan akew

Membuka grendel pintu

Dan menunggu recehan

Untuk mengisi pundi-pundi abu mereka 


1963:

Sebagian enci dan engkoh

Mengganjal pintu

Dan membiarkan asap hio

Masuk ke rumahnya.

Diam-diam mereka menghitung

Hari-hari sial dengan sipoanya


1979:

Taipekong dapur iri

Melihat dewa judi

Diberi dupa wangi setiap hari

Marga Tan dan Lie mengikat chiefen

Sebagian sampkai ke vihara

Sisanya bersimpuh di hadapan Bunda Maria


1992:

Beberapa encim dan empe

Tertatih bergandengan

Menuju emperan untuk senam Tai-Chi

Sementara cucu mereka

Masih tertidur pulas di Singapura


1998:

Tirai-tirai besi koyak berderak

Bersamaan dengan itu

Batu giok Dewi Kwan Im dan Macan Pa Kua

Jatuh berserakan bersama abu leluhur mereka


1998




English translation by Deborah Cole
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Lahir di Jakarta 30 Agustus 1959 dan dibesarkan di Jakarta dalam keluarga campuran Arab-Betawi. Lulus S1 dari Program Studi Rusia FSUI tahun 1986. Lulus S2 dari Program Pasca Sarjana Kajian Wilayah Amerika UI tahun 1996. Lulus S3 dari Program Pasca Sarjana Ilmu Sejarah FIB UI tahun 2006. Menulis buku fiksi dan non fiksi. Salahsatu buku sajaknya berjudul Dari Batavia sampai Jakarta 1619-1999: Sejarah dan Kebudayaan Betawi-Jakarta dalam Sajak mendapatkan hadiah pertama buku sajak terbaik dari PKJ TIM tahun 2000. Pada 2002, buku itu kembali mendapatkan hadiah buku sastra terbaik pertama dari Yayasan Buku Utama Ikapi. Fokus dan konsentrasi pada masalah sejarah sosial dan budaya sekitar Jakarta. Pernah menjadi redaksi di majalah budaya Kita Sama Kita (2003-2004) dan pernah menjadi kolumnis tetap pada majalah Moesson, het Indisch Maanblad di Belanda (2004-2006) yang mengulas tentang perkembangan Kota Batavia sampai Jakarta. Sampai saat ini berprofesi sebagai pengajar dan peneliti di FIB UI Depok.
Zeffry Alkatiri was born in Jakarta on 30 August 1959 and raised there in a multicultural (Arab-Betawi) family. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Russian Studies in 1986, a Master’s degree in American Studies in 1996, and a Doctorate degree in History in 2006 from the University of Indonesia. He writes both fiction and non-fiction, focusing on the socio-cultural history of the Jakarta region. His book Dari Batavia sampai Jakarta 1619-1999: Sejarah dan Kebudayaan Betawi-Jakarta dalam Sajak (From Batavia to Jakarta 1619-1999: History and Culture of Betawi-Jakarta in Poetry) received first prize for best poetry from the Jakarta Arts Council in 2000 and was awarded best book of literature by Yayasan Buku Utama Ikapi in 2002. He has served as editor of the cultural magazine Kita Sama Kita (2003-2004) and is a permanent columnist for the magazine Moesson, het Indisch Maanblad di Belanda (2004-2006). He is currently an instructor and researcher on the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Indonesia, Depok.

More by Zeffry Alkatiri on Cordite Poetry Review →
Debbie Cole learned Bahasa Indonesia from children in her neighborhood in Jakarta between 1976-1984. From her many Australian classmates in elementary school, she learned how to speak some 'Strine' and enjoy vegemite and butter sandwiches. As a graduate student, she studied public performances of Indonesian poetry in Jogjakarta, Central Java during Indonesia’s Reformasi period in 2001-2002. Some of what she learned about attitudes towards difference and diversity through that research appeared in an article 'Enregistering diversity: Adequation in Indonesian poetry performance' in the Journal of Linguistic Anthropology in 2010. Currently, she is an associate professor of linguistics in the Department of English at the University of Texas-Pan American (situated along the border between Mexico and the United States) where she occasionally serves on thesis committees for poetry students in a Masters of Fine Arts in Creative Writing program. Along with John McGlynn and Dorothea Rosa Herliany, she is a member of the editorial team for the Lontar Anthology of Indonesian Poetry.

More by Deborah Cole on Cordite Poetry Review →

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