Gathering of “Ngabudayan” Sangiran Residents

“Ayo nyanyi maneh…. Wis dibayar lho iki (ayo menyanyi lagi, sudah dibayar lho ini),” kata seorang penampil dalam hajatan pasar budaya di Desa Manyarejo, Plupuh, Sragen. Warga bergegas bergerak setelah rehat sejenak. Mereka membentuk lingkaran, bernyanyi mengelilingi lesung yang dipukul oleh para perempuan tangguh desa itu. “Buto buto galak solahmu lunjak-lunjak/ Ngadek sigrak-sigrak nyandak kunca nuli tanjak/ Bali ngadek maneh rupamu ting celoneh/ Kuwi buron opo tak sengguh buron kang aneh/ Lha wong kowe we we sing mara marai/ Lha wong kowe we we sing mara marai/ Rupane kok ngono aku wedi hi hi ayo konco podo bali/ Galo kae galo kae rupane terak-terok rok rok rok/ Matane plerak-plerok rok rok rok/ Yo kulite ambengkerok”. The folk song about a buto or a giant with big bulging eyes and unkempt and scary thick hair sounded very original and was sung together by dozens of villagers. A different impression will appear if we listen to the Nella Kharisma version of the song with the dangdut koplo music. Around the art stage, there are bamboo tents for selling soto, tempe mendoan, market snacks, fruits such as bananas

and mangoes which were planted by the residents themselves and happened to be harvesting, as well as batik cloth and handicrafts.

Cultural markets facilitated by the Directorate General of Culture of the Ministry of Education and Culture, Research, and Technology are held in eight villages around the Sangiran archaeological site and included in the administrative areas of Sragen Regency and Karanganyar Regency. The eight villages include Krikilan, Ngebung, Bukur, Manyarejo, Somomorodukuh, Pungsari, Brangkal, Rejosari, and Dayu. In addition to singing and dancing, the attractions displayed are traditional arts such as reog and jathilan as well as folk theater. The cultural market is usually held every Sunday although it is not always routine, but due to the 2021 SangiRUN Night Trail, the cultural market was held for two days, November 20-21, 2021.

In Brangkal Village, Gemolong Sragen District, a number of residents performed a drama with the classic theme of the people’s struggle against the invaders. Joko Purwanto, a retired teacher, played a valiant fighter against the Dutch, coincidentally Pak Joko is a man of tall stature so he looks good. Uniquely, the role of the captain from the Netherlands is actually small and short. Residents and visitors were made laughing. The cultural market is only noisy and lively if there are supporting activities, as said by Retno Anjarwati, who that afternoon was selling yellow rice. “If there are no events, it’s usually quiet here. Still selling, but yes, there is no art,” said Sutarman, a seller of boiled corn.

The cultural markets in the villages around Sangiran are indeed a means for residents to gather, share stories with each other, sometimes tell complaints, and occasionally come up with ideas for the progress of the village. As stated by the Head of the Sangiran Early Human Site Preservation Center, Iskandar Mulia Siregar, the communal and harmonious life of the villagers should be appreciated and considered as a good example. “In this place where the Javanese were born, the people are communal and solid. Peace,” he said.

Iskandar’s statement may need to be added, does not like to have prejudice. We proved this when we visited the house of a village head. The house turned out to be empty and the door was left open with the key still hanging in its lock outside. The motorbike was parked in the yard without being locked. On a whim we checked a few other houses, and they were the same. The house was left vacant by the occupants without being locked.

Mother pounding with a pestle -

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Was it –maybe-- because they were in a hurry to come to the cultural market event?

Fossil Discoverers

The communal life is not only built between residents, but also between residents and employees of the Sangiran site, the majority of whom are not from Sragen or Karangayar. The closeness of residents to the Sangiran site along with its archaeologists, researchers, and site employees has existed for a long time, so that residents can easily and quickly identify fossils of ancient animals. Residents are actually the main discoverers of ancient animal and human fossils since the Dutch East Indies era, and that is natural because their livelihood demands to always be in the padi fields every day. Paleontologist and geologist GHR von Koenigswald discovered the first ancient human artifacts in Sangiran in 1932, and after that, local residents found fossils of the right jaw of ancient humans in 1936.

Since then, Sangiran continues to show its wealth. The last discovery of the roof of a human skull was recorded in 1997, but animal fossils still appeared. Suddenly shark teeth popped out in the recesses of the soil layer during the rainy season. Once 50 fossils were found in a month. Fossil discoverers are also rewarded as a form of appreciation, rather than selling them illegally. If the fossil is unique and rare, the reward can reach 10 million rupiah, for example an elephant head fossil. The crocodile head fossil is valued at 5 million rupiah. (Kompas, April 30, 2014).

In 2007, for example, residents found crocodile teeth, tiger teeth, and shark teeth in soil layers that were between 1.8 million and 800,000 years old, found in the Pucangan formation. The discoverer was Ngadino and he discovered the fossils in his field in Ngebung, Kalijambe, Sragen. Then in 2014, residents found pieces of the skull and jaws of an ancient elephant in the Dayu area, Sragen.

Living in Harmony

With the old women who in their daily life wear cloth and kebaya, it does not mean that the life of the villagers do not intersect with modernity, apart from being strongly influenced by the teachings of Islam. When I saw that almost all mothers put lipstick on their lips and wore cloth, kebaya, and headscarves as head coverings, I didn’t think too far to worry that their traditional values had been eroded. There are many reasons why people wear the hijab, not only because of fiqh reasons. They still dance and sing in the local language rhythmically, mingling with fellow citizens, men and women of all ages.

I agree with Risa

Permanadeli who wrote in her book,

Dadi Wong Wadon: Social Representation of Javanese Women in the Modern Era (2015). Modernity is defined as a

A short break -

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representation of Javanese maturity to maintain harmony or the principle of harmony. The thought of modernity does not separate or disconnect Javanese society from its past, from its traditions. They still maintain the balance of Java in real life.

The cultural gathering of the Sangiran residents continued, until evening came and inched towards night. They persisted because the cultural market was indeed held in a series of “competitions” running as far as 25 kilometers to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Sangiran being designated as a world heritage. However, they basically do live in a slow world, without having to care about the world of haste out there, which creates a gap between space and time, as sociologist Nick Osbaldiston calls it in Culture of the Slow: Social Deceleration in an Accelerated World ( 2013). Time is not simply compressed, but has exceeded the limit.

We listened to Hadi Sriyono (84), a resident of Ngebung Village, about how he used to be frustrated with a fast-paced job when he worked as a record keeper in an institution. “His salary also runs out to pay the rent. Better go back to the village, ha-ha-ha,” said the man who still had a sharp memory. I think this is an example of a real slow living, not a slow living movement as Osbaldiston calls it, which people do as a reaction to life being rushed. The slow living movement is not only seen in practical activities such as cooking, embroidery, walking, gardening, and meditation, but in concepts or perspectives to instill ethics in everyday life. And, without having to make a movement, ethics can be found in the lives of villagers. Hopefully it will be sustainable (Susi Ivvaty,

founder of alif.id).

Enjoying the Afternoon -

Syefri Luwis