The Story of Red Hot Chili Lips

What do you do when you are in the middle of the day, during fasting month and you are thirst and hungry to death ? Sleeping ? playing cards ? bathing ? What , bathing ? Yes, bathing, it can make your body fresher. Having a bath in the bathroom is just common, what if we add a little 'wild life' experience, let say we back to nature, having a bath in the river ? Sounds good to me. That was what I do, I liked to have a river-bath in the middle of the day during the fasting month. We can just named that river as 'kali kidul' or southern river, as this laid in the southern part of our kampong.

...the burning sensations has made koeaing fell down to a dry kalen which full ofmud...

To get there we must passed the rice field, a spooky kampong cemetery and the sugarcane plantation. The river was in the 'Lemah abang' village, or literally known as 'red land', we often shorten that village as 'mahbang' or 'mabang' only. That day just like previous fasting days, me and my two buddies agreed to have fun in the kali kidul. My buddies were Soerip Pitik Sobo Kebon Opo Hajo ? and Nardi Bebek.

Soerip had a thin body, yellow complexion, higher than average boys in his age, got a shiny and bold hair,and he never forget to bring his sleepers everywhere he may go. While bebek was the crowned prince of tofu kingdom company. Right after the dzhuhur prayer call, we went to the southern river. Of course we must trough the lemahbang village and then turned left trough the spooky kampong cemetery. In this cemetery field there was a duwet (jamblang) tree, maybe its age was hundred years, but still, it got enormous fruits.

But there was more, one tree called as Cacil tree, maybe it got a much more older than the duwet one, thousands years maybe, as it was as big as the Batavia Government Palace ! This tree was worshiped by the lemahbang villagers, we could see a lot of gifts to the gods under the cacil tree.

There was a vegetables field nearby the cemetery, various vegetables like long-beans,corn,chili, soy beans and ground nuts. What a fertile land ! There was a hut in the middle of the field. The simple field was constructed from bamboo and had its roof from sugarcane leafs known as rapak .You can say, right in the middle of the day, during a hot and dry fasting month, this hut looks like a palace in dreamland to us as children !

Because we were tired after went trough the rice field and cemetery, so we decided to have a little 'relaxing' in to the hut. Didn't take any longer, we were slept soon. Time passed, I had been slept for hours without even had a single dream ! Our Great Prophet Muhammad SAW once said ; better we sleep than talking about others as it could be lead to decreasing our fasting quality.

But I didn't realize at all that bebek has gone home, there left Soerip only. Actually even the sleeping-atmosphere surrounds, he couldn't sleep at all. So he got two sucks conditions, one buddy went home and the other fell asleep for hours, it drove him mad tough. He was scared to get me up from my sleep, but if he didn't do it, he was lonely without things to do ! We got a very good sayings about this situation, it calls as eating the simalakama fruits, if you eat it your dad is dead, but if you don't your mom will die, but we'll see later that Soeriep had his own decision actually, "I must get in the hell Koeaing up no matter what !"

Red Hot Chili peppers....

In the mean times, I was in the middle of my dream, I was in the middle of big heaven's palace, playing with gorgeous angels, but wait a minute, what is that ? I see a fire, it's getting bigger ! Yes, this fire has firing this palace in to a hell-fire !! I could feel the burn sensation in my body, skin an mostly my lips ! Lips ? Yes, my lips is ON FIRE ! How come ? Yes, the reality say so, not even my feet or hands but my lips ladies and gentleman !

I was panic wandering around to get the fire off my lips, don't ask me how I feel, hot, pain and agony mix in to one sensation ! Accidentally I saw a little pond with fresh water before my eyes, I thought that that was the most fresh things in this world, without even think anymore I ran and plunged in to those heavenly pond...Byuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuurrr....! Shit....! What the hell is it ? I was get up and found I've been fell down from the hut, plunged in to some dry kalen (little canal to give the fields water flow) with no water but full of mud !

I wiped my eyes around, I saw the fucking SOERIP was laughing at my bad luck ! damn bastard ! He was happy to see his buddy fell down, what a rude boy. But wait, If it was a dream only why my lips still burned ? It just like eating chili sauce without drinks for thousand years ! And what we see in Soerip's hand ? there he got one real big red hot chili, but only a half left for some bites !! My interrogation finally revealed the secrets, he used those red hot big chili to get me up after he tried several tricks before with no result at all !

Finally his tricky mind got an idea to wipe some chili to my lips from surrounding field ! Little bastard ! Therefore I got my lips but this was not a common lips but THE RED HOT CHILI LIPS !

Koeaing!
Mad about HOT sauce!

M E R T J O N - The little dynamite !

There's evil in every good seed, even just a little, on the other hand, there's a good seed in every evil thing. That's the Tao Te Tjing's philosophy from the Chinese prophet, Confucius. It has something to do with mertjon a.k.a little dynamite. I think you are all aware that that little dynamite comes from Chinese civilization. therefore it just fine if we use Chinese philosophy to discuss about China stuffs.

...this mertjon look like some of the dynamite we see in common world but lighter ...

Over Betawie land, the Chinese influent is so dominant,including this little dynamite thing, so there's no festivals without bang-bang wham from this little dynamite ! No wonder, Betawie people is fine with all riots. The holy month of Ramadhan is the festival month or them, so it's fine if we commemorate with mertjon. If you are not betawie, you can be crazy to see the betawie's madness to riots on their festivals.

Mertjon, the little dynamite as little as our fingers, can manage a loud bang and make us jump from the chair ! Actually there's so many peoples have died from it. The other day I heard that one family was vanished by mercon blast around Cileungsi resident. It's ironic as the mertjon season commence on ramadhan month, the holy month for moslem and need a quiet atmosphere to do their prayer seriously.

If you have your habit sleeping after the subuh prayer time, I consider you just doing the luxurious thing for average Rawabelong peoples Van der Kebajoran. As in here those little bastard always blast their mercon right after the subuh prayer time. Bang...bang...boom..! You can imagine how bad my sleeping quality is. It's a mess actually. I got my red eyes, I got my patience's challenge every morning, sometime I can not hold to give them my bad words, ironically, I did it after subuh prayer time.

"What the f***....hey you ! A** Ho**...go f*** yourself kiddo !!!"

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM....!

Usually they ran for their life after I went out to get the hell'em out ! Did they feel sorry ? NOT YET man ! the other morning, the same ritual happens, even more evil ! I can not kill'em especially in this holy month right? I think it's some challenge and test from Allah SWT, beside I did it almost the same when I was a kid :P. I liked to play mertjon either when I was a kid. I did it professionally, I bought mertjon from the direct producer directly ! Two black plastic containers, full of mertjon for a month-full Ramadhan's stock !

My first mertjon blasted in my own room, I did it to frighten my sister actually...
"Hey sis watch out...I have my little dynamite in my hand....BOOOOOOOOOOOM !!! " I was not even finished my words when the little dynamite was blasted....!! Two weeks after the blast I feel there's a two ambulances inside my head !

Human,even i did my first accident but it didn't stop me though. As I am a real human, so I tried again to fire my others mercon left. This time I tried to show off to my buddy, Parjo. I chose the place purposely right in the middle of village bridge close to my house. I chose the time after Tarawih prayer time....

"Jo...give your attention to my head and shoulder little dynamite....if I start to fire my match to those little dynamites, I can blast Solo in just my eyes' blink, because the sound of this little dynamite is so loud..." I talked to parjo arrogantly...
"Is that so ?"
"Hey buddy, I give you my words, you see, this is the holy month, I can't lie to you brother..."

In a moment
I fired the detonator, but there was some mistakes, the ammo was too much given to the detonator it caused the fire blasted too fast, just like the lightning....."BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM...!" The victim was my right ear, after two weeks ago my left ear becoming the first victim ! Today I completed my total deft !

I went to the doctor after that blasting accident, the doctor was a Chinese , Doctor Boedi ....

"Hmm...you've made your two ears-membrane teared-off kid....lucky you it can be healed by average medicine only...."

The medicine was dropped to my ears, twice a day, night and day. Have you heard about Eustachian's channel ? That's the channel in-between ears and throat. So if I got dropped my ears by the night, the next morning I felt my mouth was so bitter, as the medicine flowed along my throat trough my ears !

That's all folks, Actually I just want to be the King of Mertjon in fact I have my deft ears.... BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM !

Koeaing!
Prefer the calmness

Cembengan Party

Ceng Beng. The Chinese culture,it is their habit to commemorate and honor their late ancestors’ souls. It is similar with Islamic grave pilgrimage. The Javanese calls it by Sadranan. Just like their elder brother, Chinese; they give their ancestors’ soul a gift, usually what they like when they were still alive, food-drink, and sometimes money if needed be. But I won’t tell about that instead I’d like to share with you all about cembengan.

...this cembengan is the most wanted moment ever to thepoors...

Cembengan naturally came from Chinese’s ceng beng habit, but I don’t know why the Javanese follow that habit and turn it to be some event similar with night festival. It usually held in the sugar plantation districts like Tasikmadu, Colomadu, Kertosono, Pemalang, Klaten and Surakarta, so when the sugarcane was about to be harvested, it means the sugar factory was about to commence their production cycle either. This moment was the most welcome one by peoples surrounding. They are very much excited knowing that this night festival --or widely known as cembeng-- soon will be held in a week full.

Older-younger, adult-children, west-east, Dutch-Chinese-Javanese, all attend to one party of first cycle production of this sugar factory. There is Tong setan (Devil Motor rider in a tong), and what the hell is that? The captured devil in Tong ( big wooden bucket) and be shown to visitors or what ? NOPE ! Tong Setan is a giant wooden bucket and there are two or more motorcycles and bikers inside. They race each other without any crash at all! This show was scary me to death when I was a child! Even when I hear its sound, it was similar with The Angry Zeus kicking his son butt, Hercules, vavoom !

And now let’s go to the next playground, komedi puter (carrousel), komedi is Comedy, puter is centrifugal moves, so komedi puter is similar with the centrifugal comedy show! I don’t know when or where the term came from. A bunch of animal -models going around without any directions and moved by some men's hands, of course --we as a child-- came to enjoy and have those euphorias while we were imagine ourselves as the prince charming from Rome Kingdom who were going to crash the Gallia Kingdom into pieces ! Prok !

"Catch, move along hey you horses, do not give your mercy to those Galion bastards....!!"

I guarantee that this playground is the most wanted by the children or their parents.

Tasikmadu Sugar plant*....

After enjoy the Komedi puter we had better think about our stomach right ? Well,if so, you can choose the jenang kudus*,the black colored rice-pasta with coconut within, or the motorbike-formed brondong beras*.....but let me advise you do not ever forget to eat the spicy and hot soto daging* and a glass of ice jasmine-tea...hmm delicious !

After we eat, as we were still children, take the gifts, and do you have any ideas ? Toys ! The water pistol was my idol, then yoyo, gasing and then the trucks, bus, car miniatures. It was as if the chicken starring at the corn ! seek and destroy....

This cembengan was held surround the sugar factory area, it was very wide and so many trembessi trees in my district, Tasikmadu. Moreover, when we want to go to the cembengan we must walk along the spoor-trail way instead of riding the trucks or public transportation. We wanted to have a little cost-cutting program, we had better spend the money for gifts than for transportation cost, yes, the water pistol and its companies.

We walked together with so many ‘cembengan-pilgrimage’. We just walk trough the railway. It was quite simple to do as the railway was headed to the sugar factory of Tasikmadu. We didn’t have a fear feeling,as thousand peoples would do the same. It was just like the Tawaf phase of Hajj pilgrimage. Everyone wore his or her best clothes,just like the lebaran day*. Averagely we wear our Lebaran clothes once or twice a year only.

It was such a bless if we got the wealthy neighbor as they must have a car, we can hitchhike to the cembengan site and gave them a little tips only. It was faster then the ‘tawaf pilgrimage’. Well, that was the once a year amusement to the poor. We could forget our hard-life for a while. Every social group has their own way to release the stress. I am the lucky one as I experience that great cembengan, but it’s too bad the Tasikmadu sugar plant is broken now, therefore no cembengan party anymore….

Koeaing!
Everyday is a cembengan for me....

*Jenang kudus : A traditional snack made from rice powder with coconut and coconut-sugar. Made in Kudus,a rural city of central Java.
*Brondong beras : another traditional snack, made by rice as well but it fries without any cooking oil.
*soto daging : a kind of Chinese meat soup. Very popular in Indonesia.
*Lebaran day : The idul fitri day, the Islamic day to comemmorate the end of Ramadhan fasting month. It is the biggest holiday in Indoensia.

*picture courtesy of farrail.net

Music makes life happier !

Music is the universal language, I am listening MUSE, Obituary and seurieus while I am writing. I like so many different music, range from keroncong to death metal. From dangdut to classical orchestra. R&B is the only kind of music that I hate the most, I don’t know why. I think the black music is far away different these days compare to their old one. I like the old black music, they generate great musician like James Brown, Louis Armstrong, Ray Charles, and it was undeniable that they were genius in music. But at present days, their children has ruined all they have achieved by creating the trash music called by R&B. This is not even music, it is just a bunch of gangsters, pimps, and whores unite in the lusty world. If I have to kill one R&B singer, I would be glad to do it, mostly the one who wear under pant on his head, let me kill him, free of charge!

...this world consists of musical compositions only we listen to it or not doyou?

Music, for me is emotional thing, it has to touch my feeling, whether my romantic feeling or even my anger. If I listen to Simon & Garfunkel, Lobo, Bread or John Denver, their smoothness, empathy, and love touch my soul. Nevertheless, if I listen to Manowar, Metallica, or Obituary, my spirit arises as if my blood run up trough my head...there’s so many fires there! One thing you must remember if there is songs that can make you cry it means it has a healing power to your agony. For instance is Bread’s IF, not to mention Lady of Dream from John Anderson and Kitaro. I bet you can cry loudly after listen to Simon & Garfunkel’s Bright Eyes! I have a good advice for you; do not ever listen to those songs while you are broken hearted! It leads you to suicide instead of healing your pain!

It is no wonder if we see how music becomes a prayer to the Lord. The Moslems give their prayer some rhythms mostly in Qur’anic reading. From the easiest to the hardest, (you will need an iron lung to do the hardest way). Something is more touching if we change it to some singings. That way, the religion’s moral values can easily run trough our souls...directly or not....

Smells like teen spirit - Nirvana

I have my musical activities since I was in my Junior High School. I started with Deep Purple’s songs but before it, I listened to Queen, Scorpion, and Lobo, because my elder brothers and sisters played those songs often. Deep Purple’s Highway Star makes me thrilled even now, this song has a deep emotion in my soul, the tempo and beat just match with my youth soul! I carried my Deep Purple’s cassette and played it loud in the middle of our school’s library! What a crazy boy! You can imagine, when we are in the library, we supposed to be silent, even you cannot speak to others in high tone, but I played music loudly instead! Guess what? Everybody definitely was getting mad on me. Did I change my habit? NOT at all! I didn’t care even finally my teachers came up...I still don’t understand up to now, how crazy I was!

I played guitar as well in this age, started the Malay songs such as Search’s Isabella. Moreover, the D-day has come finally; I played a band with my companies. My activities was just music ever since. Playing guitar from maghrieb time to midnight, everyday, seven days a week, 30 days a month and 365 days a year! I do it during these 21 years more! Up to now! Remarkable! Do I bored or something? NO, that’s because the magic of music.

I had two different bands when I was in my senior High School! The band played kroncong and the other played death metal! I played bass-cello and 3-snare ukulele, we call ukulele as cuk! While in my death metal band, I played rhythm guitar and sing! You can give your imagination how complex I was. We played Miss Waljinah’s 'Mawar Biru’, but the other night I probably played Sodom, terrorizer or Napalm Death’s songs! It was like heaven and earth, far away different way of music, but I like them all no matter what!

After I became a University student, I found that the death metal fans were just a little in amount. However, the show must go on, I had to be flexible, so I started to sing Nirvana’s songs. Our band -- Donal bebek, has played most of their songs. I wanted to play weezer or Beatles badly, but what I can say I just lost those opportunities...my bands ruined and my friend found their own life. My ex-guitarist has some printing company in Yogyakarta, my ex-drummer (there are three of them) one becomes The Coca cola’s company employee, the other one I lost my connection and his news, and the last one is the only one who still playing music. He is the drummer of Minoru, some Japanese Rock band.

As a band boy, I can feel the ultimate satisfaction when I am on stage. It is when the crowds are going crazy we call it by headbang. I experience some remarkable moment once, friend of mine, she hates rock music actually but she cannot afford to have her headbang when I sang my Nirvana’s songs. I played bass and sing at that time, I broken my bass snare it was because I played it hard. My guitarist had the same experience he broken most off all his snares. My drummer broken his cymbal as well! What song of nirvana could lead us to hysterical actions? SMELLS LIKE TEEN SPIRIT! Their greatest song forever!

koeaing!
Miss the stage actions

Hide and seek, an Adrenalin game

Every Moslem believes that during the sacred month of Ramadhan, the devil, Satan, jinn, kiddo ghost, monsters, elf, phantoms, evil spirits, ghouls, gnomes, goblins, fairies, banshees and poltergeists are on leave. Allah the Almighty God with the magic chains bonded them all. With those spirit of courage, we as innocent kids were not afraid anymore. We chosen after Maghrib prayer as the right time to have the hide and seek game. The players consist of the mascot-boy and the hidden-groups. The rule was mascot had to find the hidden-groups. As we’ve been told that, no evil-spirits could not disturb us, so every kid tried to show their guts. That’s why I call this game as adrenalin Hide and seek.

...Allah the Almighty God with the magic chains bonded them all...

At the backside of our village mosque laid the graveyard called as Pasarean Ywapati, the Mangkunegarans official graveyard. Pasarean means as the sleeping place for the dead. In this case, the nobles dead. As nobles, their graveyard is so beautiful just like a mansion with the flower garden surroundings. It was such a good views. The peasants’ graveyard lay at the backside of this pasarean, right in the middle of sugar-cane tree plantation. There are two of them, at the south and southeast one.

After we draught the mascot, finally Peyet was chosen one. The rest must run and hide as fast we can. We tried to seek the hardest place to find by Peyet. I myself ran in to the sugar-cane plantation, it was the after-harvest time. I slept underneath the dry sugar-cane leaves. It was in the middle of dry season, called as nJediding, Javanese term for the cold dry season. The night of nJediding time is so cold, chills to your bones. Take this picture; with the half-moon scene and owl’s singing, it was so spooky. Not to mention the clouds were running across the moon...in pairs...one two....

Jendul --the bravest kid among us-- hidden at the southern graveyard. This is the spookiest and isolated peasants’ graveyard. He climbed the giant mahogany tree right in the center of that graveyard. He might get along with owls, or maybe the real ghosts! Then we’ll see Gito. Gito actually was not in our age-level because he was three years old more than we were. His body as big as buffalo the bad news is; he gets mad easily. In addition, when he gets mad, you’d better to get away of him....

Gito was more spectacular on his hidden quest. He slept underneath the unused stone-coffin of the dead, just like the dead their selves! What a spooky kid! Other kids lay between the mosques, the nobles’ graveyard, and the peasants’ one. Mostly they had hidden in the middle of sugar-cane plantation bush.

the spooky mahogany tree....

One minute, two minute we didn’t hear any voices yet from Peyet as the mascot. One hour after two hour, still there was no Peyet’s voice. I was falling asleep under the sugar-cane bushes. While Jendul was still up there, at the giant tree. Gito slept underneath the coffin. We know later about who Peyet really was. He was totally a jerk. You could not trust him at all. Why? As the mascot, he must found us whatsoever. That was the rules! However, maybe because we hidden at the abnormal place, he then walked home and slept! Asshole!

We were up after hear the Barzanzi of grand elder Soma,--our noblest village cleric—and hurried up to the mosque to do the subuh prayer. After we met together, we shared our story on how and where we hide. In addition, that was the time when we know where in the hell Peyet was. He ran away from his obligation as mascot, what a jerk! We felt hate, mad, because this irresponsible boy was fooling us, but what can we do this was the fasting month, we could nod take revenge among Allah SWT’s creatures. We just swallowed those hatreds.

The moral of this story is, if we believe that nothing or no one can do us harm then so be it! It even can lead us to do the bravest things! It was impossible unless in the sacred month of Ramadhan. Who thinks that Gito able to sleep underneath the coffin? Jendul could stays all night long at the spooky giant tree, and I myself slept in the middle of sugar-cane plantation? Those experiences really make me wonder, even up to present...

The tricky Peyet is becoming tailor man now, Gito owns his own sate restaurant, while Jendul is going back home to our homeland and make his living as a daily-goods storeowner after years in Jakarta. What about yourself koeaing? Me? Oh, I become a jobless man whose hobby is writing this stuff to you peoples...

Koeaing!
Still remember the after-harvest sugar cane smell...a very good smell....

There is always a giant among us

Ever since God made this universe, there is always a balance between the good and the bad. Our great grand father, Adam, teased by the Devil, and given some good advices from angel either. If you do the good things, you probably enter the heaven, vice-versa if you do the bad things you just enter the hell easily! In the politics world we know the opposition side, it said clearly as the opposite side, the idea is we need a balance circumstances in this world. Nothing is forever in this world, within the white power there is black power, even a little, it works as the opposite way...

...we live in the middle of good and bad peoples
therefore
face it !

As a social creature, we live among others, and there are good and bad persons for sure. Those two attitudes are within us. The Pandawa’s won’t become the white knights if there was no bad Kurawa’s ! The only problem is, that differences between good and bad are too far, and that’s certainly makes us wonder if there is such a very bad or very good person in this world? The answer is : IT IS!

Nobita has an asshole friend named by GIANT! He likes to kick his own friend ass even without any reasons before! Sure Nobita didn’t have any guts to make it even, not too mention Giant’s body as big as buffalo. All of us, since we have known others – I underline since we were in the kindergarten— must have the bad friend as Giant! I have no experiences of kindergarten school, so I just draw you my elementary school experiences. I had a very bad friend named Soeparman a.k.a nDhoklok (read like 'o' in ‘problem’). This boy had a bigger body than his levels, because he entered the elementary school late! He should in the 4th grade instead of 1st grade.

Those bad things came after this bastard was pointed as our class-head! One thing for sure, things started too gloomy ever since. Just like what Lord Acton cited "Power tends to corrupt, absolute power corrupt absolutely", and this nDhoklok was a perfect example of Lord Acton’s theory. He got the power, bigger body than his levels; to be frank it was just too perfect! If I may describe for what he did by his absolute power in words, it would be just too mean. He didn’t hesitate to spit other kids, to their mouth directly! The method is first he grabbed our arms until we could not move at all, and then he pushed our mouth to open ands 'crooot !" His saliva poured to our mouth like the Indian Cobra’s poison!

Saliva was just one of his torture tools, the other tool was hot balm...you have already know how hot it is to our skin. It was more sadistic than before! He could give this hot balm to other kids’ eyes for fun! You can imagine how those unlucky kids cried loudly

Did this 'giant' stop after our elementary school years over? NO HE DIDN'T! When I was in my Junior High, I met the other Giants! This time named Rober, Yes, that was his name. His father might not understand English words; just pick an ‘ear-catching’ word because he was born in ROmadhon and octoBER months! Watricht !

Nobita....

Because this kid as big as Samson, while the others as small as dwarf – dwarfs who liked to play in the field-movie held by Jamu Tjap Djago vendor— so he easily terrorizing us ! If anyone dares to challenge his order, then his hands, legs or other tools move as fast as Zeus does to kick our butts! Plak! Boekk ! Blesss....!!! Lucky for me, he was good in beating someone’s ass but not in his head. He counted on me for home works, or other intelligent things. It was good for me to stay from his cruelness away...

After I went to Senior High in Solo, there were so many giants in this school anyway! From seniors, my levels or even my juniors! Sadewo a.k.a mbako was one of our giant, he was in our same level. We named him as mbako (Javanese: tobacco) because he had hair like lesser tobacco, curl and bad smell. He got small body but awesome guts! I saw he fought with senior giant once. His name was Doni, his body as big as school doors! However, mbako didn’t get scared, even a little. He even gave his bad words while he fought! Whatta boy ! Another moment, I saw this boy was asked to go out from the classroom –in the middle of class hour – by a senior giant named Agus Mansion (because he was very found of drunk of Mansion House liquor)

+ Sir, can I talk with Sadewo for a moment?
- Ooo...sure you can...but don’t take too long....

Mbako then got from the class out to meet him, but what happened there was very surprisingly! He was not even to say a word when his face was punched by Agus mansion! As a giant too, mbako did his jobs well, he then gave Agus a punch as well...bak...buk! The teacher and other kids just saw it happened speechlessly! God damn them!

When I was in my college time, I was becoming one of these giants! Hehehhe...at least I fought with other giants twice a month...I have been fought versus two giants from Palembang....Bak! Boek ! Prot !! Their names were Faisal and Hakim. I was on the top at that time because they were in the middle of buzzed-out by Aceh marijuana. You know if someone buzzed-out by this thing they can not focus in doing something....Let say the gave us two punches and I gave them back four or five punches. What a shame, two giants from senior and junior class beaten by me, myself only in one moment. Luckily, for them...before anything went too far Gusur saved their ass! Gusur was the most senior Giant…

That’s all, in every moment of our life there will be a giant around; you’d better watch your ass!

Koeaing!
Giant with Nobita’s face and Shizuka as his wife

The art of marble games

...children addicted to this little round-shaped glass ball...

It is rounded-shaped, starting as little as nose shit to as big as baseball ball. The name is Nekker and nekkering is how you play it. It is called by marble in English spoken countries. Consisting of three colored-paintings just like a rainbow. Nevertheless, some of them are colorless, consist only bubbles in it, the colored ones usually green, silver, purple or blue.

...childhood is the best phase of my lifeindeed...

Gunungan is the simplest marble games. The ring is round-shaped and has a hole as its center. The hole is as big as a marble itself, whoever can go into this hole by one shot, voila; it’s a hole in one ! Starting the game is easy, at least there are two ways to draw the first player, ‘close’ and ‘far’ distance system. The line of outer circle lines is the border. ‘Close’ system took the first drawer by whoever can make the closest distance from the line, so did the 'far' system. The close system is the common one. The champion can use his mascot to his first shot, just shoot as hard as you can.

Shooting techniques may vary. It consists of two ways, one hand and two hands. For one hand fist, you can use your thumb and pointing finger for the easiest fist. Alternatively, you can use your middle finger with thumb also. The second fist is more complicated, as this is the mix between middle finger-thumb techniques with two hands. The left hand for handling the marble, and the right hand for shoot. I never make it ! However, you must aware, you cannot cheat this way by using your elbow. We used to call it by nggontlom ! It is dishonest way to play !

The next step is to get the bets. You have to crush the bets. The bets itself are marbles from each players. If you manage your shot without being trapped within the circle then you can have all bets outside the circle line. If you fail, you die in the first round, we call it by sekoek. What happened if the bets last ? Anarchy !

You start to kill each other’s. You can shoot your rivals mascots, so do they. Finally, only one person stays alive; he can take all the marbles from his defeated rivals. This way, who gets the first bet not always win, he could lose his bets if his mascot gets killed ! The smartest kid has this way. He did not want to get the bets first, the bets themselves are not his goals anyway, only kills the rival mascots is the easiest way to win.

marbles....

The second game is getting excited, Jirak. You only make a vertical line, it is like a fishbone-shaped diagram. You can place your bets in each fishbone tips. The idea is whoever shot the head; he can get all the rest. However, when you hit the neck, you can only take bets laid from neck below. The drawing system is the same as gunungan system, using close and far distance system also. This time we use the head part as center.

This game needs a straight and plain area. The wealthy children usually play this game because they have many marbles to bet. They often use the best jockeys to win the competitions. The best jockey is the one who has the highest hole-in-one record, shoot the head only ! Keliek was best in jirak game even he was the best jockey ever. Djendoel was the best in two-hand fist, while Nothol was the best player in gunungan game, and the last one was Nggobek “the longest dick” Sunarto. He was the trickiest marble player among us, played nggontlom techniques frequently but denied in the same time…what a boy…

And how about yourself koeaing ? Me ? I think I was not the best but not the loser either I tell you what, I often have had my experiences with marbles... I used to have marbles as bullets for my catapult. And you know what ? You don’t have any ideas about plunging the marbles in to kerosene don’t you ? It is cracked ! However, the cracked-line-patterns were so beautiful to see...

Koeaingdinekkeransiah!
Always find the beauty of destruction....